KR100536678B1 - Method for converting broadcasting channel of tv - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention allows a user to easily access (switch selection) a plurality of broadcast channels that were watched prior to the current channel by using a hotkey, in order to achieve the present invention. Unlike the conventional method of providing a channel interface to select only one previous channel to be switched to, the user presets the number of loop channels and registers the channel that was watched as a loop channel whenever a channel change occurs. When the user presses a hotkey, the broadcast channels registered as the loop channels are sequentially tuned for viewing, thereby effectively improving the channel selection convenience of the users and effectively satisfying various service needs.

Description

How to switch television channels {METHOD FOR CONVERTING BROADCASTING CHANNEL OF TV}

The present invention relates to a broadcasting channel switching technique of a television, and more particularly, to a television broadcasting channel switching method suitable for sequentially switching broadcast channels previously viewed using a hotkey.

As is well known, televisions are equipped with the function of switching the current channel to an adjacent channel using the up / down keys or switching the current channel to the channel previously viewed using the previous channel key.

Recently, with the commercialization of terrestrial broadcasting, cable broadcasting and satellite broadcasting, the number of broadcasting channels is increasing to hundreds. Therefore, users need to be able to easily access (channel switching or channel selection) several channels that they have watched before. In the past, only one channel that was watched immediately before the current channel is accessed using the previous channel key. Because of this, there was no choice but to limit users' various service needs.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art, a television broadcast channel switching that can easily access (switch selection) a plurality of broadcast channels that were watched before the current channel using the hotkey in the order of viewing. The purpose is to provide a method.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of switching a plurality of television broadcast channels tuned through a tuner, the method comprising: a first process of setting the number of loop channels to be registered as a previous viewing channel; A second process of checking whether the number of loop channels currently registered when the switching occurs has reached the preset number of loop channels; and, if the check result does not reach the number of preset loop channels, the channel before switching The third step of registering as a loop channel, and when the number of preset loop channels is reached as a result of the check, deletes the loop channel having the highest viewing time among the registered loop channels and replaces the previous channel with the new channel. A fourth process of updating and registering the loop channel, and registering the registered loop channels whenever a hotkey operation signal for switching the loop channel is input. A television broadcasting channel switching method comprising a fifth process of sequentially tuning is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of switching a plurality of television broadcast channels tuned through a tuner, the method comprising: a first process of setting the number of loop channels to be registered as a previous viewing channel; A second process of registering one or more broadcast channels as a preferred channel, a third process of checking whether a channel before the switch is a registered preferred channel when a channel change occurs, and a current registration when the channel before the switch is a registered favorite channel A fourth process of checking whether the number of loop channels that have been set reaches a preset number of loop channels; and when the check result does not reach the number of preset loop channels, registering the channel before switching as a loop channel. In the fifth process and when the number of preset loop channels is reached as a result of the check, the viewing time among the pre-registered loop channels is minimized. A sixth process of deleting a preferred loop channel, updating and registering the previous channel to a new loop channel, and a seventh step of sequentially tuning the registered loop channels whenever a hotkey operation signal for loop channel switching is input; Provided is a method for switching a television broadcast channel including a process.

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

A key technical aspect of the present invention is that, unlike the prior art described above, which provides a channel interface to switch to select only one previous channel that was viewed before the current channel using the previous channel key, the user can preview the number of loop channels in advance. It is set to register the channel that was watched every time a channel change occurs as a loop channel, and whenever a user presses a hot key, the broadcasting channels registered as the loop channel are sequentially tuned to view the present invention. It is easy to achieve this purpose. Here, the loop channel refers to a channel previously watched when the user switches the broadcast channel. The loop channel is referred to as a loop channel because it is registered as the previous viewing channels and the channel switching is sequentially rotated.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a television system suitable for applying a television broadcast channel switching method according to the present invention, including a control block 102, a memory block 104, a tuner and a demodulation block 106, and an image processing block. 104, a menu generation block 110, and an image synthesis block 112.

Referring to FIG. 1, the control block 102 includes, for example, a microprocessor for performing overall operation control of a television, and corresponding channel tuning control signals when a user selects switching of a broadcast channel during a viewing mode. Generate and provide to the tuner and demodulation block 102, store the previous viewing channel as a loop channel in the memory block 104 when channel switching occurs, and sequentially update the loop channels as the number of switching channels increases. Perform control.

In addition, the control block 102 retrieves the channel number setting menu data corresponding to the number of loop channels when the user requests setting the number of loop channels and provides them to the menu generation block 110, and includes a channel list when requesting registration of the preferred channel. The preferred channel registration menu data are retrieved and transferred to the menu generation block 110.

Therefore, in the menu generation block 110, when the channel number setting menu data is provided from the control block 102, the channel number setting screen is constructed using the channel number setting screen, and then transferred to the image synthesizing block 112, and from the control block 102. When the preferred channel registration menu data including the channel list is provided, the preferred channel registration menu screen is configured using the same, and then transmitted to the image synthesizing block 112.

Next, the tuner and demodulation block 106 includes a terrestrial broadcast tuner, a satellite broadcast tuner, a cable broadcast tuner, or a composite tuner thereof, and based on the broadcast channel tuning control signal provided from the control block 102, Tunes the terrestrial, satellite or cable broadcast channel selected by the user from a broadcast signal received through a broadcast signal receiver (e.g., terrestrial or satellite receiving antenna or cable), which is not shown, and transmits the tuned broadcast signal before transmission. The signal is demodulated and then separated into an audio signal and a video signal, wherein the separated audio signal (analog or digital audio signal) is provided to an audio processing block (not shown), and the separated video signal (analog or digital video signal) is Provided to the image processing block 108.

In addition, the image processing block 108 processes the video signal based on various control signals provided from the control block 102, and restores the video signal to the original signal before encoding, for example, when the video signal is a compression-coded video signal. Afterwards, signal processing such as conversion to an analog image is performed and transmitted to the image synthesis block 112.

Meanwhile, the image synthesizing block 112 transmits the image signal transmitted from the image processing block 108 to the monitor side, not shown, or from the image signal and menu generation block 110 transmitted from the image processing block 108. A menu screen (that is, a channel number setting menu screen, a favorite channel registration menu screen, etc.) is synthesized to generate a mixed video signal, and then deliver the mixed video signal to a monitor not shown.

Next, a method of switching a television broadcast channel according to the present invention using a television system having the above-described configuration will be described.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a number of loop channels by a user for switching broadcast channels according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control block 102 checks whether the television requests the number of loop channels to be set (step 204) while the television is performing a viewing mode for any broadcast (step 204). If there is a request for setting the number of loop channels, the menu generation block 110 generates a loop channel setting menu screen according to the control from the control block 102 and transmits the loop channel setting menu screen to the image synthesizing block 108. As a result, the loop channel is displayed on the monitor. The mixed video signal synthesized with the setting menu is displayed (step 206).

Subsequently, the user may set the number of loop channels by using the number keys of the remote controller, that is, the number of previous viewing channels that are tuned to the viewing sequence sequentially when the hot key is pressed, and thus the user inputs and sets the number of loop channels. The lower surface (step 208), the control block 102 stores the loop channel setting number memory block 104 (step 210).

Therefore, the user can set the desired number of loop channels (for example, four, six, eight, etc.) through the user interface through a series of processes as described above.

Next, a process of registering a loop channel according to a user's broadcast channel switching operation while setting the number of loop channels through the above-described process and switching the broadcast channel using the registered loop channel will be described. .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a channel as a loop channel whenever a channel change occurs for broadcasting channel change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, while performing the broadcast viewing mode, the control block 102 checks whether or not an operation signal for channel switching is input from an input unit (not shown) (steps 302 and 304). As a result, when a channel switching operation signal is input, a tuning control signal for channel switching is generated and transmitted to the tuner and demodulation block 106 to control the tuning of a new broadcast channel, and the viewing time t of the channel before switching is preset. It is checked whether it is equal to or more than the reference time T (step 306).

Here, the reference time T may be set by the user, for example, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and the like. For setting the reference time, the channel is tuned to the corresponding channel for at least some time. It is only to consider the channel as the previous viewing channel if it is maintained. In other words, the present invention does not treat channels passing momentarily through broadcast channel switching as previous viewing channels.

If it is determined in the step 306 that the viewing time t of the channel before the switching is smaller than the preset reference time T, the control block 102 does not register the channel before the switching as a loop channel. If it is determined that the viewing time t of the channel before the switching is greater than the preset reference time T, the control block 102 determines that the number n of loop channels registered so far is the preset loop channel number ( m) is checked (step 308).

As a result of the check in the step 308, if it is determined that the number n of registered loop channels is smaller than the preset number of loop channels m, the control block 102 uses the memory block (a channel as the loop channel) as the loop channel. 104) (step 310).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the number n of registered loop channels has already reached the preset number of loop channels m as a result of the check in step 308, the control block 102 selects the best viewing time (temporal time). Deletes the channel most preceding) and stores the previous channel in memory block 104 as a new loop channel (step 312). That is, when a loop channel is generated by channel switching in a state where the number of preset loop channels is all filled, the loop channel is updated by deleting the loop channel registered first in time.

Thus, when loop channels are registered through a series of processes as described above, the registered loop channels are sequentially tuned each time a user operates a hotkey. For example, suppose that the number of loop channel settings is 6, and channels 11, 16, 22, 28, 36, and 42 are registered as loop channels, each time the user operates the hotkey once, 11 → 16 → 22 → The channels are tuned in the following order: 28 → 36 → 42 → 16 ---------. Thus, users can easily find previous broadcast channels they have watched.

Next, another embodiment of switching the broadcast channel according to the present invention using the preferred channel and the loop channel will be described.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a preferred channel for switching broadcast channels according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is checked whether there is a request for registration of a preferred channel from the user while performing the broadcast viewing mode (steps 402 and 404). If it is determined that there is a preference channel registration request, the control block 102 is determined. ) Extracts broadcast channel list information from the memory block 104 to generate preferred channel registration menu data, and transfers the generated menu data to the menu generation block 110, and in response to the menu generation block 110. By constructing the preferred channel registration menu screen including the channel list information and passing it to the image synthesizing block 112, the preferred channel registration menu screen is displayed on the monitor (step 406).

Therefore, the user can select and register a favorite channel by using channel selection items on the favorite channel registration menu screen displayed on the monitor. When the user selects a desired favorite channel and requests registration (step 408), the control block In step 102, the corresponding broadcast channels are stored in the memory block 104 as a preferred channel (step 410).

Next, in the process of determining and registering a loop channel according to a user's broadcast channel switching operation in a state where a preferred channel is registered through a series of processes as described above, and switching the broadcast channel using the registered loop channel. Explain.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a corresponding channel as a loop channel whenever channel switching occurs for broadcasting channel switching according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, while performing the broadcast viewing mode, the control block 102 checks whether or not an operation signal for channel switching is input from an input means (not shown) (steps 502 and 504), and check here. As a result, when a channel switching operation signal is input, a tuning control signal for channel switching is generated and transmitted to the tuner and demodulation block 106 to control the tuning of a new broadcast channel, and the viewing time t of the channel before switching is preset. It is checked whether it is equal to or greater than the reference time T (step 506).

Here, the reference time T may be set by the user, for example, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and the like. For setting the reference time, the channel is tuned to the corresponding channel for at least some time. It is only to consider the channel as the previous viewing channel if it is maintained. In other words, the present invention does not treat channels passing momentarily through broadcast channel switching as previous viewing channels.

If it is determined in the step 506 that the viewing time t of the channel before switching is smaller than the preset reference time T, the control block 102 does not register the channel before switching as a loop channel. If it is determined that the viewing time t of the channel before the switching is greater than the preset reference time T, the control block 102 determines whether the channel before the switching (the current channel before the channel call) is registered as the preferred channel. It is checked whether or not (step 508).

If it is determined in the step 508 that the channel before switching is not a registered preferred channel, the control block 102 does not register the channel before switching as a loop channel and determines that the channel is registered as a preferred channel. Then, it is again checked whether the number n of loop channels registered so far has reached the preset number of loop channels m (step 510).

As a result of the check in the step 508, if it is determined that the number n of registered loop channels is smaller than the preset number of loop channels m, the control block 102 uses the memory block (L) as the loop channel. 104) (step 512).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the number n of registered loop channels has already reached the preset number of loop channels m, as a result of the check in step 510, the control block 102 selects the best viewing time (temporal time). Deletes the channel most preceding) and stores the previous channel in memory block 104 as a new loop channel (step 514). That is, when a loop channel is generated by channel switching in a state where the number of preset loop channels is all filled, the loop channel is updated by deleting the loop channel registered first in time.

Therefore, when loop channels are registered with reference to whether a preferred channel is through a series of processes as described above, the registered loop channels are sequentially tuned whenever the user operates a hotkey. For example, assuming that the number of loop channel settings is six and channels 11, 16, 22, 28, 36, and 42 registered as favorite channels are registered as loop channels, each time a user operates the hotkey 11 → 16 → 22 → 28 → 36 → 42 → 16 The channels are tuned in the following order. Therefore, users can easily find the broadcast channels that they have registered as their favorite channels among the previous broadcast channels they have watched.

As described above, according to the present invention, unlike the above-described conventional method of providing a channel interface to switch and select only one previous channel that was watched before the current channel using the previous channel key, the user can change the number of loop channels. It is set in advance, and registers the channel that was watched as a loop channel whenever a channel change occurs, and tunes the broadcasting channels registered as loop channels sequentially whenever the user presses a hotkey, thereby improving user convenience of channel selection. Of course, it can effectively meet various service needs.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a television system suitable for applying a television broadcast channel switching method according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a number of loop channels by a user for switching broadcast channels according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a channel as a loop channel whenever a channel change occurs for switching a broadcast channel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a preferred channel for switching a broadcast channel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of registering a channel as a loop channel whenever a channel change occurs for broadcasting channel change according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

102: control block 104: memory block

106: tuner and demodulation block 108: image processing block

110: menu generation block 112: video composition block

Claims (4)

delete delete A method of switching a plurality of television broadcast channels tuned through a tuner, Setting a number of loop channels to be registered as a previous viewing channel; Registering at least one broadcast channel as a preferred channel; A third process of checking whether a channel before the switching is a registered preferred channel when the channel switching occurs; A fourth process of checking whether the number of currently registered loop channels reaches a preset number of loop channels when the channel before the switching is a registered preferred channel; A fifth process of registering the channel before switching as a loop channel when the number of preset loop channels is not reached as a result of the check; A sixth step of deleting, when the number of preset loop channels is reached, a loop channel having the highest viewing time among previously registered loop channels and updating and registering the previous channel as a new loop channel; A seventh process of sequentially tuning the registered loop channels whenever a hotkey operation signal for loop channel switching is input; Television broadcast channel switching method comprising a. The method of claim 3, wherein The method may further include controlling to perform the third to seventh processes when the channel before the switching is watched for a predetermined viewing reference time or more.