JPS6259376B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] With the spread of microcomputers (hereinafter referred to as CPUs), VTR timers have come to be equipped with more complex functions. The number is increasing. This is also related to the fact that VTR tapes have become longer, allowing many programs to be recorded on the same tape.

In the past, many of the troubles that have occurred when making recording reservations are attempts to make two or more recording reservations in the same time period. In the case of home video, the current situation is that one home video is installed in each household, and even within the family, it is difficult to remember the recording reservations made by someone other than oneself. Therefore, the greater the number of programs that can be reserved for recording, the more likely this kind of trouble will occur.

Conventionally, when a duplicate recording reservation is made, the process is as follows: (a) It is treated as an operational error and continues until the reservation currently being recorded is completed (first priority is given).

(b) Set a priority order for recording reservation program numbers, and if there are duplicates, record from the one with the highest priority.

(c) If duplicate settings are made, a warning will be generated to call for attention. For example, the program number may be made to blink. However, if you ignore the warning and leave it as is, the process described in item (a) above will occur.

It stipulated actions such as:

The cause of the erroneous operation of setting duplicate recording reservations is that it is difficult to understand the relationship between the content that the user is currently trying to schedule for recording and the content that has already been reserved for recording. Currently, LED, liquid crystal, and fluorescent display tube segment types are the mainstream display elements for VTR timers. The maximum number of digits is about 8 to 10, so
If there are many programs that you would like to reserve for recording, it is not possible to display all the reservations.

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent mistakes in setting duplicate recording reservations on a VTR timer and to improve operability. By simultaneously displaying the content of the information on the CRT display, the relationship between the two can be seen at a glance.

When automatically recording a program, a VTR and a television are used in combination, and the television is used for tuning the channel to be recorded and monitoring the reproduced image. In the present invention, the CRT display built into the television is actively utilized as a display medium for recording reservation information. The main hardware required for this is a frame memory and a character generator, and the rest can be shared with the VTR's recording/playback system.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is its block diagram. 1 is an RF changeover switch for switching between the antenna input signal j and the RF output signal i and inputting it to the television set 13; 2 is the video signal g and the VTR playback signal h;
RF converter for converting into high frequency RF, 3
4 is a modulator for synchronizing the CRT display pattern signal f with the synchronization signal e and modulating it into a video signal g;
is an antenna for supplying the antenna reception signal j to the VTR tuner and television set 13;
Reference numeral 5 denotes a deck mechanism control section that controls a VTR mechanism (not shown) according to instructions from the CPU 8. The deck mechanism control section 5 includes a mechanical section that uses a solenoid to operate a mechanism section for causing the tape to run/stop, fast forward, rewind, and pause, and a transistor that energizes a coil to pull the solenoid. It consists of a diode for removing spike noise that is connected in parallel with the solenoid coil.

6 is an electronic tuner that allows channel selection to be performed electrically, and the channel is automatically set by the CPU 8 when the recording start time comes; 7 is a keyboard for inputting the contents of the recording reservation to the CPU 8; 8 is an input from the keyboard 7. The contents of the recording reservation are stored in accordance with the VTR control signal a sent to the electronic tuner 6, the deck mechanism control section 5, and the frame memory 9.
CPU (ROM, RAM in this case) for output control
9 uses the built-in MN1500), 9 sets the television set 13 according to the various modes of the VTR timer.
Frame memory 10 is input from frame memory 9 for storing one screen worth of CRT display characters d to be displayed on the CRT display.
The CRT display character d is a character generator for outputting a CRT display pattern signal f for character pixels and graph display pixels as shown in FIG. This is a CRT synchronous timing circuit for generation. Reference numeral 12 corresponds to the main body of the VTR set, and parts not shown in this block diagram include mechanical parts, recording/playback circuit parts, etc. 13 is a television set for a monitor.

FIG. 2 shows the operation surface of the keyboard 7 shown in FIG. 1 in detail. The keyboard 7 includes a mode switch 20 for selecting one of four modes: time adjustment/manual recording/automatic recording/recording reservation, and a program number switch for selecting forward/backward recording reservation program number. 2
1. Channel switch 22 for selecting the recording reservation channel forward/reverse, day switch 23 for selecting the recording reservation day forward/reverse, start for selecting the recording start time or recording end time / end switch 24, hour adjustment switch 25 for selecting hours and minutes forward/reverse
and a minute adjustment switch 26. The switches 21 to 26 each consist of two switches divided into an upper side and a lower side, and the upper switch is used for forward feeding, and the lower switch is used for reverse feeding.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the VTR timer.
After the power is turned on, the recording reservation contents and registers/flags inside the CPU are set to initial values through initialization processing. After that, the data from the mode switch 20 is read, the state of the mode switch 20 is determined, and the work of the set mode is performed. When each task is completed, the routine jumps again to the aforementioned routine for determining the state of the mode switch 20, forming a processing loop.

Built into CPU8 in Figure 12 A and B
Indicates RAM usage allocation (memory allocation).
The built-in RAM of CPU8 consists of 256 words in total.
When displayed in hexadecimal, it is expressed as addresses 00 to FF.

Addresses 0 to 2 are used when the CPU 8 performs calculations.
CPU register save area (SX, SY, SE) for temporarily storing data.

Address 3 is a chattering prevention counter area that adds up to 15 values when the values read from the keyboard 7 are the same, and subtracts up to 0 when they differ, thereby preventing malfunctions due to keyboard 7 chattering. .

Addresses 4 and 5 are keyboard input data areas for storing values read from the keyboard 7;
The address is a receiving channel number area for storing the receiving channel number of the electronic tuner 6.

Addresses 8 and 9 are operation mode flag areas for reading the value of the mode switch 20 and storing the operation mode.

Address A is a flag area that is set when fast forwarding the value when setting the time.

Address B is a counter area for sequence control of starting and stopping recording.

Addresses C and D are address pointer areas for transferring characters to the frame memory 9.

Addresses E and F are buffer areas for temporarily storing values to be read/written (R/W) to the frame memory 9.

Addresses 10 to 16 are the software timer area for one week of 24 hours x 7 days.

Which program number is currently being read at the 1F address?
Recording schedule program to show what you are writing
NO area.

Addresses 20 to 25 are areas for storing the recording start time for program 1.

Addresses 26 to 2A are areas for storing the recording end time for program 1.

Address 2B is an area for storing the recording date for program 1.

Addresses 2C and 2D are areas for storing recording channels for program 1.

Address 2E is a recording status flag area for indicating whether the program 1 is in a recording status or a pause status.

Similarly, addresses 30 to 3F are for program 2,
The 40th to 4th floor numbers are for program 3, and so on from 70th to 7th floor. Addresses CO to FF are used as a save area for arithmetic processing, a storage area for interrupt processing return addresses, and a storage area for subroutine return addresses.

FIG. 13 shows the instruction ROM allocation for the CPU 8. Addresses 0 to BFF are timer program storage areas, divided into FF address units from COO address, each of which is a pattern storage area to be set in the frame memory 9.

Next, the operation will be described. The functions of the VTR timer can be roughly divided into the following four modes.

(A) Time adjustment mode Sets the current time of the VTR timer. For example, the timer is a one-week timer, so set the day, hour, and minute. For setting the seconds, the mode switch 20 is also used, and the configuration is such that when switching from the time setting mode to another mode, it becomes zero seconds.

FIG. 4 shows an operation flowchart in the time setting mode, and FIG. 8 shows a screen displayed on the CRT display of the television set 13 in the time setting mode. When the day of the week switch 23 is operated, the black and white of the selected day of the week (from the beginning to the end) is reversed. The time is displayed numerically only in the area corresponding to the selected day of the week, for example Tuesday, and a bar graph is displayed directly below. The bar graph at this time has a length of one dot and indicates a position according to the current time. Note that the width is always 7 dots. The position where the bar graph is displayed is proportional to the time, with midnight on the left and 12pm on the right. This current time display is displayed at the same time as the recording reservation details even in the recording reservation mode.

Next, the flow of data in time adjustment mode will be described. When the switch 20 is set to the time setting mode, the mode of the mode switch 20 is read from the I/O port of the CPU 8. CPU8
sets the timer operation mode flag (addresses 8 and 9 in FIG. 12A) in the CPU internal memory to the time adjustment mode code.

Next, the standard pattern for displaying the time adjustment mode stored in the instruction ROM of the CPU 8 (see Fig. 13)
FOO to FFF addresses) are transferred to the frame memory 9. When transferring data to the frame memory 9, an address pointer (addresses C and D in FIG. 12A) is used to indicate the address of the frame memory 9.
Then, using the transfer data (addresses E and F in FIG. 12A), one byte at a time in 8-bit units is read from the instruction ROM of the CPU 8 and written into the frame memory 9. When a pattern corresponding to one frame is transferred, among the patterns shown in FIG. 8, the patterns corresponding to the heading portion and the vertical and horizontal lines of the table are set in the frame memory 9.

Next, set the software clock (addresses 10 to 16 in Figure 12 A) to the CPU 8.
is transferred from the memory to the frame memory 9. At this time, it is determined which position in the column from "Getsuyo" to "Nichiyo" should be displayed. Addresses 10 to 16 of the memory of CPU 8, which indicate the current time, indicate which day of the week it is, so 1→
"Getsuyou"... 7 → Refer to "Nichiyou" in correspondence.

Once the location is determined, the next step is to determine whether it is morning or afternoon. In the morning, the code corresponding to the "AM" character is transferred, and in the afternoon, the code corresponding to the "PM" character is transferred to the frame determined as described above and written into the frame memory 9. . Similarly, a numerical code corresponding to the time is written into the frame memory 9.

Furthermore, the column from "Getsuyou" to "Nichiyo" is divided into 48 equal parts (24h x 2) to the left and right, and 1 unit is 30
Calculate where the current time is, assuming that the left end is midnight and the right end is 12 p.m. Corresponding to this calculated position, a code corresponding to one vertical line (7×1 dot) is written in the frame memory 9. Character generator 1
0 consists of a ROM, and when the code strings are input, a pattern corresponding to each code is output.

Next, the channel number currently being received is read from the electronic tuner 6 into the CPU 8, written into the CPU memory (addresses 6 and 7 in FIG. 12A), and transferred to the frame memory 9. And “×” in Figure 8
Write the numerical code corresponding to the channel number in the part corresponding to XX indicated as "x channel" in the same way as at the above time.

In this way, the code corresponding to the pattern shown in Figure 8 is written into the frame memory 9, but the white part and black part of the header characters from "Getsuyo" to "Nichiyo" displaying the current time are written in the frame memory 9. ,
Change only this part of the pattern code so that it flips every 0.5 seconds. The pattern code of the character generator 10 is determined so that the reversed pattern code can be obtained by adding a certain number to the value corresponding to the original code (for example, 4).

Next, the data set in the frame memory 9 is sent to the character generator 10 in synchronization with the signal from the timing circuit 11. The output of the character generator 10 (CRT display pattern signal) is modulated into a video signal g by the modulator 3 by adding a synchronizing signal e for horizontal and vertical synchronization. At this time, the changeover switch 1 is set to the VTR side, so the pattern shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the screen of the television set 13. In this way, the current time is displayed on the screen of the television set 13.

Next, when setting the current time, press the day of the week switch 23, the hour adjustment switch 25, and the minute adjustment switch 2.
6, the corresponding signal is read from the I/O port of the CPU 8. The CPU 8 counts the time during which the switches 23, 25, and 26 are pressed, and every 10 msec, the memory of the CPU 8 is
The keyboard input chattering prevention counter (address 3 in FIG. 12A) is incremented. When the value of this counter exceeds 8 (exceeds 80 msec), the data from the keyboard 7 is accepted, and the code corresponding to the keyboard 17 is set to the keyboard input data of the CPU 8 (addresses 4 and 5 in A in Figure 12). .
Then, the software clock (addresses 10 to 16 in the memory of the CPU 8) corresponding to the pressed keyboard 7 is added or subtracted, and the time and day of the week are updated.

Further, as time passes, an interrupt from a timer counter built into the CPU 8 occurs.
The timer counter interrupt corresponds to the reference clock of a clock. When an interrupt occurs, CPU8
is the software clock area (10 to A in Figure 12).
16) and advance the clock. This watch should be stopped only when in time setting mode. In other modes, the clock is always running.

When switching the mode switch 20 from the time adjustment mode to another mode, the seconds counter (12th
10 and 11 in Figure A) to zero.

By doing this, a zero second start can be achieved. The above is the details of the data flow in the time adjustment mode.

(B) Manual recording mode Recording start/stop is controlled manually. FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of the manual recording mode. Channel setting is performed by setting the mode switch 20 to manual recording. The display at this time is similar to the display in the time setting mode described above. This display mode is displayed for only a few seconds after the channel switch 22 is operated. To watch continuously, press mode switch 20.
Leave it in PULL state. To start recording, press REC and
By pressing the PLAY button, you can record the channel you are currently watching. Recording is ended by operating the STOP button.

Next, the signal flow in manual recording mode will be described. The input processing of the mode switch 20, the display on the television screen, and the input of data from the switch are similar to the time setting mode described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

When the REC and PLAY buttons are pressed, the CPU 8 turns on the transistor of the deck mechanism control section 5, drives the solenoid, and controls the cylinder and tape reel so that the tape can run.

(C) Automatic recording mode Recording start/stop and channel settings are automatically performed according to a pre-programmed program. FIG. 6 shows an operation flowchart of automatic recording mode. Set the mode switch 20 to automatic recording,
If you press the REC and PLAY buttons, the deck will remain in a paused state. When the reserved time for starting recording arrives, the reserved channel is set in the electronic tuner 6.

Next, the deck mechanism control section 5 is controlled by the CPU 8 to start tape running. During recording, everything except mode switch 20 is locked.
The channel is also locked so that it cannot be moved. To stop recording, press the STOP button to cancel automatic recording mode and switch to another mode.

However, since the recording reservation mode can be used even during recording, recording continues, but new recording cannot be started in the recording reservation mode.
In the recording reservation mode, the recording control is maintained at the previous automatic recording mode, and only recording reservations are accepted.

During automatic recording, if you want to check which program is being recorded or what time it is, pull the mode switch 20.

Next, the flow of signals in automatic recording mode will be described. In this mode, the contents of the software clock of CPU8 (addresses 10 to 16 in Figure 12A),
Recording start time area for programs 1 to 6 (20 to 25, 30 to 35, 40 to 45, 50 to 55, 60 in Figure 12 B)
~65, 70~75) and recording end time area (26~2A, 36~3A, 46~4A, 56~ in Figure 12B)
5A, 66-6A, 76-7A) are compared at regular intervals.

When it comes to the reserved time slot for each program,
The CPU 8 performs automatic recording control. For example, in the case of program 1, first the recording reservation channel (12th
(Addresses 2C and 2D in Figure B) are set in the electronic tuner 6, and the tape is driven.

Next, a control signal for writing an index signal for starting recording onto the tape is output to the deck mechanism control section 5. Next, all key switches including the channel switch 22 are prohibited from accepting input. At the scheduled recording end time, the tape drive control is canceled and the deck mechanism control section 5 is switched to the CPU 8.
control to the stop pose state.

(D) Recording reservation mode Schedule automatic recording. Reservation details include day of the week,
Start/end time and channel. To make a reservation for the day of the week, select from eight conditions: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and every day. To reserve start/end time
Select from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM. This recording reservation can be made even during automatic recording.

FIG. 7 shows an operation flowchart of the recording reservation mode.
FIG. 9 shows a display example in the recording reservation mode. The current time is displayed in the same format as that shown in FIG. 8 on a portion of the same screen on which the format shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

Before making a recording reservation, specify the number of the reservation program. The program number switch 21 is operated to designate the program number. Then,
Recording reservation program number area of CPU8 (12th
1F address in Figure A), the reserved program numbers are sequentially selected. The program number you wish to reserve is displayed numerically in the box at the left end of FIG.

Since all program numbers and reservation details are displayed on the screen, only the part of the selected program number is inverted in black and white to display which program number is currently reserved.
Black and white reversal is similar to the time setting mode described above.

Next, set the recording reservation day of the week, channel number and keyboard, and set the corresponding recording date and recording reservation channel area (2B in Figure 12B) of the CPU 8.
~7B・2C, 2D~7C, 7D). Next, write the recording start time and end time in the respective areas (20-2A, -, 70-7A in FIG. 12B) in the same manner. The display on the screen shows the recording start time at the top and the recording end time at the bottom.

At this time, if the recording start time is set to be later than the end time, the start time is transferred to the end time area so that the same time is automatically set. Also, on the contrary,
Even if an attempt is made to set the recording end time to be earlier than the start time, the same time is automatically set by transferring the end time area to the start time area in the same way. Also, if you try to set a time slot that overlaps with a time slot that has already been reserved for recording with another program number, both the time slot that you are currently trying to reserve and the time slot of the program number that has already been reserved will be displayed. A warning is given by displaying the message in black and white.

The recording time period is displayed not only numerically but also as a bar graph. This bar graph is displayed below the recording end time, and becomes longer or shorter in proportion to the recording reservation time. AM0:00
The bar graph is arranged so that PM12:59 is on the left side and PM12:59 is on the right side.

Cancellation of a reservation is performed by matching the recording start time and end time.

The above are the four operation modes, but there is also an initialization process when the power is turned on. Automatic recording cannot be performed correctly with the VTR timer unless the clock is set. When the power is turned on, the software timer area is also initialized, so it does not display a clock value. Therefore, in order to set the clock and clear all reservation details, be sure to set the mode switch 20 once to set the time after turning on the power. The display at this time is shown in FIG.

According to the present invention, the following points have been improved.

(1) Reservation details for each program number can be seen at a glance, eliminating errors in duplicate settings.

(2) Even if duplicate settings are made, you can see at a glance which program number the program number is duplicated with, making it easier to decide when to change it.

(3) Even when making a recording reservation, it is easier to use because it can be done in the same way as making a tabulation.

Although the present invention has been described in detail according to one embodiment, an even easier-to-use VTR timer can be realized by using a voice recognition module instead of a keyboard as an input means. Also, depending on the deck, RF
A converter may not be necessary in some cases.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the VTR timer, Figure 2 is a sketch of the keyboard, and Figure 3 is a VTR timer block diagram.
The timer operation flowcharts, Figures 4 to 7, show the details of Figure 3, and the timer operation flowcharts, manual recording, automatic recording, and recording reservation operation flowcharts, respectively.
The figure shows the pattern displayed on the CRT display in time setting mode, Figure 9 shows the pattern displayed on the CRT display in recording reservation mode, Figure 10 shows the CRT display display immediately after power is turned on, and Figure 11 shows the character generator pattern. 12A and 12B are allocation diagrams of the memory RAM built into the CPU, and FIG. 13 is an allocation diagram of the instruction ROM built into the CPU. 5...Deck mechanism control, 6...Electronic tuner,
7...Keyboard, 8...CPU, 9...Frame memory, 10...Character generator, 1
1... CRT synchronization timing circuit, 13... Television set, 20... Mode switch, 21
...Program number switch, 22...Channel switch, 23...Day of the week switch, 24...Start/end switch, 25...Hour adjustment switch, 2
6... minute adjustment switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microcomputer that inputs and memorizes the contents of a recording reservation, and outputs a control signal to each part of the VTR to automatically record when the recording reservation time arrives, and when the recording reservation time arrives, the microcomputer automatically controls the channel. an electronic tuner section for setting, a deck mechanism control section for controlling the microcomputer to set the VTR to a recording state and run the tape when the scheduled recording time arrives, and a frame memory section for storing data to be displayed on the television screen. a character generator that outputs character pixels and graph display pixels corresponding to the data read from the frame memory section to the television screen; A VTR timer equipped with means for outputting the recorded data on a television screen.