JP4996495B2 - PROGRAM INFORMATION CREATION DEVICE, PROGRAM INFORMATION TRANSMISSION DEVICE, PROGRAM INFORMATION RECEPTION DEVICE, PROGRAM INFORMATION CREATION PROGRAM, PROGRAM INFORMATION RECEPTION PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving device that receives a digital broadcast and uses EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to execute viewing reservation or storage reservation of the broadcast program, a transmitting device that transmits data that is the source of EPG, and transmission data. The present invention relates to a creation device to be created and their programs.

  In the current digital broadcasting, broadcasters multiplex an EIT (Event Information Table) describing program information such as program name and broadcast time on video / audio based on the program organization and transmit it by broadcast waves. Yes. A receiving apparatus compatible with digital broadcasting generates an EPG from the received EIT and presents it to the viewer. The EPG presented by the receiving apparatus is a program displayed on the screen by time and channel. When the viewer selects a desired program from the EPG displayed on the screen, the receiving device can execute a reservation operation for viewing and a reservation operation for storing the program. In order to execute the reservation operation, the receiving apparatus uses “event_id” described in the EIT for identifying a program. The operation method of “event_id” is defined as a standard for digital broadcasting (see Non-Patent Document 1).

  The EIT transmitted by the transmission device is information on a program broadcast after the transmission time, and the reception device receiving this EIT describes only the program scheduled to be broadcast after the reception time (current time). Generate an EPG. That is, in general, the receiving apparatus cannot display an EPG (past EPG) of a program broadcast in the past. Therefore, the viewer cannot make a reservation for viewing or accumulating a program to be broadcast in the future with reference to a past program described in a past EPG.

On the other hand, a receiving apparatus that displays past EPGs is also known (see Patent Document 1). The receiving apparatus described in Patent Document 1 accumulates the past data of received EIT or the like for a predetermined period, and displays the past EPG by using the accumulated data, so that a continuous broadcast program can be displayed. Make a reservation for viewing or recording the next broadcast program or a program to be rebroadcasted in the future. For example, in order to make an accumulation reservation (recording reservation) for a rebroadcast program of program A, a viewer who uses this receiving apparatus selects program A as a past program from the displayed past EPG. The selected program includes information such as “program name”, “performer”, “broadcast content”, “broadcast date”, “broadcast start time”, “broadcast end time” as past program information. ing. Among these, information such as “broadcast date”, “broadcast start time”, “broadcast end time”, etc. is different from the program information of the program to be broadcasted that the viewer wants to reserve. “Program name” and “Performer” are set as information. Then, when the receiving device detects a program including the same “program name” and “performer” information as the set reservation information from the EIT received within a predetermined period, it records the program. Execute. Thus, for example, even if a movie that has been rebroadcast repeatedly in BS digital broadcasting cannot be recorded when it is broadcast, it can be rebroadcast by reserving it using a past EPG. You can record automatically.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-319271 (paragraphs 0014-0025, FIG. 1) Technical document “Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Operation Regulations (ARIB TR-B14)”, The Japan Radio Industry Association, Volume 4, p.25-27

  However, the receiving device described in Patent Literature 1 uses “program name” and “performer name” as keys to associate a program that the viewer desires to reserve with a past EPG program. Therefore, it is not always possible to specify a related program such as a rebroadcast program intended by the broadcaster. For example, in the case of a receiving device described in Patent Document 1, when a word “re” is added to a program name of a rebroadcast program such as an educational program, a drama, or an animation program, the program name is set as a reserved reservation. It cannot be determined that the program name is the same as the information. Similarly, for example, when “first episode” or “every subtitle” is added to the program name of the serial drama, the program name is the same “program name” as the set reservation information. It cannot be determined. The receiving device described in Patent Document 1 generates EPG using program information distributed by broadcast waves, and acquires program information from another route such as the Internet by linking broadcasting and communication. Such operations cannot be handled.

  In addition, the program identifier operating method defined as a standard for digital broadcasting by Non-Patent Document 1 assumes that the EPG is updated after a certain period of time. The following problems occur when attempting to strictly associate with past EPG programs. In other words, in the operation method defined in Non-Patent Document 1, the same number is reused after a certain period of time as “event_id” that is used as an identifier of a program for the receiving apparatus to execute a reservation operation. It is also possible to use the same number on different channels. Therefore, the receiving apparatus cannot uniquely specify a program only with this “event_id”. That is, “event_id” cannot strictly associate a program that is desired to be reserved with a past EPG program.

  As information for generating an EPG including generation of a past EPG, transmission that can be recommended to viewers for viewing reservations or recording reservations of related programs previously associated with past programs by a broadcaster. If the data can be transmitted, a viewer who uses the receiving apparatus that receives the transmission data can reliably specify a related program such as a rebroadcast program intended by the broadcaster as a reservation target program. Therefore, there is a demand for a service that recommends viewers about viewing reservations or recording reservations of related programs previously associated with the original program by the broadcaster.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reliably reserving a related program associated with a predetermined program of digital broadcasting on the transmission side on the reception side. To do.

  The present invention was devised to achieve the above object. First, the program information creating apparatus according to claim 1 displays an electronic program guide by converting program information for each program of digital broadcasting. Display data to be transmitted and reservation data for performing viewing reservation or storage reservation are transmitted as transmission data to a program information receiving apparatus that generates each program, with respect to program information input as basic program information A program information creation device for creating program information for each program by adding predetermined program information, wherein the program information input means, first program information generation means, program information search means, and second program information And generating means.

  According to such a configuration, the program information creation apparatus inputs program information as basic program information by the program information input means. Then, the program information creation device has no program identifier for uniquely identifying the program and a related program associated with the program based on the input program information by the first program information generation means. And initial data is generated by generating and adding a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is used for the reservation operation in the program information receiving device, and the generated The initial data is stored in the program information storage means as program information for each program.

  Therefore, the program information creation apparatus generates and stores initial data for each program regardless of whether the program to be created is a related program. Therefore, the initial data created for each program can be used to generate an electronic program guide (EPG) including the program. The initial data has a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is assigned. Therefore, by using the reserved program identifier in the initial data for the viewing reservation operation or the storage reservation operation using the EPG, the initial data is strictly associated with the program as a reservation target in the reservation operation using the EPG. be able to. Here, the related program indicates, for example, a rebroadcast program of the original program.

  According to such a configuration, when the program information creating device creates the program information of the related program by the program information search unit, the program information storage unit stores initial data of the program that is the source of the related program. Search and extract from information stored in. Then, the program information creation device updates the extracted initial data with the program information input as the basic information of the related program by the second program information generation means, and based on the program indicated by the initial data Generating information indicating that there is an associated related program, and a reserved program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving device; By adding, update data in which the initial data is updated is generated, and the generated update data is stored in the program information storage unit as program information for each program.

  Therefore, when the program information of the related program based on the program for which the initial data has already been stored is input, the program information creation device can generate and store update data that updates the corresponding initial data. it can. Therefore, the update data created for each program can be used to generate an EPG including the program. Here, since the update data is generated based on the extracted initial data, the information for identifying what the update data is updated is the program identifier of the original program indicated by the initial data. . That is, the program identifier in the update data is the program identifier of the original program. The update data has a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program is assigned. Therefore, by using the reserved program identifier in the update data for the reservation operation using the EPG, the update data can strictly associate the original program and the related program in the reservation operation using the EPG.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information creating apparatus for displaying data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information for each program of digital broadcasting and for reservation for making a viewing reservation or a storage reservation. The program information for each program is created by adding predetermined program information to the program information input as the basic information of the program as transmission data to be transmitted to the program information receiving device that generates data for each program. The program information creating apparatus includes a program information input unit, a first program information generation unit, a program information search unit, and a second program information generation unit.

  According to such a configuration, the program information creation apparatus inputs program information as basic program information by the program information input means. When the program information creation device creates program information of a program that is not a related program associated with a predetermined program by the first program information generation means, the program information input as the basic information of the program A program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, information indicating that there is no related program associated with the program, and a program identifier for the program for use in a reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus. The transmission data is generated by adding and generating the original program identifier to which the same identifier is assigned, and the generated transmission data is stored in the program information storage means as program information for each program.

  Therefore, the program information creation device generates and accumulates transmission data for each program when the program to be created is not a related program. Therefore, transmission data created for each program can be used to generate an electronic program guide (EPG) including the program. The transmission data for each program has an original program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is assigned. Therefore, by using the original program identifier in the transmission data for each program for the viewing reservation operation or the storage reservation operation using the EPG, the transmission data is reserved in the reservation operation using the EPG. It can be strictly related as a target.

  Further, according to this configuration, the program information creation device, when creating program information of the related program by the program information search means, sends transmission data of the program that is the source of the related program to the program information storage means. Search and extract from information stored in. Then, the program information creation device updates the extracted transmission data with the program information input as the basic information of the related program by the second program information generation means, and updates the transmission data to the updated transmission data. A program identifier for uniquely identifying a related program; information indicating that there is a related program based on the program indicated by the extracted transmission data; and the original for use in a reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus The transmission information of the related program is generated by generating and adding an original program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is assigned, and the generated transmission data of the related program is set as program information for each program. Is stored in the program information storage means.

  Therefore, when the program to be created is a related program based on a program for which transmission data has already been accumulated, the program information creation apparatus updates the transmission data of the related program by updating the corresponding transmission data. Can be generated and stored. Therefore, the transmission data of the related program can be used to generate an EPG including the related program. Here, since the transmission data of the related program is generated based on the extracted transmission data, information identifying what the transmission data of the related program is related is indicated by the extracted transmission data. This is the program identifier of the original program to be played. That is, the program identifier in the transmission data of the related program is the program identifier of the original program. The transmission data of the related program has an original program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the original program is assigned. Therefore, the original program identifier in the transmission data of the related program can be used for updating the transmission data of the program that is the source of the related program on the side of performing the reservation operation using the EPG. Thereby, the updated transmission data of the original program can strictly associate the original program with the related program in the reservation operation using the EPG.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information transmitting apparatus including the program information creating apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a program information transmission control unit, and a transmission unit.

  According to such a configuration, the program information transmitting apparatus reads out the program information for each created program from the program information storage unit at a predetermined transmission timing by the program information transmission control unit. Then, the program information transmission device uses the transmission means to convert the read program information for each program, display data for displaying the electronic program guide by converting the program information for each program, viewing reservation or Reservation data for making an accumulation reservation is transmitted to a program information receiving apparatus that generates each program. Therefore, the program information for each program transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus can be used to generate an EPG including the program. Further, the program information for each program as transmission data can be used for strictly associating the original program with the related program in the reservation operation using the EPG in the program information receiving apparatus.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program information receiving apparatus for displaying and displaying display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information for each program including a program identifier for uniquely identifying a digital broadcast program. A program information receiving device for generating reservation data for performing reservation or storage reservation for each program, comprising program information receiving means, program information converting means, input information receiving means, EPG generation information extracting means, And reservation information generating means.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving device uses the program information receiving means to transmit transmission data related to a predetermined program and transmission data related to a related program associated with the predetermined program as program information for each program. Receive. Then, the program information receiving device converts the received transmission data for each program by the program information conversion means, corresponding to the display data and the display data used for generating an electronic program guide. Reservation data used to make viewing reservations or storage reservations for the program and related programs of the program are generated together with the program identifier, and are sequentially stored in the program information storage means. Therefore, the program information receiving apparatus uses display data for communication with the user (viewer) via the electronic program guide (EPG), and makes a viewing reservation or a storage reservation for the program and its related programs. For this purpose, reservation data can be used. Here, since the display data and the reservation data include a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, the reservation operation of the program is surely performed according to the input of the program desired by the viewer via the EPG. It becomes possible.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving apparatus accepts input of information indicating a program designated by the user by the input information receiving unit, and the stored display data is displayed by the EPG generation information extracting unit. The display data for the program specified by the user is extracted as EPG generation information for generating an electronic program guide. Therefore, the program information receiving apparatus can present a desired EPG to the user when the user requests display of the EPG.

  Further, according to this configuration, the program information receiving apparatus reserves the related program designated by the user based on the electronic program guide generated from the extracted EPG generation information by the reservation information generating unit. Data is extracted from the stored reservation data, and reservation control information for executing viewing reservation or storage reservation is generated based on the extracted reservation data. Therefore, the program information receiving apparatus extracts the reservation data for the related program by using the display data for the related program as a key when the user requests the reservation or viewing reservation of the related program via the EPG. Then, the extracted reservation data can be generated as reservation control information.

  The program information receiving device according to claim 5 is the program information receiving device according to claim 4, wherein the program information converting means includes a data type determining means, a program information item duplicating means, and a data identifier generating means. And a display data storage unit, a reservation data storage unit, a reservation data search unit, a reservation data replication unit, and a reservation data appending unit.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving device uses the data type determination unit to determine the received data based on the information indicating the presence or absence of the related program included in the transmission data received for each program by the program information receiving unit. Determine the type. The program information receiving device is included in the transmission data when the information indicating the presence or absence of the related program included in the transmission data received for each program indicates that there is no related program by the program information item duplicating means. Duplicate program information related to a predetermined item. Here, the program information receiving device creates two types of copies of the received program information so as to correspond to the display data and the reservation data by the program information item duplicating means. In the case of corresponding to the display data, the program information regarding the predetermined item is information presented to the user, and indicates, for example, a program name, a program start time, a program end time, and the like. In the case of corresponding to the reservation data, the program information related to the predetermined item is information used for reservation, and for example, a program identifier is essential. Then, the program information receiving device generates a data identifier of the display data and a data identifier of the reservation data for the transmission data in which the program information related to the predetermined item is duplicated by the data identifier generation means. The program information receiving apparatus converts the transmission data by associating the program information relating to the duplicated predetermined item with the data identifier generated corresponding to the display data by the display data storage means. The display data is generated, and the generated display data is stored in the program information storage means. The program information receiving apparatus converts the transmission data by associating the program information relating to the duplicated predetermined item with the data identifier generated corresponding to the reservation data by the reservation data storage unit. The reservation data is generated, and the generated reservation data is stored in the program information storage means.

  Also, according to this configuration, the program information receiving apparatus, when the reservation data search means includes information indicating that the related program exists, in the transmission data, the program information receiving device displays the original program included in the transmission data. Based on the information shown, reservation data for the original program is retrieved and extracted from the information stored in the program information storage means. Then, the program information receiving apparatus duplicates the extracted reservation data for the original program extracted by the reservation data duplicating means. Then, the program information receiving device stores the reservation data for the related program stored in the program information storage unit based on the information indicating the related program included in the transmission data by the reservation data additional unit. Then, the copied reservation data is added to the reservation data extracted for the related program. Therefore, when the received transmission data indicates that there is a related program, the program information receiving apparatus generates reservation data including the received program information and the program information already accumulated. That is, the program information receiving apparatus generates reservation data including program information of the original program and program information of related programs previously associated on the transmission side. As a result, a related program associated with a predetermined program on the transmission side can be reliably reserved on the reception side.

  The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 6 is the program information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the EPG generation information extracting means includes display data duplicating means and EPG generation information notifying means. It was.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving apparatus searches and extracts the display data for the program designated by the user from the information stored in the program information storage means by the display data copying means. The extracted display data is duplicated. Then, the program information receiving apparatus notifies the EPG generation means for generating an electronic program guide by using the EPG generation information notification means as the copied display data as the EPG generation information. Therefore, since the program information receiving apparatus generates an electronic program guide (EPG) based on the accumulated display data, the past EPG can be presented to the user.

  The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 7 is the program information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reservation information generating means includes display data search means, reservation data search means, and reservation data. A duplicating unit and a reservation control information storing unit are provided.

  According to such a configuration, in the program information receiving device, display data for the program designated by the user for viewing reservation or storage reservation is stored in the program information storage unit by the display data search unit. Search and extract from the collected information. Then, the program information receiving device searches and extracts the reservation data corresponding to the extracted display data from the information stored in the program information storage means by the reservation data search means. Then, the program information receiving device selects the reservation data for the program designated by the user from the extracted reservation data by the reservation data duplicating means and duplicates the reservation data. Control information is generated, and the generated reservation control information is stored in the reservation control information storage unit by the reservation control information storage unit. Therefore, the program information receiving apparatus uses the reservation data stored in advance for the program selected for reservation from the past EPG by the user as control information that enables the reservation operation. Can do.

  The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 8 is the program information receiving apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a control execution determining means, a display request notifying means, and an accumulation request notifying means.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving device is controlled by the control execution determination unit based on the program start time, the program end time, and the current time described in the reservation control information stored in the reservation control information storage unit. It is determined whether or not it is the timing for controlling viewing reservation or storage reservation. Then, the program information receiving apparatus transmits the program to the display control unit that controls the display of the program on the display unit when it is determined by the display request notification unit that it is the timing to control the viewing reservation. An instruction for requesting display is notified, and when the storage request notification means determines that it is time to control the storage reservation, the storage control means for controlling the storage of the program in the program storage means A command for requesting accumulation of programs is notified. Therefore, the program information receiving apparatus can reliably perform the reservation operation for the related program selected for reservation from the past EPG in which the original program is described by the user.

  The program information creation program according to claim 9 is a display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information for each program of digital broadcasting, and a reservation data for making a viewing reservation or a storage reservation. In order to create program information for each program as transmission data to be transmitted to a program information receiving device that generates data, the computer is used as first program information generation means, program information search means, and second program information generation means. I decided to make it function.

  According to such a configuration, the program information creation program includes a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program with respect to the input program information input for the transmission data of the program to be created by the first program information generation unit. Generating information indicating that there is no related program based on the program and a reserved program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier of the program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus. To generate initial data, and the generated initial data is stored in program information storage means as program information for each program. The program information creation program stores initial data of the program that is the source of the related program in the program information storage means when the program to be created is the related program by the program information search means. Search and extract from the collected information. The program information creation program updates the extracted initial data with the input program information input for the transmission data of the related program by the second program information generation means, and also displays the program indicated by the initial data. Information indicating that there is a related program associated as a source, and a reserved program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving device Then, update data in which the initial data is updated is generated, and the generated update data is stored in the program information storage unit as program information for each program.

  The program information creation program according to claim 10 is a display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information for each digital broadcast program and a reservation for making a viewing reservation or a storage reservation. In order to create program information for each program as transmission data to be transmitted to a program information receiving device that generates data, the computer is used as first program information generation means, program information search means, and second program information generation means. I decided to make it function.

  According to this configuration, the program information creation program transmits the program to be created when the program to be created is not a related program associated with a predetermined program based on the first program information generation unit. For the input program information input for data, a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, information indicating that there is no related program based on the program, and a reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus The transmission data is generated by generating and adding an original program identifier having the same identifier as the program identifier of the program to be used for the program, and the generated transmission data is used as program information for each program. Save in the information storage means. The program information creation program stores transmission data of a program that is a source of the related program in the program information storage unit when the program to be created is the related program by the program information search unit. Search and extract from the collected information. The program information creation program updates the extracted transmission data with the input program information input for the transmission data of the related program by the second program information generation means, and also updates the updated transmission data. A program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program; information indicating that there is a related program based on the program indicated by the extracted transmission data; and for use in a reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus. The transmission data of the related program is generated by generating and adding an original program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the original program is assigned, and the transmission data of the generated related program is generated for each program. The program information is stored in the program information storage means.

  Further, the program information receiving program according to claim 11 converts display program information for each program including a program identifier that uniquely identifies a digital broadcast program, display data for displaying an electronic program guide, and viewing. In order to generate reservation data for making a reservation or accumulation reservation, the computer functions as program information receiving means, program information converting means, input information receiving means, EPG generation information extracting means, and reservation information generating means. It was.

  According to such a configuration, the program information receiving program causes the program information receiving means to transmit transmission data related to a predetermined program and transmission data related to a related program associated with the predetermined program as program information for each program. Receive. Then, the program information receiving program converts the received transmission data for each program by the program information conversion means, corresponding to the display data and the display data used for generating an electronic program guide. Reservation data used to make viewing reservations or storage reservations for the program and related programs of the program are generated together with the program identifier, and are sequentially stored in the program information storage means. The program information receiving program receives input of information designated by the user by the input information receiving means. Then, the program information receiving program uses the EPG generation information extracting means to generate display program data for the program designated by the user from the stored display data by using an EPG for generating an electronic program guide. Extract as generation information. The program information receiving program stores the reservation data for the related program designated by the user based on the electronic program guide generated from the extracted EPG generation information by the reservation information generation means. Reservation control information for executing viewing reservation or storage reservation is generated based on the extracted reservation data and based on the extracted reservation data.

  According to the first or ninth aspect of the invention, the initial data is created for each program, and when the initial data for the related program is created, the initial data of the original program is updated to update data. Can be generated. Accordingly, the created initial data and update data can be used to generate an EPG including the program. Further, by using the reserved program identifiers in the initial data and the update data for the reservation operation using the EPG, the initial data and the update data can be used to strictly identify the original program and the related program in the reservation operation using the EPG. Can be associated.

  According to the second or tenth aspect of the present invention, the transmission data of the program that is not the related program is created, and the transmission data of the related program is created by updating the transmission data of the original program. Therefore, the created transmission data can be used to generate an EPG including the program. Furthermore, by using the original program identifier in the created transmission data for the reservation operation using the EPG, this transmission data can be strictly associated with the program as a reservation target in the reservation operation using the EPG. .

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the program information for each program transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus can be used to generate an EPG including the program. The program information for each program can be used for strictly associating the original program with the related program in the reservation operation using the EPG in the program information receiving apparatus.

  According to the invention described in claim 4 or claim 11, since the display data and the reservation data to be generated include the program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, the program desired by the viewer via the EPG It becomes possible to reliably perform the reservation operation of the program in response to the input of. Further, since the EPG of the original program can be presented to the user, the user can surely reserve the viewing and storage of the related program previously associated with the original program on the transmission side with reference to the EPG of the original program.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the received transmission data indicates that there is a related program, the program information receiving apparatus associates the program information of the original program with the related program previously associated with the transmission side. Reservation data including the program information is generated. As a result, a related program associated with a predetermined program on the transmission side can be reliably reserved on the reception side.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the program information receiving apparatus generates an EPG based on the accumulated display data, so that the past EPG can be presented to the user.
According to the invention described in claim 7, the program information receiving apparatus performs a reservation operation on reservation data stored in advance for the program selected for reservation from the past EPG by the user. It can be used as control information to enable.
According to the invention described in claim 8, the program information receiving apparatus can reliably perform the reservation operation for the related program selected for reservation from the past EPG in which the original program is described by the user. it can.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment and a best mode (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) for implementing a program information creation device, a program information transmission device, and a program information reception device according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. A detailed description will be given separately for the second embodiment. First, an outline of the program information transmitting apparatus and the program information receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be described, and then the program information transmitting apparatus and the program information receiving apparatus will be described separately in detail.

[Outline of Program Information Transmitting Device and Program Information Receiving Device]
Data (transmission data) transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus, that is, data received by the program information receiving apparatus is composed of program information for each program. Program information for each program is a set of information of a plurality of items, and information indicating whether there is a related program associated with a predetermined program of digital broadcasting and a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program are used as program information. Contains.
In the following, the original predetermined program will be described as a program that is normally broadcast only once (main broadcast program), and the related program will be described as a program that is broadcast again (rebroadcast program). And

<Display screen of program information receiver>
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the program information receiving apparatus according to the present invention, where (a) shows an EPG display screen and (b) shows a reserved program selection screen. FIG. 1A shows an EPG related to a past program (simply referred to as a past EPG). The current date (12/1) is displayed at the top of the EPG display screen as indicated by reference numeral 11. Also, the date of the previous day (11/30) is displayed at the left end of the EPG display screen as indicated by reference numeral 12. When a user (viewer) selects a program (program X) indicated by reference numeral 13 in FIG. 1A, a reserved program selection screen shown in FIG. 1B is displayed. The reserved program selection screen shows a screen for making a reservation for the program selected by the viewer.

  In the past program (original program “program X”) indicated by reference numeral 14 in FIG. 1B, as shown by reference numeral 15, rebroadcasting is scheduled as of 12/1. When the viewer makes an accumulation reservation (recording reservation) for re-broadcasting of “program X”, a button indicated by reference numeral 16 is selected. In addition, when the viewer makes a viewing reservation for rebroadcasting of “program X”, a button indicated by reference numeral 17 is selected. When “program X” is stored in the server, the program information receiving apparatus downloads the file data of “program X” from the corresponding server when the viewer selects the button indicated by reference numeral 18. Or can be presented so that the viewer can view it. Similarly, when the viewer selects a button indicated by reference numeral 19, the viewer can view “program X” transmitted from the corresponding server by video on demand (VOD).

<Data format of program information transmitting apparatus>
In order to display the screen shown in FIG. 1 in the program information receiving apparatus, a format of transmission data of program information transmitted from the program information transmitting apparatus is shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data format of transmission data transmitted from the program information transmitting apparatus according to the present invention. The assumptions in this example are summarized below. “Program X” is a program that was broadcast as a main broadcast program in the past (11/30). “Program Y” is a rebroadcast program of “Program X” and is a rebroadcast program in the future (12/3). Not all programs are rebroadcast, and information about when to rebroadcast is undecided. The program information transmitting apparatus transmits data eight days before the broadcast so that reservation can be made from one week before in the EPG. The program information transmitting apparatus transmits two types of data as transmission data. One is initial data, which is transmitted for all programs. The other is update data, which is transmitted when a program having initial data is rebroadcast.

  In FIG. 2, data indicated by reference numeral 21 is initial data of “program X”, and data indicated by reference numeral 22 is initial data of “program Y”. Data indicated by reference numeral 23 is update data of “program X”. In this example, each transmission data has six types of program information. That is, the transmission data includes (1) program identifier, (2) information on presence / absence of rebroadcast, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time (program start time), (5) broadcast end time (program end Six times of information (time) and (6) reserved program identifier are described. Here, (1) program identifier indicates an identifier that can uniquely identify a program. Thus, it is possible to indicate which program data the transmission data is without depending on information such as time and channel. In addition, (2) For information on the presence / absence of rebroadcast, for example, “Version: 0 (Version = 0)” indicates that there is no rebroadcast, and for example, “Version: 1 (Version = 1) indicates that there is rebroadcast. ". Further, (6) reserved program identifier indicates an identifier of a reserved program. Thereby, it is possible to indicate which program is a program to be reserved on the receiving side. When the related program is not limited to the rebroadcast program, the information (2) is information indicating the presence or absence of the related program. When each program is not limited to a program broadcast on a broadcast wave, for example, the program scale can be indicated by combining information (4) and information (5).

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the program information transmitting apparatus transmits initial data 21 of program X to 11/22 for “program X (main broadcast)” of 11/30. In addition, for 12/3 “program Y (rebroadcast)”, initial data 22 of program Y and update data 23 of program X are transmitted on 11/25. Here, in the update data 23 of the program X, (1) The program identifier is the same as the program identifier of the program X. Note that the program identifier of the program X is given when the initial data 21 of the program X is generated. Further, in the update data 23 of the program X, (6) the reserved program identifier is the same as the program identifier of the program Y (rebroadcast program). Note that the program identifier of the program Y is given when the initial data 22 of the program Y is generated.

<Data format generated by the program information receiving device>
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data format of data generated by the program information receiving apparatus according to the present invention. The premise in this example is the same as the premise described with reference to FIG. The program information receiving device generates two types of data based on data (initial data or update data) received from the program information transmitting device. One is display data used for displaying an EPG or an operation for selecting a program in the EPG by the user. For example, the display data is used for the screen display shown in FIG. The other is reservation data used to execute a reserved program viewing event or reservation event.

  In FIG. 3, data indicated by reference numeral 31 is display data for program X, and data indicated by reference numeral 32 is reservation data for program X. Similarly, data indicated by reference numeral 33 is display data for program Y, and data indicated by reference numeral 35 is reservation data for program Y. The reservation data for program X indicated by reference numeral 34 is obtained by updating the reservation data indicated by reference numeral 32. That is, the reservation data indicated by the reference numeral 32 does not exist in 11/25.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the reservation data includes five types of program information as indicated by reference numerals 32 and 35. That is, (0) data identifier and four pieces of information as (1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, and (5) broadcast end time as the same information as the transmission data shown in FIG. Is described. However, when the reservation data is updated, as indicated by reference numeral 34, the data 34b is added to the pre-update data 34a composed of five types of program information. The data 34a is the same as the reservation data 32 for the program X. The data 34b is the same as that obtained by excluding the information of the (0) data identifier from the reservation data 35 of the program Y. On the other hand, the display data has four types of program information as indicated by reference numerals 31 and 33. That is, (0) data identifier and (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, and (5) broadcast end time are described as the same information as the transmission data shown in FIG.

  Next, the configuration and operation of each apparatus in the order of the program information transmitting apparatus of the first embodiment, the program information receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, the program information transmitting apparatus of the second embodiment, and the program information receiving apparatus of the second embodiment. Will be described in detail.

(First embodiment)
[Program information transmitter]
First, the program information transmitting apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the program information transmitting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The program information transmitting apparatus 100 creates program information for each program as transmission data by adding predetermined program information to the program information input as basic program information, and receives the generated program information as program information. It is transmitted to the apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7). The program information transmitting apparatus 100 manages the program identifier of each program and the relationship between the main broadcast program and the rebroadcast program, generates the transmission data shown in FIG. 2 based on the program identifier, and broadcasts or communicates the program information. Send.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 includes a program information creating apparatus 110, a video encoding unit 120, an audio encoding unit 130, a program information transmission control unit 140, a multiplexing unit 150, A broadcast transmission unit 160 and a communication input / output unit 170 are provided.

The program information creation device 110 creates program information for each program, and includes a program information input / display unit 111, a program information processing unit 112, and a program information storage unit 113.
The program information input / display unit 111 serves as an interface between the program information transmitting apparatus 100 and a program information input person, and inputs program information or displays input information.
The program information processing unit 112 processes the program information input from the program information input / display unit 111, adds predetermined information, creates program information for each program as transmission data, and stores it in the program information storage unit For example, it is composed of a CPU and a memory.
The program information storage unit (program information storage unit) 113 stores transmission data created by the program information processing unit 112, and includes, for example, a general memory or a hard disk.

A detailed configuration of the program information creation apparatus 110 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the program information input / display unit 111 includes program information input means 114 and program information display means 115.
The program information input means 114 is for inputting program information as basic program information, and is composed of, for example, a mouse or a keyboard. The basic information of the program indicates, for example, a program name, a program start time, a program end time, and the like.
The program information display means 115 displays program information of a program to be created, and is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the program information processing unit 112 includes a program determination unit 116, a first program information generation unit 117, a program information search unit 118, and a second program information generation unit 119. The program discriminating means 116 discriminates whether or not the program information of the rebroadcast program (related program) is to be created. In the present embodiment, the program discriminating means 116 is input when it is determined that the program information of the main broadcast program (original program) is to be created based on the information input from the program information input means 114. The basic information of the program is output to the first program information generating means 117. Further, when it is determined that the program information of the rebroadcast program (related program) is to be created, the program determination unit 116 outputs the basic information of the input program to the program information search unit 118.

  The first program information generation means 117 receives a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, information indicating that there is no related program associated with the program, and program information reception. In the apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7), initial data is generated by generating and adding a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is assigned for use in the reservation operation. The program information is stored in the program information storage unit 113 as program information for each program.

  When creating program information of a rebroadcast program (related program), the program information search unit 118 sets initial data of a program (main broadcast program) as a source of the rebroadcast program (related program) as program information storage unit 113. It is searched and extracted from information stored in. In the present embodiment, the program information search unit 118 outputs the initial data of the main broadcast program extracted when the program determination unit 116 determines that the rebroadcast program is input to the second program information generation unit 119. .

  The second program information generation means 119 updates the initial data extracted by the program information search means 118 with the program information input as the basic information of the rebroadcast program (related program), and the program ( Information indicating that there is a rebroadcast program (related program) associated with the main broadcast program) and the rebroadcast program (related program) for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7). By generating and adding a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as a uniquely identified program identifier is added, update data in which the initial data is updated is generated, and the generated update data is used as program information for each program The program information is stored in the program information storage unit 113.

  The program information creation apparatus 110 can be realized by operating a general computer with a program that functions as each of the above-described units. This program (program information creation program) can be distributed via a communication line, or can be written on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM for distribution.

Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the configuration of the program information transmitting apparatus 100 will be continued.
The video encoding unit 120 digitizes an input video (video signal) and generates a video stream. The video encoding process is, for example, H.264. It is performed by H.264 / AVC encoding.
The audio encoding unit 130 digitizes input audio (audio signal) to generate an audio stream. The audio encoding process is performed by, for example, MPEG-2 AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) encoding.

  The program information transmission control unit (program information transmission control means) 140 reads program information for each program created by the program information creation device 110 from the program information storage unit 113 at a predetermined transmission timing. For example, the program information transmission control unit 140 reads transmission data (program information for each program) eight days before the broadcast date of the target program. In the present embodiment, the program information transmission control unit 140 outputs the read transmission data to the multiplexing unit 150. The program information transmission control unit 140 can also output the read transmission data to the communication input / output unit 170.

  The multiplexing unit 150 multiplexes the transmission data (program information for each program) read by the program information transmission control unit 140 together with the encoded video / audio. In the present embodiment, the multiplexing unit 150 multiplexes the respective packets, generates MPEG-2 TS (TS) using MPEG-2 Systems, and outputs the MPEG-2 TS (TS) to the broadcast transmission unit 160.

  The broadcast transmission unit 160 transmits the transmission data (program information for each program) read by the program information transmission control unit 140 to the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7). In the present embodiment, the broadcast transmission unit 160 transmits transmission data (program information for each program) multiplexed together with video and audio to the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7). When the multiplexing unit 150 does not multiplex transmission data (program information for each program) with video and audio, the broadcast transmission unit 160 transmits the video and audio to the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7).

  When the multiplexing unit 150 does not multiplex transmission data (program information for each program) with video / audio, the communication input / output unit 170 transmits the transmission data (program for each program) read by the program information transmission control unit 140. Information) is transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7). The communication input / output unit 170 can use HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) as a transmission method. Further, in a case where not only transmission data (program information for each program) but also a program (video / audio) is transmitted from the communication input / output unit 170, (6) reservation in the transmission data shown in FIG. As a program identifier, a link such as a URL for acquiring a program is described. Thereby, it is possible to cope with program download and video on demand. In the case where only transmission data (program information for each program) is transmitted from the communication input / output unit 170, in the transmission data shown in FIG. 2, (6) a normal program identifier is used as a reserved program identifier. A link such as a URL of a program acquisition destination may be described.

  The program information transmitting apparatus 100 can be realized by operating a general computer with a program that functions as each of the above-described means. This program (program information transmission program) can be distributed via a communication line, or can be written on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM for distribution.

[Operation of Program Information Transmitter]
Next, the operation of the program information transmitting apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 (refer to FIGS. 4 and 5 as appropriate). FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the program information transmitting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the program information transmitting apparatus 100, the program information processing unit 112 requests the program information input person to input program information (step S1). For example, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 displays guidance such as “Rebroadcast program information input? Yes, No” on the program information display means 115. In response to this, the program information input person uses the program information input means 114 to select “Yes” or “No”.

  Then, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 determines whether or not it is the input of rebroadcast program information by the program determining means 116 of the program information processing unit 112 (step S2). When the program information is input for the main broadcast (step S2: No), the program information transmitting apparatus 100 requests the program information processing unit 112 to input the program information (program name, broadcast time) of the main broadcast (step S2). S3). For example, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 displays, as program information item information, an input form (input field) in which (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, and (5) broadcast end time can be input. 115. In response, the program information input person uses the program information input means 114 to input program information for each item.

  Then, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 uses the first program information generating unit 117 of the program information processing unit 112 to input “(1) program identifier, (2) information on presence / absence of rebroadcast, (6) reservation”. "Program identifier" is added and stored in the program information storage unit 113 as initial data of the main broadcast (step S4). Thereby, the initial data (program information for each program) in the format shown in FIG. 2 can be transmitted.

  On the other hand, when it is input of re-broadcast program information in step S2 (step S2: Yes), the program information transmitting apparatus 100 uses the program information processing unit 112 to search for program information of the main broadcast (original broadcast). An input of an expression is requested (step S5). For example, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 displays an input form (input field) in which a program name and a program identifier can be input on the program information display means 115 as a search formula for program information. In response to this, the program information input person uses the program information input means 114 to input a search formula for program information of the main broadcast (original broadcast).

  Then, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 extracts the initial data of the corresponding program from the program information storage unit 113 by the program information search unit 118 of the program information processing unit 112 and displays it on the program information display unit 115 (step S6). . For example, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 displays the extracted initial data of the main broadcast as confirmation data on the left side of the screen of the program information display unit 115. Then, the program information transmission apparatus 100 requests the program information processing unit 112 to additionally input re-broadcast program information (program name, broadcast time) to the program information of the main broadcast (original broadcast) (step S7). . For example, in the program information transmitting apparatus 100, on the right side of the screen of the program information display means 115, items (1) to (6) are blank as rebroadcast program information, and (3) a program name and (4) An input form (input field) in which broadcast start time and (5) broadcast end time can be input is displayed. In response to this, the program information input person uses the program information input means 114 to input information of each item of (3) to (5) as rebroadcast program information.

  Then, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 uses the first program information generation unit 117 to input “(1) program identifier, (2) replay” to the rebroadcast program information (for example, information input on the right side of the screen). Each item information of (1) to (6) to which “6. Information on presence / absence of broadcast, (6) reserved program identifier” is added is stored in the program information storage unit 113 as initial data of rebroadcast (step S8). In addition, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 copies the extracted initial data of the main broadcast (for example, information displayed on the left side of the screen) to the memory by the second program information generation unit 119 and inputs the re-broadcast information ( For example, (2) Information on presence / absence of rebroadcast, (3) Program name, (4) Broadcast start time, (5) Broadcast end time, (6) Reserved program identifier "Is updated in the memory and stored in the program information storage unit 113 as update data of the main broadcast (step S9). Thereby, the update data (program information for each program) in the format shown in FIG. 2 can be transmitted. In addition, the execution order of the process of step S8 and step S9 is arbitrary, and may be executed in parallel.

  Then, the program information transmission apparatus 100 causes the program information transmission control unit 140 to copy the corresponding transmission data from the program information storage unit 113 according to the transmission schedule (step S10). Then, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 multiplexes transmission data with video / audio by the multiplexing unit 150, and transmits the multiplexed transmission data to the program information receiving apparatus 200 (see FIG. 7) by the broadcast transmission unit 160. (Step S11a). Here, the program information transmitting apparatus 100 does not multiplex the transmission data with the video / audio, transmits the video / audio by the broadcast transmission unit 160, and transmits only the transmission data by the communication input / output unit 170. It is also possible (step S11b).

  According to the program information transmitting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the initial data of the main broadcast program is generated when the initial data created for each program having the program identifier or the reserved program identifier and the initial data for the rebroadcast program are created. The update data created by updating the data can be transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus 200. Therefore, by using the reserved program identifier in the initial data and update data in the program information receiving apparatus 200 on the receiving side for the reservation operation using the EPG, a rebroadcast program can be generated from the main broadcast program as intended by the broadcaster. Can be specified. Furthermore, by using the program identifiers in the initial data and the update data in the program information receiving apparatus 200 on the receiving side, it is possible to specify programs not only in the same channel but also in other channels.

[Program information receiving device]
Next, the configuration of the program information receiving apparatus that receives the stream (TS) transmitted from the program information transmitting apparatus 100 (see FIG. 4) shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the program information receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The program information receiving apparatus 200 receives program information for each program from the program information transmitting apparatus 100, and performs display reservation and storage reservation for displaying EPG by converting the received program information. The reservation data to be used is generated for each program.
Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the program information receiving apparatus 200 includes a broadcast receiving unit 201, a separation unit 202, a program information processing unit 203, a communication input / output unit 204, a program information storage unit 205, an input Unit 206, input control unit 207, EPG generation unit 208, composition unit 209, display control unit 210, display unit 211, clock 212, reservation control information storage unit 213, storage control unit 214, A program storage unit 215 and a stored program playback unit 216 are provided.

The broadcast receiving unit 201 receives a broadcast wave (MPEG-2 TS (TS)) from the program information transmitting apparatus 100 and outputs it to the separating unit 202.
The separation unit 202 performs filtering from the received MPEG-2 TS (TS) using its PID (Packet Identification) value, and separates it into a video / audio stream and program information (initial data or update data). . Note that the separation unit 202 decodes the video / audio stream separated from the TS and outputs the decoded video / audio stream to the synthesis unit 209. For example, H.M. It includes a general decoder in H.264 / AVC and a general decoder in MPEG-2 AAC.

The program information processing unit 203 converts the program information (initial data or update data) separated by the separation unit 202 into two types of data, display data and reservation data, and accumulates them in the program information accumulation unit 205 It is. In the present embodiment, the initial data and update data illustrated in FIG. 2 are converted into display data and reservation data illustrated in FIG.
The communication input / output unit 204 receives program information when program information (initial data or update data) is transmitted from the program information transmitting apparatus 100 by communication. In this case, the communication input / output unit 204 outputs the received program information to the program information processing unit 203. The program information processing unit 203 converts the program information received by the communication input / output unit 204.

The program information storage unit (program information storage unit) 205 stores display data and reservation data converted by the program information processing unit 203, and is configured by a general memory or hard disk, for example.
The input unit 206 includes a general input interface. In the present embodiment, the input unit 206 receives a control signal from a remote control device (remote control) (not shown) operated by the user and outputs the control signal to the input control unit 207.

  The input control unit 207 notifies the acquired information to the program information processing unit 203, the display control unit 210, or the accumulation control unit 214 in accordance with the information acquired from the input unit 206. For example, when the input control unit 207 acquires information indicating that a predetermined program in the displayed EPG is selected, the input control unit 207 outputs the acquired information to the program information processing unit 203 and the display control unit 210. In addition, when the input control unit 207 acquires information indicating a command for reserving, reproducing, or storing a predetermined program, the input control unit 207 outputs the acquired information to the storage control unit 214.

An EPG generation unit (EPG generation means) 208 generates an EPG based on the program information of each program acquired from the program information processing unit 203. The EPG generation unit 208 outputs the generated EPG to the synthesis unit 209.
The synthesizing unit 209 synthesizes the EPG generated by the EPG generating unit 208 and the video / audio separated by the separating unit 202 and outputs them to the display control unit 210. The synthesizing unit 209 synthesizes the reproduction program and outputs it to the display control unit 210.
The display control unit (display control means) 210 controls the display of the program on the display unit 211. The display control unit 210 displays a predetermined video on the display unit 211 based on information notified from the program information processing unit 203, the input control unit 207, the synthesis unit 209, or the reservation control information storage unit 213.

The display unit (display unit) 211 includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display and a speaker.
The clock 212 measures the current time and outputs it to the program information processing unit 203.
The reservation control information storage unit (reservation control information storage unit) 213 stores the reservation control information generated by the program information processing unit 203, and is composed of, for example, a general memory or a hard disk.

The accumulation control unit (accumulation control means) 214 controls the accumulation of programs in the program accumulation unit 215. The accumulation control unit 214 performs video based on information notified from the separation unit 202, the program information processing unit 203, the communication input / output unit 204 or the input control unit 207, and information acquired by referring to the reservation control information accumulation unit 213. Accumulate audio (program) in the program storage unit 215.
The program storage unit (program storage means) 215 stores video / audio (program), and is composed of, for example, a general hard disk.
The stored program playback unit 216 plays back the video / audio (program) read from the program storage unit 215 by the storage control unit 214 and outputs it to the synthesis unit 209.

<Program information processing department>
Next, a detailed configuration of the program information processing unit 203 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the program information processing unit of the program information receiving apparatus shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the program information processing unit 203 includes a program information receiving unit 310, an input information receiving unit 320, a program information converting unit 330, an EPG generation information extracting unit 340, a reservation information generating unit 350, Reservation event processing means 360.

The program information receiving means 310 receives transmission data relating to the main broadcast program and transmission data relating to the rebroadcast program (related program) as program information for each program.
The input information receiving means 320 accepts input of information indicating a program designated by the user (viewer). The input information receiving unit 320 accepts various commands as information specified by the viewer, for example.

  The program information converting means 330 converts the transmission data received by the program information receiving means 310 for each program, display data used for generating an EPG, the program and the program corresponding to the display data Reservation data used to make viewing reservations or storage reservations for the rebroadcast program (related program), including a program identifier for each, and sequentially storing them in the program information storage unit 205 . As shown in FIG. 8, the program information conversion unit 330 includes a data type determination unit 331, a program information item duplication unit 332, a data identifier generation unit 333, a display data storage unit 334, and a reservation data storage unit. 335, reservation data search means 336, reservation data replication means 337, and reservation data appending means 338.

  The data type discriminating unit 331 discriminates the type of received data based on information indicating the presence / absence of rebroadcast included in the transmission data received for each program by the program information receiving unit 310. Specifically, the data type determination unit 331 determines whether or not “Version = 0” is indicated in the item of (2) presence / absence of rebroadcast of the program information received for each program. In this embodiment, the data type determination unit 331 determines that the received data is “initial data” when “Version = 0”, and that the received data is “update data” when “Version = 1”. To do.

  The program information item duplicating unit 332 duplicates program information related to a predetermined item included in the transmission data when the transmission data received for each program by the program information receiving unit 310 includes information indicating that there is no rebroadcast. It is. In this embodiment, the program information item duplicating unit 332 duplicates each item of “(3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time” from the received program information.

  The data identifier generation unit 333 generates a data identifier for display data and a data identifier for reservation data for transmission data in which program information related to a predetermined item is copied by the program information item duplication unit 332. In the present embodiment, if the received program information “(1) program identifier” is “0001”, the data identifier generation unit 333 generates “0001S” as the data identifier of the display data, and reserve data “0001R” is generated as the data identifier.

  The display data storage unit 334 receives the program information related to the predetermined item duplicated by the program information item duplication unit 332 with the data identifier generated corresponding to the display data and received by the program information reception unit 310. The transmission data is converted to generate display data, and the generated display data is stored in the program information storage unit 205. In the present embodiment, the display data storage unit 334 associates “(3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time” with the data identifier.

  The reservation data storage means 335 receives the program information received by the program information receiving means 310 by associating the program information relating to the predetermined item duplicated by the program information item duplicating means 332 with the data identifier generated corresponding to the reservation data. The transmission data is converted to generate reservation data, and the generated reservation data is stored in the program information storage unit 205. In the present embodiment, the reservation data storage unit 335 associates “(1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time” with the data identifier. In this embodiment, the reservation data storage unit 335 updates and stores the reservation data in accordance with an instruction from the reservation data appending unit 338.

  When the transmission data received by the program information receiving unit 310 includes information indicating that there is a rebroadcast, the reservation data search unit 336 reserves the main broadcast program (original program) included in the transmission data. Data is retrieved from information stored in the program information storage unit 205 and extracted. In this embodiment, the program information storage unit 205 is searched for reservation data having the same (0) data identifier as “(1) program identifier” of the received program information. For example, if “(1) program identifier” of the received program information is “0001”, reservation data having “0001” as a (0) data identifier is searched. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the reservation data search unit 336 is shared by the reservation information generation unit 350, and corresponds to display data when instructed by the display data search unit 351. It also has a function of searching for the reserved data.

  The reservation data duplicating means 337 duplicates reservation data for the main broadcast program (original program) extracted by the reservation data searching means 336. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the reservation data duplicating unit 337 is shared by the reservation information generating unit 350 and has a function of duplicating the selected reservation data and generating reservation control information. is doing.

  The reservation data appending means 338 generates reservation data for the rebroadcast program (related program) based on information indicating the rebroadcast program (related program) included in the transmission data received by the program information receiving means 310. The reservation data copied by the reservation data copying means 337 is added to the reservation data extracted from the information stored in the information storage unit 205 by searching and extracting from the rebroadcast program (related program). is there. In this embodiment, the reservation data adding unit 338 instructs the reservation data storage unit 335 to update and store the accumulated reservation data when the reservation data is added.

The EPG generation information extraction means 340 extracts display data for a program designated by the user from the display data stored in the program information storage unit 205 as EPG generation information for generating an EPG. Is. As shown in FIG. 8, the EPG generation information extraction unit 340 includes a display data replication unit 341 and an EPG generation information notification unit 342.
The display data duplicating unit 341 retrieves and extracts display data for a program designated as input information from information stored in the program information storage unit 205, and duplicates the extracted display data. It is.
The EPG generation information notifying unit 342 notifies the EPG generation unit 208 of the display data copied by the display data copying unit 341 as EPG generation information.

  Reservation information generation means 350 receives reservation data for a rebroadcast program (related program) designated by the user based on the EPG generated from the EPG generation information extracted by EPG generation information extraction means 340. Extraction is made from the reservation data stored in the storage unit 205, and reservation control information for executing viewing reservation or storage reservation is generated based on the extracted reservation data. As shown in FIG. 8, the reservation information generating unit 350 includes a display data search unit 351, a reservation availability determination unit 352, and a reservation control information storage unit 353. The reservation information generating means 350 shares the reservation data searching means 336 and the reservation data duplicating means 337 with the program information converting means 330 in order to generate reservation control information.

  The display data search means 351 searches and extracts the display data for the program designated for viewing reservation or storage reservation as input information from the information stored in the program information storage unit 205. is there. In the present embodiment, the display data search means 351 instructs the reservation data search means 336 to search for reservation data corresponding to the display data of the search result. The reservation data search means 336 shared by the reservation information generation means 350 obtains reservation data corresponding to the display data extracted by the display data search means 351 from the information stored in the program information storage unit 205. Search and extract.

  The reservation availability determination unit 352 determines whether there is data for which the current time indicated by the clock 212 is before the program end time described in the reservation data extracted by the reservation data search unit 336. By doing so, it is determined whether or not reservation is possible. In the present embodiment, when it is determined that the reservation is impossible, the reservation availability determination unit 352 instructs the display control unit 210 to display the fact. Further, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the reservation is possible, the reservation availability determination unit 352 displays a reserved program list screen (listing screen for viewing reservation and storage reservation) using the reservation data of the search result. The display control unit 210 is instructed as follows.

The reservation data duplicating means 337 shared by the reservation information generating means 350 obtains reservation data for the program designated as input information from the reservation data extracted by the reservation data searching means 336. Reservation control information is generated by selecting and copying.
The reservation control information storage unit 353 stores the reservation control information generated by the reservation data copying unit 337 in the reservation control information storage unit 213.

As shown in FIG. 8, the reservation event processing unit 360 includes a control execution determination unit 361, a display request notification unit 362, and an accumulation request notification unit 363.
The control execution determination unit 361 controls viewing reservation or storage reservation based on the program start time and program end time described in the reservation control information stored in the reservation control information storage unit 213 and the current time. It is determined whether or not there is. The control execution determination unit 361 outputs a command to the display request notification unit 362 when it is determined that it is time to control viewing reservation, and when it is determined that it is time to control storage reservation, A command is output to the notification means 363. In the present embodiment, the control execution determination unit 361 determines whether or not it is time to end the accumulation when the accumulation reservation is being controlled.

The display request notifying unit 362 notifies the display control unit 210 of a command (display request) for requesting display of the program when the control execution determining unit 361 determines that it is the timing for controlling the viewing reservation. To do.
The accumulation request notifying unit 363 notifies the accumulation control unit 214 of an instruction (accumulation request) for requesting accumulation of the program when it is determined by the control execution determining unit 361 that it is the timing to control the accumulation reservation. To do. In the present embodiment, the accumulation request notification unit 363 instructs the accumulation control unit 214 to request the accumulation end of the program when the control execution determination unit 361 determines that it is the timing to end the accumulation (accumulation). End request).

  The program information receiving apparatus 200 can be realized by operating a general computer with a program that functions as each of the above-described means. This program (program information receiving program) can be distributed via a communication line, or can be written on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM for distribution.

[Operation of program information receiving apparatus]
<Program information conversion process>
Next, the operation of the program information receiving apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 (refer to FIGS. 7 and 8 as appropriate). FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing program information conversion processing by the program information receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The program information receiving apparatus 200 receives a digital broadcast from the program information transmitting apparatus 100 by the broadcast receiving unit 201 (step S21). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 separates the video / audio and the program information from the received TS by the separating unit 202 and transmits the separated information to the program information processing unit 203 (step S22a). Alternatively, the program information receiving apparatus 200 receives the program information through the communication input / output unit 204 and transmits it to the program information processing unit 203 (step S22b).

  Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 receives program information by the program information receiving means 310 (step S23). For example, the transmission data “Dα” for the program “α” is received. Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 determines whether or not the transmission data “Dα” is initial data by the data type determination unit 331 (step S24). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the information of the item (2) included in the transmission data “Dα” indicates “Version = 0”.

  When it is initial data (step S24: Yes), the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the program information item duplicating means 332 to receive from the received program information (Dα) (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, ( 5) Duplicate the broadcast end time (step S25a). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 generates (0) a data identifier by the data identifier generation means 333 (step S26a). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 describes the (0) data identifier and “(3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time” in association with the display data storage means 334. Then, it is stored in the program information storage unit 205 as display data (Sα) (step S27a).

  In addition, the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the program information item duplicating means 332 to (1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, and (5) broadcast end from the received program information (Dα). The time is duplicated (step S25b). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 generates (0) a data identifier by the data identifier generation means 333 (step S26b). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the reservation data storage unit 335 to (0) the data identifier, “(1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time”. Is stored in the program information storage unit 205 as reservation data (Rα) (step S27b). Note that the processing order of the series of processes in steps S25a to S27a and the series of processes in steps S25b to S27b is arbitrary, and may be processed in parallel.

  On the other hand, if it is update data in step S24 (step S24: No), the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the reservation data search means 336 to match the (1) program identifier of the received program information (Dα) (0). ) Reservation data having a data identifier is searched from the program information storage unit 205 (step S28). For example, reservation data (Rα) is obtained as a search result. Note that the reservation data (Rα) indicates reservation data for the program “α”, and the received program information (Dα) indicates update data for the program “α”. Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 generates program information (Rα ′) for each program in which the search result (Rα) is copied from the program information storage unit 205 by using the reservation data copying unit 337 (step S29). . The symbol “′” indicates duplication. Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 reads “(1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end” of the received program information (Dα) by the reservation data appending means 338. New program information is generated by adding “time” to the data of the program information (Rα ′) for each copied program (step S30). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the reservation data storage unit 335 to update and store Rα stored in the program information storage unit 205 with the new program information generated in step S30 (step S31).

  Next, regarding the flow of processing until the user (viewer) of the program information receiving apparatus 200 performs a reservation operation from the EPG and the reserved event is executed, “EPG display process”, “program reservation process” ”,“ Execution of viewing reservation event ”, and“ Execution of accumulation reservation event ”, and will be described with reference to FIGS.

<EPG display processing>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing EPG display processing by the program information receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the viewer inputs a command for causing the program information receiving apparatus 200 to display an EPG. For example, the viewer presses an EPG display button displayed on the screen of the program information receiving apparatus 200 by a remote control operation. In response to the input of the command for displaying the EPG by the viewer, the program information receiving apparatus 200 receives the EPG display event by the input unit 206 and notifies the input control unit 207 of it (step S41). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 transmits an EPG generation request to the program information processing unit 203 by the input control unit 207 (step S42).

  And the program information processing part 203 receives an EPG production | generation request | requirement by the input information receiving means 320 (step S43). Then, the program information processing unit 203 uses the display data duplicating unit 341 to duplicate the display data for the program designated by the viewer from the program information storage unit 205, and displays “(3) program name, (4) Information of “broadcast start time, (5) broadcast end time” is collected (step S44). The program information processing unit 203 notifies the EPG generation unit 208 of the display data collected and copied by the display data duplicating unit 341 by the EPG generation information notifying unit 342 (step S45). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 combines the EPG generated by the EPG generation unit 208 by the combining unit 209, controls the display control unit 210 so that it can be displayed on the display unit 211, and displays the EPG on the display unit 211. (Step S46).

<Program reservation process>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a program reservation process by the program information receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The program information receiving apparatus 200 displays the EPG on the display unit 211 by the EPG display process described above (step S51). Then, the viewer selects a desired program from the EPG displayed on the display unit 211 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 by operating the remote controller. In response to this, the program information receiving apparatus 200 receives the remote control operation event by the input unit 206 and notifies the input control unit 207 (step S52).

  Then, the program information processing unit 203 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 discriminates the program selected by the remote control operation based on the information input from the input control unit 207 and the display control unit 210 by the input information receiving unit 320. (Step S53). Then, the program information processing unit 203 uses the display data search unit 351 to search the display information for the program designated by the viewer from the program information storage unit 205, and from the information of “(0) data identifier”. The program ID (program identifier) is determined (step S54). For example, if the information of “(0) data identifier” of the display data is “0001S”, the program ID (program identifier) is “0001”.

Then, the program information processing unit 203 uses the reservation data search unit 336 to obtain reservation data corresponding to the searched display data based on the program ID (program identifier) and “(0) data identifier”. The program information storage unit 205 is searched (step S55). For example, if the program ID (program identifier) is “0001”, a reservation data identifier whose information of “(0) data identifier” is “0001R” is searched. Then, the program information processing unit 203 uses the reservation availability determination unit 352 to make the current time (T _now ) earlier than the program end time (T ₅ ) described in the reservation data of the search result (T _now <T ₅ ) Whether reservation is possible is determined by determining whether there is data (step S56). When there is no data of (T _now <T ₅ ), that is, when reservation is impossible (step S56: No), the program information processing unit 203 confirms that the display control unit 210 cannot perform viewing reservation and storage reservation. The information is displayed on the display unit 211 (step S57a). On the other hand, if there is data of (T _now <T ₅ ) in step S56, that is, if reservation is possible (step S56: Yes), the program information processing unit 203 uses the display control unit 210 to reserve search results. The reserved program list screen (listing screen for viewing reservation and storage reservation) using the data is displayed on the display unit 211 (step S57b).

  An example of the reserved program list screen is shown in FIG. When such a reserved program list screen is displayed, the viewer selects a reserved program by remote control operation. In the example shown in FIG. 12, each program is provided with check boxes 41 to 44 for determining a reservation (indicating that a reservation has been made). In this example, a mark is displayed in the check box 41 to indicate a reserved state for the viewing reservation of “program Y”. When a mark is displayed when the viewer selects the check box 41 by remote control operation, the program information receiving apparatus 200 receives a remote control operation event by the input unit 206 as shown in FIG. (Step S58).

  Then, the program information processing unit 203 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 determines the program selected by the remote control operation from the information input by the input control unit 207 and the display control unit 210 by the input information receiving unit 320 (step). S59). Then, the program information processing unit 203 uses the reservation data copying unit 337 to display “(1) program identifier, (3) program name, (4) broadcast start time” of reservation data for the program designated by the viewer. (5) Reservation control information is generated by copying the information of “broadcast end time” (step S60). And the program information processing part 203 preserve | saves the produced | generated reservation control information in the reservation control information storage part 213 by the reservation control information storage means 353 (step S61).

<Execution of viewing reservation event>
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow when a reservation event is executed by the program information receiving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows viewing reservation and (b) shows storage reservation. As shown in FIG. 13A, the program information processing unit 203 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the control execution determination unit 361 to set the current time (T _now ) to the program start time (T ₄ ) It is determined whether or not a predetermined time before (T _now = T ₄ -a) (step S71). If (T _now <T ₄ -a) (step S71: No), the program information processing unit 203 waits until it is time to control viewing reservation. On the other hand, when (T _now = T ₄ −a) (step S71: Yes), the program information processing unit 203 uses the display request notification unit 362 to control the viewing reservation (the corresponding program). A command for requesting display (display request) is notified to the display control unit 210 (step S72). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 causes the display control unit 210 to display the corresponding program on the display unit 211 (step S73).

<Execution of accumulation reservation event>
As shown in FIG. 13B, the program information processing unit 203 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the control execution determining unit 361 to set the current time (T _now ) to the program start time (T ₄ ) It is determined whether or not a predetermined time before (T _now = T ₄ −a) (step S74). If (T _now <T ₄ -a) (step S74: No), the program information processing unit 203 waits until the timing for controlling the storage reservation comes. On the other hand, if (T _now = T ₄ -a) (step S74: Yes), the program information processing unit 203 uses the storage request notification unit 363 to control the storage reservation (the corresponding program). A command for requesting storage (storage request) is notified to the storage control unit 214 (step S75). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 starts a process of storing the corresponding program in the program storage unit 215 by the storage control unit 214 (step S76).

Then, the program information processing unit 203 of the program information receiving apparatus 200 uses the control execution determination unit 361 to make the current time (T _now ) a predetermined time after the program end time (T ₅ ) described in the reservation data (T It is determined whether or not _now = T ₅ + a) (step S77). If (T _now <T ₅ + a) (step S77: No), the program information processing unit 203 waits until the timing for ending the storage comes. On the other hand, if (T _now = T ₅ + a) (step S77: Yes), the program information processing unit 203 stores a command (storage end request) for requesting the storage end of the corresponding program by the storage request notification means 363. The control unit 214 is notified (step S78). Then, the program information receiving apparatus 200 ends the process of storing the corresponding program by the storage control unit 214 (step S79).

  According to the program information receiving apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, by converting the program information acquired from the program information transmitting apparatus 100 and storing it into two types of data, display data and reservation data, Reservation of viewing and storage of programs to be broadcast in the future can be realized not only from the EPG after the present but also from past EPGs.

(Second Embodiment)
Since the program information transmitting apparatus and the program information receiving apparatus of the second embodiment have the same configurations as the program information transmitting apparatus 100 and the program information receiving apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. The same reference numerals are attached to and different functions will be described.

[Function of Program Information Transmitting Device]
In the program information transmitting apparatus of the first embodiment, two types of data (initial data and update data) are required as transmission data for transmitting program information for each program. However, in the second embodiment, the transmission data is 1 Type (simply called data). Therefore, the program information search means 118 (see FIG. 5) of the program information transmitting apparatus of the second embodiment, when creating the program information of the rebroadcast program (related program), The transmission data of the program (main broadcast program) is retrieved from the information stored in the program information storage unit 205 and extracted.

  In the program information transmitting apparatus of the first embodiment, the first program information generating unit 117 (see FIG. 5) newly generates program information for each program regardless of the determination result of the program determining unit 116 (see FIG. 5). However, in the second embodiment, when the program discriminating unit 116 discriminates that the program information of the main broadcast program (original program) is to be created, new program information for each program is generated. To do.

  In the program information transmitting apparatus of the first embodiment, the information generated and added by the first program information generating unit 117 (see FIG. 5) is “the program identifier and that there is no rebroadcast program (related program)”. In the second embodiment, “information indicating that there is no rebroadcast program (related program) and main broadcast program identifier (original program identifier)”. is there.

  In the program information transmitting apparatus of the second embodiment, the second program information generating means 119 (see FIG. 5) uses the transmission data (program information of the main broadcast program) extracted by the program information searching means 118 (see FIG. 5). The program information inputted as basic information of the rebroadcast program (related program) is updated, and a program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program is added to the updated transmission data, and the program indicated by the extracted transmission data is displayed. Information indicating that the original rebroadcast program (related program) is present, and a main broadcast program identifier (original program identifier) to which the same identifier as the program identifier of the main broadcast program (original program) is generated In addition, transmission data of the rebroadcast program (related program) is generated, and the generated transmission data of the rebroadcast program (related program) is stored in the program information storage unit 113 as program information for each program.

  Further, the program information transmitting apparatus of the second embodiment uses transmission data in a format different from that in FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data format of transmission data transmitted from the program information transmitting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The premise in this example is the same as the premise described with reference to FIG. However, the program information transmitting apparatus transmits one type of data as transmission data. In FIG. 14, data indicated by reference numeral 51 is data of program X, and data indicated by reference numeral 52 is data of program Y. As shown in FIG. 14, in this example, transmission data has six types of program information. The difference from FIG. 2 is (6) main broadcast program identifier (original program identifier). This (6) main broadcast program identifier (original program identifier) indicates a program identifier of a program (original program) corresponding to the “parent” of the program. That is, when viewed from the rebroadcast program, the program identifier of the main broadcast program is described. When viewed from the main broadcast program, since there is no “parent”, the program identifier of the main broadcast program is described so that it can be updated.

[Operation of Program Information Transmitter]
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the program information transmitting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same processes as those in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (first embodiment) are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The difference is that it is not necessary to perform the process of step S9 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (first embodiment), and when executing the process of step S8, as shown in FIG. The program identifier of the main broadcast is described as the program information of item 6) (step S8a).

[Function of program information receiving apparatus]
In the program information receiving apparatus of the first embodiment, in the program information conversion process, two types of data, that is, display data and reservation data shown in FIG. 3 are generated from two types of data (initial data, update data). However, the second embodiment is different in that it is generated from one type of data illustrated in FIG. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the functions of the data type determination unit 331 (see FIG. 8) and the reservation data search unit 336 (see FIG. 8) are different.

  In the present embodiment, the data type discrimination means 331 (see FIG. 8) receives the data (program information for each program) received by the program information receiving means 310 (see FIG. 8) when “Version = 0”. When the data is “main broadcast data (main broadcast program data)” and “Version = 1”, it is determined that the received data is “rebroadcast data (rebroadcast program data)”.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the reservation data search means 336 (see FIG. 8) displays “(6) Main broadcast program identifier of data (program information for each program) received by the program information receiving means 310 (see FIG. 8). The program information storage unit 205 is searched for reservation data having the same (0) data identifier as "." For example, if “(6) main broadcast program identifier” of the received data is “0001”, reservation data having “0001” as the (0) data identifier is searched.

[Operation of program information receiving apparatus]
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing program information conversion processing by the program information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Of the processes executed by the program information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, the processes in steps S81 to S83 are the same as the processes in steps S21 to S23 described above (see FIG. 9), and a description thereof will be omitted. In step S83, the program information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment determines whether or not the transmission data “Dα” is main broadcast data by the data type determination unit 331 (step S84). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the information of the item (2) included in the transmission data “Dα” indicates “Version = 0”. When it is the data of the main broadcast (step S84: Yes), each process of step S85a-S87a and each process of step S85b-S87b which the program information receiver which concerns on 2nd Embodiment performs are described above step S25a-S27a. Since these processes are the same as those in steps S25b to S27b (see FIG. 9), description thereof is omitted.

  In step S84, if it is rebroadcast data (step S84: No), first, the same processing as in the case of main broadcast data (step S84: Yes) is performed (steps S85c to S87c, steps S85d to S87d). ). Subsequently, the program information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment uses the reservation data search means 336 to (6) the same ID as the main broadcast program identifier of the received program information (Dα: indicates rebroadcast), that is, the same. (0) Retrieval data having a data identifier is searched from the program information storage unit 205 (step S88). For example, reservation data (Rβ) is obtained as a search result. Note that the reservation data (Rβ) indicates reservation data for the program “β”, and the received program information (Dα) indicates data for the program “α”. The program “β” indicates a program (main broadcast program) that is a source of the rebroadcast program “α”. Hereinafter, in each process of steps S89 to S91 executed by the program information receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, “Rα” is changed to “Rβ” in each process of steps S29 to S31 (see FIG. 9). In addition, since the processing is the same as when “Rα ′” is changed to “Rβ ′”, the description is omitted.

  According to the second embodiment, since the program information transmitting apparatus needs to generate and transmit only one type of transmission data, the processing for generation and transmission is compared to the case where two types of transmission data are required. The load can be reduced. Further, the program information receiving apparatus uses the main broadcast program identifier in the received program data for the reservation operation using the EPG, thereby designating the rebroadcast program from the main broadcast program in the form intended by the broadcaster. be able to.

  As mentioned above, although each embodiment of the present invention was described, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, although the original program has been described as a main broadcast program and the related program as a rebroadcast program, the related program is not limited to a rebroadcast program. For example, the related program may be a continuous broadcast program such as a serial drama. In this case, for example, when Mr. Ko does not watch the drama broadcast day, and the next day, Mr. Otsu recommends watching the drama broadcast the previous day, Mr. Ko will read the corresponding program from the EPG of the previous day. You can discover and make a reservation to watch the next program of a continuous drama.

  In addition, when the original program is a movie or a drama, the program in which the performer appears can be set as a related program. Furthermore, the related program may be, for example, a sequel or series program. In this case, a program having a program name in which “new”, “continuation”, “2”, etc. are added before and after the program name of the original program becomes a related program. In the case of a variety program genre, when the original program name is "-Spring Special", a program with a program name such as "-Summer Special" becomes a related program.

  In each embodiment, the program information transmitting apparatus has been described in the best mode including the program information creating apparatus. However, the program information creating apparatus for creating program information for each program and the program for each created program are described. A dedicated transmission device that transmits information at a predetermined timing may be provided separately. Also, the video encoding method is H.264. The example of H.264 / AVC has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to content (video) encoded with MPEG-4 or MPEG-2.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen displayed on the program information receiver which concerns on this invention, Comprising: (a) has shown the EPG display screen, (b) has each shown the reserved program selection screen. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data format of the transmission data transmitted from the program information transmitter which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data format of the data produced | generated with the program information receiver which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program information transmitter which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program information production apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the program information transmitter which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program information receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the program information processing part of the program information receiver shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the conversion process of the program information by the program information receiver which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the display process of EPG by the program information receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the program reservation process by the program information receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the reserved program list screen displayed on the program information receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow at the time of reservation event execution by the program information receiver which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) shows viewing reservation, (b) has each shown the accumulation reservation. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data format of the transmission data transmitted from the program information transmitter which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the program information transmitter which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the conversion process of the program information by the program information receiver which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Program information transmitter 110 Program information production apparatus 111 Program information input / display part 112 Program information processing part 113 Program information storage part (program information storage means)
114 Program information input means 115 Program information display means 116 Program determination means 117 First program information generation means 118 Program information search means 119 Second program information generation means 120 Video encoding section 130 Audio encoding section 140 Program information transmission control section ( Program information transmission control means)
150 Multiplexing unit 160 Broadcast transmission unit (transmission means)
170 Communication input / output unit (transmission means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 Program information receiver 201 Broadcast receiving part 202 Separation part 203 Program information processing part 204 Communication input / output part 205 Program information storage part (program information storage means)
206 Input Unit 207 Input Control Unit 208 EPG Generation Unit (EPG Generation Unit)
209 Composition unit 210 Display control unit (display control means)
211 Display section (display means)
212 Clock 213 Reservation control information storage unit (reservation control information storage means)
214 Accumulation control unit (accumulation control means)
215 Program storage unit (program storage means)
216 Stored program reproduction section 310 Program information receiving means 320 Input information receiving means 330 Program information converting means 331 Data type determining means 332 Program information item duplicating means 333 Data identifier generating means 334 Display data saving means 335 Reservation data saving means 336 Reservation Data search means 337 Reservation data duplication means 338 Reservation data additional means 340 EPG generation information extraction means 341 Display data duplication means 342 EPG generation information notification means 350 Reservation information generation means 351 Display data search means 352 Reservation availability determination means 353 Reservation control information storage means 360 Reservation event execution means 361 Control execution determination means 362 Display request notification means 363 Accumulation request notification means

Claims (11)

By transmitting the program information for each program of the digital broadcast, display data for displaying the electronic program guide and reservation data for performing viewing reservation or storage reservation are transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus that generates each program. A program information creation device for creating program information for each program by adding predetermined program information to program information input as basic information of the program as transmission data to be transmitted,
Program information input means for inputting program information as basic information of the program;
A program identifier for uniquely identifying the input program information, information indicating that there is no related program based on the program, and for use in a reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus A reserved program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier of the program is generated and added to generate initial data, and the generated initial data is stored as program information for each program in program information storage means. First program information generating means for storing;
Program information search means for searching and extracting initial data of the program that is the source of the related program from information stored in the program information storage means when creating program information of the related program;
The extracted initial data is updated with program information input as basic information of the related program, information indicating that there is a related program associated with the program indicated by the initial data, and the program information The update data in which the initial data is updated is generated by generating and adding a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program is used for the reservation operation in the receiving device. And a second program information generation means for storing the generated update data as program information for each program in the program information storage means. By transmitting the program information for each program of the digital broadcast, display data for displaying the electronic program guide and reservation data for performing viewing reservation or storage reservation are transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus that generates each program. A program information creation device for creating program information for each program by adding predetermined program information to program information input as basic information of the program as transmission data to be transmitted,
Program information input means for inputting program information as basic information of the program;
When creating program information of a program that is not a related program associated with a predetermined program, the program identifier for uniquely identifying the program with respect to the program information input as the basic information of the program, Generate and add information indicating that there is no related program associated with the program as a source, and an original program identifier assigned the same identifier as the program identifier of the program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus Generating first transmission data, and storing the generated transmission data as program information for each program in program information storage means;
Program information search means for searching and extracting transmission data of a program that is the source of the related program from information stored in the program information storage means when creating program information of the related program;
The extracted transmission data is updated with program information input as basic information of the related program, and a program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program in the updated transmission data, and the extracted transmission Information indicating that there is a related program associated with the program indicated by the data, and an original program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier of the original program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving device; Second program information generating means for generating transmission data of the related program by generating and adding the program, and storing the generated transmission data of the related program as program information for each program in the program information storage means; A program information creation device comprising: The program information creation device according to claim 1 or 2,
Program information transmission control means for reading program information for each created program from the program information storage means at a predetermined transmission timing;
The read program information for each program is converted into display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting the program information for each program, and reservation data for viewing reservation or storage reservation. Transmitting means for transmitting to a program information receiving device generated for each program information transmitting device. Display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information including a program identifier for uniquely identifying a digital broadcast program, and reservation data for making a viewing reservation or storage reservation A program information receiving device that is generated every time,
Program information receiving means for receiving transmission data relating to a predetermined program and transmission data relating to a related program associated with the predetermined program as program information for each program;
Display data used to convert the received transmission data for each program and generate an electronic program guide, and viewing reservation or storage for the program and related programs of the program corresponding to the display data Program information converting means for generating reservation data used for making a reservation, including the program identifier in each of the data, and sequentially storing it in the program information storage means;
Input information receiving means for receiving input of information indicating a program designated by the user;
EPG generation information extracting means for extracting, from the accumulated display data, display data for a program designated by the user as EPG generation information for generating an electronic program guide;
Reservation data for the related program designated by the user based on the electronic program guide generated from the extracted EPG generation information is extracted from the stored reservation data, and the extracted A program information receiving apparatus comprising: reservation information generating means for generating reservation control information for executing viewing reservation or storage reservation based on reservation data. The program information conversion means includes
Data type determining means for determining the type of received data based on information indicating the presence or absence of the related program included in transmission data received for each program by the program information receiving means;
Program information item duplicating means for duplicating program information relating to a predetermined item included in the transmission data when the transmission data received for each program includes information indicating that there is no related program;
Data identifier generating means for generating a data identifier of the display data and a data identifier of the reservation data for transmission data in which program information relating to the predetermined item is copied;
The display data is generated by converting the transmission data by associating the program information relating to the duplicated predetermined item with the data identifier generated corresponding to the display data, and generating the display data. Display data storage means for storing in the program information storage means,
By associating program information relating to the copied predetermined item with a data identifier generated corresponding to the reservation data, the transmission data is converted to generate the reservation data, and the generated reservation data Reservation data storage means for storing in the program information storage means,
When the transmission data includes information indicating that the related program is present, the program information storage unit stores reservation data for the original program based on information indicating the original program included in the transmission data. Reservation data search means for searching and extracting from information stored in
Reservation data duplicating means for duplicating reservation data for the extracted original program;
Reservation data for the related program retrieved from the information stored in the program information storage means based on information indicating the related program included in the transmission data, and extracted for the related program 5. The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising reservation data appending means for appending the copied reservation data to the data. The EPG generation information extraction means includes:
Display data replication means for retrieving and extracting display data for the program designated by the user from information stored in the program information storage means, and replicating the extracted display data;
5. The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an EPG generation information notifying unit for notifying an EPG generation unit for generating an electronic program guide using the duplicated display data as the EPG generation information. The reservation information generating means
Display data search means for searching and extracting display data for a program designated by the user for viewing reservation or storage reservation from information stored in the program information storage means;
Reservation data search means for searching and extracting reservation data corresponding to the extracted display data from information stored in the program information storage means;
Reservation data duplicating means for generating the reservation control information by selecting and duplicating reservation data for the program designated by the user from the extracted reservation data;
5. The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising reservation control information storage means for storing the generated reservation control information in a reservation control information storage means. Based on the program start time, program end time, and current time described in the reservation control information stored in the reservation control information storage means, it is determined whether or not it is a timing for controlling viewing reservation or storage reservation. Control execution determination means;
Display request notifying means for notifying the display control means for controlling the display of the program on the display means when it is determined that it is the timing for controlling the viewing reservation;
An accumulation request notifying means for notifying an accumulation control means for controlling the accumulation of a program in the program accumulation means when it is determined that it is a timing for controlling the accumulation reservation; The program information receiving apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: By transmitting the program information for each program of the digital broadcast, display data for displaying the electronic program guide and reservation data for performing viewing reservation or storage reservation are transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus that generates each program. In order to create program information for each program by adding predetermined program information to the program information input as basic information of the program as transmission data to be transmitted,
For program information input as basic program information, a program identifier for uniquely identifying the program, information indicating that there is no related program based on the program, and reservation in the program information receiving apparatus The initial data is generated by generating and adding a reserved program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier of the program for use in operation, and the generated initial data is used as program information for each program. First program information generating means to be stored in the information storage means;
Program information search means for searching and extracting initial data of a program that is the source of the related program from information stored in the program information storage means when creating program information of the related program;
The extracted initial data is updated with program information input as basic information of the related program, information indicating that there is a related program associated with the program indicated by the initial data, and the program information The update data in which the initial data is updated is generated by generating and adding a reserved program identifier to which the same identifier as the program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program is used for the reservation operation in the receiving device. Second program information generation means for storing the generated update data in the program information storage means as program information for each program;
A program information creation program characterized by functioning as a program. By transmitting the program information for each program of the digital broadcast, display data for displaying the electronic program guide and reservation data for performing viewing reservation or storage reservation are transmitted to the program information receiving apparatus that generates each program. In order to create program information for each program by adding predetermined program information to the program information input as basic information of the program as transmission data to be transmitted,
When creating program information of a program that is not a related program associated with a predetermined program, the program identifier for uniquely identifying the program with respect to the program information input as the basic information of the program, Generate and add information indicating that there is no related program associated with the program as a source, and an original program identifier assigned the same identifier as the program identifier of the program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving apparatus Generating first transmission data, and storing the generated transmission data as program information for each program in program information storage means;
Program information search means for searching and extracting transmission data of a program that is the source of the related program from information stored in the program information storage means when creating program information of the related program;
The extracted transmission data is updated with program information input as basic information of the related program, and a program identifier for uniquely identifying the related program in the updated transmission data, and the extracted transmission Information indicating that there is a related program associated with the program indicated by the data, and an original program identifier assigned with the same identifier as the program identifier of the original program for use in the reservation operation in the program information receiving device; Second program information generating means for generating transmission data of the related program by generating and adding the program, and storing the generated transmission data of the related program as program information for each program in the program information storage means,
A program information creation program characterized by functioning as a program. Display data for displaying an electronic program guide by converting program information including a program identifier for uniquely identifying a digital broadcast program, and reservation data for making a viewing reservation or storage reservation To generate every computer,
Program information receiving means for receiving, as program information for each program, transmission data relating to a predetermined program and transmission data relating to a related program associated with the predetermined program,
Display data used to convert the received transmission data for each program and generate an electronic program guide, and viewing reservation or storage for the program and related programs of the program corresponding to the display data Program information conversion means for generating reservation data used for making a reservation, including the program identifiers for each, and sequentially storing the data in the program information storage means,
Input information receiving means for receiving input of information indicating a program designated by the user;
EPG generation information extracting means for extracting display data for the program designated by the user as EPG generation information for generating an electronic program guide from the stored display data;
Reservation data for the related program designated by the user based on the electronic program guide generated from the extracted EPG generation information is extracted from the stored reservation data, and the extracted A program information receiving program that functions as reservation information generating means for generating reservation control information for executing viewing reservation or storage reservation based on reservation data.

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