KR950009669B1 - Reserving apparatus & method in tv program - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus comprises a key part for having a reservation key and a reservation setting key; a microcomputer for checking a key operation state of a user through scan of the key; a decoding/controlling part for decoding a key code value of the infrared rays signal, and storing and searching a channel change, on-screen display; a screen controlling part for controlling the on-screen displaying part under control of the decoding/controlling part, and controlling the display of the menu screen and the reservation screen; a memory for storing information on date, day of the week, time, and channel under control of the decoding/controlling part; a tuner for tuning a channel of the receiving broadcasting under control of the microcomputer; an intermediate frequency processing part for processing an image signal and a sound signal of the tuned broadcasting; an on-screen display part for outputting on-screen display information by generating a character under control of the microcomputer; and a sound/image processing part for demodulating the image signal and the sound signal, and outputting an output signal of the on-screen display part.

Description

Apparatus and method for watching reservation of television program

1 is a block diagram of a viewing reservation apparatus for a TV program of the present invention.

2A is a main flowchart showing a reservation process of a viewing schedule in a viewing reservation method of a TV program of the present invention, and b is a main flowchart showing a switching control process of a reserved channel in the viewing reservation method of a TV program of the present invention.

3A is a flowchart of an embodiment showing a reservation process of a viewing schedule in a viewing reservation method of a TV program of the present invention, and b is a flowchart of an embodiment showing a switching control process of a reserved channel in the viewing reservation method of a TV program according to the present invention. .

4A to 4E are diagrams of the on-screen display screen at the time of reservation according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing an example of a memory map in which reservation information is stored in the apparatus of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: Kiibu 2: Micom

3: infrared output unit 4: remote control transmitter

5: infrared receiver 6: amplifier

7: Remote control receiver 8: Decryption / control unit

9: tuning controller 10: screen controller

11: memory 12: microcomputer

13: antenna 14: tuner

15: intermediate frequency processing unit 16: on-screen display unit

17: video / audio processing unit 18: audio output unit

19: speaker 20: video output unit

21: CRT

The present invention reserves a viewing program of a television set (TV) by date or day, and automatically searches for the time and channel of the program reserved on the date or day, and automatically switches to the corresponding channel according to a schedule set by the viewer. The present invention relates to a TV program viewing reservation apparatus and a reservation method.

TV stations usually broadcast a certain program regularly on a specific day or a fixed time of day. For example, programs such as soap operas and news are aired every day or at a specified time. The viewing is very regular and regular.

However, since a conventional TV receiver does not have a means for reserving a broadcast program, a viewer knows in advance the time and channel of a broadcast program that he / she wants to watch with reference to a program schedule such as a newspaper and then broadcasts the desired program. It is inconvenient because you have to switch to the channel in time to watch the program you want, and if you do not have high attention, you often miss the time, day or date you want to watch. If you want to watch a specific date, for example, a special program that is aired on holidays, you need to remember in advance information about the date and time channel of the program, so you can actually watch the program you want to watch. It becomes very difficult to do There is a problem.

The present invention reserves a broadcast start time and a channel of a program for each day of the week of a TV broadcast program that the user wants to watch, and automatically switches the TV reception channel to the corresponding channel when the date or day and time is reached. It is convenient to watch the program, and you can watch exactly what you want to watch. Especially, you can watch programs such as soap operas, news, etc. that are broadcast on a certain time and channel for each day of the week. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for reserving a TV broadcast program, which is described in the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a viewing reservation apparatus for a TV program according to the present invention includes a key part 1 including a reservation key K1 for program reservation and a setting key K2 for reservation setting, and The microcomputer 2 determines the key operation state of the user through the scanning of the key unit 1 and outputs a key code corresponding to the determined key function, and the key code signal output from the microcomputer 2 is an infrared signal. A remote control transmitter 4 composed of an infrared ray output unit 3 for outputting a light; An infrared receiver 5 for receiving an infrared signal output from the infrared output unit 3 and converting the infrared signal into an electrical signal; A remote control receiver 7 comprising an amplifier 6 for amplifying and outputting the received infrared signal; A decryption / control unit 8 for decrypting the key code value of the amplified infrared signal and performing channel switching corresponding to the function of the decrypted key, displaying an on-screen screen, storing and retrieving reservation data, and the decryption / control unit A tuning control unit 9 which performs tuning control of the tuner 14 under control of (8) and performs switching control of a TV reception channel, and an on-screen display unit 16 under control of the decoding / control unit 8. Control the display screen of the menu screen and the program reservation screen to perform the display control, and the date, day, time, channel information of the program reserved by the user under the control of the decryption / control unit 8 is stored and A microcomputer 12 including a memory 11 to be decrypted; A tuner 14 performing channel tuning of the antenna 13 receiving broadcast under the control of the microcomputer 12; An intermediate frequency processor (15) for performing intermediate frequency processing of the video signal and the audio signal of the broadcast channel tuned by the tuner (14); An on-screen display unit 16 generating a character constituting a menu and a reservation screen under the control of the microcomputer 12 and outputting on-screen display screen information; An image / audio processor (17) for performing demodulation and amplification with the intermediate frequency-processed image and audio signal and switching the output signal of the on-screen display (16) to a video signal; An audio output unit 18 for outputting the audio signal output from the video / audio processing unit 17 by performing signal processing such as amplification and filtering; A speaker 19 for converting and outputting an electric voice signal output from the voice output unit 18 into an audio signal of an audible band; An image output unit 20 for performing signal processing such as amplification, synchronization, and deflection driving of the image signal output from the image / audio processor 17; In the drawing, R1, R2, R3 denotes resistors, Q1, Q2 denotes transistors, D1 denotes infrared light emitting diodes, and VCC denotes Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, a viewing reservation method by the viewing reservation apparatus of the TV program of the present invention configured as a power source as described above is as follows.

First, FIG. 2A shows a reservation process of a viewing schedule. When a user selects a program reservation by operating a key of the remote control transmitter 4, the user reserves a program through the remote control receiver 7 of the microcomputer 12. Determine that the image is desired, and control the on-screen display unit 16 to output an image signal constituting the menu screen, and the on-screen image signal is transmitted through the image / audio processing unit 17 and the image output unit 20 to the CRT 21. In the menu screen state, the user operates the key of the remote control transmitter 4 to set ON or OFF of the reservation execution, and the set contents are stored in the microcomputer 12.

Here, ON of the reserved execution is a case where the automatic switching to the reserved channel is executed when the scheduled time reaches the scheduled date (or day of the week), and OFF is not an automatic switching to the reserved channel. If not, that is, the user can freely watch the broadcast of the channel selected by the user while ignoring the reservation status.

Then, when the user sets the above-mentioned reservation execution on, the microcomputer 12 sets the case in which the user operates the key of the remote control transmitter 4, either AUTO or MANUAL of the reservation execution. And save the information.

In this case, AUTO of reservation execution ignores the user's intention to adhere to the current channel at the scheduled time and automatically switches to the reserved channel, and MANUAL refers to the reserved channel to the user at the reserved time. Message is displayed on the CRT 21 under the control of the on-screen display 16, and then waits for a predetermined time before the user wants to switch. It means the case of switching to.

When the automatic and manual setting of the reservation execution is set as described above, the microcomputer 12 controls the on-screen display unit 16 to display the reservation screen (the screen on which the date, day, time, and channel are displayed) on the CRT 21. In this state, the reservation date or day and the reservation time and channel of the user input through the key of the remote control transmitter 4 are stored, thereby completing the viewing schedule of the program to be watched.

5 shows an example of the memory 11 data configuration of the microcomputer 12 in which a reservation schedule set by date or day of the week is stored by the user as described above.

As described above, after completion of the reservation schedule, the microcomputer 12 performs a switching control process of the reserved channel as shown in FIG. 2B.

In other words, if it is determined whether the scheduled execution set by the user is turned on or off, the stored reservation date or day and time are compared with the current date or day, and the time of the day to match each other. It is determined whether the execution is automatic or manual, and if it is automatic, the tuner 14 controls and tunes to the reserved channel, and if it is manual, a message asking whether to switch is output and the tuner 14 is desired. By controlling the synchronization to the reserved channel to achieve automatic viewing of the reserved program.

The TV program reservation and viewing operation of the present invention described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIGS.

First, FIG. 3A and FIG. 2A correspond to the process shown in FIG. 2A.

That is, as described above, when the user turns on the menu key K1 provided in the key part 1 of the remote control transmitter 4, the microcomputer 2 searches for the menu key on and the key corresponding to the menu key K1 is lost. The key code signal is output and the key code signal drives the transistor Q1 of the infrared output unit 3 so that the key code signal is output as an infrared signal through the infrared light emitting diode D1.

The infrared signal is received by the light receiving transistor Q2 of the infrared receiver 7, converted into an electrical signal, amplified by the amplifier 6, and input to the decryption / control unit 8 of the microcomputer 12, and the decryption / control unit 8. ) Is a code value of the decryption result menu key (K1) by decoding the input key code, and outputs a control command to the screen control unit 10 to form a menu screen as shown in FIG.

Accordingly, the screen controller 10 controls the on-screen display unit 16 to output an image signal (character) constituting the menu screen, and such a menu on-screen display image signal is input to the image / audio processor 17. The video / audio processor 17 switches the input video signal of the on-screen display to the video signal of the channel currently being watched, and supplies the video signal of the on-screen screen to the video output unit 20, and outputs the video output unit 20. ), The input signal is amplified or the like and is supplied to the CRT 21 so that the CRT 21 displays a menu screen as shown in FIG. 4A.

The user selects the viewing reservation by looking at the menu screen. In the present invention, the item corresponding to the number 1 on the menu screen is set as the viewing reservation in the embodiment.

Therefore, when the number 1 key is pressed on the key unit 1 of the remote control transmitter 4, the decoding / control unit 8 of the microcomputer 12 recognizes the selection of viewing reservation through the signal processing in the same process as described above. When the user selects the viewing reservation as described above, the decryption / control unit 8 controls the screen control unit 10 and the on-screen display unit 16 to perform the same operation as in the case of displaying the menu screen described above. Displays the screen for the scheduled execution on / off and automatic / manual selection.

The user selects ON / OFF of the reservation execution by looking at the screen of FIG. B. In the present invention, when the number 1 key of the key part 1 is input, the user enters the reservation execution on and the number 2 key. If the number key is input, the number 3 key is entered automatically. If the number key 4 is input, the number key is input manually. Recognition of the number key input is the same as that of the menu key (K1) input. Signal processing is achieved.

As described above, when automatic is selected following the ON setting of the reservation execution, the decryption control unit 8 sets an automatic flag (AUTO-FLAG) indicating automatic setting, and when manual is selected, a manual flag (MANUAL) indicating manual setting. -FLAG) is set.

Subsequently, the decryption / control unit 8 of the microcomputer 12 controls the screen control unit 10 and the on-screen display unit 16 to determine whether to reserve the program for the user by day or the day of the week as shown in FIG. 4C. The screen that can be selected is displayed on the CRT 21, and when the user presses the numeric key of the key part 1 to select the day of the week, a screen for inputting a reservation schedule of the selected day of the week, such as d, is displayed. 10 and the on-screen display unit 16 to display on the tube 21, and when the user selects the date by pressing the numeric keys, the user can input the viewing schedule of the date as shown in e, the tube 21 (21) ).

When the user inputs the desired time and channel by inputting the numeric key of the key unit 1, the corresponding keycode signal is a remote controller when the desired time and channel are input. Since it is input from the transmitter 4 to the microcomputer 12 through the remote control receiver 7, the decryption / control unit 8 of the microcomputer 12 decrypts the input keycode to select the time and channel of the date or day selected by the user. The information is stored in the memory 11 as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the user turns on the setting key K2 when the time and channel inputted by the user are correctly input, and inputs the input of the setting key K2 to the microcomputer 12. Is detected, the information input at that time is confirmed as the reservation information finally selected by the user and stored in the memory 11 as described above.

In this way, the user configures a viewing schedule for each day or day of the TV broadcast program that he / she wants to watch. The schedule is stored in the memory 11 and used in the control of switching to the reserved channel described below.

FIG. 3B is a view illustrating a reserved viewing schedule execution process of the present invention, and corresponds to FIG. 2B.

That is, the microcomputer 12 determines whether or not the reservation execution on / off is set and executes another normal program for controlling the TV receiver when it is off, and when it is on, the microcomputer 12 stores the date or the day of the week stored in the memory 11. Search for a time and compare it with the current date or day and time.

As a result of the comparison, if the current date or day is the reserved date or day, and the current time matches the reserved time, the user flag (USER-FLAG) indicating channel switching while watching the reserved channel is reset, and automatically or manually Determining the setting state of the flag (AUTO-FLAG) (MANUAL-FLAG) is determined by searching, and if the current time has passed the reserved time as a result of the search and comparison, the user flag is set and determined whether or not to reset If so, return. If reset, the automatic and manual setting status is judged.

In the case of automatic and manual determination, the decryption / control unit 8 of the microcomputer 12 controls the on-screen display unit 16 through the screen control unit 10 to switch to a reserved channel. After displaying a message to the user (viewer) on the CRT 21, the user waits for a predetermined time for channel switching.

In other words, if the program being watched is desired to be viewed in preference to the reserved program, for example, the reserved program is the KBS1 9:00 news program, but the channel being watched is the SBS featured talk program, Even if you have scheduled to watch KBS1 9:00 Youth at 9:00), you may want to continue watching the current SBS program due to the change in the viewing schedule. In this case, set it to MANUAL at the reservation stage as described above. If the user inputs the key (e.g. setting key (K2)) that the user wants to switch the channel with the message asking whether to change the channel in the execution step, the user switches to the reserved channel and waits. If there are no key inputs promised during the hour, the user's intention to watch is maintained by keeping the channel being watched. It will not be disturbed by the program.

When the switch to the reserved channel is suspended in this manner, the microcomputer 12 sets the user flag USER-FLAG.

On the other hand, if it is determined automatically as a result of the automatic / manual determination, the channel is automatically switched to the reserved channel without outputting a message.

That is, the decryption / control unit 8 inputs a switching command to the reserved channel to the tuning control unit 9, and accordingly, the tuning control unit 9 controls the tuning frequency of the tuner 14 to tune to the reserved channel frequency. Perform tuning control as much as possible.

The tuner 14 subjected to the above tuning control tunes a broadcast signal of a reserved channel among the TV broadcasts received by the antenna 13 and supplies it to the intermediate frequency processor 15, and the intermediate frequency processor 15 is inputted. Image and audio intermediate frequency processing of the broadcast signal is performed to supply the intermediate frequency processed image and audio signal to the image / audio processing unit 17. The image / audio processing unit 17 processes the color and luminance of the input image signal. After performing signal processing such as demodulation, demodulation and amplification of an audio signal, an audio signal is supplied to the audio output unit 18 and an image signal to the video output unit 20, respectively.

The audio output unit 18 outputs the audio signal through the speaker 19 by performing signal processing such as stereo separation of the input audio signal, processing of voice multicasting, power amplification, and the like, and the image output unit 20 receives the input. Signal processing such as amplification of the video signal, deflection and driving of the CRT 21 is performed to display the video signal on the CRT 21, thereby enabling the user to watch the broadcast of the reserved channel.

In this way, while watching the reserved channel, if the user inputs the channel switching key of the key unit 1 of the remote control transmitter 4 to watch the broadcast of another channel, the reserved channel is maintained and the channel switching key is inputted. The decryption / control unit 8 controls the tuner 14 in the same operation as described above via the tuning control unit 9 to the selected channel corresponding to this key so that the broadcast of the new channel is displayed on the CRT screen. The user flag (USER-FLAG) is set.

Thereafter, as described above, the microcomputer 12 searches for the reserved date or day and time stored in the memory 11 and compares it with the current date or day and time. To watch.

By explaining a simple example of the viewing switching operation of the reservation program, the operation and effect of the present invention will become more apparent.

That is, it is assumed that the current date or day coincides with the reserved date or day, the reserved time is (1) 19:00, and the reserved channel is KBS1, (2) 20:00, SBS. See sequence, time, channel items on screen in 4d or e).

Case 1; If the user turns on the TV at 19:30, the first sequence of scheduled time (1) 19:00, KBS1 has elapsed, and the second sequence (2) 20:00, SBS has not elapsed. In Figure 3b, the time search result is the case that the reservation time (19:00) has elapsed and the user flag (USER-FLAG) is in the reset state (by initializing the microcomputer upon initial power-up). After performing the operation according to the manual determination, the channel is switched to the channel of KBS1 at 19:00, which is a reserved channel.

That is, as a result of the comparison search between the current time and the preset time, when the current time passes the reserved time, switching to the reserved channel is performed at the time closest to the current time among the elapsed reservation time.

Case 2; In the case 1, if the user does not want to switch to the reserved channel, that is, if there is no output of the message and no setting key (K2) input in time in the manual setting state, the current channel is maintained. After the user flag (USER-FLAG) is set, it is returned. After returning, the time search result has elapsed since the reservation time (19:00), but in this case, the search result of the user flag (USER-FLAG) is set. The process of automatic / manual determination, message output, channel switching, etc. is not performed, and the status is maintained (returned) so that unnecessary message output or channel switching operation does not occur according to the determination of the reservation time. You will.

Case 3; In this case, if switching to another channel is performed while watching the reserved channel as shown in 1, the channel is returned through the step of setting the user flag (USER-FLAG). As shown in 2, unnecessary channel switching or message output is prevented. This is because the user gives up watching the reserved channel and changes to another channel during the viewing. Therefore, the result of the reserved time is ignored even if the reserved time has elapsed. To ensure the user's current viewing intent.

Case 4; If the current time reaches 20:00 during the execution of each case or at the minimum power-on, the result of the search and comparison of the reserved time of the memory 11 is 20:00 SBS in the second order of reservation, which is a program (matching the reserved time). After resetting the flag (USER-FLAG) and performing channel switching according to the above automatic or manual determination, the user switches to the reserved channel SBS, or if the channel switching is not desired. Repeat the series of operations that return after setting the user flag (USER-FLAG) as shown in 3.

As described above, according to the present invention, a TV broadcast program can be reserved in advance for a weekly or specific date, so that it is convenient and prevents accidents that inadvertently miss a program desired to be watched. Since the reservation can be freely controlled according to the viewing desire, there is an effect that the TV broadcast can be selected according to the desire without being disturbed at all.

Claims (6)

Key unit 1 including reservation key K1 for program reservation and setting key K2 for reservation setting, and the key operation state of the user is determined by scanning the key unit 1 to perform viewing reservation. A microcomputer 2 for outputting a key code corresponding to the function of the key determined by the configuration of the menu screen and the schedule screen for viewing and viewing reservation information, and an infrared ray for outputting the key code signal output from the microcomputer 2 as an infrared signal. A remote control transmitter 4 composed of an output unit 3; An infrared receiver 5 for receiving the infrared signal output from the infrared output unit 3 and converting it into an electrical signal, and an amplifier 6 for amplifying the received infrared signal and outputting a key code signal for viewing reservation; A remote control receiver 7; A decryption / control unit 8 for decrypting the key code value of the amplified infrared signal and performing channel switching corresponding to the function of the decrypted key, displaying an on-screen screen, storing and retrieving reservation data, and the decryption / control unit A tuning control unit 9 which performs tuning control of the tuner 14 under control of (8) and performs switching control of a TV receiving channel, and an on-screen display unit 16 under control of the decoding / control unit 8; Control the display screen of the menu screen and the program reservation screen to perform the display control, and the date, day, time, channel information of the program reserved by the user under the control of the decryption / control unit 8 is stored and A microcomputer 12 including a memory 11 to be decrypted; A tuner 14 performing channel tuning of the antenna 13 receiving broadcast under the control of the microcomputer 12; An intermediate frequency processor 15 for performing intermediate frequency processing of the video signal and the audio signal of the broadcast channel tuned by the tuner 14; An on-screen display unit 16 generating a character constituting a menu and a reservation screen under the control of the microcomputer 12 and outputting on-screen display screen information; An image / audio processing unit (17) for demodulating and amplifying the intermediate frequency processed image and audio signal and switching the output signal of the on-screen display unit (16) to a video signal; An image output unit 20 for outputting the audio signal output from the image / audio processor 17 by performing signal processing such as amplification and filtering; Viewing reservation device for a television (TV) program consisting of a CRT (21) in which the video signal output from the video output unit 20 is displayed on the screen. Setting the viewing order, time and channel of the day by date and day of the week according to the desired order of watching the TV broadcast program, and comparing the set date and day with the current date and the day of the week to determine whether or not they match. And if the date and day of the week match, as a result of comparing and searching the current time with the set time, and determining whether or not to match. And executing and controlling the user to watch the broadcast program reserved by the user. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein whether to switch to the reserved channel is set as scheduled execution on or off, and the on / off of the reservation execution is judged to be on and off only when the day, date, and time are searched. A method of reserving viewing of a television program comprising the step of performing from. 4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the step of switching to the reserved channel is set automatically (AUTO) or manual (MANUAL) of the reservation execution, and when the automatic / manual determination of the reservation execution is automatic. Switch to the reserved channel, and if it is manual, a message is displayed on the screen asking the user whether or not to switch to the reserved channel, and the channel is switched only when the user inputs the promised key to switch to. A method of reserving a viewing of a television program comprising the step of performing. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: switching to a channel that is reserved to the time closest to the current time from the elapsed reservation time when the current time passes the reserved time as a result of the comparison search between the current time and the preset time. Viewing reservation method of a television (TV) program comprising a. The method according to claim 4, wherein when the automatic / manual determination result is manual, when the user does not select switching to the reserved channel and when switching to another channel is performed while watching the reserved channel, And switching to a channel reserved in the current time zone until the reservation time becomes in turn.