JPH0429277B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a television sensor for measuring audience ratings intended for multipurpose televisions that are used while being connected to various devices.

(Prior art and its problems) Television receivers not only receive television broadcasts, but also receive video tape recorders, video disk players, television game sets, personal computers, capsule adapters, character multiplexers, etc. TVs are being used for multiple purposes by being combined with equipment such as broadcast adapters, and as a result, audience ratings must be measured in response to these multipurpose TVs.

By the way, the technology for detecting the usage status of a video tape recorder and the recording channel.
as well as video disks connected to the television.
Some technologies have already been proposed and put into practical use for detecting the usage status of equipment such as players, TV game sets, personal computers, etc., but these conventional technologies cannot detect the detailed usage status of teletext broadcasting. was impossible to measure. In other words, there are ways to use teletext broadcasting, such as when text information is displayed on the entire screen regardless of the TV broadcast, and when it is displayed on the screen as a text message simultaneously with the TV broadcast. It was not possible to detect detailed usage status only by detecting the use of the TV (built-in to the TV).

Furthermore, conventional methods for detecting the usage status of devices combined with televisions have been unsatisfactory, as they have problems such as difficulty in attaching sensors to the devices.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and its purpose is to be able to detect the usage status of teletext broadcasting and to be able to combine it with television. An object of the present invention is to provide a television sensor for measuring audience ratings that can comprehensively detect the usage status of various devices.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention
In a system in which a television is combined with equipment such as a tape recorder, video disc player, television game set, personal computer, capsule adapter, teletext adapter, etc., the power status of the equipment and the television is determined. means for detecting which of said equipment is selected for viewing on said television; and the channel of television broadcast being viewed on said television and said video tape recorder. means for detecting the channel of the television broadcast being recorded by the television; and a means for detecting the channel of the television broadcast being recorded by the television; A television for measuring audience ratings, comprising means for detecting a usage state and means for detecting an operation mode of the video tape recorder.
The main focus is on sensors.

(Examples) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing examples.

Figures 1 to 3 show a television set according to the present invention.
This figure shows an example of the schematic configuration of sensor 1 and the state of connection with various devices. Figure 1 shows an example in which an AY-type television with a built-in teletext adapter is used as the TV, and a video tape recorder is used as the device.
An example is shown in which a VTR, video disc player VDP, and TV game set TGS are used. In Figure 2, an AV type TV without a built-in teletext adapter is used as the TV TV', and a video disc player is used as the equipment. An example using a tape recorder VTR, video disc player VDP, TV game set TGS, and teletext adapter TA is shown. Figure 3 shows an example in which an AV type TV with a built-in teletext adapter is used as a TV. The equipment used is video tape recorder VTR, video tape recorder, etc.
An example using a disk player VDP, a TV game set TGS, and a captain adapter CA is shown. Note that it goes without saying that the devices to be connected are not limited to these.

Now, the functions of the television sensor 1 can be roughly classified as follows. In other words, a function that detects what is being used based on the power status of each device and TV TV, TV'.A function that detects the device that is selected and viewed on TV TV, TV'. A function to detect the channels of TV broadcasts (not only those provided by the tuner in TV TV and TV′, but also those provided by equipment that has a tuner inside) and the recording channel of the video tape recorder VTR. A function that detects the detailed usage status of teletext by comparing images when multiplex broadcasting is used A function that detects the operation mode of the video tape recorder VTR Sends the detected audience rating data to the audience rating measurement device itself This is a function to

In FIGS. 1 to 3, a television sensor 1 is connected to an antenna ANT _v for VHF and an antenna ANT _U for UHF, and is connected to the inside of the television sensor 1 and to video tape recorders VTR, television TV, and TV'. An antenna distributor 2 that distributes antenna signals to the antenna distributor 2, and a tuner 3 that receives the antenna signals from the antenna distributor 2 and independently receives television broadcasts.
The TV broadcasts obtained from the tuner 3 are transmitted to each device (mainly TV TV, TV' and video tape recorder) via the AV detection unit 6, which will be described later.
A channel determination unit 4 detects a channel by monitoring the timing difference of the vertical synchronization signal with the TV broadcast obtained from the TV broadcast and the match/mismatch of the video signal, and the AV detection unit 6 connects the TV TV, TV a video comparison unit that compares the video signal of the TV broadcast being viewed obtained from the AV output terminal AV _OUT of ' and the video signal of the same TV broadcast obtained from tuner 3 to detect the usage status of teletext broadcasting; 5, and the output terminals of each device and TV TV, TV'
It is interposed between the AV input terminals AV ₁ , AV ₂ , and AV ₃ and provides an identification signal in a time-sharing manner during the blanking period of the video signal to detect the device selected and viewed by the TVs TV and TV′. At the same time, an AV detection section 6 selectively sends out a signal to be compared in the channel determination section 4, and a sensor S detects an erase signal of the video tape recorder VTR, etc. to detect the operation mode (mainly recording mode). VTR to
The mode detection unit 7, each device and the TV,
A power supply detection unit 8 that supplies AC power to the TV' and detects what is being used based on the power status (passing current, etc.); and a data transmission unit 9 that sends the detected audience rating data to the audience rating measuring device main body. It is composed of. In addition, in TV TV, TV', TV _OUT is the TV output terminal from which the TV broadcasts received by the tuner in TV TV, TV' are always _output . TV _OUT is the same signal.), and ANT _IN is the antenna terminal. Further, in FIGS. 2 and 3, SW is a changeover switch.

FIG. 4 shows the internal configuration of the television sensor 1 in more detail. In addition, for overall control
Since the CPU 10 is used and the circuit section is shared, the configuration does not completely match the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

In Fig. 4, the antennas ANT _V , ANT _U , antenna distributor 2, and tuner 3 are connected to the
It is similar to the one in the figure, and the antenna distributor 2
The antenna signals from a pair of antennas ANT _V and ANT _U are distributed within the television sensor 1 and to the video tape recorders VTR, televisions TV, and TV'. The tuner 3 also includes a channel determination section 4 and a video comparison section 5 in FIGS. 1 to 3.
It is used to obtain comparative applicable signals (video signals and synchronization signals for television broadcasting).
The channel can be selected freely from the CPU 10 via the tuner control circuit 12.

Next, the signal received by the tuner 3 is amplified and detected by a video amplification and detection circuit 11, and is separated into a video signal, a vertical synchronization signal, and a horizontal synchronization signal by a synchronization separation circuit 13. The color signal is removed from the video signal by a filter 14, the peak value of the video signal is detected by a peak hold circuit 15, and a voltage of 1/2 of the peak value is set as a reference voltage of a comparison circuit 16, and the video signal is output from the filter 14. When the video signal is higher than 1/2 of the peak value, the comparison output becomes active (high level or low level), and the number of changes (number of peaks) is counted by the video counter 18. There is.
The video counter 18 is controlled by a counter control circuit 17.
is designed to generate a counter enable signal and a counter clear signal for operating and stopping the video counter 18 every time the horizontal synchronization signal is applied from the synchronization separation circuit 13. In addition, the count value of the video counter 18 (standard video counter value)
is read by the CPU 10.

On the other hand, the signals to be compared (video signals, synchronization signals) are extracted from the AV output signal AV _OUT of TV TV, TV', TV output signal TV _OUT , and signals from each device by the CPU 10 via switch circuits 28 and 29 as necessary. and select the synchronization separation circuit 21 and filter 2.
2. The peak hold circuit 23, the comparison circuit 24, and the counter control circuit 25 perform the same processing as the comparison reference signal described above, and the video counter 26 counts the number of peaks in the video signal between adjacent horizontal synchronization period signals. It's getting old.

The above-mentioned video counters 18 and 26, their preceding stage configurations, and the CPU 10 are shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
It constitutes the video comparison section 5 in the figure, and includes a comparison reference signal (TV broadcast received by the tuner 3) and a comparison target signal (mainly TV TV,
The usage status when teletext broadcasting is used (in the case of independent use in which text information is displayed on the entire screen regardless of the TV broadcast) is compared with the video signal related to the TV broadcast viewed on TV'. This method detects interpolation when subtitles are displayed on the screen at the same time as TV broadcasting.

On the other hand, the counter control circuit 19 generates a counter enable signal and a counter clear signal for operating and stopping the counter from the vertical synchronization signals of both the comparison reference side and the comparison target side, and the period of the counter enable signal is The number of horizontal synchronization pulses on the comparison target side is counted by a synchronization counter 20. Note that this synchronous counter 2
0, the counter control circuit 19 and the CPU 10 constitute the channel determination section 4 in FIGS. 1 to 3 (however, the video comparison section 5 is also used for channel determination), Broadcasting) and signals to be compared (mainly TV TV, TV′, video tape recorder)
(TV broadcasts received/recorded by VTR)
The channel is detected by monitoring the deviation of the vertical synchronizing signal and determining the identity of the television broadcast by referring to the video counter value, and detecting the matching receiving channel of the tuner 3. Note that the reason why comparison of video signals must be used for channel determination is, for example, although it is not always the case, NHK General Television and NHK
This is for cases where synchronization signals connected to the same signal source are used, such as in educational television. In such a case, two or more matching channels will be detected, so a comparison of video signals is also used for determination. It is also important to note whether to use video signal comparison only when it becomes impossible to identify the channel as described above, or whether to use it all the time.
This is a software problem of the CPU 10, so either option is fine.

On the other hand, the identification signal generation circuit 27 and the switch circuit 2
8, 29, 30, video mixing circuit 31, 32, 3
3. The CPU 10 has an AV detection unit 6 (first
3), the identification signal output from the identification signal generation circuit 27 is transmitted to the video mixing circuits 31, 32,
33 are selected in sequence and inserted into the blanking period of the video signal, and the AV output signal of TV TV, TV' is
Switch circuit 28 indicates that an identification signal appears on AV _OUT.
The signal is input to the video comparison section 5 via the video comparison section 5, and the video counter 26 of the video comparison section 5 is also used for detection.

On the other hand, the VTR mode detection section 7 (see Figures 1 to 3) is a video tape recorder.
Detecting erasure signals that occur during VTR recording
A VTR erase signal detection circuit 36 is provided to detect that recording is in progress when a sensor S detects an erase signal from the erase signal generating circuit in the set of the video tape recorder VTR or near the head. ing. Another method for detecting the recording mode of a video tape recorder (VTR) is to detect an FM luminance signal (a frequency-modulated signal for writing video signals onto magnetic tape) from near the recording circuit. Good too. In addition, for other modes (stop, play, etc.) of the video tape recorder VTR, the power supply detection section 8, AV
Detection can be performed by using the detection result of the detection unit 6.

On the other hand, the power supply detection section 8 in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a power supply detection circuit 35 and a CPU 10 that controls the power supply detection circuit 35.
The power supply detection circuit 35 is
AC power is supplied to the power outlets of TVs, TV's, video tape recorders, VTRs, and other connected devices, and the power supply current of these devices is detected to determine whether they are on or off.

In addition, the data transmitting section 9 in FIGS. 1 to 3 controls the data transmitting circuit 34 and the data transmitting circuit 34.
Comprised of CPU 10, data transmission circuit 34
is the detected TV TV, TV′ viewing channel,
Viewer rating measurement device (data recording unit) that measures the recording channel of the video tape recorder VTR, the usage status of teletext broadcasting, and the usage status of other equipment.
It is now being sent to.

Further, as described above, the CPU 10 controls the tuner control circuit 12, reads and clears the counter values of the video counters 18, 26, and the synchronization counter 20, controls the identification signal generation circuit 27, and controls the switch circuit 28,
It performs all controls and judgments such as control of 29 and 30, judgment of viewing channels, and judgment of equipment to be used.

Next, the basic operations will be explained individually.

[Judgment of equipment used]

TV TV, TV′ and this TV TV,
The first task that the television sensor 1 must perform is to determine which device is being used among the plurality of devices connected to the TV'.

In operation, the power supply detection circuit 35 in FIG.
The power supply current of each device connected to the TV and TV' is detected, and it is determined which device is turned on. Generation circuit 27
The AV detection section 6, which is comprised of the following, determines from which device the video is being output to the cathode ray tube of the television TV, TV'.

That is, the identification signal output from the identification signal generation circuit 27 is transmitted to the television by the switch circuit 30.
The video mixing circuits 31, 32, 3 are time-divisionally supplied to the video mixing circuits 31, 32, 33 corresponding to the AV input terminals AV ₁ , AV ₂ , AV ₃ of the TV, TV', respectively.
In step 3, an identification signal is inserted into the blanking period of the video signal output from each device, and this
This is the input for TV and TV′. And TV TV,
Since the signal selected and viewed by TV' appears as the AV output signal AV _OUT , the sync separation circuit 21 and the filter determine which AV circuit the identification signal is applied to and the identification signal appears in the AV output signal AV _OUT . 22, a comparison circuit 24, and a video counter 26 to detect the video counter value and determine which device is currently in use.

[Detection of TV reception channel]

The comparison reference signal (video signal, synchronization signal) received by the tuner 3 in the TV sensor 1 and the TV
The video output from the AV output being viewed on the TV or TV' or the video displayed on the equivalent cathode ray tube is used as the comparison target signal (video signal, synchronization signal), and the video counters 18 and 26
and synchronous counter 20, CPU1
0 switches the tuning of the tuner 3 and stores data in each channel. As a result, a synchronization counter value, a reference video counter value, and a target video counter value are created for each channel. Note that the reception channel cannot be determined based solely on the deviation of the vertical synchronization signal based on the synchronization counter value (as mentioned above, for example, NHK General Television and NHK Educational Television use synchronization signals from the same signal source). In this case, accurate determination can be made by referring to the video counter value.

Therefore, the synchronization counter value in the case of the same channel always shows a constant value with a maximum value close to 262, which is the number of pulses in one frame, but if the channels are different, the timing of vertical synchronization is shifted. Since it is common, it is a smaller number than 262. Therefore, by determining the synchronization counter value for each channel in the CPU 10, it is possible to detect the reception channels of the televisions TV and TV'. Note that even if the counter values are on different channels, there may be cases where the counter values are temporarily the same, but this can be determined by repeating the measurement several times. Furthermore, by monitoring the synchronization counter value and comparing the video counter values, it is possible to determine the reception channel even more accurately.

5 to 7 show the above-mentioned video count and synchronization count in more detail, and FIG.
5. A specific circuit configuration diagram of the comparison circuit 16, FIG. 6 is an operational waveform diagram of video counting, and FIG. 7 is an operational waveform diagram of synchronous counting. It should be noted that since the video count performs the same processing on both the comparison reference signal and the comparison target signal, the configuration and operation of the comparison target signal side are also the same.

In FIG. 5, a video signal, a vertical synchronization signal, and a horizontal synchronization signal are separated from the input composite signal a in a synchronization separation circuit 13 composed of an integrated circuit IC ₁ , and the synchronization signal is sent to a counter control circuit 17.
A counter enable signal c and a counter clear signal d are obtained from this counter control circuit 17.

Next, the color signal is removed from the video signal by a filter 14 made up of a transistor Q ₁ , an inductance L ₁ , and transistors Q ₂ and Q ₃ , and the video signal is processed by a peak hold circuit 15 made up of an amplifier CI ₂ and a transistor Q ₄ . The peak value of is detected,
The voltage divided into 1/2 by resistors R ₁ and R ₂ is applied to the comparator circuit 16.
This is the reference voltage for comparator CI ₃ . and,
When the instantaneous value of the video signal becomes higher than this reference voltage, the output b of the comparison circuit 16 becomes active (high level or low level), and the video counter 18
counts this number of times.

FIG. 6 shows its operation, where a is a composite signal input to the synchronous separation circuit 13,
b is an output signal of the comparison circuit 16, c is a counter enable signal, and d is a counter clear signal. Therefore, the timing t ₁ after the counting operation
The video count value is read by CPU10,
Prior to the next counting operation, the video counter 18 is cleared by the counter clear signal d.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the operation of the synchronous counter 20,
e is the horizontal synchronization signal on the comparison reference signal side, f is the horizontal synchronization signal on the comparison target signal side, g is the counter enable signal created from the vertical synchronization signals on both the comparison reference signal side and the comparison target signal side, and h is the counter enable signal Similarly, this is a counter clear signal created from the vertical synchronization signals of both the comparison reference signal side and the comparison target signal side.

Therefore, during the period when the counter enable signal g is active (high level), the number of horizontal synchronization pulses on the side of the comparison target signal increases to the synchronization counter 20.
CPU 1 is counted at the following timing t ₂ .
0 is taken as a synchronous count value, and the counter clear signal h is taken in prior to the next counting operation.
The synchronization counter 20 is cleared. In this case, if the same channel is synchronized as mentioned above,
All 262 pulses are counted, and in the case of another channel, the count value will be less than this.

[VTR recording channel detection]

In FIG. 4, the power supply detection circuit 35
When it is detected that the tape record VTR is powered on and the VTR erase signal detection circuit 36 detects the erase signal of the video tape recorder VTR, it is determined that the video tape recorder VTR is recording. It will be done.

While the video tape recorder VTR is recording, the video tape recorder VTR outputs the video (for example, TV TV in Figures 1 to 3).
Connected to the TV's AV input terminal AV ₁ . ) As a comparison target, channel detection similar to the detection of the reception channels of TVs TV and TV' described above is performed to detect the channel being recorded. In this case,
The viewing channel of the television TV, TV' can be detected by comparing the AV output signal AV _OUT of the television, in addition to the recording channel of the video tape recorder VTR.

In addition, if you have your own tuner among other devices and are receiving TV broadcasts with a device that can receive TV broadcasts, you can use the video signal detected by AV detection as a comparison target to detect the same channel as above. You can make and watch channels.

[Detection of teletext usage status]

After the above-mentioned detection of the reception channel of TV TV, TV′, the TV TV, TV that detected tuner 3,
A more detailed comparison of the video signals is performed using the same channel as the TV' reception channel. That is,
This is because even if it is known that the reception is a television broadcast, it is still unclear whether the reception is normal viewing or teletext broadcasting.

Therefore, the video counter values are data for 131 locations from the top to the bottom of the screen for both the reference video and the target video, and by comparing the two, it can be determined whether each part from the top to the bottom of the screen is the same screen. It is possible to distinguish between different screens. In other words, when using teletext broadcasting, the target video extracted from TV TV, TV' is a character image, and the TV sensor 1
It is different from the reference video, which is a broadcast video independently received within the network, and it can be easily determined that teletext is used. Furthermore, there are two ways of using teletext: independent use using only text images and supplementary use (interpolation use) as subtitle superimposition.
Since the sensor 1 compares images for each part from the top to the bottom of the screen, it is possible to distinguish between independent use and supplementary use.

[Detection of VTR operating mode]

The operating modes of the video tape recorder VTR are divided into stop mode, recording mode, playback mode, etc. Among these, the stoppage can be determined based on the result of the power supply detection section 8 (power supply detection circuit 35). Further, the recording mode can be determined by the power supply detection circuit 35 and the VTR erase signal detection circuit 36 as described above.

On the other hand, if TV TV, TV' is turned on and the corresponding channel is not found in the above-mentioned detection of the reception channel of TV TV, TV', the use is for something other than watching TV, so based on the judgment of the equipment used above, which device is used? Check if you are using That is, the power supply detection unit 8 (power supply detection circuit 35) detects which equipment is powered on, and the AV detection detects which video signal is being output to the cathode ray tube of the television TV, TV'. , determine the equipment used.

At this point, the video tape recorder VTR is powered on and the VTR output (for example, the AV input terminal
If the output (connected to AV ₁ ) is output to the TV TV or TV's cathode ray tube, the video tape recorder
It can be determined that the VTR is being reused (playback mode).

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention can be used with devices such as video tape recorders, video disc players, television game sets, personal computers, captain adapters, and teletext adapters. In a system in which a television is combined, means for detecting which device is being used based on the power state of the device and the television, and a means for detecting which of the devices is selected by the television to be viewed. means for detecting a television broadcast channel being viewed on the television and a television broadcast channel being recorded by the video tape recorder; and a tuner provided separately from the television broadcast video being viewed on the television. The present invention is equipped with means for detecting the status of use of teletext broadcasting by comparing the video of the same television broadcast received by the user, and means for detecting the operating mode of the video tape recorder. Usage status can be detected. In addition, there is an effect that the usage status of various devices combined with the television can be comprehensively detected.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show a television set according to the present invention.
Figure 4 shows the general configuration of the sensor and examples of how it is connected to various devices, Figure 4 shows the configuration of the TV sensor in more detail, and Figures 5 to 7 show the video count and synchronization count. It is an explanatory diagram, and FIG. 5 is a specific circuit configuration diagram of the circuit section in the front stage of the video counter, and FIG. 6 is an operation waveform diagram related to video counting.
FIG. 7 is an operational waveform diagram related to synchronous counting. 1... Television sensor, 2... Antenna distributor, 3... Tuner, 4... Channel determination unit,
5...Video comparison section, 6...AV detection section, 7...
VTR mode detection section, 8... Power supply detection section, 9...
Data transmission section, TV, TV'...TV, VTR...
Video tape recorder, ANT _V , ANT _U ...
antenna.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A system in which a television is combined with equipment such as a video tape recorder, video disc player, television game set, personal computer, capsule adapter, teletext adapter, etc. means for detecting which device is being used based on the power state of the device and the television; and a device for detecting which of the devices is selected for viewing on the television;
means for detecting a television broadcast channel being viewed on the television and a television broadcast channel being recorded by the video tape recorder; and a tuner provided separately from the television broadcast video being viewed on the television. and a means for detecting the operation mode of the video tape recorder. TV sensor for rate measurement. 2. The means for detecting which of the devices is selected for viewing on the television includes means for time-sharingly inserting an identification signal into the video signal from the device that is input to the television; 2. The television sensor for measuring audience ratings according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining whether the identification signal is included in a video signal related to a program being displayed. 3. The means for detecting the channel of the television broadcast being viewed on the television and the channel of the television broadcast recorded on the video tape recorder is based on the vertical synchronization signal of the television broadcast received by a tuner provided separately and the channel of the television broadcast recorded on the video tape recorder. means for instructing to start and stop counting according to the timing with a vertical synchronization signal of the television broadcast being viewed or recorded by the video tape recorder; 2. The television sensor for measuring audience ratings according to claim 1, further comprising means for counting the number of horizontal synchronization signals of television broadcasts being broadcast or recorded by said video tape recorder. 4. The means for detecting the status of use of teletext by comparing the video of a television broadcast being viewed on a television with the video of the same television broadcast received by a separately provided tuner is provided on the tuner side and the television side. The audience rating according to claim 1, further comprising means for counting the number of peaks of the video signal between successive horizontal synchronizing signals provided in both of the above, and means for comparing the count values. TV sensor for measurement.