JPH0248879A - Channel display device in television reservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To call attention of a viewer by providing a channel display means on a television set and causing an alarm for a prescribed time independently whether a channel display is changed or not at reserved time arrives during the display. CONSTITUTION:A program of a VTR 80 is reserved manually and the input is displayed on a display section 81 and confirmed. The displayed data gives an interrupt signal by depressing a reservation button and the data is read and stored in a personal computer(PC) 82 via an interface section 85. When the reservation input is finished, the reservation data in the PC 82 is transferred to a disk 83 and stored. Then the present time in the PC 82 and the video recording start time of each program number stored in the memory are checked. When they are coincident, the relevant channel data is read from the memory and displayed on a display device 87 via an interface 86. Succeedingly, a speaker 84 is sounded in the PC 82 for several seconds to urge the viewer and when the reserved program is desired to be recorded, the video recording is manually switched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Background of the Invention] The present invention relates to a Kel channel display device for a television reservation system.

In the conventional individual TV program reservation system, each individual prints out a 24-hour program guide based on a questionnaire submitted by linear programming, stores it on a disk, and sends it to a TV or VTR to select their favorite programs. There is a method to reserve patent application No. 57-96794.58-62562 filed by the same applicant, that is, US Pat.
VTR by telephone as in P4540851,
There is a system that allows you to control the light instantly from outside or reserve the light for several hours.Furthermore, in Germany and other countries, there is a system called the VPT system, which is attached to each program.
There are various methods such as those that are stored and automatically start recording when the code matches the reservation code sent from the station. Each of these program reservation methods has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to the majority of viewers to decide which one will prevail in the future. If this number reaches several times a day, various inconsistencies will arise between the reserved channel and the channel currently being viewed while at home (hereinafter referred to as the "manual channel"). That is, in the case of a VTR, if the subscriber cancels the at-home subscription and switches to a manual channel, the reserved channel will not be displayed even when the time for the reserved channel arrives, so the user will miss an important reserved program. Furthermore, even if you make a reservation for a VTR from outside by telephone or the like, there is the inconvenience that if a family member is already watching the video manually at home, the reservation will not be accepted. Also, Germany's VPT seems automated and convenient at first glance, but it is limited to one station and each individual's VTR can be controlled from that station, but programs of other stations can also be controlled. If so, it would be an act of infringement and a constitutional problem. In addition, even if a court number is decided for each station and the program for each week is controlled by the code number of each station, it is fine for each station to do a few weeks, but it can reach as many as 50 stations as in the United States. This would instead lead to information control, and discussions between the various bureaus would be impossible. Moreover, the above-mentioned problem between automatic and manual still remains, and even if you are watching manually and forcefully switch to the reserved program when the reserved time comes, it may be more inconvenient. Even if you cancel , at least 1
Since there are various deficiencies in the reservation system, such as interruption of viewing on manual channels for about a minute or so, the present invention was proposed to solve these deficiencies and to provide a novel means.

[Summary of the invention]

A first object of the present invention is to display the reserved channel number of a TV or VTR on a fairly large display device from time to time so that the entire household can easily view it.

If you feel like watching the above display without interfering with watching videos or videos, you can manually tune the channel.Also, as long as you are not at home, you can run the reserved channel execution mode. The goal is to make it easy to do.

A third object of the present invention is to issue an alarm for only a few seconds when the channel display on the display device changes to notify the surroundings.

The fourth purpose of the present invention is to call the attention of people who are watching a certain program indoors by flashing an alarm or channel display for a few seconds when the reserved time is reached during manual viewing. be.

A fifth object of the present invention is that the display device is divided into, for example, four sections, a first section master's reservation channel, a second section wife's reservation channel, third, fourth, and so on. The purpose is to make it possible to simultaneously display this as a children's reservation channel.

The sixth object of the present invention is to divide each of the above display sections into two sections, for example, in Germany, when all programs are divided into two-digit numbers, that is, up to 99 categories, the first section has a channel number of 6, The second section has the classification number, for example, 22, 3rd . The purpose is to make it possible to display the next scheduled time, for example, the 17 categories of the fourth channel, ie, 4 and 17, in the fourth section.

A seventh object of the present invention is to display channels in 15-minute increments for each individual in the first method, that is, the individual program method, so that, for example, the 3rd channel is for 15 minutes from now, and the 3rd channel is for 15 minutes to 30 minutes. The purpose is to enable display in four stages, such as channel 5, channel 8 from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, and channel 1 from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.

A third object of the present invention is to enable a user to know the display channel of each of the above reservation methods from outside the home via a telephone line.

〔Example〕

First, the principle and structure of the first 24-hour reservation system will be explained.

Figure 1 shows the principle. That is, I is TV set 2 is V
HF/RGB selector switch, 3 is channel display device,
4 is a computer, and 5 is a floppy disk drive.As mentioned above, in this method, a floppy diskette containing channel data that matches the hobbies and tastes of each household member is attached to the floppy disk drive 5. The floppy diskette is controlled by the computer 4 and each individual's channel data written therein is automatically read out to display the channel display device 3.
is now displayed.

In the figure, a computer 4 reads the current time channel data from the television program data written on the floppy diskette and visually displays it on the channel display device 3 shown at 3. All channel data prepared for individuals can be displayed on a cathode ray tube.

In other words, channel data prepared for each individual can be displayed on a cathode ray tube at any time as desired by the members of each household. Also, by scrolling the channel data displayed on the CRT, you can see how the channel data is determined at any given time, and each individual can check the channel data on the CRT according to their needs. You can also use your computer to make corrections manually. By modifying the channel data, the newly selected channel data is written to the floppy diskette and immediately displayed on the display device. Therefore, in order to display the channel data prepared for each individual on the TV screen, VHF, RG as shown in Figure 1 is necessary.
By switching the B changeover switch 2 to RGBfullIK, a transition is made from the program broadcasting state to the heater control screen.

When the program is to be returned to the broadcasting state after it has been displayed in one line on the cathode ray tube 1, the program must be switched manually in the same way. The channel display device 3 in FIG. 1 is a display device for displaying channel data for each individual, and can be displayed in various ways for a plurality of members in the household.

For example, it is possible to display information by family units such as the head, wife, and children, or by 15-minute units, or in the case of Germany, the code numbers of channels and programs can be displayed.

Next, the overall structure of the program according to this method will be explained with reference to FIG. In the diagram, the name of the program written in Roman letters is written in the upper part of each item's frame, and the outline of the function and operation of that program is written in the lower part. Program 1 is started by a computer when the device is powered on, and diagnoses proper communication and proper operation of each device. Program 1-4
reads the current time, calculates which channel data prepared for the individual should be displayed based on the current time, and reads the corresponding channel data at that time from the floppy diskette. Next, program 1-1 displays the channel data on the indicator. If a viewer wishes to display all of an individual's channel data on the TV's CRT or to modify some of the data, the computer uses programs 1-3 to display all of that individual's channel data on a floppy disk. The program 1 reads the data from the diskette and performs an operation to refer to and modify the data. Next, the flowchart of each program will be explained with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, this program starts (runs) as soon as the computer is powered on and controls all functions. First, program AUTOEXE
C is started and the content to be displayed on the channel display device 3 in FIG. 1 is selected. The user selects whether to display channel data for one individual using all four indicators for one hour, or to display channel data for multiple family members for each indicator. Next, in accordance with the above selection, the corresponding data is read from the floppy diskette and the necessary channel data is displayed on the display device by the program (1-1 in FIG. 2).

The channel data display changes to the appropriate channel data every 15 minutes.

If a person wishes to refer to all channel data prepared for each individual while watching a television program, this can be done by pressing the F-1 key on the computer keyboard. At this time, the computer
The controller determines that an interruption has occurred in the current control and automatically activates (TABLE, DAT,) at the program location, allowing the program to reference and modify all channel data. This operation will be performed according to the flowchart in FIG.

That is, a table for displaying channel data is displayed on the cathode ray tube of the television, and functions of a computer keyboard for scrolling or modifying the channel data are assigned. Next, the corresponding time is calculated by the timer inside the combiner, and the corresponding channel data is entered in the above table. Fl, F2. shown in FIG. F3
．． F4 means that a function key on the computer keyboard was pressed. For example, in Figure 4, F
When the 4th function key is pressed, it means that the channel data 3 and 4 are changed to the modified state, and the TV program broadcasting data is referenced and modified to return to the original state of the TV program broadcasting.

As mentioned above, in this system, a computer selects channels from among all TV programs that suit each individual's hobbies and preferences and displays them 24 hours a day in 15-minute increments.
The number of channels stored on the floppy diskette is always displayed on the display device, not only when R is under automatic control, but also when it is manually viewed randomly. Therefore, in this case, there is no need to consider switching between manual mode and automatic mode, and you can just issue an alarm for a few seconds when the channel display changes to alert people around you. The means for doing so will be explained below with reference to FIG.

Note that the above method does not rely on linear programming24
As already mentioned, this also applies to the time reservation method.

First, the case of the second and third reservation systems for several hours or several channels will be explained.

In this case, unlike the first system, it is not displayed 24 hours a day, but only a few hours a day are reserved, so compared to watching by manual control while at home, the time will be about a few hours. . Therefore, in order to avoid mistakes when each person's reserved time arrives during viewing, it is practically necessary to not only display it, but also to notify it with an alarm. Even when viewing, it is necessary to be notified by an alarm and display when the next reservation time has arrived.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a reservation system using the above general VTR. 80i'1 in the figure. VTR, 81 is a display section for channels, clocks, etc., 82 is a Nokuichi sonal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC), 83 is a disk in which a program of reservation data (described later) is stored, and 84 is a built-in part of the PC. This is a speaker that is used to amplify signal tones, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 85 denotes an interface section, which is mainly composed of an IC called 8255, and allows the PC to read the channel and time information displayed on the display section 81 via the interface section 85. Further, 86 is an interface section having the same structure, and is used to send the corresponding channel information to the display device 87 when the reserved time is reached, as will be described later. A display device 87 is composed of a light emitting diode for displaying numbers, a decoder, a latch, etc., and displays channel information as described above.

Next, specific operations will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. First, in step S80 of FIG. 6, program reservations for the VTR are manually input. Since an ordinary VTR can reserve eight programs, the program number, channel, recording start time, and recording end can be programmed using a known method using multiple reservation buttons (not shown) attached to the VTR shown in Figure 5. Time, should you record daily or weekly?
Or enter the day of the week. Furthermore, input whether the tape speed is 3 times the standard speed. It goes without saying that these inputs are entered in the order that suits the VTR used, but these inputs are displayed on the display section 81 and can be confirmed. The displayed data is read by the PC 82 via the interface section 85 by outputting an interrupt signal when one of the reservation buttons is pressed, and is stored in the memory within the PC (step 581). More specifically, data such as channels and recording start times are stored in the memory in a predetermined order as groups for each program number. Therefore, even when a reservation error is noticed and a program number is corrected, the above correction can be made while the data of other program numbers remain unchanged.

When all reservation inputs are completed, the reservation mode button is released. This is checked in step S82, and in the next step S83, the PCB
The reservation data stored in the memory within the device 2 is transferred to the disk 83 and stored there. This is a preventive measure to prevent reservation data from disappearing even in the event of a power outage.

Therefore, the reservation data stored in the above disk is PCB2
When the power is turned on from off, it is read and stored in the memory (not shown).

In any case, the operations after step 884 are performed based on the reservation data stored in the memory.

Now, in step S84, a check is made to see if the recording start time is equal to the current time. Since the PC82 has a built-in clock, check the current time indicated by this clock and the recording start time (including the day of the week) of each program number stored in the memory as described above, and if there is a match. The result is affirmative, and the process moves to the next step 885. In step S85, the channel data of the corresponding program number is read from the memory and displayed on the display device 87 via the finter face section 86. followed by P
A signal tone is amplified for several seconds from the speaker 84 built into the C82 to alert the audience (step 886).

At this point, the viewer can record the reserved program, and if it is scary, manually operate the VTR.
will be switched to recording.

Since the process has returned from step 886 to step 884, when the next recording start time is reached, the next reserved channel is displayed and the signal tone is amplified as described above.

Next, the M
Connect the ODEM88 and display the display device 8 from your phone while you are away.
The details of how to check various information such as channels displayed in 7 will be described below.

In other words, the owner on the go uses a very small pocket computer (
(not shown) to the telephone indirectly or directly
Call DEM88. Once the card is closed, enter the pre-arranged PIN number from the pocket combinator to prevent tampering.

Next, if you enter "0" from the keyboard, the current channel will be changed to the PC by the PC82 program after 0 minutes.
The data is read from the disk 83 via the MODEM 82, returned as data to the pocket converter via the MODEM 88, and displayed on the computer's display section by the program in the pocket computer.

Further, for example, if you input "30", the channel 30 minutes later will be displayed.

Note that instead of a pocket computer, the owner can use a tone-type telephone while on the go. To this end, it is also possible to provide a closing means, a tone decoder for decoding tones from the telephone, and a voice synthesis means on the apparatus side, and to return channel information to the owner in the form of voice synthesized.

Furthermore, patent application No. 6O-12643 filed by the same applicant
2 (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 6L-284121) USP 4,745.5
4'? In this case, the timetable is printed out from the final host computer, put into the MSX-2, created on a disk, and sent to each home user. Therefore, the users now put the disk into their own MSX-2 and use the instructions from there to operate the display device, but this was done by the computer center independently even after the time table was published. After that, each viewer is responsible for making their own corrections.

However, as the organization grows larger, the timetable is sent to a cable TV center, and from that center the timetable information is sent to the display devices via cable to the viewers in each home. It is conceivable that it will be possible to display channels directly on the display in each home by sending information signals from the cable television center without using a personal computer. At this time, it is convenient to send signals directly from the cable TV center to the display device, since it is difficult to simultaneously send information to hundreds of thousands of viewers at the same time, even with coaxial cable. One possibility is to store the information once in a buffer circuit owned by each subscriber in each household, and then display the previously stored information on a display device at a certain time.

is a terminal with two-way communication function, 90-
It has a '90-2 display section and a '90-2 keyboard. Also 9
1 is an interface section, 92 is a buffer circuit containing a memory, and 93 is a display section.

If you are a cable TV subscriber, please use the above keyboard 9o-2.
Enter information about the timetable using . This information can be confirmed on the display section 90-1. When the input of the time table information for several hours is completed, pressing a predetermined key on the keyboard 90-2 will give information about the time table for each hour of the time tape, for example, in 7 slots as shown in FIG. is sent to the above-mentioned polling computer via the service channel, and further stored in the memory of the buffer circuit 92 via the interface section 91.

The format at this time is configured as shown in FIG. 9, for example. The display device 93 displays channels based on the above information, for example, every 15 minutes. 1" is a signal indicating the beginning of information, and "address" is an identification signal of the subscriber terminal. Since information (such as information on which channel is being watched) is collected while transmitting information to the user's terminal device (terminal), information regarding the timetable may also be collected at the time of this collection. can.

The outside of the cable sensor transfers the information collected via the above-mentioned polling computer to a host computer (not shown), which performs predetermined processing and sends information regarding the 1-pull.

Note that since the interface section 91, buffer section 92, and display section 93 have many parts and circuits in common with the terminal 90, they can also be integrated with the terminal 90.

Even in the above example, the protagonist is the viewer until the end, so
No matter what reservation system you use, it will have no value unless viewers watch it. Moreover, unless we provide means that make it easy to choose, nothing will be achieved.

Therefore, the present invention believes that in any reservation system, it is ultimately possible to adopt a device that displays the current channel that is most suitable for each person on the display device so that it is easy for the viewer to view and select. Yes, and this is the purpose of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As a result, whether it is a 24-hour reservation system or a several-hour reservation system, each household member can easily see the display from a distance while at home, and when making a personal display, it is possible to
If the 4-hour control is not in effect, it is now possible to display the number of channels and generate an alarm when the scheduled time comes during manual viewing, further enhancing the practical effect of the TV reservation system. It can be said that it has been increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the entire program of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of each program, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the actions of the computer's function keys. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the third embodiment. FIG. 8.9 is a schematic diagram of the signal format of the third embodiment.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) In a reservation system that extracts TV programs that match individual tastes as closely as possible from all TV programs and displays channels every day, for example, in 15-minute increments during a predetermined time slot, the reserved channel A channel display means is provided on the television set so that the number or station name can be viewed at all times, and the channel display changes when the above reserved time arrives whether the television is being controlled manually or automatically. A channel display device in a television reservation system, characterized in that it is controlled by a computer of the reservation system so as to generate an alarm for a few seconds regardless of whether or not the viewer is in the room. (2) The channel display device in the television reservation system according to claim (1), wherein the instruction information for channel display and alarm generation is instructed by a computer inside the private equipment. (3) The above channel display and alarm occurrence information is stored, for example, in a buffer installed in each viewer's home via a cable from the cable television station's computer center, using free time, and then stored at the scheduled time. The channel display device in the television reservation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the channel display device displays the channel when the channel is displayed. (4) In a TV reservation system that reserves TV programs that best suit individual tastes, data already reserved inside the VTR, such as channel recording start date and time, day of the week, time, etc., is read and displayed on the display on the TV set. A television reservation system characterized in that the program is displayed every predetermined number of hours, for example, every 15 minutes, and when the recording start time is reached, the channel data of the corresponding program is output to the display device, and an alarm is generated at the same time. channel display device. (5) The display device is divided into, for example, four sections, the first section is the husband's reserved channel, the second section is the wife's reserved channel, and the third and fourth sections are the children's reserved channels. 4. A channel display device in a television reservation system according to claim 1, wherein said channel display device displays said channels simultaneously so that each family member in a living room can easily make their own selection. (6) Dividing each of the above display sections into two, for example in Germany, when all programs are divided into two-digit numbers, that is, up to 99 categories, the first section has a channel number of 6, and the second section has a channel number of 6.
In the section, the classification number, for example, 22, and in the third and fourth sections, it is possible to display the next scheduled time, for example, the 17th category of the 4th channel, that is, 4 and 17. A channel display device in a television reservation system according to claims (1) and (4). (7) Display channels in 15-minute increments for each individual in the four sections above, for example, 15 minutes from now is channel 3, from 15 minutes to 30 minutes is channel 5, and from 30 minutes to 45 minutes is channel 8. Claim (1), characterized in that it is possible to display channels in four stages such as channel 1 from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
4) The channel display device in the television reservation system according to item 4). (8) Claim (1) characterized in that the display in each of the above reservation methods allows a user to know the display channel from a remote location via a wired or wireless telephone by voice or symbol. ), the channel display device in the television reservation system according to (4).