JPH1093948A - Information reception controller and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a manager to separately limit the reception of information to each user and then to prevent the reception of information that gives adverse effects to a certain specific user. SOLUTION: The manager sets receiving limit information that separately limits information reception to each user in advance through an input part 42. The reception limit information is stored in a storage part 44. A reception part 41 receives various information that are externally sent and when a user select use information among them, a control part 43 separately limits the reception of the use information to each user based on the reception limit information stored in the part 44. Thereby, the reception of information that gives adverse effects to a certain specific user can be prevented without giving troubles to other users.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information reception control device and an information reception control method applied to all devices having a reception function, such as a television, a radio, and a terminal connected to an information network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Television broadcasting, for example, can be said to be an information transmission means which is superior in terms of up-to-dateness and amount of information as compared with information transmission media such as newspapers and magazines. Television broadcasts are broadcasts that transmit instantaneous images of stationary or moving objects and accompanying audio and other sounds. Television broadcasting systems have been independently developed in various countries around the world, and are not standardized worldwide. The occupied frequency bandwidth of channels related to the broadcasting system, the number of scanning lines, the number of images per second, the modulation format of video and audio, the method of superimposing color signals, etc. can be broadly divided into NTS
C, SECAM, PAL, etc.
In Japan, the NTSC system is adopted.

A broadcasting station efficiently produces and edits news reports, educational programs, entertainment programs, and the like, and broadcasts them by radio (radio wave) or cable (cable). On the receiving side, various broadcast programs transmitted from each broadcasting station can be optionally received using a television receiver. In this case, on the broadcast station side, there is no need to individually change the broadcast content for each user or to add restrictions. Therefore, on the receiving side, anyone can receive all broadcast programs equally as long as they have a television receiver. This is true not only for television broadcasting but also for radio broadcasting.

[0004] In addition, a terminal connected to an information network can receive various kinds of information from various servers connected to the network. Also in this case, on the information providing side, that is, the server side, there is no need to individually change the service content for each user or to impose any restrictions. Therefore, on the receiving side, as long as the terminal is connected to the network, anyone can receive all services equally.

[0005]

As described above, there are information from various information transmission sources such as television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, and network information. Was able to receive easily.

[0006] However, while there are a large number of information sources today and various types of information are circulating, from a legal or common sense point of view, some users, for example, minors, can be informed. Contains a lot of information that must not be done.
At present, there is no means for restricting such information on the receiving side, and it is impossible to prevent a minor from receiving the information. Further, even if the restriction can be made, there is a problem that the information cannot be used at all, so that other users are troubled.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and enables an administrator to limit the reception of information for each user, thereby preventing the reception of information that adversely affects a specific user. An object of the present invention is to provide an information reception control device and an information reception control method that can prevent the information reception control device.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information reception control device, comprising: reception restriction setting means for setting reception restriction information for restricting information reception for each user; and setting by the reception restriction setting means. Receiving limit storing means for storing the received receiving limit information, receiving means for selectively receiving various kinds of information sent from the outside, and receiving limit storing means when the use information is selected by the receiving means. And reception control means for restricting the reception of the usage information for each user based on the reception restriction information stored in the storage device.

According to such a configuration, the administrator sets in advance the reception restriction information for restricting the reception of information for each user, so that the user can receive various information transmitted from outside. When the usage information is selected from the information, the reception of the usage information is restricted for each user based on the reception restriction information.

[0010] Further, the information reception control device of the present invention is a user for identifying a user who is subject to reception restriction when a specific setter is confirmed by inputting setter identification information. Reception restriction setting means for setting identification information and setting reception restriction information for restricting reception of information to the user, and storing user identification information and reception restriction information set by the reception restriction setting means Receiving restriction storage means, receiving means for selectively receiving various types of information sent from the outside, and receiving restriction information stored in the reception restriction storing means when the use information is selected by the receiving means. First determining means for determining whether or not the use information is subject to reception restriction based on the information, and the first use means determines that the use information is subject to reception restriction. In this case, based on the user identification information stored in the reception restriction storage means, a second determination means for determining whether the user of the usage information is a target of the reception restriction, and the second determination means If the user of the use information is determined to be a recipient of the reception restriction, the reception of the use information is prohibited, and if the user of the use information is not the recipient of the reception restriction, or the first determination is made. And receiving control means for permitting reception of the usage information when the usage information is determined to be out of the target of the reception restriction.

[0011] According to such a configuration, when it is confirmed that the user is a specific setter by inputting setter identification information such as a password, for example, the identification information of the user whose reception is to be restricted and the identification information of the user are identified. The setting of the reception restriction information for the user is accepted.

When a user selects usage information from various types of information sent from outside, first, it is determined whether or not the usage information is subject to reception restriction based on the reception restriction information. If is subject to reception restriction, it is next determined based on the user identification information whether or not the user of the usage information is a subject of reception restriction. As a result, if the user of the usage information is a recipient of the reception restriction, reception of the usage information is prohibited, and if the user of the usage information is not the recipient of the reception restriction, or if the usage information is subject to the reception restriction. If not, the reception of the usage information is permitted.

According to the present invention, when a specific setter is confirmed by inputting setter identification information, user identification information for identifying a user to be subjected to reception restriction is set. At the same time, reception restriction information for restricting the reception of information to the user is set, and the set user identification information and reception restriction information are stored in a reception restriction storage memory, and are sent from outside. When the usage information is selected from the various types of incoming information, it is determined whether or not the usage information is subject to reception restriction based on the reception restriction information stored in the reception restriction storage memory. If the user is the subject of the restriction, it is determined whether the user of the use information is the subject of the reception restriction based on the user identification information stored in the reception restriction storage memory, and the user of the use information is determined. Is received Reception of the usage information is prohibited if the user is a recipient of the usage information, and the reception of the usage information is prohibited if the user of the usage information is not a subject of the reception restriction or the usage information is out of the reception restriction. May be a medium storing a functioning program.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an external configuration of an information reception control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a receiving facility for selectively receiving various kinds of information sent from the outside. The receiving equipment 11 may be, for example, a television receiver, a terminal on a network having a receiving function, or the like.

The receiving equipment 11 has operation buttons 12,
13 and a display unit 18 are provided. Operation buttons 12,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a button for setting reception restriction information.
The display unit 18 displays the received contents (for example, a television program in the case of a television receiver), and displays each of the screens 14, 15, 16, and 17 necessary for setting the reception restriction information. As the display unit 18, for example, a CRT (Cathode
Display devices such as a Ray Tube) and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) are conceivable.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a remote controller for remotely controlling the receiving equipment 11.
The remote controller 21 includes an operation button 23,
24 and a reception selection button 22 are provided. The operation buttons 23 and 24 are buttons for setting reception restriction information. The operation buttons 23 and 24 are provided on the reception equipment 11.
Used in combination with 3. The reception selection button 22 is a button for selecting usage information. For example, in the case of a television receiver, it corresponds to a channel selection button.

Here, the receiving equipment 11 has a built-in memory holding element. This memory holding element can hold an accurate date and time, and further, for example, data for deciding whether reception is possible or not according to reception time, data for deciding whether reception is possible or not according to an information source, and a user. And reception restriction information for restricting the reception of information, such as data for determining whether or not reception is possible. With these data, it is possible to select information that can be received for each user. In addition, registration / change of these data is done by a specific setter (administrator) by inputting a password.
Can be performed only when it is confirmed that

In such a configuration, first, in order to register or change the contents of the storage element, the receiving equipment 1
1 by operating the operation button 12 provided on the remote control 21 or the operation button 23 provided on the remote controller 21, the password input screen 14 and the ID
A selection screen 15 and a symbol selection screen 16 are displayed.

The password input screen 14 is a screen for inputting a password (encryption name), in which a password registered in advance is input. ID selection screen 15
Is a screen for selecting an ID registered in advance for each user, and selects an ID of a user whose reception restriction is to be set from the screen. The symbol selection screen 16 is a screen for selecting a symbol to be input on the password input screen 14, and is used as a soft keyboard.

Next, a password is input to the password input screen 14 while operating the operation buttons 12 and 13 or the operation buttons 23 and 24 to select an input symbol from the symbol selection screen 16. At that time, if the input password matches the already registered password, it is recognized that the user is a specific setter, that is, an administrator. Thereafter, the registered contents are displayed, the password is changed, the user is registered, changed, and ,
Registration and change of reception restriction information can be performed on the reception restriction setting screen 17 shown in FIG.

The reception restriction information is information for restricting a user from receiving information, and specifically includes, for a television receiver, a use time and a broadcasting station. Also,
If it is a terminal on the network, it is the address of an information transmission source (service provider). As a result, when a user attempts to receive certain information using the receiving equipment 11, if the information is information that is not restricted to the user, the information can be received, and Information that cannot be received.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an information reception control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Connect the reception selection box 33 incorporating the memory holding element to the cable 3
6 to the receiving equipment 31 to receive information through the receiving selection box 33.

The registration and change of the reception restriction information including the setter's password, the user's ID, the usage time, and the information transmission source as described above are performed by operating the operation buttons 34 provided in the reception selection box 33 or , By operating a remote controller as shown in FIG. The display of the operation screen in this case is performed by the display unit 35 provided in the reception selection box 33 or the display unit 32 provided in the reception facility 31.
Either may be good This makes it possible to manage receivable information for each user.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the present apparatus. This device includes a receiving unit 41, an input unit 42, a control unit 4
3, a storage unit 44 and a display unit 45. The receiving unit 41 is for selectively receiving various types of information sent from the outside, and corresponds to the receiving facility 11 in FIG. The input unit 42 is for inputting data, and corresponds to the operation buttons 12 and 13 of FIG. 1 and the operation buttons 23 and 24 of the remote controller 21.

The control section 43 performs collation of registered data, for example, comprises a microprocessor, and is built in the receiving equipment 11 of FIG. The storage unit 44 stores and holds various types of information, and is configured by a storage device such as a RAM, for example, and corresponds to a storage holding element built in the receiving facility 11 of FIG. The display unit 45 displays data, and corresponds to the display unit 18 provided in the receiving facility 11 in FIG.

Normally, when the receiving section 41 and the display section 45 are directly connected and the apparatus starts up, equivalent information can be obtained regardless of the user. In the present invention, an input unit 42, a control unit 43 (registered data matching unit), a storage unit, and the like are provided between a receiving unit 41 (for example, an antenna, a LAN card, a communication modem, and the like) and a display unit 45 (for example, a display device such as a CRT). A reception selection system composed of a unit 44 is provided, and information is received for each user according to reception restriction information (for example, a television channel, use time, an information transmission source address, etc.) for each user registered in advance by an administrator. Restrict.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. here,
Each processing operation will be described separately for (a) reception restriction setting processing and (b) reception processing.

(A) Reception Restriction Setting Process FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the reception restriction setting process. A setting input is instructed through the input unit 42 (Yes in step A11). In accordance with the setting input instruction, the control unit 43 displays a reception restriction setting screen on the display unit 45 (step A12). The setter inputs setter identification information (password) through this setting screen (step A).
13). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, each screen for setting reception restriction information by operating the operation buttons 12 and 13 provided on the receiving equipment 11 or the operation buttons 23 and 24 provided on the remote controller 21 14, 1
By displaying 5 and 16 on the display unit 18 of the receiving facility 11, a symbol as a password is input.

Here, when the setter inputs the setter identification information (password), the control unit 43 compares the setter identification information registered in advance in the storage unit 44 with the setter identification information to identify the case where both match. Is determined to be the setter, that is, the administrator, and the setting of the reception restriction by the setter is accepted (Yes in step A14). Thus, the setter can set the identification information (ID) of the user whose reception is to be restricted and also set the reception restriction information for restricting the reception of the information (step A15). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the reception restriction setting screen 17 is displayed on the reception facility 11 by operating the operation buttons 12 and 13 provided on the reception facility 11 or the operation buttons 23 and 24 provided on the remote controller 21. After the user's ID is selected and input by displaying it on the display unit 18, reception restriction information such as a TV channel, a use time, and an address of an information source is input.

When the user identification information and the reception restriction information are set in this way, the control unit 43 stores the set contents in the storage unit 44 (step A16). The storage unit 44 corresponds to the storage element described above, and thereafter, when a user receives information, the storage unit 44
Will be executed in accordance with the settings stored in.

(B) Reception processing FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the reception processing. Various kinds of information sent from the outside are selectively received by the receiving unit 41. At this time, when the user selects the use information through the input unit 42 (step B11), the control unit 4
3 is based on the reception control information stored in the storage unit 44,
It is determined whether or not the usage information is subject to reception restriction (step B12). As a result, if the use information is subject to the reception restriction (Yes in step B12), the control unit 43 waits for the input of the user identification information (ID), and permits the reception of the use information according to the input information. Or prohibit. The input of the user identification information (ID) also includes an operation button 12 provided on the receiving equipment 11 as shown in FIG.
13 or by operating the operation buttons 23 and 24 provided on the remote controller 21.

Here, when the user inputs the user identification information (step B13), the control unit 43 stores the information in the storage unit 44.
Then, it is determined whether the user is a subject of the reception restriction by comparing with the user identification information stored in (step B14). As a result, when the user is the subject of the reception restriction (Yes in step B14), the control unit 43 prohibits the reception of the usage information by interrupting the connection with the reception unit 41 (step B15). ).

On the other hand, if the user is not the subject of the reception restriction (No in step B14), the control unit 43 permits the reception of the usage information by connecting to the reception unit 41 (step B16). ). Also, the above step B1
In 2, if the usage information is not subject to the reception restriction (No in step B <b> 12), the control unit 43 connects to the reception unit 41 to receive the usage information in the same manner as described above. Permit (step B16). Thus, the information selected and received by the receiving unit 41 is displayed on the display unit 45.

As described above, the administrator registers in advance the reception restriction information for each user (for example, TV channel, use time, address of information transmission source, etc.), thereby restricting reception of information for each user. can do. Therefore, as there are many sources of information today and various kinds of information fly around, from a legal or common sense perspective,
Some users, such as minors, contain information that should not be conveyed, but the administrator (for example, a parent with a minor child) consciously restricts the reception of such information. Can be.

In this case, since restriction is performed for each user, there is no problem that a user who is not the target cannot receive information. In addition, since the administrator registers and changes the reception restriction information by entering the password,
It is possible to prevent the user from arbitrarily registering or changing the reception restriction information.

The present apparatus can be applied to all devices having a receiving function, such as a television, a radio, and a terminal connected to an information network. In addition, the method described in the above-described embodiment is
Examples of programs that can be executed by a computer include a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD
Etc.), and can be applied to various devices by writing to a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory or transmitted to a communication medium and applied to various devices. Also, the computer that realizes the present apparatus reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation of the program.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the administrator sets in advance the reception restriction information for restricting the reception of information for each user, and the user is transmitted from outside. When usage information is selected from various types of incoming information, reception of the usage information is restricted for each user based on the reception restriction information, so that it does not bother other users,
It is possible to prevent information that adversely affects a specific user from being received.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an information reception control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a reception restriction setting screen is displayed on the reception facility of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of an information reception control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a reception restriction setting process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a reception process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 receiving equipment 12, 13 operation buttons 14 password input screen 15 ID selection screen 16 symbol selection screen 17 reception restriction setting screen 18 display unit 21 remote controller 22 reception selection 23, 24 ... operation buttons 31 ... Reception equipment 32 ... Display unit 33 ... Reception selection box 34 ... Operation buttons 35 ... Display unit 36 ... Cable 41 ... Reception unit 42 ... Input unit 43 ... Control unit 44 ... Storage unit 45 ... Display unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reception restriction setting means for setting reception restriction information for restricting reception of information for each user, a reception restriction storage means for storing reception restriction information set by the reception restriction setting means. Receiving means for selectively receiving various types of information sent from outside; and when the use information is selected by the receiving means, the use information is stored based on the reception restriction information stored in the reception restriction storage means. An information reception control device comprising: a reception control unit for restricting reception of a message for each user. 2. When a specific setter is confirmed by inputting setter identification information, user identification information for identifying a user to be subject to reception restriction is set, and the use of the user is set. Reception restriction setting means for setting reception restriction information for restricting reception of information to a user; reception restriction storage means for storing user identification information and reception restriction information set by the reception restriction setting means; A receiving means for selectively receiving various types of information sent; and when the usage information is selected by the receiving means, the usage information is restricted based on the reception restriction information stored in the reception restriction storage means. A first determining unit for determining whether or not the usage information is a target of the reception restriction by the first determining unit; Second determining means for determining whether or not the user of the use information is a subject of the reception restriction based on the memorized user identification information; and receiving the user of the use information by the second determination means. If it is determined that the user is a person subject to the restriction, reception of the use information is prohibited. If the user of the use information is not a person subject to the reception restriction, or if the use information is An information reception control device, comprising: reception control means for permitting reception of the use information when it is determined that the information is out of the target. 3. Reception restriction information for restricting reception of information is set for each user, and the set reception restriction information is stored in a reception restriction storage memory, and is sent from outside. When usage information is selected from various types of information, reception of the usage information is restricted for each user based on the reception restriction information stored in the reception restriction storage memory. Information reception control method. 4. When a specific setter is confirmed by inputting setter identification information, user identification information for identifying a user to be subject to reception restriction is set and the use of the user identification information is set. Restriction information for restricting the reception of information to the user is set, the set user identification information and the reception restriction information are stored in the reception restriction storage memory, and various types of information sent from the outside are stored. When the usage information is selected from among them, it is determined whether or not the usage information is subject to the reception restriction based on the reception restriction information stored in the reception restriction storage memory. In some cases, based on the user identification information stored in the reception restriction storage memory, it is determined whether or not the user of the usage information is a target of the reception restriction. Target person In some cases, reception of the usage information is prohibited, and reception of the usage information is permitted if the user of the usage information is not the subject of the reception restriction or the usage information is not subject to the reception restriction. An information reception control method, comprising: