JPS60250733A - Tuner for satellite broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To indicate the state of a receiving antenna by the change of a sound and to adjust the antenna easily by deciding the change of a receiving signal level, sending the decided result to an alarm signal generating circuit and generating an alarm for antenna adjustment corresponding to the change of the level from the generating circuit. CONSTITUTION:A satellite broadcasting radio wave received by the receiving antenna 1 for BS is converted into an IFFM signal S1 by a BS converter 2 and the signal S1 is inputted to a selection part 5 in a BS tuner 4. The selection part 5 selects respective channels and outputs the 2nd IF signal S2 to an AGC circuit 6. An output signal S3 having a prescribed level corresponding to the receiving level is applied from the circuit 6 to a video sound processing circuit 7 to be processed. In addition, the AGC output signal S3 from the circuit 6 is applied to a decision control circuit 12 in an antenna adjustment specifying circuit 11. An antenna setting switch 13 is connected to the circuit 12, the change of the receiving signal level is decided by the circuit 12 and the decided result is sent to an alarm sound generator 14. The generator 14 generates an antenna adjusting alarm sound in accordance with the change of the level to adjust the antenna 1 easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a tuner for satellite broadcasting, and particularly to a tuner for easily adjusting the direction of a receiving antenna.

[Background technology and its problems]

When trying to receive weak radio waves arriving from a broadcasting satellite in a geostationary orbit using a home satellite broadcasting receiver, for example, point the receiving antenna correctly at the broadcasting fr11 and use W! with high sensitivity. It is desirable to be able to receive star broadcast radio waves. Incidentally, since satellite broadcasting radio waves have a frequency in the SUP band and are easily affected by weather conditions, it is necessary to maintain the received signal level as high as possible at all times.

From this point of view, conventional methods have been considered for displaying the received signal level of the antenna of a television receiver on the display screen of a television monitor using a numerical value, a bar, or the like. According to this method, the person adjusting the antenna brings a monitor close to the antenna, adjusts the direction of the antenna while looking at the antenna reception level on the display screen, and then adjusts the direction of the antenna until the antenna reception level is displayed at its maximum value. If you adjust the direction of the antenna to a position such that

However, if you do this, you have to bring the monitor close to the antenna to adjust the antenna direction, and if this condition cannot be met, read the antenna reception level on the monitor's display screen. The adjustment work would have to be done in pairs by a person and a person who receives instructions from the reader and adjusts the direction of the antenna. In this state, there is a problem that the direction of the antenna cannot be adjusted by one person, and there is also the problem that it is difficult to make a good adjustment unless the person reading the monitor and the person adjusting the direction of the antenna cooperate well.

Additionally, this method cannot be applied to radio receivers that use tuners that can only receive audio from satellite broadcasts, but there is a problem in that a dedicated monitor must be prepared to adjust the antenna. It is hard to say that it is practical.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to propose a tuner for satellite broadcasting in which adjustment of a receiving antenna can be made as simple as possible.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention receives a received signal obtained based on the output of a tuning section that selects broadcast waves obtained from a receiving antenna, determines a change in the signal level, and uses an IF alarm generator. A determination control circuit is provided to send a drive control signal to the antenna, and the 11 alarm sound generator generates an alarm sound for antenna adjustment that changes in response to changes in the signal level.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a satellite broadcast (BS) receiving antenna, which is a parabolic antenna. For example, 12 (GH7) satellite broadcast waves (FM modulation method is used) arriving at the receiving antenna 1 are converted to 1 in the BS converter 2.
(GHz) into an intermediate frequency signal S1, and this signal S is given to the tuning section 5 of the BS tuner 4 via the cable 3.

A second intermediate frequency (for example, 13
4.26 (MHz) or 402.78 (MHz)
), and this second intermediate frequency signal S2 is given to the automatic gain control (8GC) circuit 6. When the second intermediate frequency signal S2 is at a receivable signal level, the AGC circuit 6 suppresses the noise contained in this signal S2 and sends the AGC output signal S3 at a predetermined signal level to the video/audio processing circuit 7. Send. This video/audio processing circuit 7 gate-detects the video signal and audio signal included in the AGC output signal S3 of the second intermediate frequency, and also outputs the video signal ν0 and audio signal AO having a baseband signal configuration to the BS tuner 4. Send as the output of

The video signal vO and audio signal AO are connected, for example, to a video input terminal and an audio input terminal of a television monitor, and images and audio are reproduced.

In addition to the above configuration, the BS tuner 4 is AGC1ill.
The q' signal is given to the antenna adjustment instruction circuit 11. The antenna adjustment instruction circuit 11 sends out an instruction signal consisting of an alarm sound representing one major condition depending on whether or not the direction of the receiving antenna 1 is correctly oriented toward the broadcasting satellite. It has 12. This determination control circuit 12 is connected to an antenna setting switch 13 that can be manually operated, and when this switch 13 is operated, the determination control circuit 12 becomes operational. Judgment control circuit 1
The determination result of step 2 is sent as a drive signal S11 to the alarm sound generator 14, which is composed of, for example, a piezoelectric buzzer.

The determination control circuit 12 determines whether the signal level of the AGC output signal S3 has reached the maximum value that can be obtained when the adjustment operation is started, and when the signal level reaches the maximum value, the alarm sound generator 1 is activated.
4 intermittently generates sound at a predetermined period (this is referred to as an intermittent emission state), thereby audibly informing the adjuster that the receiving antenna 1 is oriented in a desired direction.

On the other hand, when the current signal level of the AGC output signal S3 is not the maximum value, the determination control circuit 12 outputs the alarm sound generator 14.
generates a continuous sound (this is called a continuous sounding state).
, thereby audibly informing the adjuster that the orientation of the receiving antenna l is not the desired orientation. Here, the GG output signal S3 cannot receive broadcast radio waves when the receiving antenna i is not facing the direction of the broadcasting satellite, so only a noise signal is generated, and if it approaches the direction of the broadcasting satellite from this state, it can receive the broadcast radio waves. The signal level rises as the signal level becomes possible, and eventually reaches its maximum value when the direction of the receiving antenna 1 correctly matches the direction of the broadcasting satellite.

The determination control circuit 12 has a configuration that executes the above-described determination control procedure according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the state in which the program is started in step SPI, the determination control circuit 12 enters a state in which it waits for the antenna setting switch 13 to be turned on in the next step SP2. When the antenna setting switch 13 is turned on, the determination control circuit 12 moves to the next step SP3 and controls the channel selection section 5 to select an empty channel. In this embodiment, broadcast waves are allocated to channels 11 and 15, and the tuning section 5 is tuned to channel 16, which is an empty channel. At this time, there are no broadcast waves that tuner 4 can tune to, so A
The AGC output signal S3 of the GC circuit 6 is in a state of sending out noise.

In this state, the determination control circuit 12 performs the next step SP.
4, the noise signal level Ntl output from the AGC circuit 6 is measured, and then B51 is measured in step SP5.
Select 5 channels. In this state, if the reception antenna 1 is not in a state where it is possible to receive broadcast waves of 15 channels, the determination control circuit 12 determines this in step SP6.
, and the process moves to the next step SP7, where the BSII channel is reselected in channel selection 5. Then, in the following step SP8, if there is no broadcast wave, the process returns to step SP5. The determination control circuit 12 then enters a state in which it waits for a broadcast wave to arrive on either of the two channels F1515 and F8811 used for satellite broadcasting.

When a positive result is obtained in either step SP6 or SF3, the determination control circuit 12 returns to step SP.
9, measure the current input level A of the AGC output signal s3, and set the initial maximum L/H/L/B.
'fr Set. Regarding these signal levels A and B, the determination control circuit 12 subtracts the noise level N and calculates the input level A and the maximum level B in step 5 PIO.
be memorized as Through this processing, the AGC output signal s
By removing noise components contained in the measured data based on 3, the true signal level of the satellite broadcast wave is determined.

Subsequently, the determination control circuit 12 moves to step 5PII and determines whether the input level A has reached the maximum level B or not. Here, if the receiving antenna 1 is correctly oriented toward the broadcasting satellite, an affirmative result is obtained in step 5p11. Incidentally, the fact that the current input level A is equal to the maximum level B means that the direction of the receiving antenna 1 is correctly directed toward the broadcasting satellite, and in this case, the determination control circuit 12° goes to step 5P12. Then, an intermittent operation command is given to the alarm sound generator 14, and thus, in step 5PI3, the alarm sound generator 14 generates a sound intermittently.

In this state, the determination control circuit 12 proceeds to step S.
Return to P2 and repeat the above operation to confirm that the input level A is equal to the maximum level B, and then turn on the alarm sound generator 14.
is maintained intermittently in operation, thus informing the coordinator that the receiving antenna l is correctly oriented toward the broadcasting satellite.

On the other hand, if the orientation of the receiving antenna l is not correct, the determination control circuit 12 obtains a negative result in step 5PII and proceeds to step 5P14.

This step 5P14 is a step of determining whether or not input level A is smaller than maximum level B. If a negative result is obtained, the current input level A is higher than the maximum level used up until now. Therefore, in the next step 5p15, after replacing this current input level A with the maximum level B, the judgment control circuit 1
Step 2 moves to step 5P12. Incidentally, by replacing the current input level A with the maximum level B, the current input level A becomes equal to the maximum level B, but under this condition, the alarm sound generator 14 is set to an intermittent emitting state through steps 5P12 and 5P13. to control.

On the other hand, if an affirmative result is obtained in step 5P14, the determination control circuit 12 moves to step 5P16, gives a continuous operation command to the alarm sound generator 14, and performs step 5P16.
At step 13, the element 14 is operated in a continuous sound emitting state. Here, the fact that the input level A is smaller than the maximum level B means that the receiving antenna 1 is not yet in a state where it can receive radio waves at the maximum signal level, and therefore it is in a state where further adjustment operations have to be continued. It means.

In the above configuration, the adjuster who adjusts the direction of the receiving antenna 1 first adjusts the receiving antenna 1 in the azimuth direction until a state is obtained in which the input level A becomes equal to the maximum level B, and then adjusts the receiving antenna 1 in the azimuth direction. The receiving antenna l is adjusted until the input level A becomes equal to the maximum level B by adjusting the direction of the elevation angle.・Then, each adjustment of the azimuth angle and the elevation angle is performed by inputting the receiving antenna 1, rotating it until the bell A exceeds the maximum level B, and then returning it to the direction of the maximum value. conduct.

When starting to adjust the receiving antenna 1 in an arbitrary direction, the adjuster first starts adjusting the azimuth, for example. At this time, the determination control circuit 12 executes the procedures from step SP2 to step 5PII, and measures the current input level A in step SP9. At this time, when measuring the input level A for the first time in step SP9, the initial maximum level B prepared in advance is set as the initial value, and using this initial value B, the step 5 PII
A judgment will be made. Therefore, this judgment step 5P
In II, a negative result is obtained in most cases, and the process moves to the next step 5P14 for determination. Still here GG
Since the output signal S3 has not reached the maximum level, the current input level A is lower than the maximum level B.

Therefore, the determination control circuit 12 replaces the current input level A with the maximum level B in step 5P15, and then proceeds to steps 5P12 and 5P13 to cause the alarm sound generator 14 to intermittently operate.

This operation is maintained until the azimuth of the receiving antenna 1 is correctly oriented, since a negative result is still obtained in decision step 5PII.

Eventually, when the receiving antenna passes 1° in the correct direction,
Thereafter, the input level A measured in step SP9
Since the value of becomes smaller, the maximum level B taken in step 5P15 when the correct orientation is reached will continue to be the maximum level B thereafter. Therefore, in this excessive state, the input level A becomes smaller than the maximum level B, so that a positive result is obtained in step 5P14. Therefore, the judgment control circuit 1
Steps 5P1B and 5P13 bring the alarm sound generator 14 into a state in which it continuously emits sounds. The adjuster is thus informed that as a result of the adjustment operation of the receiving antenna 1 in terms of azimuth, the receiving antenna 1 has gone too far past the correct orientation. After confirming that the alarm sound generator 14 has emitted continuous sounds, the adjuster returns the receiving antenna 1 to its original orientation. At this time, the magnitude of the input level increases as the direction of the receiving antenna 1 approaches the correct direction.

Eventually, when the receiving antenna 1 matches the correct direction, a state is obtained in which the value of the input level A matches the maximum level B again, and the judgment control circuit 12 judges this in step SPI 1 and generates an alarm sound in steps 5P12 and 5P13. The device 14 shifts to a state in which it emits sounds intermittently. When this intermittent emission state is obtained, the adjuster can confirm that the azimuth adjustment has been completed.

Next, the elevation angle is adjusted while the receiving antenna 1 is held at this azimuth angle. In this case, if the direction of the receiving antenna 1 is adjusted in a direction away from the correct elevation angle direction, the determination control circuit 12 obtains a positive result in step 5P14 and causes the alarm sound generator 14 to continuously emit sound in steps 5ptj and 5P13. control the state.

On the contrary, if the adjustment is made in the direction of the correct elevation angle, the input level A at that time will change to a value larger than the maximum level B that has been taken in up to that point, so the judgment control circuit 1
2 is negative in step 5P14.

A fixed system is obtained, and in step 5pis, the input level A is replaced with the maximum level B, and in steps 5P12 and 5P13, the alarm sound generator 14 is controlled to be intermittently emitted.

In this state, when the elevation angle of the receiving antenna l passes through the correct direction, the determination control circuit 12 obtains a positive result in step 5P14 in the same manner as described above regarding the azimuth angle, and the II alarm generator 14 is continuously activated in steps 5P16 and 5P13. control to emit a sound. Then, the adjuster can confirm that the correct direction has been passed by adjusting the elevation angle once, and therefore adjusts the receiving antenna 1 to return to its original direction. Eventually, the elevation angle will also change to input level A.
If it returns to the state that matches the maximum level B, the determination control circuit 12 determines this in step 5PII, and when a positive result is obtained, steps 5P12 and 5P13 are performed.
The alarm sound generator 14 is controlled to be in an intermittent sounding state. The adjuster can thus ensure that the receiving antenna 1 is correctly oriented both in azimuth and elevation.

According to the above configuration, while the adjuster is manually adjusting the direction of the receiving antenna 1, when the receiving antenna is approaching the correct direction or when the direction is in agreement, By generating an alarm sound for instructing antenna adjustment so that the sounding state of the alarm sound generator 14 is different depending on when the adjustment is being made to move away from the oppressive direction, the adjuster can The receiving antenna 1 can be easily adjusted while auditorily confirming the difference in the emission state. Therefore, the receiving antenna 1
By being able to check the adjustment status of the
Even if the alarm sound generator 14 is located far away from the receiving antenna 1, the adjustment operation can be easily performed by one person as long as the alarm sound generator 14 is within the audible range.

Since this can be confirmed by sound, the antenna of a radio receiver can be adjusted in the same way as a television receiver.

In the above, an embodiment has been described in which a state in which the direction of the antenna is being adjusted away from the correct direction can be distinguished from a state in which the direction is approaching or coincident with the correct direction by the intermittent or continuous sound. , the frequency of the sound, the volume of the sound, or the timbre of the sound may be changed.

In addition, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, even when the current input level A is replaced with the maximum value in step 5P15, intermittent sound is generated in the same way as when the input level matches the correct direction. , instead of this, the judgment control surface V
When I112 performs the operation of step 5P15, the third
The type of sound may be generated. In this way, the adjuster can adjust the receiving antenna in the first state in which it is approaching in a direction that matches the current direction of the receiving antenna, in the second state in which it is moving away, and in the third state in which it is in the same direction. This allows the user to clearly check the status of the receiving antenna, making it easier to adjust the receiving antenna.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a receiving antenna is provided.

By using the fact that the signal level of the broadcast wave received by the tuner changes depending on the direction of the receiving antenna, the adjustment state of the receiving antenna is expressed as a change in sound, making it easy to It is possible to obtain a satellite broadcasting tuner that can perform the following adjustments.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a satellite broadcasting tuner according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing its determination control circuit. 1...BS receiving antenna, 2...B
S converter, 4...BS tuner, 5.
...Tuning section, 6...AGC circuit, 7...
・Video and audio processing circuit, 11... Antenna adjustment instruction circuit, 12... Judgment control circuit, 13...
...A representative Keiki Tanabe

Claims (1)

[Claims] A received signal obtained based on the output of a tuning section that selects broadcast waves obtained from a receiving antenna is received, a change in the signal level is determined, and 114iI! A satellite comprising a determination control circuit that sends a drive control signal to a sound generator, and causes the alarm sound generator to order an alarm sound for antenna adjustment that changes in response to a change in the signal level. Broadcast tuner.