KR0142715B1 - Apparatus and method for auto-channel searching of a television - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an automatic channel search apparatus and method for television, comprising: tuner means 56 for tuning a broadcast channel in the VHF band and a UHF band, and an audio signal of a broadcast signal tuned by the tuner means 56; A television comprising audio processing means (58, 60, 62, 64) for processing a video signal and video processing means (66, 68, 70, 72, 74) for processing a video signal of the broadcast signal. The control panel 50 for setting the automatic channel search mode for the channel and switching the broadcast channel in the automatic channel search mode, and the search target in response to the mode setting from the control panel 50 and the band switching of the broadcast channel. Control means 52 for controlling the automatic search of a channel included in the band of < RTI ID = 0.0 >, < / RTI > Channel search results for The channel data storage means 76 and the tuner means 56 detects a synchronization signal with respect to the broadcast signal of the channel provided by the control means 52 to provide a criterion as a channel capable of viewing the broadcast signal OSD, which is designated by the synchronization signal detecting means 80 and the control panel 50 to generate an automatic channel search mode executed under the control of the control means 52 and screen display data relating to the band of the designated channel search target. And processing means (78), to set an automatic channel search mode for the television, to perform a search for a channel of a band initially designated in the automatic channel search mode, and during the search, band switching is performed. If so, it is characterized in that the automatic search for the channels included in the subsequent band.

Description

Automatic Channel Searcher and Method of Television

1 is a block diagram of a channel selecting apparatus of a television for performing automatic channel searching using a color killer signal according to a conventional example;

2 is a block diagram showing a signal processing system of a television including an automatic channel searching apparatus for a television according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a channel searching method executed by the automatic channel searching apparatus of a television according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a panel search process of a band designation method by the automatic channel search apparatus of a television according to the present invention in the signal processing system of the television shown in FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: micom 20: tuner

21: P11 circuit part 22: tuning circuit part

23: local oscillation unit 24: mixing unit

30: 1F amplifier 40: color killer signal detector

50: control panel 50a: automatic channel search mode setting button

50b: band switching button 52: control unit

54: antenna 56: tuner

58: voice IF module 60: voice signal detector

62: voice signal processor 64: voice amplifier

66: video IF module 68: video signal detector

70: image signal processor 72: image amplifier

74: video display device 76: channel data storage unit

78: OSD processing unit 80: Sync signal detection unit

The present invention relates to an automatic channel search apparatus for a television and a method thereof. More particularly, the present invention provides an automatic channel search band (VHF _LOW and / or VHF _HIGH) when a band switching button is operated while an automatic channel search is performed for a television. Or an automatic channel search apparatus and method for a television for carrying forward to a subsequent band from UHF) so that automatic channel search for the designated channel is performed quickly.

In general, for a television that reproduces broadcast signals including video signals and audio signals transmitted by a plurality of broadcast stations, a broadcast station for transmitting a specific broadcast program can be designated as a channel so that the broadcast signal of a desired broadcast station can be viewed.

That is, a television is essentially equipped with a tuner for performing channel tuning for a plurality of broadcast signals received via an antenna, and for the tuner, a broadcast station that provides a specific broadcast program based on a predetermined broadcast program sequence. The tuning signal for tuning the signal is applied in a state where it is determined, thereby enabling selective viewing of a desired broadcasting signal among a plurality of broadcasting signals.

In general, a television includes a remote control device for remote control of a channel up / down button on a control panel installed in front of a television or a control item assigned to the television as a means for tuning a specific broadcasting channel by a tuner. The specific channel is selected by the channel up / down button or the 10-key provided on the control panel of the remote controller, but according to the tuning operation of such a broadcasting channel, the operation of the channel up / down button or the 10-key By operation, a state where a channel capable of viewing a broadcast signal or a channel of a non-broadcast signal can be tuned without distinction.

Moreover, in addition to the channel of a broadcasting station that delivers a broadcast signal through a wireless channel, in a situation where a cable broadcasting that delivers a broadcast signal to a specific receiver is performed by a wired channel, a channel capable of viewing the broadcast signal is greatly increased. As a result, the tuning of the broadcasting channel becomes more cumbersome and requires a relatively long time for the tuning of the desired broadcasting channel.

Accordingly, in the present television, a tuner for tuning a broadcast channel is sequentially applied to a tuner for tuning a broadcast channel, thereby automatically searching for a viewable broadcast channel and sequentially storing the searched channel in a memory means for storing channel data. For example, when the channel up / down buttons on the front control panel of a television or the control panel of a remote control unit are operated, the automatic channel search is made by simplifying the tuning of the desired channel by automatically searching the stored channel. The method is applied.

1 is a block diagram of a channel selecting apparatus of a television which implements the channel automatic searching method using the color killer signal, and reference numeral 10 denotes a channel searching apparatus in a control panel or a remote control device provided in front of the television. When a preset control signal is applied, it provides a local oscillation frequency for the corresponding channel, and shows a microcomputer that provides an optimal local oscillation frequency based on the synchronization signal search, the window search, and the presence or absence of a color killer signal. A tuner for tuning any one of a plurality of broadcast channels based on 18-bit tuning data applied under the control of the microcomputer 10 receiving the control signal, the tuner 20 being provided from the microcomputer 10. Receive a plurality of control signals (DATA, C1OCK, ENAB1E) to tune to the channel by the main counter (not shown) and the swallow counter (not shown) P11 circuit unit 21 for determining the voltage V _T and band switch data of 4 bits among the data signals DATA provided from the microcomputer 10 and receiving bands V _L ; VHF LOW and V _H ; VHF HIGH A frequency band selected by the tuning circuit section 22 for determining U; UHF), a local oscillating section 23 for oscillating a local oscillation frequency in accordance with a tuning voltage from the PLL circuit section 21, and the tuning circuit section 22; And a mixer 24 for synthesizing a local oscillation frequency from the local oscillator 23 to generate an image intermediate frequency signal.

30 denotes an IF amplification unit that amplifies the image intermediate frequency signal generated by the mixing unit 24 of the tuner 20 and provides the microcomputer 10 with a horizontal synchronization signal included in the image signal. A color killer signal detection unit for determining the presence or absence of a color killer signal in the signal on the channel is shown.

The automatic channel search process by the tuner configuration of the television which executes the automatic channel search using the color killer signal according to the conventional example configured as described above will first be described in order to set the channel auto search mode from the control panel (not shown). When the control signal is input, the microcomputer 10 sets the channel search mode, and then outputs 18-bit channel selection signal data to the tuner 20. Accordingly, the PLL circuit 21 of the tuner 20 selects the channel. The tuning voltage for the channel tuning is determined based on the signal data, and the tuning circuit 22 determines the band using the upper 4 bits of the tuning data.

In addition, the local oscillator 23 oscillates a local oscillation frequency corresponding to a preset voltage provided by the PLL circuit unit 21, and the band signal obtained from the tuning circuit unit 22 and the local oscillator 30 The oscillated local oscillation frequency is mixed in the mixing section 24 and then applied to the IF amplifier 30 as an image intermediate frequency signal.

Accordingly, the IF amplifier 30 amplifies the image intermediate frequency signal to provide a horizontal synchronization signal to the microcomputer 10, and the microcomputer 10 searches for a synchronization signal in the currently tuned channel. As a result of the search for the synchronization signal, if a synchronization signal exists in the currently tuned channel, the window search for determining the tuning voltage is performed. Then, when the window search is completed, the microcomputer 10 detects the color killer signal detection unit 40. ) To determine whether a color killer signal exists in the broadcast signal of the corresponding channel. As a result, when the color killer signal is present, the optimal local oscillation frequency is selected to tune the corresponding channel and set it as a memory target.

On the other hand, when the synchronization signal is not searched, the synchronization signal detection operation as described above is performed in the currently tuned channel. When the synchronization signal is searched as a result of the synchronization signal detection operation, the process after window search is performed. On the other hand, if the synchronization signal is not found, the local oscillation frequency based on the tuning signal data initially provided to the tuner 20 by the microcomputer 10 is present.

Therefore, when the channel is tuned by the broadcast station, the automatic channel search using the color killer signal significantly reduces the interference caused by interference with adjacent channels or mutual interference, thereby enabling relatively accurate channel selection.

However, if the RF signal strength of a broadcast signal (especially a broadcast signal transmitted through a radio channel) received from a broadcasting station where the television is installed is low, the channel search by the automatic channel search method may be incorrectly performed. As a result, the best broadcast signal reception conditions are not satisfied.

In view of such a point, a broadcast station propagates the same broadcast signal in the VHF band and the UHF band. When the automatic channel search is performed on the broadcast signal channels transmitted in the VHF band and the UHF band, the VHF band and the UHF band are generally used. For the broadcast signal channel of the band, the search for the entire channel is performed sequentially regardless of the presence or absence of the broadcast signal. Therefore, in such a manner, the number of channels of the auto search target included in the VHF channel and the UHF channel is significantly increased, resulting in a disadvantage that takes a relatively long time.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described prior art, and when a television is automatically searched for a broadcast signal channel of a VHF band and a UHF band, a band switching is performed in a broadcast-free channel section to a subsequent band. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic channel search apparatus and a method for automatic channel search for a television so that a sequential channel search can be made faster in an exclusion state without a broadcast channel section.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, tuner means for tuning of a broadcast channel in the VHF band and UHF band, voice processing means for processing a voice signal of the broadcast signal tuned by the tuner means; A television comprising image processing means for processing a video signal of the broadcast signal, comprising: a control panel for setting an automatic channel search mode for the television and for switching a band of a broadcast channel in the automatic channel search mode, and control thereof; Control means for controlling automatic search of a channel included in a band to be searched in response to mode setting from a panel and band switching of a broadcast channel, and applied to automatic channel search performed by the tuner under the control of the control means. Channel data storage means for storing the station signal data and the channel search result for the specified band, which is searched by the tuner A synchronization signal detecting means for detecting a synchronization signal with respect to a broadcast signal of a null and providing the reference signal as a determination criterion as a channel capable of viewing the broadcast signal by the control means; an automatic signal designated by the control panel and executed under the control of the control means Provided is an automatic channel searching apparatus for a television comprising a channel searching mode and OSD processing means for generating screen display data relating to a band of the designated channel searching target.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control panel includes a remote control having a band switching button for switching between the VHF (VHF _LOW / VHF _HIGH ) and UHF band in addition to the automatic channel search mode setting button for the broadcast channel of the television. Are employed.

Further, when the band switching is performed, the control means shifts from the current band to the next band and searches for the channel of the band.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a tuner means for tuning a broadcast channel in the VHF band and the UHF band, voice processing means for processing a voice signal of the broadcast signal tuned by the tuner means, and an image of the broadcast signal. A television comprising image processing means for processing a signal, comprising: setting an automatic channel search mode for the television, performing a search for a channel of a band initially designated in the automatic channel search mode, and performing the search If band switching is performed in the middle, an automatic channel search method of a television is provided, which performs automatic search for a channel included in a subsequent band.

Preferably, the band switching of the channel search is performed by a band switching button provided on a control panel for controlling the function of the television.

In addition, band switching of the channel search target is performed in the order of VHF _LOW and VHF _HIGH and UHF bands of the VHF band.

According to such an automatic channel search apparatus and method of a television according to the present invention, in the automatic channel search mode set by the automatic channel search mode button of the control panel, when it is determined that channel search is completed in the current band, band switching is performed. If this is specified, the channel search process can be completed quickly because the channel search process can be completed immediately without searching for the current non-broadcast channel, so that the channel search time can be further reduced. have.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention will be described in detail.

2 is a block diagram of an automatic channel search apparatus of a television according to the present invention, wherein reference numeral 50 denotes a control panel for setting the overall function given to a television, and the control panel 50 corresponds to the television. Control buttons installed on the front of the television or remote controllers for remote control of the television are usually designed with a number of buttons designed to set control functions such as tuning of a broadcasting channel, adjusting volume, adjusting brightness or contrast, and the like. ) Is applied. In addition, the control panel 50 has an automatic channel search mode setting button 50a for setting the automatic channel search mode of the television according to the present invention, and the corresponding channel in the automatic channel search mode set by the button 50a. In the state of searching for the automatic channel, the band switching button 50b for switching the designation of the band (VHF _LOW , VHF _HIGH , UHF) of the search target is included.

In addition, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 52 denotes a controller 52 for controlling the operation state of the television according to the function control of the television applied from the control panel 50. According to the present invention, the controller 52 When the band switching is designated by the automatic channel search mode and the band switching button 50b by the automatic channel search mode setting button 50a provided in the control panel 50, the channel search for the current band is stopped. Then, the control of searching for a channel included in a subsequent band is executed.

That is, when the band switching button 50b of the control panel 50 is operated, the controller 52 carries over from the current band (for example, VHF _LOW ) to the subsequent band (for example, VHF _HIGH ) and is included in the subsequent band. The channel will be searched.

54 denotes an antenna for receiving a broadcast signal wirelessly transmitted from a broadcast station, and 56 denotes an antenna for tuning a channel of a desired broadcast signal based on the channel selection voltage V _T provided from the controller 52 or the controller 52. A tuner for sequentially searching channels of the broadcast signal received by the antenna 54 in the automatic channel search mode under the control of the "

58, 60, 62, and 64 are voice signal processing means for processing a voice signal for a channel tuned by the tuner 56, and the voice IF module indicated by 58 is used for the broadcast signal tuned by the tuner 56. The voice signal intermediate unit amplifies a voice signal, and the voice signal detector 60 denotes an intermediate signal amplified voice signal by the voice IF module 58, and the voice signal processor 62 denotes a voice signal processor. A voice surround or voice multiplex process set by the control panel 50 is performed on the voice detected voice signal, and the voice amplifier denoted by 64 is a voice signal processed by the voice signal processor 62. Amplifies the to play through the voice output device (for example, the speaker).

In Fig. 2, reference numerals 66, 68, 70, and 72 denote video signal processing means for processing video signals for channels tuned by the tuner 56, and the image IF module indicated by 66 is the tuner 56; Middle frequency amplification of the video signal of the broadcast signal tuned by the), and the image signal detector 68 is to detect the middle frequency amplified video signal by the image IF module 66 , An image signal processing unit 70 denotes a picture-in-picture (PIP) function set by the control panel 50 or a process for displaying OSD character information, which will be described later, on the image detected image signal. The image amplification unit 72 denotes an amplification of the image signal processed by the image signal processing unit 70 so as to be reproduced through an image output device (eg, a CRT device).

In addition, when the channel of the broadcast signal is tuned by the control unit 52, the 76 stores data regarding the tuning voltage V _T of the channel to be tuned and is searched in the automatic channel search mode described below. A channel data storage unit storing a channel capable of receiving a signal, and reference numeral 78 denotes character information for indicating a mode of function control for a corresponding television performed under the control of the control unit 52 and a function control adjustment value performed under the mode; In the meantime, when the automatic channel search is performed under the automatic channel search mode assumed in the present invention, an OSD processing unit for generating character information for displaying a band and a channel of the automatic channel search target is indicated. 52. A synchronization signal check for detecting a synchronization signal from a video signal output from the video IF module 66 when searching for a broadcast channel executed by 52). It represents parts.

According to the processing of the broadcast signal by such a television, when the tuning signal of the broadcasting channel is provided from the control panel 50, the control unit 52 sends the channel data corresponding to the tuning signal from the channel data storage unit 76. the taking poison and generates the tuning signal (V _T), and the generated channel selection signal (V _T), a broadcast signal of a channel to broadcast sinhojung target received through the antenna 54 is applied to the tuner 56 When the broadcasting channel is tuned, the OSD processing section 78 is controlled so that the channel information of the broadcasting channel and the character information of the broadcasting channel are tuned to the video signal processor 70 and the video signal. The amplifier 72 acts to be displayed on the video display screen of the television.

Then, the voice signal included in the broadcast signal of the channel tuned by the tuner 56 is subjected to the intermediate frequency conversion and detection by the intermediate frequency in the voice IF module 58 and the voice signal detector 60, and then the voice signal. The voice control function of the state applied to the processing unit 62 and set by the control panel 50 in the voice signal processing unit 62 and displayed on the screen by the OSD processing unit 78 under the control of the control unit 52 ( For example, voice processing corresponding to volume adjustment, voice surround or voice multiplexing) is performed. The audio signal processed by the audio signal processor 62 is output to the speaker as the audio signal Aout amplified by the audio signal amplifier 64 and reproduced.

Next, the automatic channel search method by the automatic search control apparatus for television channels according to the present invention executed by the configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the control signal is received while the controller 52 is waiting for an input from the control panel 50 in step 100, the control signal from the control panel 50 is transferred to the control panel 50 in step 102. It is determined whether the signal is for designation of the automatic channel search mode by the automatic channel search mode setting button 50a. If the determination result is not the designated signal for the automatic channel search mode, the control proceeds to step 104. Character information relating to a control mode (e.g., volume adjustment, brightness or contrast adjustment, etc.) set by the < RTI ID = 0.0 >) is generated in the OSD processor 78, and then displayed on the image display device 74 through the image signal processor 70. < / RTI > In the step 106, the control mode corresponding to the control signal is executed.

In contrast, if it is determined in step 102 that the control signal is a signal for setting the automatic channel search mode by the automatic channel search mode setting button 50a of the control panel 50, the controller 52 performs step 108. Proceeds to control the OSD processing unit 78 so that the 'auto channel search mode' set by the control panel 50 is displayed on the image display device 74, and then the band (for example VHF _LOW) It is determined whether the band switching button 50b is operated to switch to the next band.

As a result of the determination, if the band switching is not performed, the OSD processing unit 78 is controlled to perform a search for a channel included in the initial band in step 112, and the automatic control is performed at a predetermined position of the image display device 74. 'Channel Search' and 'VHF _LOW ' will be displayed.

Subsequently, the controller 52 reads the channel selection voltage V _T of the VHF _LOW band stored in the channel data storage 76 and applies the tuner 56 to the tuner 56 in step 114. ) Is controlled to perform the channel search operation only by the channel tuning signal provided from the controller 52, and the video signal for the channel tuned by the tuner 56 is outputted from the video IF module 66. .

The synchronization signal is detected by the synchronization signal detection unit 80 in the image signal output from the image IF module 66, and the control unit 52 is connected to the channel selection voltage applied to the tu 56. Correspondingly, only the channel where the synchronization signal is detected in the video signal of the channel output by the video IF module 66 is searched as a channel receivable in the designated band and stored in the channel data storage 76.

As such, during the initial VHF _LOW search of the channels included in the band, for example, when it is determined that the user has completed the search of the channel in the VHF _LOW (step 115), the band switching is performed by operating the band switching button 50b. That is, in the VHF _HIGH band), the control unit 52 proceeds to step 118 to display the channel search band and the mode in the subsequent band through the OSD processing unit 78, and then in step 120 It is determined whether band switching to the final band (ie, UHF band) is designated.

As a result of the determination in step 120, when the band switching is not performed in the VHF _HIGH band, the controller 52 determines the automatic channel search mode and the VHF _HIGH band on the image display device 74 in step 122. Then, in step 124, the channel tuning data corresponding to the VHF _HIGH band is sequentially read from the channel tuning voltage data stored in the channel data storage unit 76 to search for a channel included in the designated VHF _HIGH band. To the tuner 56.

Accordingly, the tuner 56 performs channel search based on the channel selection voltage V _T provided from the controller 52, and the image signal of the channel searched by the tuner 56 is converted into an image IF module ( Synchronization detection is performed by the synchronization signal detection unit 80 through 66.

The control unit 52 determines that the synchronization signal is detected by the synchronization signal detection unit 80 as a channel included in the UHF band and capable of receiving a broadcast signal, and stores it in the channel data storage unit 76. do. Subsequently, in step 125, when the search for the channel included in the subsequent VHF _HIGH band is completed, the process proceeds to step 126. If the search for the channel included in the band is not completed, the process returns to the process of step 120 and the process is performed. Subsequent processing is performed, where, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, after searching for channel 11, if the band switching button 50b is operated, the controller 52 moves to the final band of the UHF band. Control.

That is, when the control in step 126 is to be performed according to the determination in step 120 or the switch to the UHF band or the determination in step 126, the controller 52 proceeds to step 126 to include the channel included in the UHF band. A control operation for searching for the channel is executed, and channel tuning data stored in the channel data storage unit 76 is read and provided to the tuner 56 regarding channel search of the final band (UHF band).

Accordingly, the tuner 56 performs a tuning operation according to the channel selection voltage V _T provided from the control unit 52, and synchronizes the image through the image IF amplifier 66 by tuning the tuner 56. For the channel on which the synchronization signal is detected by the signal detection unit 80, the control unit 52 determines that the broadcast signal can be viewed in the UHF band in step 128 and stored in the channel data storage unit 76. As a result of the determination in step 130, when the channel search of the entire band is completed, the automatic channel search ends.

The control unit 52 controls the broadcast channel of a specific band tuned as described above so that only the searched and stored channel is tuned when the control panel 50 operates, for example, a channel up / down key (not shown). Channel selection is simplified.

As described above, according to the automatic channel search control apparatus and method of the television according to the present invention, when the channel search target is designated by the band switch button provided on the control panel, Channel search is carried out by carrying over to the subsequent band. Therefore, when the channel switching is designated while all channels capable of watching the channel included in the band to be searched during the execution of the automatic channel search are searched, Search time is eliminated, and the search time is further reduced, and the probability of searching for an error channel can be further reduced.

Claims (6)

Tuner means 56 for tuning the broadcast channels of the VHF band and the UHF band, and voice processing means 58, 60, 62, 64 for processing the audio signals of the broadcast signals tuned by the tuner means 56; In a television comprising image processing means (66, 68, 70, 72, 74) for processing a video signal of the broadcast signal, setting of an automatic channel search mode for the television and a broadcast channel in the automatic channel search mode. Control panel 50 for band switching of the control unit 50, Control means for controlling the automatic search of the channel included in the band of the search target in response to the mode setting and the band switching of the broadcast channel from the control panel 50 Channel data storage means 76 for storing tuning signal data applied to the automatic channel search performed by the tuner means 56 under the control of the control means 52 and the channel search result for the designated band; Channel searched by the tuner means 56 Synchronization signal detection means 80 and control panel 50 designated by the control panel 50 to detect a synchronization signal for a broadcast signal and provide it as a criterion as a channel capable of viewing the broadcast signal by the control means 52. And an automatic channel search mode executed under the control of the means (52) and OSD processing means (78) for generating image display data relating to the band of the designated channel search target. The remote control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control panel (50) is provided with a band switching button for switching between VHF (VHF _LOW / VHF _HIGH ) and UHF bands in addition to the automatic channel search mode setting button for the broadcasting channel of the television. An automatic channel search apparatus for a television, characterized in that. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control means (52) shifts from the current band to the next band when the band switching is performed, and searches for the channel of the band. . Tuner means 56 for tuning of broadcast channels in the VHF and UHF bands, voice processing means 58, 60, 62, 64 for processing audio signals of the broadcast signals tuned by the tuner means 56; In a television comprising image processing means (66, 68, 70, 72, 74) for processing a video signal of the broadcast signal, an automatic channel search mode for the television is set, and the initial time is set in the automatic channel search mode. A search for a channel of a band specified in, and when the band switching is performed during the search, the automatic search for a channel included in a subsequent band is performed. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the channel switching of the channel searching is performed by a band switching button (50b) provided on a control panel (50) for controlling the function of the television. 5. The automatic channel search method of claim 4, wherein the band switching of the channel search target is performed in the order of VHF _LOW in the VHF band, VHF _HIGH and UHF band.