KR20150004685A - Apparatus and method for favorite channel management - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus and a method of managing favorite channels. The method comprises: accumulating watching times for one or more channels to calculate one or more pieces of accumulated channel information and storing the calculated result in an accumulated channel database; extracting a preset number of pieces of information from the accumulated channel information and selecting one or more piece of favorite channel information; and sequentially updating the one or more favorite channels and storing the updated result on a favorite channel database.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FAVORITE CHANNEL MANAGEMENT [0002]

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an apparatus and method for managing a preferred channel.

Generally, a TV is typically included in a video display device, and such a TV selects and demodulates a broadcast signal according to a channel selected by a user among broadcast signals transmitted from a broadcasting station, separates the broadcast signal into audio and video, And a video device outputting through a speaker.

In recent years, as the digital broadcasting has accelerated, the satellite broadcasting / terrestrial / cable / satellite broadcasting / satellite broadcasting / satellite broadcasting / High-definition / high-quality broadcasting is starting. Compared to existing analog TV, digital broadcasting can provide not only high quality, high quality but also various additional services.

This digital broadcasting compresses high definition / high quality A / V using video / audio compression method (MPEG-2, AC-3) and uses QPSK / VSB / QAM transmission method through existing satellite / terrestrial / cable band So that it is possible to provide various services to one channel.

In the case of terrestrial broadcasting, it is possible to provide more than 4 channels of SD class and 1 channel of HD class in one existing channel. In addition, in order to provide various services, digital TV transmits additional information like A / V data, By using such information, it is possible to provide a service such as broadcast guidance for an increased channel. In other words, unlike in the past, which was able to receive only the airwave channels, it is possible to receive and receive various broadcast channels through cable or satellite broadcasting. Currently, it is possible to separate and manage more than 50 channels and more than 100 channels Methods are presented.

Thus, with the expansion of audio / video compression technology and transmission compression technology, it is possible to broadcast more channels than the existing analogue, and the user has to spend a considerable amount of time searching for the channel he or she wants to see among the increased channels.

Therefore, a general digital TV provides a function called a favorite channel.

The Favorite Channel provides basic functions of registration, deletion, and inquiry. The registering function is a function of storing channel related information including physical frequency information of the selected channel in a corresponding storage device in accordance with the preferred channel information structure. The removal function removes the corresponding preferred channel information from the preferred channel list as an opposite function of the registration function. The inquiry function provides a function of allowing the viewer to easily access a favorite channel that the viewer wishes to view and quickly select the favorite channel among the previously registered favorite channels. Such a preferred channel registration, removal, and viewing method may use different schemes for each TV manufacturer or specific system.

However, in general, the preferred channel function has a problem that the user has to manually set the preferred channel manually.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for collecting, displaying, and managing preferred channel information in a video apparatus.

One embodiment of the present invention provides for adjusting the number of channel changes by recognizing the release time of pressing the button in the channel changing device.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an accumulated channel management unit for accumulating viewing time for one or more channels to calculate one or more accumulated channel information, a cumulative channel database for storing the at least one accumulated channel information, A preferred channel management unit for extracting a predetermined number of pieces of the accumulated channel information and sorting the information by at least one preferred channel information, and a preferred channel database for updating and storing the at least one preferred channel in order.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the channel is changed, the cumulative channel manager may calculate the at least one cumulative channel information by accumulating the viewing time for each of the at least one channel.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the preferred channel management unit may periodically select the at least one preferred channel information.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the preferred channel database may update and store the one or more preferred channel information in descending order or ascending order.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention may further include a channel output unit for sequentially outputting one or more preferred channel information.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention may further include a channel change signal receiving unit for receiving a preference channel change signal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the preferred channel management unit recognizes a currently output favorite channel using the at least one preferred channel information, and may change the preferred channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the channel changing device includes a button argument unit for adjusting the number of channel changes according to a release time at which the channel change button is pressed, and a channel change signal transmitter for transmitting the channel change signal .

According to an aspect of the present invention, the channel changing device may further include a vibration generating unit that generates vibration during the release time.

The preferred channel management method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of accumulating viewing time for one or more channels using one or more accumulated channel management units and calculating one or more accumulated channel information, Selecting one or more preferred channel information by extracting a predetermined number of pieces of the one or more accumulated channel information using the preferred channel management unit and updating the one or more preferred channels in order in the preferred channel database .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus and method for collecting, displaying and managing preferred channel information in a video apparatus can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the channel change device can recognize the release time of pressing the button and adjust the number of channel changes.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a video reproducing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a preferred channel management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a preferred channel list according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a channel changing device according to an aspect of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a process of recognizing a button press of a channel changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred channel management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for changing a preferred channel using the channel changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to or limited by the embodiments.

In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The terminology used herein is a term used for appropriately expressing an embodiment of the present invention, which may vary depending on the user, the intent of the operator, or the practice of the field to which the present invention belongs. Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a video reproducing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an image reproducing system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a channel changing apparatus 110, an image controlling apparatus 120, and an image displaying apparatus 130.

The image control device 120 may receive the content information and broadcast image information from a content providing server or a broadcast server via wireless or wired communication and may control the image display device 130 to display an image, The display device 130 can display various content information and broadcast image information received from the image control device 120 on the screen.

For example, the image control device 120 may be a SET TOP BOX configured in a digital TV environment, receives digital broadcast information and content information, and controls the image display device 130 to display the information can do. The image control device 120 and the image display device 130 may be integrated with each other, such as a smart TV. In this case, the image control device 120 may include an image display device 130.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the image control device 120 selects channel information that is reproduced the most in the broadcast channels displayed on the image display device 130, that is, a favorite channel that the viewer watches for the longest time . In other words, the image control apparatus 120 may correspond to the preferred channel management apparatus.

For example, the channel change device 110 may be a remote controller configured in a digital TV environment, and may include various devices for adjusting settings related to content playback, such as changing a channel desired by the viewer or adjusting a sound . When the channel change device 110 is implemented as a mobile communication terminal, the channel change device 110 may be connected to the image control device 120 via a wireless router (not shown) or the like.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the channel change device 110 can select the channel information that is reproduced the most from the broadcasting channels reproduced by the image control device 120, that is, the favorite channel that the viewer watches for the longest time.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each part constituting the preferred channel management apparatus may be implemented all through the channel changing apparatus 110, all of the units may be implemented through the video controlling apparatus 120, And the image control device 120. In case of separately implemented, the channel change device 110 and the image control device 120 communicate with each other through the necessary information. In this case, the preferred channel management device includes a channel change device (110) and the image control device (130) are combined.

Hereinafter, a preferred channel management apparatus that can be achieved through independent or combined configuration of the channel changing apparatus 110 or the image controlling apparatus 120 will be described.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a preferred channel management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the preferred channel management apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may collect, display and manage a preferred channel, and may include a cumulative channel management unit 210, a cumulative channel database 220, a preferred channel management unit 230 ), And a preferred channel database 240.

The accumulated channel management unit 210 accumulates one or more accumulated channel information by accumulating the viewing time for one or more channels, and the accumulated channel database 220 stores one or more accumulated channel information.

For example, when the channel is changed, the cumulative channel management unit 210 can calculate one or more cumulative channel information by accumulating the viewing time for each of the at least one channel.

As a specific example, when the viewer views the channel 6 (Ch 6), the cumulative channel management unit 210 can accumulate the viewing time from the time when the channel 6 is changed from the channel 6 to the channel 6 . In addition, when the cumulative channel management unit 210 is changed from another channel to the channel 6, the cumulative channel management unit 210 can accumulate the existing channel 6 at the viewing time. For example, if a viewer views channel 6 from 9:00 to 10:00, then changes to channel 7 to watch channel 7 by 11:00, and again watches channel 6 from 11:00 to 12:07, , The cumulative viewing time for channel 6 is 127 minutes and the cumulative viewing time for channel 7 is 60 minutes.

The preference channel management unit 230 extracts a predetermined number of pieces of information from one or more accumulated channel information, and selects one or more pieces of preference channel information. The preference channel database 240 updates and stores one or more preferred channels in order.

For example, the preferred channel management unit 230 may periodically select the one or more preferred channel information. Also, the preferred channel database 240 may update one or more preferred channel information in descending order or ascending order.

For example, when the preset number is set to 9, the preferred channel management unit 230 extracts channels 6, 7, 9, 11, 21, 31, 74, 81, and 88, And can be selected by the preference channel information. The cumulative viewing time for each channel 6, 7, 9, 11, 21, 31, 74, 81, and 88 is 127 minutes, 60 minutes, 2 minutes, 45 minutes, 40 minutes, 35 minutes, , 25 minutes, and 5 minutes. When the data alignment setting is set in the descending order, the preferred channel database 240 updates the preferred channel information in the order of channels 6, 7, 11, 21, 31, 74, 81, 88, .

3 is a diagram illustrating a preferred channel list according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, the preferred channel management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a channel output unit 250. The channel output unit 250 outputs one or more preferred channel information in order .

The channel output unit 250 may read one or more preferred channels from the preferred channel database 240 and output the read preferred channels to the video display device. For example, the channel output unit 250 may transmit preference channel information stored in the preference channel database 240 in descending order to channels 6, 7, 11, 21, 31, 74, 81, and 88 And 9, respectively.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention may further include a channel change signal receiving unit 260. The channel change signal receiving unit 260 may receive a preference channel change signal from the channel change apparatus.

At this time, the preferred channel management unit 230 recognizes the currently output preferred channel using one or more preferred channel information, and may change the preferred channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal.

For example, when the preference channel management unit 230 receives the uplink channel change signal by the channel change signal, the preference channel management unit 230 may change the channel from the current channel 31 (310) to the channel 21 (320). As another example, the preference channel management unit 230 may change the current channel 31 (310) to the channel 74 (330) when receiving the first step down channel change signal with the channel change signal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the preferred channel management device is a separate independent configuration that distinguishes the channel change device, the preferred channel management device can manage a preferred channel by receiving a channel change signal or the like from the channel change device.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a channel changing device according to an aspect of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the channel changing apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a button accepting unit 410, a channel changing signal transmitting unit 420, and a vibration generating unit 430.

The button argument part 410 of the channel change device 400 can adjust the channel change frequency according to the release time at which the channel change button is pressed and the channel change signal transmission part 420 changes the channel change signal To the channel change signal receiving unit 260 of FIG. In addition, the vibration generating unit 430 may generate vibration during the release time.

5 is a diagram illustrating a process of recognizing a button press of a channel changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the channel change device selects (410) any one of the buttons of the channel change device (for example, a channel up button or a channel down button) 411 and presses the selected button 421 The release time from the start point 420 to the point 430 when the button 431 is contacted is measured.

For example, when the release time is 3 seconds or less, the channel change device can recognize the channel change signal as a general channel change IrDA (Infrared Data Association) command and adjust the channel change frequency of the channel change signal to zero.

As another example, when the release time is less than 3 seconds and less than 5 seconds, the channel changing device can transmit the IrDA command for generating the vibration of the device for 1 second and changing the preferred channel by one step with the channel change signal to the channel change signal receiving unit.

As another example, when the release time is more than 4 + N seconds (N is an integer greater than 0), the channel change device continuously transmits the IrDA command to the N channel, Channel change signal receiving unit. At this time, the preferred channel management apparatus can change the preferred channel N times and output it every time the channel change signal is received N times.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the configuration of FIG. 2 is integrated with the channel changing apparatus of FIG. For example, the preferred channel management apparatus may include a cumulative channel management unit, a cumulative channel database, a channel output unit, a button argument unit, a preferred channel management unit, a preferred channel database, and a vibration generation unit.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention can accumulate one or more cumulative channel information by accumulating viewing time for one or more channels using the cumulative channel management unit, and store one or more cumulative channel information in the cumulative channel database.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention can calculate one or more accumulated channel information by accumulating viewing time for each of at least one channel using a cumulative channel management unit when the channel is changed.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention extracts a predetermined number of pieces of information of one or more accumulated channel information using the preferred channel management unit, selects one or more preferred channel information, and transmits one or more preferred channels to the preferred channel database Can be updated and stored in order.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention may periodically select the at least one preferred channel information using the preferred channel management unit. In addition, the preferred channel database may update and store one or more preferred channel information in descending order or ascending order.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention can sequentially output one or more preferred channel information through the channel output unit and read one or more preferred channels from the preferred channel database to output the selected preferred channel to the video display device.

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention may adjust the number of channel changes according to a release time of pressing a channel change button through a button argument unit and may generate vibration during a release time using the vibration generating unit .

The preferred channel management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention recognizes the currently output preferred channel using one or more preferred channel information and may change the preferred channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal.

Hereinafter, a preferred channel management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the preferred channel management method may be all performed through the channel changing device, or may be performed through the video controlling device, or may be performed by combining the channel changing device and the image controlling device.

In the following description, the preferred channel management method will be described by way of an image control device which receives a channel change signal from the channel change device, but the method is not limited to the following method.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred channel management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the preferred channel management apparatus accumulates viewing time for one or more channels and calculates one or more accumulated channel information (610).

The preferred channel management apparatus stores the one or more accumulated channel information in an accumulated channel database (620).

The preferred channel management apparatus extracts a predetermined number of pieces of the one or more accumulated channel information using the preferred channel management unit and periodically selects one or more pieces of preferred channel information (640).

The preferred channel management apparatus sequentially updates and stores the one or more preferred channels in the preferred channel database (640).

Hereinafter, a method for changing a preferred channel using a channel changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for changing a preferred channel using the channel changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The channel change device recognizes the release time with respect to the pressed time of the button using the button argument part, and transmits the channel change signal corresponding to the release time to the preferred channel management device through the channel change signal transmission part (720).

The channel change signal receiving unit of the preferred channel management device receives the channel change signal from the channel change device (730) and transmits the channel change signal to the preference channel management unit (740).

The preferred channel management apparatus recognizes the current channel using the preferred channel management unit 750, and instructs the preferred channel database to change the channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal (760, 770).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus and method for collecting, displaying and managing preferred channel information in a video apparatus can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the channel change device can recognize the release time of pressing the button and adjust the number of channel changes.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions to be recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. For example, it is to be understood that the techniques described may be performed in a different order than the described methods, and / or that components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, Lt; / RTI > or equivalents, even if it is replaced or replaced.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims.

210: cumulative channel manager
220: Cumulative channel database
230: Preferred channel manager
240: Preferred channel database
250: Channel output section
260: Channel change signal receiving unit

Claims (15)

A cumulative channel management unit for accumulating viewing time for one or more channels and calculating one or more cumulative channel information;
A cumulative channel database for storing the at least one cumulative channel information;
A preferred channel management unit for extracting a predetermined number of pieces of the one or more accumulated channel information and selecting the one or more pieces of preferred channel information; And
A preferred channel database for updating and storing the one or more preferred channels in order;
Wherein the preferred channel management apparatus comprises: The method according to claim 1,
The cumulative channel management unit,
And accumulates viewing time for each of the at least one channel to calculate the at least one accumulated channel information when the channel is changed. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the preference channel management unit comprises:
Wherein the at least one preferred channel information is periodically selected. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the preferred channel database comprises:
And updates the at least one preferred channel information in descending order or ascending order. The method according to claim 1,
A channel output unit for sequentially outputting the at least one preferred channel information,
Further comprising: The method according to claim 1,
A channel change signal receiving unit
Further comprising: The method according to claim 6,
The preferred channel management unit
Recognizes a currently output favorite channel using the at least one preferred channel information, and changes the preferred channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal. 8. The method of claim 7,
And a button argument unit for adjusting the number of channel changes according to a release time (Release Time)
Further comprising: 9. The method of claim 8,
And a vibration generating unit
Further comprising: Accumulating the viewing time for each of the at least one channel using the accumulated channel management unit to calculate one or more accumulated channel information;
Storing the at least one accumulated channel information in a cumulative channel database;
Extracting a predetermined number of pieces of the one or more accumulated channel information using the preferred channel management unit and selecting one or more pieces of preferred channel information; And
Updating one or more preferred channels in order in the preferred channel database and storing
/ RTI > 11. The method of claim 10,
The step of receiving the preferred channel change signal
Wherein the preferred channel management method further comprises: 12. The method of claim 11,
Recognizing a currently output favorite channel using the at least one preferred channel information; And
Changing the preferred channel by the number of channel changes corresponding to the channel change signal
Wherein the preferred channel management method further comprises: 13. The method of claim 12,
Adjusting the number of channel changes according to a release time (Release Time) of pressing a channel change button
Wherein the preferred channel management method further comprises: 14. The method of claim 13,
Controlling to generate vibration during the release time
Further comprising the steps of: A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for performing the method of any one of claims 10 to 14.

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