JPH09119993A - Timer device, electronic equipment with timer function, and remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-functional timer device which can be widely used and an electronic equipment with timer function. SOLUTION: Not only a reservation time but also information for adjustment such as image quality, sound quality, and sound volume are inputted as reservation setting information via a remote commander 12. The reservation setting information can be retained in an SRAM 105. A control circuit 100 monitors whether a setting time has come, from time data from a clock circuit 8. When the setting time has come, the control circuit 100 reads reservation setting information corresponding to the setting time from the SRAM 105, turns on power, and at the same time, controls image quality, sound volume, and sound quality according to the read information for adjustment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a timer device for controlling ON / OFF of a power source of an electronic device, an electronic device with a timer function, and a remote control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a timer device for controlling on / off of power sources of various electronic devices according to a set time has been widely used.

The timer device is used by being connected to a power supply line of a radio receiver or a television receiver, for example. Then, the user
The time when the power of the radio receiver or the television receiver is turned on and the time when it is turned off are set in advance. The timer device turns on the connected radio receiver or television receiver when it detects that the set time to turn on the power has come from the time data from the built-in clock circuit. To control.

In this case, the radio receiver or the television receiver whose power is turned on by the timer device outputs the sound or the image in the state of the volume and the image quality when the power was turned off last time. Therefore, when the power is turned on by the timer device, it is generally necessary to adjust the volume and image quality when the power is turned on to a desired state before setting the timer device.

In recent years, electronic equipment incorporating a timer device has been provided. For example, many television receivers and video tape recorders (hereinafter referred to as VTRs) having a timer device built therein are provided.

[0006] For example, in a television receiver having a built-in timer device, it is possible to set the tuning instruction information together with the power on / off time.
A program reservation function is realized. By using this program reservation function, it is possible to prevent missing of a television broadcast program that one wishes to watch (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-37389).

Also, in a VTR having a built-in timer device, so-called reserved recording can be realized by the timer device.

[0008]

The conventional timer device as described above may not be able to sufficiently meet the user's request.

For example, when the television receiver is made to wake up by using the conventional timer device, the volume when the power is turned on remains the same as the volume last adjusted for the television receiver. Is emitted.

For this reason, when the last adjusted volume is a low volume, the volume when the power is turned on remains a low volume, and the user does not notice that the television receiver is powered on. It happens that it is hard to notice. As described above, the conventional timer device may not be able to provide the user with a sufficient alarm function.

Similarly, regarding the image quality, when the television receiver is powered on by using a timer device, the image quality when the power is turned on is the image quality when the adjustment is performed last. Images will be provided until now.

[0012] Therefore, at night when the surroundings are dark, a television broadcast program can be viewed with the image quality suppressed, and the timer device is used to turn on the power in the morning when the surroundings are bright with the image quality kept as it is. In the case of, the image having a dark image quality is provided, which may result in an unsightly image.

Also, the type of television broadcast program to be viewed,
For example, even in movies, sports broadcasts, music programs, etc., there is an image quality suitable for viewing. Therefore, when the timer recording is performed by using the timer device, the television broadcast program provided at the time of reproduction is the television broadcast that was being watched immediately before the power was turned on, that is, immediately before the television was turned off last time. If the type is different from that of the program, the image is not provided with an appropriate image quality.

As described above, the conventional timer device can only control the power on / off and specify the channel to be selected, and the volume, sound quality, and image quality can be adjusted according to the set time and the type of TV broadcast program to be reserved. It was inconvenient because it could not be adjusted automatically.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned problems and provide a timer device, a timer function electronic device, and a remote control device that have a wide range of utilization.

[0016]

In order to solve the above problems, in a timer device according to the present invention, a clock circuit for providing time information, a setting input receiving means for receiving a setting input from a user, and the setting input receiving means. The setting time received by the means and the setting information holding means for holding the adjustment information for adjusting the reproduction output of the audio signal or the image quality of the reproduced image, and the time data from the clock circuit, It is characterized in that the adjustment information is supplied to the controlled device when the monitoring means detects whether or not the set time has come, and when the monitoring means detects that the set time has come.

According to the timer device having the above configuration, when the monitoring means detects that the set time set by the user has come, the adjustment information held in the setting information holding means is supplied to the controlled device. To be done. Therefore, in the controlled device, at the set time, reproduction is performed with the volume, sound quality, and / or image quality preset by the user.

The present invention also provides an electronic device with a timer function, which incorporates the function of the timer device as described above.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a remote control device incorporating the function of the timer device as described above.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which a timer device according to the present invention is applied to a television receiver will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the television receiver of this embodiment.

The television receiver of this embodiment is
Tuner unit 1, intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2, switch circuits SW1 and SW2, video signal processing circuit 3, superimposition display processing circuit 4, CRT display 5, audio signal processing circuit 6, speaker 7, external device such as video tape recorder The input terminal VD for receiving the supply of the video signal from the input terminal, the input terminal VA for receiving the supply of the audio signal from the external device, the clock circuit 8, the video RAM 9, the display controller 10, the remote control signal receiving / decoding unit 11, and the power supply circuit 13. The control circuit 100 includes a control circuit 100 including a microcomputer.

The tuner unit 1 selects a signal of a broadcast channel designated by a user's channel selection operation from the signal received by the antenna, and converts the selected broadcast wave signal into an intermediate frequency signal. The intermediate frequency signal from the tuner unit 1 is supplied to the intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2.

The intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2 amplifies the intermediate frequency signal and performs detection processing to demodulate the video signal and the audio signal. The demodulated video signal is supplied to one input terminal TV of the switch circuit SW1, and the demodulated audio signal is supplied to the switch circuit SW2.
To one input terminal TV.

A video signal from an external device such as a VTR is supplied to the other input terminal VT of the switch circuit SW1 via an input terminal VD. An audio signal from an external device such as a VTR is supplied to the other input terminal VT of the switch circuit SW2 via the input terminal AU.

The switch circuits SW1 and SW2 are switching circuits for outputting a signal from the tuner unit 1 or a signal from an external device. Switch circuit SW1, S
W2 is switched by a switching control signal from the control circuit 100. The switching control signals for the switch circuits SW1 and SW2 are common.

The switch circuits SW1 and SW2 are
When the user views a television broadcast program, the input terminal T
When it is switched to the V side and the video and audio from an external device such as a VTR are viewed, the input terminal is switched to the VT side. The video signal from the switch circuit SW1 is supplied to the video signal processing circuit 3. The audio signal from the switch circuit SW2 is supplied to the audio signal processing circuit 6.

The video signal processing circuit 3 is composed of, for example, a DSP (digital signal processor) for a video signal, and the video signal processing circuit 3 is controlled by the control circuit 100.
In accordance with the image quality adjustment data supplied to, the reproduction image is subjected to image quality adjustment processing such as brightness (brightness), contrast (grayscale), hue (hue), and sharpness (sharpness). The video signal from the video signal processing circuit 3 is supplied to the superimposition display processing circuit 4.

The superimposition display processing circuit 4 performs processing for superimposing the video signal from the video signal processing circuit 3 and the characters and figures described later on the screen by, for example, superimposing. The processing in the superimposition display processing circuit 4 is appropriately performed under the control of the control circuit 100. The signal to be superimposed is generated under the control of the control circuit 100 as described later.

The video signal from the superimposition display processing circuit 4 is
In this television receiver, it is supplied to the CRT display 5, and the screen of the CRT display 5
The image of the selected television broadcast program and the image by the video signal from the external device such as the VTR supplied through the input terminal VD are displayed in color.

The audio signal processing circuit 6 adjusts the volume and sound quality of the reproduced voice for the audio signal from the switch circuit SW2. The audio signal processing circuit 6 includes, for example, a DSP for audio signals,
The volume and the sound quality are adjusted according to the reproduction audio adjustment data from the control circuit 100.

The audio signal processing circuit 6 is also configured so as to be capable of performing a stereo / monaural switching process and a process of providing a reproduced sound field characteristic called "surround". Here, "surround" is one of the stereo reproduction methods, and it is possible to obtain a reproduced sound with a sense of presence by a method such as adjusting the reverberation component of the left and right channels of the audio signal, or another method. It is a thing.

The audio signal from the audio signal processing circuit 6 is supplied to the speaker 7 and the reproduced sound is emitted.

Next, the control circuit 100 will be described.
In addition, when the so-called main power switch is turned on in a state in which this television receiver is connected to an AC outlet, the power of a remote control device (hereinafter referred to as a remote commander), which is a remote control signal transmitting device, is turned on. It can be turned on and off, and with the main power switch turned on,
The control circuit 100 is always in operation.

As described above, the control circuit 100 comprises a microcomputer, and has a CPU 101 and a ROM 103 for the system bus 102.
The DRAM 104 and the SRAM 105 are connected to each other. Further, I / O ports 111 to 117 are connected to the system bus 102 so that various signals can be input and output.

The control circuit 100 includes the tuner unit 1
To the switch circuits SW1 and SW2 by supplying a tuning control signal via the I / O port 111.
A switching control signal is supplied via the / O port 113.

Further, the control circuit 100 supplies the above-mentioned image quality adjustment data to the video signal processing circuit 3 via the I / O port 114, and the I / O port 6 to the audio signal processing circuit 6. Volume via the / O port 114,
Provides playback audio adjustment data such as sound quality.

The control circuit 100 supplies to the superimposed display processing circuit 4 via the I / O port 115 a control signal for controlling whether or not to perform superimposed display. Examples of superimposition display in the superimposition display processing circuit include a display that shows the number of channels that have been switched when switching channels, a display of the current reception channel, and a bar display that indicates how loud the volume has become. In addition to the display, a display of an information setting screen for setting information necessary for using the timer reservation function described later can be given.

Due to this superimposed display, the system bus 102
For, the video RAM 9 is connected to the video RAM
A display controller 10 is connected to 9.

The video RAM 9 uses the character information recorded in the ROM 103 to temporarily store the character information and the symbol information formed by the control circuit 100.

The display controller 10 is a CPU
According to the program control of 101, the information stored in the video RAM is read and supplied to the superimposition display processing circuit 4 for superimposition display on the screen.

In this case, the ROM 103 stores the font data and image data of the characters and symbols necessary for the superimposed display, and the font data and images of the necessary characters and symbols are read according to the program executed by the CPU 101. It is output and transferred to an arbitrary address of the video RAM 9. Then, the information stored in the video RAM 9 is supplied to the superimposition display processing circuit 4 via the display controller 10 so that the video R
Image data of AM9 is combined with video signal and CR
It will be displayed on the screen of the T display 5 for an appropriate time.

In this television receiver, as shown in FIG. 1, the clock circuit 8 is connected to the system bus 102 via the I / O port 112, and the power supply circuit is connected via the I / O port 116. 13 is the system bus 102
It is connected to the.

The clock circuit 8 keeps the current time. And
The current time information is supplied to the system bus 102 via the I / O port 112. The power supply voltage is supplied to the clock circuit 8 even when the power of the television receiver is off. That is, although not shown, the clock circuit 8 is supplied with a power supply voltage from another power supply such as a battery or a rechargeable battery. As a result, the current time can always be accurately timed, and the power supply to the television receiver can be turned on and off using the timer function.

The clock circuit 8 has not only hours, minutes and seconds but also years, months, days and days of week as information. Then, the clock circuit 8 also corrects the time according to the time correction information supplied through the I / O port 113 by the execution of the program by the CPU 101.

Further, the control circuit 100 turns on / off the power supply to the power supply circuit 13 through the I / O port 116.
A control signal for controlling off is supplied.

When the power supply circuit 13 receives a control signal for turning on the power supply from the control circuit 100, the power supply circuit 13 receives the supply of the AC power supply voltage from the AC outlet and supplies it to each part of the television receiver. A voltage is formed and is supplied to each part.

Further, when the power supply circuit 13 receives a control signal for turning off the power supply from the control circuit 100,
Stop the supply of stabilized power supply voltage to each part of the television receiver. As described above, unless the so-called main power supply is turned off, the stabilized power supply voltage is supplied to some circuits such as the control circuit 100, and the television receiver using the timer function described later is supplied to the television receiver. The power can be turned on and off, and the power can be turned on and off by remote control using the remote commander 12.

Remote commander 12 which is a remote control device
In this embodiment, the television receiver is so-called wirelessly controlled by using, for example, infrared rays. The remote commander 12, as shown in FIG.
A key operation unit having keys 121 to 131 is provided.

In the remote commander 12 shown in FIG. 2, the power key 21 is used when turning on or off the power of the television receiver. The sleep key 22 is used when operating a so-called sleep timer function. Also, muting key 2
3 is used to mute the sound emitted from the television receiver and to cancel the mute.

The TV / video key 24 is used to switch between outputting a TV broadcast program selected by the tuner section and outputting an image and a sound from a VTR which is an external device. That is, TV / video key 2
By pressing 4, the switch circuit SW1,
SW2 is switched.

The numeric key group 25 corresponding to the numbers 0 to 9 is used when various information is input, such as input of tuning instruction information. Channel up / down key 27 is 1
It is used when changing the selected channel for each channel. The volume adjustment key 28 is used when adjusting the volume.

The display key 26 is used when the channel number of the currently selected channel is displayed on the screen.

Also, the menu key 31 and the return key 3
2, cursor movement keys 33a, 33b, 33c, 33
d, reset key 34, enter key 35, selection key 3
6 displays a menu, selects a process from the menu, and timer reservation time, volume and sound quality, as will be described later.
Used for inputting image quality setting information.

When the timer is reserved, this television receiver receives not only the time information but also a menu in which executable processes such as image quality adjustment, sound quality adjustment, channel preset processing, etc. are registered. It is configured so that it can be displayed on the screen of the machine and a desired process can be selected and executed from the displayed menu. Further, the setting information can be input by operating the remote commander 12 while observing the guidance and the like displayed on the screen of the television receiver.

Then, the remote commander 12 forms, for example, an infrared remote control signal corresponding to the key pressed by the user and supplies it to the remote control signal receiving / decoding section 11 of the television receiver.

The remote control signal receiving / decoding section 11 receives a remote control signal from the remote commander 12 and decodes the received remote control signal. Then, the received and decoded remote control signal is supplied to the system bus 102 via the I / O port 117.

The CPU 101 analyzes the decoded signal of the remote control signal fetched through the I / O port 117, and performs processing according to the remote control operation, such as tuning control of image quality, sound quality, voice, superimposition display control. , And switching control of the switch circuits SW1 and SW2.

In this television receiver, the DRAM 104 of the control circuit 100 is mainly used as a work area for calculations and the like.

Further, the SRAM 105 has a structure of a non-volatile memory in which power is backed up by a battery. Then, the SRAM 105 turns on / off the power switch.
It is used as a storage area for holding information about the last memory function such as channel, volume, sound quality, and image quality when turned off.

The SRAM 105 is also used in this television receiver as a storage area for holding timer reservation information set using the menu screen as described above. In this case, the timer reservation information
In addition to the time information that specifies the time when the power is turned on and off, or the time when the channel is selected, and the tuning instruction information that indicates the broadcast channel you want to select, the image quality adjustment signal, the volume adjustment signal, and the sound quality. The setting information of the adjustment signal is included.

The television receiver of this embodiment configured as described above receives a remote control signal from the remote commander 12, and controls it via the remote control signal receiving / decoding section 11. Take in.

When the power key 21 of the remote commander 12 is pressed, the control circuit 100 determines that the signal is a remote control signal for turning the power on or off, and the system circuit 102 and the I / O port 116 are used. The power supply circuit 13 is controlled to turn on or off the power of the television receiver.

When the channel up / down key 27 or the numeric key is pressed on the remote commander 12,
The control circuit 100 determines that the remote control signal is a signal instructing a selected channel, and the system bus 102, I / O
The tuner unit 1 is controlled via the O port 111 to perform a tuning process according to a user's instruction. The broadcast wave signal selected is supplied to the intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2. The video signal demodulated by the intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2 is supplied to the CRT display 5 via the switch circuit SW1, the video signal processing circuit 3, and the superimposition display processing circuit 4, and the video of the selected television broadcast program is displayed. Is played.

On the other hand, the audio signal demodulated by the intermediate frequency and detection circuit 2 is supplied to the speaker 7 via the switch circuit SW2 and the audio signal processing circuit 6, and the sound of the selected television broadcast program is emitted. To be done.

If the remote control signal from the remote commander 12 is a signal instructing to adjust the image quality or a signal instructing to adjust the volume or sound quality, the control circuit 100 causes the system bus 102, I / O. The video signal processing circuit 3 and the audio signal processing circuit 6 are controlled via the port 114 to adjust the image quality, volume, and sound quality.

Then, for example, in the remote commander 12,
When the key 26 is pressed and the remote control signal in the control circuit 100 is a signal instructing display of characters created in the control circuit 100 on an image, such as a signal instructing display of the selected channel number, The control circuit 100 is
The superimposition display processing circuit 4 is controlled via the system bus 102 and the I / O port 115. At the same time, video RAM 9
The image data to be displayed on the display is generated and supplied to the superimposition display processing circuit 4 via the display controller 10. As a result, for example, the selected channel number and the like are overlaid and displayed on the reproduced image, for example, in a superimposed manner.

In the remote commander 12, the key 24
Is pressed, the control circuit 100 indicates that the remote control signal is an instruction to reproduce the image and sound from the VTR.
If the control circuit 100 determines that the system bus 1
02, the switching signal is supplied to the switch circuits SW1 and SW2 via the I / O port 113. As a result, the switch circuits SW1 and SW2 are switched to the input terminal VTR side, and the image and sound from the VRT are output.

At this time, the user can also control and adjust the image quality, volume, and sound quality through the remote commander 12, as in the case of watching a television broadcast program.

The television receiver has the clock circuit 8 and the timer function, and the timer reservation information can be set as follows.

[Setting of timer reservation information] Referring to FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. 4 which is a continuation thereof,
The setting process of the timer reservation information in this television receiver will be described.

When setting timer reservation information for the television receiver of this embodiment, the user first sets the remote receiver shown in FIG. 2 when the television receiver is powered on. Press the menu key 31 of the commander 12. This allows the remote commander 1
2 outputs a remote control signal (remote control command) requesting menu display.

As described above, this television receiver has the control circuit 100 while the main power is on.
Has been activated. Then, it is constantly monitored whether or not the remote control signal is received (steps 201, 2).
02).

When the control circuit 100 detects in step 202 that the remote control signal is received, the control circuit 100 proceeds to step 20.
3, the process determines whether or not the remote control command requests menu display, and if it does not request menu display, the process proceeds to step 204 to perform other processing according to the remote control command. , Step 2
Returning to 01, the remote control signal input is awaited.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 203 that the remote control command is for requesting the menu display, the process proceeds to step 205 and the menu screen is CR.
It is displayed on the T display 5.

At this time, in the control circuit 100, R
A program for displaying a menu is read from the OM 103, and image data for displaying the menu is created in the video RAM 9. Then, the image data created in the video RAM 9 is supplied to the superimposition display processing circuit 4 via the display controller 10 as described above. The overlay display processing circuit 4 includes a control circuit 10
Under the control of 0, superimposition processing is performed and a menu is displayed on the CRT display 5.

In this case, in this menu screen, for example, "1. time adjustment", "2. timer reservation information setting", ... Is displayed.

The user then selects the remote commander 12
By operating the selection keys 33a and 33b of, the cursor on the menu screen is moved up and down, the cursor is positioned on the item number of the process to be executed, and the enter key 32 is pressed to execute the process to be executed. Can be selected.

Then, in step 206, it is determined whether or not the processing item selected by the user is time adjustment. If it is clock adjustment, the process proceeds to step 207, and the setting screen for time adjustment is displayed on the screen of the display 5. Then, in the next step 208, year, month, day,
Accepts day and time settings. Then, in the next step 209, when the remote control command of the setting end is detected, the process returns to step 201, the display of the CRT display 5 is returned to the original image display, and the state of waiting for the input of the remote control command is returned.

When it is determined in step 206 that the processing item selected by the user is not time adjustment, the process proceeds to step 210, and it is determined whether or not the timer reservation information setting is selected. When it is determined that the timer reservation information is not set, the process proceeds to step 211,
Step 20 after processing other menu items
Returning to 1, the display of the CRT display 5 is returned to the display of the original image, and the state of waiting for the input of the remote control command is returned.

When it is determined in step 210 that the timer reservation information setting has been selected, the control circuit 100 enters a timer reservation information setting processing routine. That is, from step 210,
Proceeding to step 221 in FIG. 4, for example, a timer reservation information setting screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. In this case as well, in this setting screen, the image data for displaying the setting screen formed in the video RAM 9 by the control circuit 100 is superimposed by the control circuit 100 via the display controller 10 in the same manner as the above-mentioned menu display. It is displayed by being supplied to the circuit 4.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, on the timer reservation information setting screen, day of the week, time,
The channel, image quality, sound quality and volume can be set.

In FIG. 5, the event number area 5
Reference numeral 1 is an event number setting area which is an index number of timer reservation information to be set. In this embodiment, each timer reservation information is registered in the SRAM 105 with an event number attached thereto. With this event number, the television receiver of this embodiment can set a plurality of timer reservation information and can easily correct or cancel the timer reservation information after the setting. There is.

The day of the week setting area 52 is an area for setting the day of the week. The reservation time setting area 53 is an area for setting the time when the power is turned on. The channel selection channel setting area 54 is an area for setting a channel number to be selected when the power is turned on. The image quality setting area 55 is an area for setting the image quality when the power is turned on. The sound quality setting area 56 is
This is an area for setting the sound quality when the power is on. The volume setting area 57 is an area for setting the volume when the power is turned on.

Each setting area can be selected by operating the cursor movement keys 33a to 33d of the remote commander 12 by the user, and the selected setting area is notified to the user by, for example, being highlighted. Then, when the selection key 36 is operated in the selected setting area, the setting in the setting area can be performed.

For example, when the event number area 51 is selected and the selection key 36 is operated, the event number changes, and the contents previously set as the event number are displayed on the screen. After that, when the enter key 35 is pressed, the event number is confirmed. Also,
When the day of the week setting area 52 is selected and the selection key 36 is operated, the day of the week changes cyclically. After that, when the enter key 35 is pressed, it is confirmed on that day of the week.

In this embodiment, the time setting in the reserved time setting area 53 is performed by moving the cursor displayed on the time setting bar to the left or right of the screen by operating the selection key 36. Then, first, by operating the select key 36 and pressing the enter key 35, the power-on start time can be set. After that, by operating the selection key 36, the duration of power-on from the start time can be set. That is, the power-off time is set. When the enter key 35 is pressed, the reservation time setting is confirmed. The set reservation time is notified to the user by, for example, highlighting the corresponding portion of the time setting bar as shown in FIG.

When the channel selection channel setting area 54 is selected and the selection key 36 is operated, channel selection channels preset in the television receiver are sequentially selected, and then the enter key 35 is pressed. , Will be confirmed on that channel.

The image quality is set in the image quality setting area 55 as follows. That is, in this embodiment, the setting of the image quality adjustment information is “MOV
This is performed by selecting from preset options such as "IE", "SPORTS", and "NORMAL".

For example, "MOVIE" suppresses the contrast (shading) and sharpness (sharpness), and provides an image quality suitable for watching movies and dramas. Further, "SPORTS" has enhanced contrast and sharpness, and provides an image quality suitable for watching a sports program with a lot of movement. Also, "NORMA
L ″ provides an image quality in which the brightness (brightness), the contrast, the hue (hue), and the sharpness are almost intermediate values.

With the cursor movement keys 33a to 33d,
When the image quality setting area 55 is selected and the selection key 36 is operated, the image quality options are sequentially and cyclically selected. After that, if you press the enter key 35,
The selection of the target image quality adjustment information is confirmed.

Next, the setting of the sound quality adjustment information in the sound quality adjustment information setting area 56 is performed in this embodiment.
This is done by setting whether the surround effect is turned on or off. That is, with the cursor movement keys 33a to 33d, the sound quality setting area 5
When 6 is selected and the selection key 36 is operated, “ON
Since "(surround effect on)" and "OFF (surround effect off)" are alternately displayed as selection items, the sound quality is set by selecting either of them and pressing the enter key 35.

The volume setting in the volume setting area 57 can be made arbitrary in this embodiment.
That is, the volume setting area 57 is displayed on the cursor movement key 33.
a to 33d, and the selection key 36 is selected by the user.
When is operated, the volume level is arbitrarily set. FIG.
In the example, the volume is displayed as a bar and is displayed as "1".
Numerical values with the maximum value of "00" are also displayed.

When all the items shown in FIG. 5 are input, the user confirms each item, and if there is an item to be corrected, the user moves the item to be corrected with the cursor movement keys 33a to 33d. You can select and modify the settings. Each of these selected timer reservation information,
It is temporarily stored in the DRAM 104.

When the setting of the necessary items is completed, the user depresses the enter key 35 again. This completes the setting of the timer reservation information. That is, when the enter key 35 is pressed twice in succession, the control circuit 100 determines that the setting of the timer reservation information is completed, writes the series of timer reservation information temporarily stored in the DRAM 104 into the SRAM 105, Hold.

The flow of the above setting is as shown in FIG. That is, after displaying the timer setting screen in step 221, the process proceeds to step 222, and it is determined whether or not the setting is completed. If the setting is not completed, step 22
In step 3, it is determined whether or not the reservation time has been set. If the reservation time is set, the process proceeds to step 224, the reservation time setting as described above is accepted, and then the process returns to step 221 to determine whether or not the setting is completed.

When it is determined in step 223 that the reservation time has not been set, the flow proceeds to step 225, and it is determined whether or not the channel selection has been set. Then, if it is the setting of the channel selection, the process proceeds to step 226, accepts the setting of the channel selection as described above, and then returns to step 221 to determine whether the setting is completed.

If it is determined in step 225 that the channel input is not set, the flow advances to step 227 to determine whether the image quality is set. Then, if the image quality is set, the process proceeds to step 228, the image quality setting at the reserved time as described above is accepted, and then, step 221.
Then, it is judged whether or not the setting is completed.

If it is determined in step 227 that the image quality is not set, the flow advances to step 229 to determine whether the sound quality is set. If the sound quality is set, the process proceeds to step 230 to accept the sound quality setting at the reserved time as described above, and then returns to step 221 to determine whether the setting is completed.

When it is determined in step 229 that the sound quality is not set, the flow proceeds to step 231, and it is determined whether or not the sound volume is set. Then, if the volume is set, the process proceeds to step 232, the volume setting as described above is accepted, and then the process returns to step 221 to determine whether or not the setting is completed.

When it is determined in step 231 that the volume is not set, the process returns to step 222.

When it is determined in step 222 that the setting is completed, the set value of each set item is set to S.
After storing in the RAM 105, the reservation setting mode ends.
Then, the process returns to the state of waiting for remote command input in step 201.

The reset key 32 is pressed when the setting of the timer reservation information is stopped, for example, to stop the processing and return to the normal image display. Further, the return key 34 is used to return the setting of each item to the initial state in the setting screen shown in FIG.

Thus, this television receiver is
When the power is turned on using the timer reservation function, the image quality, sound quality, and volume can be adjusted according to the image quality, sound quality, and volume adjustment information set as described above.

It is not always necessary to set the image quality, sound quality, and volume, but only the necessary ones can be set.
That is, it is possible to set only the volume and not the image quality and sound quality.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a timer reservation information setting screen according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the case of FIG. 6, the setting of the volume in the volume setting area 57 is also made by selecting several preset volume levels, that is, "HIGH (high volume)", "MIDDLE (intermediate volume)" or "LOW (low volume) Volume) ”.

In the reserved time setting area 53 of the timer reservation information setting screen shown in FIG. 6, both the power-on time and the power-off time are set. In this case, any time is set by operating the number key group 25, for example. Other days of the week, channels, image quality, and sound quality are set in the same manner as in the timer reservation information setting screen shown in FIG.

The information about the image quality and the sound quality is set by selecting from the options used in advance as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and in the case of the image quality, for example. , Brightness, contrast, hue, and sharpness can be arbitrarily adjusted by using bar display or numerical display.

Regarding the sound volume, for example, when both the bar display and the numerical value display are set together as described above, one of them is set as the current adjustment value,
It is possible to set the volume while comparing the other as the set value.

[Execution of Timer Reservation Function] Next, the execution processing of the timer reservation function in the television receiver of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As described above, when the timer reservation information is set in the SRAM 105 and the reservation execution mode is set,
The CPU 101 of the control circuit 100 starts a process of comparing the set power-on time with the current time supplied from the clock circuit 8 via the I / O port 112. This comparison process is always performed, for example, at regular intervals.

When the current time and the set time of the SRAM 105 match, the CPU 101 causes the SRAM 105 to
The reserved channel selection information for specifying the channel selected at the set time and the reserved setting information for the adjustment information such as the image quality, sound quality, and volume at the set time are read from (step 301).

Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the television receiver is currently powered on (step 302), and when it is determined that the television receiver is not powered on, the power source circuit is set as described above. Control 13 to turn on the power (step 303).

If it is determined in step 302 that the power is on, or
When the power is turned on in the process of step 303, next, C
The channel currently selected by the PU 101 is SR
It is determined whether or not the channel matches the channel designated by the reserved channel selection information read from the AM 105 (step 304). When it is determined that the channel selected here does not match the channel specified by the reserved channel selection information, the CPU 101 causes the SRAM 10 to operate.
The tuner unit 1 according to the reservation tuning information read from
To change the selected channel (step 30
5).

In the judgment processing of step 304, when it is judged that the selected channel and the channel specified by the reserved channel selection information match, or the channel is changed in the processing of step 305. After that, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the reservation setting information read from the SRAM 105 includes adjustment information for adjusting image quality, volume, and sound quality (step 306).

When it is determined in the determination process of step 306 that there is no adjustment information for adjusting the image quality, the volume, and the sound quality, the CPU 101 stores the data in the so-called last memory (updated last) stored in the SRAM 105. Information for adjusting image quality, volume, and sound quality)
, And controls the video signal processing circuit 3 and the audio signal processing circuit 6 in accordance with this data,
The sound quality is adjusted (step 307).

When it is determined in the determination processing of step 307 that the adjustment information for adjusting the image quality, the volume, and the sound quality is reserved, the SRAM 10 is set.
5, the video signal processing circuit 3 and the audio signal processing circuit 6 according to the image quality, volume, and sound quality adjustment information read from
To adjust the image quality, volume, and sound quality at the set time (step 308).

As described above, when the power is turned on by using the timer reservation function in the television receiver, the image quality, volume, and sound quality adjustment information is set so as to correspond to the time when the power is turned on. As a result, the image output and the audio output can be obtained at the reserved time with the image quality, the volume, and the sound quality set in advance by the user in accordance with the preset adjustment information.

For example, if the television receiver is to be used as an alarm clock, the request can be sufficiently answered by setting the reproduction output volume to a high level. Also, by setting the image quality according to the type of TV broadcast program selected at the time when the power is turned on, it is not necessary to adjust the image quality after the start of viewing, and the usability is greatly improved.

Although the timer device is built in the television receiver in the above-described embodiment,
The timer device may be configured separately from the television device.

In this case, the timer device includes a clock circuit,
A memory that holds the set time and adjustment information, a control circuit that has a function to monitor whether the set time has arrived, and a function that writes and reads adjustment information, a key input unit that accepts the setting input of the set time and adjustment information And so on.

Then, the timer device as an external device monitors whether or not the set time has come, and when it detects that the set time has come, it outputs the adjustment information from the memory together with the control information for turning the power on or off. Is read out and supplied to the television receiver.

At this time, information is transmitted and received between the timer device as an external device and the television receiver by an external input terminal for receiving control information and adjustment information from the timer device to the television receiver. Is provided so that the operation is performed via the cable.

Further, for example, an infrared remote control signal may be transmitted from the timer device to supply power control information and the adjustment information to the television receiver. It is also possible to send and receive control information and adjustment information by radio waves.

[Other Embodiments] Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a remote commander (remote operation device) for a television receiver will be described.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the remote commander of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, this remote commander includes a key input unit 41, a remote control signal generation / transmission unit 42, a clock circuit 43, an LCD (liquid crystal display) 44, and a system bus 40.
2, CPU 401, ROM 403, DRAM 40
4 and a control circuit 400 to which the SRAM 405 is connected.

I / O to the system bus 402
The remote control signal transmission unit 42 is connected to the system bus 402 via the port 411. Further, the clock circuit 412 is connected to the system bus 402 via the I / O port 412.
It is connected to the. Further, the LCD display 44 is connected to the system bus 402 via the display controller 413. Although not shown, the LCD display 44 is provided on the front surface of the housing of the remote commander.

The ROM 403 of the control circuit 400 is
It stores character font data for forming a program and guidance displayed on the LCD display 44. The DRAM 404 is used as a work area of the control circuit 400.

The key operation section 41 is a section for receiving an operation from the user, and has the same key configuration as the remote commander 12 described above with reference to FIG. 2, and includes a power on / off key, a ten-key pad, and a menu. It is composed of a plurality of keys for timer reservation setting, such as keys, cursor movement keys, and selection keys. The general-purpose remote commander is provided with a timer reservation information setting key 41a for instructing start / setting registration of timer reservation information.

The remote control signal transmitter 22 includes a control circuit 40.
The instruction information and control information from 0 are transmitted as an infrared remote control signal, for example. The television receiver is controlled by the transmitted remote control signal.

The clock circuit 43 provides the current time in the same manner as the clock circuit 8 described above. Further, the CPU 4 of the control circuit 100
According to the control of 01, the time and the like can be corrected and changed.

Then, in the case of this remote commander, when the timer reservation information setting key 41a is pressed, the timer reservation information setting mode is set, and the timer reservation information can be set and input, and the menu described above is displayed on the screen of the LCD display 44. A screen similar to the screen is displayed. And
According to the guidance displayed on the LCD display 44, the user can set the time to turn on the television receiver, which is the target electronic device, the tuning instruction information, the image quality when the power is turned on, the volume, and the sound quality. Enter the information to adjust.

The input of each piece of information is performed by operating the various keys of the key input unit 41 as described above. A signal corresponding to the key pressed by the user is supplied from the key input unit 41 to the control circuit 400.

When the signal from the key input section 41 is the timer reservation information, the CPU 401 of the control circuit 400 associates the time when the power is turned on with each piece of information, and sets S
It is stored in the RAM 405. In this way, the timer reservation information is stored in the SRAM 405, and when the timer reservation setting is completed, the remote commander enters the timer reservation mode.

In this timer reservation mode, the CPU
401 monitors the current time from the clock circuit 43, and compares this current time with the time (set time) when the power of the television receiver held in the SRAM 405 is turned on.

When the present time and the set time coincide with each other by this monitoring processing, the control circuit 400 performs processing for transmitting the set timer reservation information to the television receiver as a remote control signal, as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

That is, the CPU 40 of the control circuit 400
As described above, 1 reads the reservation setting information corresponding to the set time from the SRAM 405 when the current time and the set time are first detected or the current time is first detected to be over the set time as described above. The signal is supplied to the remote control signal transmitter 22 via the / O port 411 (step 50).
1).

The remote control signal transmission unit 22 generates a remote control signal corresponding to the reservation setting information supplied thereto and transmits it to the television receiver (step 50).
2). This remote control signal includes a power-on control signal, as well as reservation tuning information, sound quality, volume, and adjustment information regarding image quality.

Upon receiving the remote control signal, the television receiver performs power-on, channel selection, image quality adjustment, volume adjustment, and sound quality adjustment based on the remote control signal.

Therefore, the timer function of the remote commander is used without changing the software or the circuit configuration of the electronic device such as a television receiver, which is the object of control, so that the power is turned on. At the same time, it realizes a multifunctional timer function that can also adjust image quality, volume, and sound quality.

In the above-described embodiments, the television receiver has been mainly described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
It can also be applied to various AV devices such as VTRs.

The present invention can be applied not only to AV equipment that provides both voice and images, but also to audio equipment such as radio receivers and video tape recorders. In this case, the timer function need only be capable of adjusting the volume and sound quality.

[0142]

As described above, according to the timer device, the electronic device with the timer function, and the remote control device according to the present invention, when the electronic device is powered on by using the timer function, the sound quality at the power-on time is set. It is possible to automatically adjust the sound reproduction output such as volume and volume according to the user's preference and the power-on time. Further, in the case of an electronic device that reproduces images and sounds, the image quality, volume, sound quality, etc. can be adjusted according to the type of images reproduced at the power-on time.

When the timer device according to the present invention is used as an external device or when the timer device according to the present invention is applied to a remote commander, the electronic device side does not change anything and the power-on time is changed. It is possible to automatically adjust the sound reproduction output such as the sound volume and sound quality according to the user's preference and the power-on time, and to adjust the image quality according to the type of image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a television receiver.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a remote commander of the television receiver of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation of a main part of the embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an operation of a main part of the embodiment in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a timer reservation information setting screen used in the television receiver of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of a timer reservation information setting screen.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining execution processing of a timer reservation function in the embodiment when the present invention is applied to a television receiver.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a remote commander.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining execution processing of a timer reservation function in the embodiment when the present invention is applied to a remote commander.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tuner section 2 Intermediate frequency and detection circuit 3 Video signal processing circuit 4 Superimposition display processing circuit 5 CRT display 6 Audio signal processing circuit 7 Speaker 8 Clock circuit 9 Video RAM 10 Display controller 11 Remote control signal receiving / decoding section 12 Remote control commander 13 Power supply Circuit SW1, SW2 Switch circuit 100 Control circuit 101 CPU 102 System bus 103 ROM 104 DRAM 105 SRAM 111 to 117 I / O port

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A clock circuit for providing time information, a setting input receiving means for receiving a setting input from a user, a setting time received by the setting input receiving means, and a reproduction output for adjusting an audio signal. Setting information holding means for holding adjustment information, monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the set time is reached by time data from the clock circuit, and detecting that the set time is reached by the monitoring means And a control unit that supplies the adjustment information to the controlled device when the timer device is operated. 2. A clock circuit for providing time information, a setting input receiving means for receiving a setting input from a user, a set time received by the setting input receiving means, and an adjustment for adjusting the image quality of a reproduced image. Setting information holding means for holding information for use, monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the set time is reached by time data from the clock circuit, and when the monitoring means detects that the set time is reached And a control unit for supplying the adjustment information to the controlled device. 3. A voice reproduction output adjusting means for adjusting a voice reproduction output, a clock circuit for providing time information, a setting input receiving means for receiving a setting input from a user, and a setting received by the setting input receiving means. Setting information holding means for holding time and adjustment information for adjusting the reproduction output of the audio signal, and monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the set time is reached by time data from the clock circuit, Control means for controlling the audio reproduction output adjusting means according to the adjustment information held in the setting information holding means when the monitoring means detects that the set time has come. An electronic device with a characteristic timer function. 4. A reproduced image adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of a reproduced image, a clock circuit for providing clock information, a setting input accepting means for accepting a setting input from a user, and a setting accepted by the setting input accepting means. Setting information holding means for holding time and adjustment information for adjusting the image quality of the reproduced image; monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the set time is reached by time data from the clock circuit; Control means for controlling the reproduced image adjusting means in accordance with the adjustment information held in the setting information holding means when the monitoring means detects that it has become the setting means. An electronic device with a timer function. 5. A key operation unit for receiving a setting input by a user, and a setting information holding unit for holding a set time accepted by the key operation unit and adjustment information for adjusting a reproduction output of an audio signal. A clock circuit that provides time information, a monitoring unit that monitors whether or not the set time is reached based on time data from the clock circuit, and when the monitoring unit detects that the set time is reached And a remote control signal transmitting means for transmitting a remote control signal according to the adjustment information held in the setting information holding means. 6. A key operation unit for receiving a setting input by a user, a setting time input via the key operation unit, and a setting information holding unit for holding a parameter for adjusting the image quality of a reproduced image, and a time. A clock circuit that provides information, a monitoring unit that monitors whether or not the set time is reached based on time data from the clock circuit, and the setting when the monitoring unit detects that the set time is reached. And a remote control signal transmitting section for generating and transmitting a remote control signal according to the parameter held in the information holding means, and a remote control device.