JPH01162426A - Radio receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the newest information of a specified program such as traffic information, etc., at any time point by detecting an identifier, which is superimposed to the radio waves of the specified program and recording information to relate to a sound signal. CONSTITUTION:When the activation of a vehicle is confirmed by a vehicle operation detecting circuit 23, the activation is informed a microcomputer 21 and a specified program receiving operation condition is set. When an identifying number is detected by an identifying signal detecting circuit 20 in the specified program receiving condition, whether a number to relate to this identifying signal is the program concerning the traffic information or not is discriminated from the data of this identifying number by the microcomputer 21. The instruction of an address reset is executed by the microcomputer 21 in order to write new information with an over-write to a sound record reproducing LSI24 and an RAM25 and further the start of the recording is instructed. Thus, the sound signal, which is detected by a detecting circuit 16, to relate to the program to be recorded is encoded by the LSI24 and written from an address value, which is reset to the RAM25, with the over-write.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a radio receiver used, for example, in the medium wave band or FM band, and particularly relates to a radio receiver used for transmitting information such as traffic information and weather forecasts. The present invention relates to a radio receiver suitable for being mounted on a vehicle that requires it.

(Prior Art) In recent years, the construction of a system that allows a user who is not listening to a program to obtain specific programs such as traffic information or weather forecasts when they are broadcast has become particularly popular in the field of in-vehicle radio receivers. is strongly desired.

When attempting to realize such a system, it is conceivable to apply an emergency broadcast/warning broadcast system, for example.

This emergency broadcast/warning broadcast system is a system in which when there is a high degree of emergency for human life, such as an earthquake or tsunami, and it is necessary to notify the whole nation of the broadcast, the broadcaster sends a predetermined tone signal to the broadcast waves. When the receiver side receives this tone signal, it interrupts the previous program, or if the radio receiver is inactive, it immediately activates and receives emergency broadcasts and warning broadcasts with priority. The idea is to do so.

However, it is considered that there is no necessity to listen to programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts to the extent that the programs are interrupted like emergency broadcasts and warning broadcasts, or to the extent that radio receivers that are inactive are activated. There is also the problem that such information cannot be obtained unless the user is present.

For this reason, for example, a radio receiver may be provided with a timer function and a recording function, and programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts may be recorded in advance by setting the timer, and then played back when needed.

However, programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts are broadcast several thousand times a day, and the information changes every moment, so setting the timer and selecting the latest information as described above takes a lot of time. This poses a practical problem.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-mentioned system in which the radio receiver is equipped with a timer function and a recording function, it is very time-consuming to set the timer in accordance with the program. When information such as traffic information is broadcast several thousand times a day and changes constantly, there is a problem in that it takes a great deal of time to select the latest information.

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a radio receiver that can extremely easily obtain the latest information on specific programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts at any time. .

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving Problems) The radio receiver of the present invention is used in a broadcasting system in which a radio broadcasting station broadcasts a specific program by superimposing an identifier on the radio waves. In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, there is provided an identifier detecting means for detecting an identifier superimposed on radio waves of a specific program, an information recording/reproducing means for recording and reproducing information related to an audio signal, and an identifier detecting means for detecting an identifier superimposed on radio waves of a specific program; Information rewriting means for rewriting the contents of the information recording/reproducing means from information already recorded by the information recording/reproducing means to information relating to the audio signal of a specific program corresponding to the identifier when the detecting means detects the identifier; It is equipped with the following.

(Function) In the present invention, when a specific program is newly broadcast, the information rewriting device replaces the specific program that was previously recorded in the information recording/reproducing device with information related to the audio signal of this new specific program. is recorded, the information related to the audio signal of the specific program reproduced from the information recording/reproducing means at any time is always the latest. Therefore, the latest information on specific programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts can be obtained extremely easily at any time.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a transmission system for a broadcasting station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, an audio signal 1 related to normal broadcasting is superimposed with an identification signal generated in an identification signal generation circuit 3 by a mixing circuit 2, and then passed through a dynamic emphasis circuit 4 and a modulation circuit 5 to a frequency conversion circuit. 6 is sent out.

Here, in the frequency conversion circuit 6, a frequency to be converted is set by a local oscillator 7, and the signal converted to a predetermined frequency is transmitted from a transmitting antenna 10 via a power amplifier circuit 8 and a low-pass filter circuit 9. It is sent into the air as radio waves.

The transmission system of the broadcasting station according to this embodiment differs from a normal transmission system in that, for example, the stereo pilot signal of FM broadcasting, audio signals related to normal broadcasting include specific information such as traffic information and weather forecasts. The difference is that identification signals for performing a specific program reception operation on the receiver side are multiplexed.

Here, the identification signal is subject to frequency restrictions in the case of medium wave broadcasting, so in that case, the signal range should be limited to the audible frequency range, and in this case, it should be a signal that is not harsh on the ears, such as a time signal, etc. It is preferable to use a signal that does not malfunction at certain frequencies, for example, a digital signal such as that found in personal radios.

Further, the identification signal is sent out immediately before the start of the program, and is different for each different program.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a preferred example of such an identification signal.

The identification signal shown in the figure is modulated with a sine wave of 1 to 3, and includes a header section 100 indicating that it is an identification signal, and the type of identification signal such as an identification signal related to traffic information or identification information related to weather forecast. This is digital data with a transmission rate of 300 bpS, including a data section 101 indicating .

Here, it is preferable that the identification signal shown in FIG. 3 be repeatedly transmitted in a plurality of blocks, for example about 10 blocks, and on the receiving side, data is extracted from the obtained data by majority vote. This is because malfunctions on the receiving side are prevented and parity generation etc. are not required.

Next, the configuration of the vehicle-mounted radio receiver according to this embodiment will be explained based on the block diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, broadcast radio waves arriving via a receiving antenna 11 pass through a high frequency amplification circuit 12 to a frequency conversion circuit
Sent on 3rd.

Here, in the frequency conversion circuit 13, a frequency to be converted is set by a local oscillator 14, and a signal converted to a predetermined frequency is transmitted to an intermediate amplifier circuit 15, a detection circuit 16, a switch circuit 17 and a low frequency amplifier circuit 18. After that, it is output from the speaker 19 as audio related to normal broadcasting.

Note that the signal detected by the detection circuit 16 may include an identification signal for a specific program reception operation as described above, and if this identification signal is included, the identification signal detection circuit 20 The identification is performed by

The microcomputer 21 controls the voice recording/reproducing LSI 24 and the switch circuit 17 based on data from the identification signal detection circuit 20, reproduction instruction input circuit 22, and vehicle operation detection circuit 23.

Note that the audio recording/playback LSI 24 encodes the audio signal related to normal broadcasting detected by the detection circuit 16 and stores it in the RAM 2.
At the same time, the data stored in the RAM 25 is decoded and sent to the switch circuit 17.

Here, if a Toshiba T6668 is used as the above-mentioned audio recording/playback LSI 24, and one Toshiba 256K DRAM TMH41256P is used as the RAM 25, 32 seconds of recording and playback is possible despite the low sound quality, and the memory can be further expanded. It can support long periods of time and high quality sound.

Next, the specific program receiving operation of the radio receiver having such a configuration will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the vehicle motion detection circuit 23 confirms that the vehicle equipped with this radio receiver has started, the microcomputer 2
1, and the specific program receiving operation state is set (step 401).

In such a specific program reception state, when the identification signal detector 1120 detects an identification signal (step 402)
, the microcomputer 21 determines whether or not the program associated with this identification signal is a program related to traffic information using the data section 10 of this identification signal.
1 (step 403).

If the program is about traffic information, the recording operation is performed as follows.

First, the microcomputer 21 uses the audio recording/playback L which is a recording medium.
Instructs the SI 24 and RAM 25 to reset the address in order to write new information by override (
Step 404), and further instructs to start recording (step 405), whereby the audio signal related to the program to be recorded detected by the detection circuit 16 is transferred to the audio recording/playback LS.
The override is written from the address value encoded by I24 and reset to RAM25.

Then, when the address value reaches a predetermined final value (
In step 406), writing to the RAM 25 is stopped, and a recording end signal is sent to the microcomputer 21. When the microcomputer 21 receives this signal, it instructs the audio recording/playback LSI 24 to end the recording mode (step 407). As a result, the audio recording and playback LSI24
Then, the recording operation by the RAM 25 is stopped.

Here, the radio receiver in this embodiment is in the playback mode when the vehicle is in operation, that is, in a specific program reception state, and in a mode other than the above-mentioned recording mode.

Then, when a playback instruction is issued from the playback instruction input circuit 22 while such a playback mode is set (step 408), the microcomputer 21 switches the switch circuit 17
is switched from the detection circuit 25 side to the audio recording/playback LSI 24 side (step 409), and the audio recording/playback LSI 24 side is switched (step 409).
Address reset instruction to SI 24 (step 4)
10) and instructs to start playback (step 411).

As a result, the audio recording/playback LSI 24 can be stored in the RAM 25.
The contents are read out at the same addresses as when they were recorded, and this read data is decoded and reproduced as an audio signal. The reproduced audio signal, that is, the audio signal of the program regarding the latest traffic information, is outputted from the speaker 19 via the switch circuit 17 and the low frequency amplification circuit 18.

Then, when the address value reaches a predetermined final value (
Step 412), reading from the RAM 25 is stopped, and a reproduction end signal is sent to the microcomputer 21 (step 413). When the microcomputer 21 receives this signal, it switches the switch circuit 17 from the audio recording/reproducing LSI 24 side to the detection circuit 25 side (step 414), allowing normal radio broadcasts to be heard and making it possible to receive a specific program.

In this way, in the radio receiver of this embodiment, when a specific program, that is, a program related to traffic information in this case, is received in the specific program receiving state, the audio data of this program is stored in the RAM 25.
Since the traffic information is written in the override, the traffic information is instantaneously reproduced, and the reproduced traffic information is always the latest.

In the embodiments described above, it is of course possible to record and reproduce a specific program even when the user is not listening to normal radio broadcasts.

Moreover, although traffic information was cited as a specific program in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to other programs such as weather forecasts. Note that such a specific program is preferably one that is broadcast multiple times a day and whose information changes from moment to moment.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the audio data of the program to be recorded is written to the RAM 25, but if a cassette tape using an endless tape is used, and the beginning of the program is searched after recording, it is possible to The latest information can be obtained without delay, and the purpose of the present invention can be realized.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the radio receiver of the present invention, when a specific program is newly broadcast, information related to the audio signal of the new specific program is recorded in place of the previously recorded specific program. Since the information is recorded, the latest information on specific programs such as traffic information and weather forecasts can be obtained extremely easily at any time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a radio receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a broadcasting station transmission system according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a broadcasting station transmission system according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the specific program receiving operation according to this embodiment. 11... Receiving antenna, 12... High frequency amplification circuit, 1
3... Frequency conversion circuit, 14... Local oscillator, 15
...Intermediate amplifier circuit, 16...Detection circuit, 17...
Switch circuit, 18...Low frequency amplifier circuit, 19...
Speaker, 20...Identification signal detection circuit, 21...Microcomputer, 22...Reproduction instruction input circuit, 23...Vehicle motion detection circuit, 24...Audio recording and playback LSI, 25...
...RAM. Applicant: Toshiba Corporation Applicant: Toshiba Audio/Video Engineering Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Sasa Suyama - Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a radio receiver used in a broadcasting system in which an identifier is superimposed on the radio waves of a specific program and broadcast from a radio broadcasting station, an identifier detection means for detecting the identifier superimposed on the radio waves of the specific program. and information recording/reproducing means for recording and reproducing information related to the audio signal, and information recording/reproducing means that has already recorded the contents of the information recording/reproducing means when the identifier detecting means detects the identifier. What is claimed is: 1. A radio receiver comprising: information rewriting means for rewriting information to information relating to an audio signal of a specific program corresponding to the identifier.