WO2008072340A1

WO2008072340A1 - Controller, information device, control method, and control program

Info

Publication number: WO2008072340A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/325053
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroyuki Taguchi
Original assignee: Fujitsu Limited
Priority date: 2006-12-15
Filing date: 2006-12-15
Publication date: 2008-06-19

Abstract

A controller for controlling a television receiver (10) comprises: an interface to the television receiver (10); a detection section (22) for detecting that the start operation of a same genre channel pilot for making an autopilot of channels in which same genre television programs are set has been made during the viewing of a television program; a current genre detecting section (23) for detecting the genre of the television program viewed at the moment when the start operation was made if the detection section (22) detected that the start operation has been made; and a switching instruction section (27) for instructing the television receiver (10) to switch to the channel containing the television program of the same genre as that detected by the current genre detecting section (23).

Description

Specification

Control device, information device, control method, and control program

Technical field

The present invention relates to a technology of a control device that controls a television receiver.

Background art

[0002] As a technology for switching to another channel that broadcasts programs of the same genre, when the reception state deteriorates, it is automatically set to a channel that provides a program of the desired genre information previously input by the user using the remote control There is a technology that performs switching automatically (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] When the power is turned on, even if the broadcast content of the channel that was last received when the power was turned off has changed, the broadcast program is automatically selected according to information desired by the preset user. (See Patent Document 2).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-320638

Patent Document 2: JP 2003-347950 A

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0004] When an event or accident that is broadcast live in news, a wide show, etc. is broadcast, the user is able to take a viewing method to compare programs about the same event while switching channels. is there. In addition to broadcasts of incidents and accidents, the user searches for a program that he / she wants to watch by comparing programs of the same genre (for example, drama and variety) broadcasted in the same time zone while switching channels. There is.

[0005] However, channels that are broadcasting programs of a genre that the user does not want to view are displayed during channel switching, where it is not possible to actually broadcast programs of the same genre at all stations. If so, the user must perform the operation each time to skip that channel. Such an operation is complicated for a user who wants to find a desired program while quickly switching channels.

[0006] In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides the same genre while the user switches channels. The purpose of this program is to eliminate the complications of operations for patrol viewing and improve convenience when patroling these programs.

Means for solving the problem

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems. That is, the present invention is a control device for controlling a television receiver, and an interface to the television receiver and a channel in which a television program of the same genre is assembled when the television program is viewed. When the start operation is performed when the detection unit detects that the start operation of the same genre channel tour that performs automatic patrol is performed, and the detection unit detects that the start operation is performed, The current genre detection unit that detects the genre of a television program that is viewed and recorded, and the switching to a channel that includes a television program of the same genre as the genre detected by the current genre detection unit. And a switching command unit that commands the television receiver.

[0008] Here, the same genre channel patrol refers to the circulation of a channel in which a television program of the same genre is set by switching the channel when the television program is viewed.

[0009] According to the present invention, when a start operation of the same genre channel tour is performed, a channel in which a program of the same genre as the television program being viewed at the time of the start operation is assembled. Traveling with automatic switching eliminates the complexity of operations for patrol viewing and improves convenience.

[0010] In addition, the present invention creates a list of channels in which television programs of the same genre as the genre detected by the current Giannole detection unit are created by referring to the program guide data. A cyclic channel list creation unit may be further provided, and the switching command unit may command the television receiver to switch the reception channel according to the list created by the cyclic channel list creation unit.

[0011] According to the present invention, by creating a list for channel circulation based on the provided program guide data, it is ensured that only the channel in which the program to be visited is organized is subject to circulation. It becomes possible. The invention's effect

[0012] According to the present invention, when a user patrols a program of the same genre while switching channels, the complexity of operation for patrol viewing can be eliminated and convenience can be improved. .

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a television viewing device.

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of a television viewing device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of a program guide database.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an image of a program guide specified from a program guide database.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the genre channel circulation process.

Explanation of symbols

[0014] 10 Television viewing device

10A control unit

11 CPU

12 memory

13 Interface

14 Broadcast receiver

15 Communications department

16 Hard disk drive

17 Portable storage medium drive

18 Operation unit

19 Infrared detector

20 Infrared remote control

21 Display

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment when the information device according to the present invention is implemented as a television viewing apparatus will be described. The configuration of the following embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention The configuration of the embodiment is not limited.

This television viewing device receives the start operation of the same genre channel tour by the user, and when the start operation is detected, the user is viewing (displayed on the display unit 21) of the television program being watched. A TV program of the same genre as the genre is organized, and the channel is automatically circulated.

[0016] The same genre channel tour is started by, for example, pressing the “same genre” button provided on the remote control by the user, or by using the predefined operation force S remote control or the like by the user. Is to be done. “Circuitating channels automatically” means, for example, automatically switching channels one after another while displaying each channel for 3 seconds. The display time and switching interval for each channel are preferably set to optimal values in advance or can be set by the user. If the channels of the same channel are switched one after another and reach the last channel, the next channel will go to the first channel.

[0017] Further, the tour of the same channel is finished when the end operation is detected.

Here, the end operation means that the “same genre” button provided on the remote controller is pressed again by the user, the channel selection button (channel selection button) is pressed, or other predefined operations. This is to be done by the user using a mobile computer.

[0018] When the “same genre” button is pressed again, the television viewing device fixes the display to the channel displayed on the display unit 21 when the button is pressed and ends the same channel tour. To do. In other words, when a user finds a television program that has continued to be watched while the channels in which television programs of the same genre are set up one after another at predetermined intervals, By pressing the “” button, you can continue to watch the television program you want.

[0019] On the other hand, when the channel selection button is pressed, the television viewing device displays the channel selected by the channel selection button and ends the same genre channel circulation. In other words, if the user cannot find a favorite television program in the same genre channel tour, the user performs an operation such as specifying an appropriate channel number. By doing so, the tour of the Giannole channel can be completed.

[0020] During the same genre channel patrol, if the channel group in which television programs of the same genre are set changes over time (that is, television programs of the same genre are set up). The same genre channel tour will follow this change as the number of channels increases or decreases. More specifically, channels that no longer broadcast television programs of the same genre are excluded from the circulation, and channels that have started broadcasting television programs of the same genre are added to the circulation.

[0021] According to the television viewing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to view a single case from various perspectives and to efficiently transmit a lot of information on the same topic by visiting the same television program. Can be collected.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a television viewing device 10 according to the present embodiment. The television viewing device 10 receives an operation of the user, operates the television viewing device 10, and the broadcast receiving unit 14 that receives a television broadcast according to the operation of the operation unit 18, or the broadcast A display unit 21 that displays a broadcast program received by the reception unit 14 and a control unit 10A that controls the television viewing device 10 are provided.

[0022] Further, the control unit 10A includes a detection unit 22 that detects an operation signal generated by a user operation on the operation unit 18, a program guide data storage unit 24 that stores electronic program guide data, and program guide data. Therefore, a current channel detection unit 23 that detects the genre of the program currently displayed on the display unit 21, and a cyclic channel list generation unit 25 that generates a list of channels to be used for patrol of the same channel according to the program guide data. A cyclic channel list storage unit 26 for storing the circular channel list, and a switching command unit 27 for instructing a broadcast channel to be received by the broadcast reception unit 14 in accordance with an operation to the operation unit 18 or the cyclic channel list. And then sing.

Of these, the control unit 10A can be realized by a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like and a program executed on the computer.

Here, the operation unit 18 includes a remote control operation unit that is a combination of the infrared detection unit 19 and the infrared remote controller 20, a channel operation knob, an operation button, and a computer input device. Etc.

[0025] The detection unit 22 includes an interface between the operation unit 18 and the CPU, a device driver that processes interface signals, and an OS (operating system) that exchanges signals with the operation unit 18 through the device driver, Through this, an operation to the operation unit 18 (for example, switching of the reception channel) is detected.

However, dedicated hardware may be provided as the detection unit 22. For example, an input signal processing circuit for the operation unit may be provided to share the CPU processing. As such a processing circuit, a keyboard controller, a mouse controller, and the like are known.

[0027] Further, for example, a dedicated input control processor for processing a signal from the operation unit 18 may be provided separately. The input control processor may convert the signal of the operation unit 18 into a predetermined channel switching signal and transmit the signal to the switching command unit 27.

[0028] The program guide data storage unit 24 stores program guide data included in broadcast data, or program guide data received via a network such as the Internet. This program guide data is data including program information for each channel, broadcast start date / time information and broadcast end date / time information for each program (details will be described later). The program guide data storage unit 24 can be configured in a volatile memory backed up by power, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, or a recording medium such as a hard disk.

The current genre detection unit 23 refers to the program guide data stored in the program guide data storage unit 24 and detects the genre of the program displayed on the display unit 21. The channel displayed on the display unit 21 is determined from the channel that the switching command unit 27 last commanded to switch. The current genre detection unit 23 may be configured as a computer program executed on the CPU. However, the current genre detection unit 23 may be configured as a dedicated processor that detects the genre of a program with reference to the program guide data storage unit 24.

[0030] The cyclic channel list creation unit 25 creates a list of channels in which programs of the same genre are organized in the same time zone with reference to the program guide data stored in the program guide data storage unit. Then, it is stored in the cyclic channel list storage unit 26. This traveling channel list is information listing channel numbers of channels to be visited. The traveling channel list creation unit 25 is a computer program executed on the CPU. What is necessary is just to comprise. However, the cyclic channel list creation unit 25 may be configured as a dedicated processor that creates a cyclic channel list with reference to the program guide data storage unit 24.

[0031] Further, the cyclic channel list storage unit 26 can be configured in a volatile memory backed up by a power source, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, or a recording medium such as a hard disk. In this case, the cyclic channel list storage unit 26 and the program guide data storage unit 24 may be configured at different addresses on the same medium. They may also be configured on different media.

[0032] When the detection unit 22 detects switching of the reception channel, the switching command unit 27 commands the broadcast reception unit 14 to switch the channel. In the same genre channel circulation process, the broadcast receiving unit 14 is instructed to switch channels according to the circulation channel list. The switching command unit 27 may be configured as a computer program executed on the CPU. However, the switching command unit 27 may be configured as a dedicated processor that commands the broadcast receiving unit 14 to switch channels.

[0033] The broadcast receiving unit 14 is, for example, a television tuner. The display unit 21 is a so-called television monitor, displays a program received by the broadcast receiving unit 14, and outputs sound. <Configuration of television viewing device>

FIG. 2 is an example of a detailed configuration diagram of the television viewing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the television viewing device 10 executes a computer program and controls the television viewing device 10, and a computer program executed by the CPU 11 or a memory 12 for storing data processed by the CPU 11. And an interface 13 for connecting the CPU 11 to various devices, a broadcast receiver 14 connected via the interface 13, a communication unit 15, a hard disk drive 16, a portable medium drive 17, an operation unit 18, a display unit 21, and A device such as an infrared detector 19 is provided.

[0034] Here, the CPU 11 executes the computer program and controls each part of the television viewing device 10, whereby the television viewing device 10 is controlled by the operation unit 18, the broadcast receiving unit 14, the display unit 21, and the detection. Unit 22, program guide data storage unit 24, current genre detection unit 23, cyclic channel list creation unit 25, cyclic channel list storage unit 26, and switching command unit 27 It functions as a device having a function part. The memory 12 stores a program executed by the CPU 11 and data processed by the CPU 11. The memory 12 includes a volatile RAM (Random Access Memory) and a nonvolatile ROM (Read Only Member). R OM includes rewritable semiconductor memories such as flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0035] The interface 13 is a serial interface such as USB, and there is a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) ^ ISA (Industry standard Architecture), EISA (Extended ISA), ATA (AT Attachment), IDE (Integrated Dri) ve Electronics), IEEE1394, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), and other parallel interfaces. In FIG. 2, the power CPU 11 described as the interface 13 may be connected to each device through a different interface. A plurality of interfaces may be bridge-connected.

[0036] The broadcast receiving unit 14 is, for example, an analog television tuner. In that case, the broadcast receiving unit 14 includes a tuning circuit and an amplifier. Further, the broadcast receiving unit 14 may receive a digital television broadcast. In that case, the broadcast receiving unit 14 includes a high-frequency unit including a tuning circuit and an amplifier, a digital signal decoder (for example, an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) demodulator, and an MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group, MPEG_i (where i is a decoder of any one of powers 1, 2, and 4) Note that the television viewing device 10 of the present embodiment is not limited to the type of MPEG. It is simply called an MPEG decoder.

Here, the high frequency unit converts high frequency electromagnetic waves into baseband signals. The OFD M demodulator includes an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) processing circuit and an orthogonal demodulator, and generates a digital signal from the baseband signal. The MPEG decoder generates video data from the generated digital signal according to the MPEG rules. These processes may be configured by a dedicated digital circuit that performs a product-sum operation. It can also be made up of processors and programs like DSP. It is also possible to use demodulation LSIs that are manufactured and sold in accordance with television broadcasting standards. In any case, the broadcast receiving unit 14 receives a television broadcast. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast receiver 14 is connected to an antenna or an interface with a broadband network, etc., and receives signals from terrestrial, digital terrestrial broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, broadband network, and the like. Receive. Then, the broadcast receiving unit 14 generates a moving image and sound from the received signal and displays them on the display 21.

[0039] The communication unit 15 is an interface with a broadband network. Broadband networks include, for example, LAN (Local Area Network), cable TV networks, xDSL (x Digital Subscriber Line), ADSL, wired networks such as optical networks, wireless LAN, fixed wireless access (FWA), etc. This is a wirelessly accessible network. The communication unit 15 is, for example, a computer program installed on the hard disk drive 16 from a server on the network, an electronic program guide for television broadcasting, a video data file that records the broadcast program itself (video and audio), A certain player obtains data received from online broadcast programs. These broadband networks are generally connectable to the Internet.

[0040] When the communication unit 15 receives a broadcast program on a blow band network, the received data may be transferred from the communication unit 15 to the broadcast receiving unit 14. In addition, the broadcast receiving unit 14 may be connected to the blow band network through an interface different from that of the communication unit 15.

The hard disk drive device 16 stores a program loaded into the memory 12. Further, the hard disk drive 16 stores data processed by the CPU 11. The hard disk drive 16 functions as a program guide database under the control of the CPU 11. Further, the hard disk drive device 16 is linked to the broadcast receiving unit 14 and records the received television broadcast program (video data). Further, the hard disk drive 16 plays back the recorded program and displays it on the display unit 21.

Note that the number of hard disk drive devices 16 is not limited to one, and a plurality of hard disk drives 16 may be provided. For example, different hard disk drives 16 may be used for a disk for storing a computer program and a disk for storing a video data file. In addition, for example, the hard disk drive 16 is connected to another computer on the network, such as a disk server. You can manage it. In that case, the CPU 11 may communicate with the disk server via the communication unit 15. Then, the CPU 11 may display the EPG or video data acquired from the disk server on the display unit 21.

The portable medium drive device 17 is a drive device such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an HD-DVD, or a Blu-ray disc. Further, the portable medium drive device 17 may be an input / output device of a card medium having a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. The medium driven by the portable medium drive device 17 holds, for example, a computer program, a video data file, and the like installed in the hard disk drive device 16.

The operation unit 18 is a remote control operation unit that is a combination of the infrared detection unit 19 and the infrared remote controller 20, various switches, knobs for channel operation, and the like. The operation unit 18 includes a computer input device, such as a keyboard and a pointing device. There are no particular restrictions on the type of pointing device, mouse, trackball, dial-type operation unit, device that moves the pointer on the display unit 21 in the form of a stick, a device that detects the operation of the user's finger by electrostatic capacitance, a touch panel, Use an appropriate joystick, etc. according to the characteristics of the television viewing device 10 and the needs of the user.

[0045] The infrared detection unit 19 detects an infrared operation signal from the infrared remote controller 20, converts it into an electrical signal, and transmits it to each part of the television viewing device 10. However, the CPU 11 may temporarily receive an operation signal through the interface 13 and send a command from the CPU 11 to each part of the television viewing device 10. The user can operate the television viewing device 10 through the infrared detector 19 by operating the operation button on the infrared remote controller 20.

The keyboard transmits an electrical signal corresponding to the input key to a keyboard controller (not shown) in response to a user input operation. The keyboard controller transmits a code corresponding to the electrical signal to the CPU 11. The CPU11 device driver supports the code based on the font data built in the OS (operating system) (representations for drawing contour lines, coordinates of several points and the equations of curves connecting them). Font outline A line is formed (called True Font) and displayed on the display unit 21. Further, the CPU 11 displays a character cursor indicating the character input destination on the screen in accordance with a user input operation, and moves the screen.

[0047] The pointing device detects a user operation and transmits an operation signal to a pointing device control device (not shown) (for example, a mouse controller (not shown) or the interface 13). Upon receiving the operation signal, the pointing device control apparatus transmits information for generating an operation direction and an operation amount to the CPU 11. The device driver of the CPU 11 displays a pointer on the screen on the display unit 21 and moves it on the screen based on an operation signal from the pointing device control device.

[0048] Further, the OS of the CPU 11 determines the positional relationship between the pointer and the objects (window, button, menu, list, etc.) on the screen. Then, the object at the position where the pointer exists is set to the selected state or the focused state. Furthermore, the selection of the object is confirmed by a selection confirmation operation for the pointing device, for example, by pressing a mouse button.

[0049] The display unit 21 is, for example, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display panel, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an electo-luminescence panel, or the like. The force display unit 21 (not shown) includes a RAM for storing image data and a drive circuit for driving the display unit 21 based on the RAM data. However, the RAM for storing the image data, the drive circuit for driving the display unit 21 and the like may be provided independently of the display 21 as the image processing board. In this case, data constituting the screen information from the CPU 11 and video data received by the broadcast receiving unit 14 are input to the image processing board.

[0050] Further, the display unit 21 is provided with a speaker, and the sound (including sound and sound other than sound) generated by the broadcast receiving unit 14, the hard disk drive device 16 or the portable medium drive device 17 The sound reproduced from the above and reproduced by a speech synthesis board (not shown) is output. The speech synthesis board converts, for example, digital data such as MP3 into sound.

[0051] The television viewing device 10 as described above can be configured as a personal computer having the broadcast receiving unit 14, for example. However, the television viewing device 10 is not limited to a personal computer, and other devices having an equivalent function, for example, a hard disk drive. A television receiver having the moving device 16 may be used. Also, a combination of a television receiver and a DVD recorder, a combination of a television receiver and a hard disk recorder, or a hard disk such as a television monitor (display device), a tuner for receiving television broadcasts, a set top box, etc. It can be realized with a combination with a recorder, a mobile phone with a television broadcast reception function, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game machine, an in-vehicle device with a television broadcast reception function and a built-in hard disk drive.

FIG. 3 shows the data structure of the program guide database configured in the hard disk drive 16. The program guide database is a database of program guide data stored by the program guide data storage unit 24. Figure 3 shows one record in the program guide database. This record has various elements such as program ID, broadcast start date / time, broadcast end date / time, program title, genre ID, broadcast channel number, broadcast frequency, and the like.

Here, the program ID is an ID for identifying each program. If the received broadcast is digital broadcast, the program ID is assigned to the received data broadcast according to the digital broadcast standard. On the other hand, when the received broadcast is an analog broadcast, in this embodiment, the program ID for the analog broadcast is blank and is not used.

The broadcast start date and time and the broadcast end date and time are information for specifying the date and time of broadcast.

The program title is a character string indicating the program name. The broadcast channel number is information for identifying the broadcast channel. The genre ID is information that identifies the Giannole (power category) into which the program is classified. The genre identified by the genre ID categorizes program contents such as news, wide show, variety, drama, and the like. This genre may be a more detailed genre such as sports news, comedy, etc. The broadcast channel number may be either a character string or numerical data. The broadcast start date / time, broadcast end date / time, program title, and broadcast channel number can be obtained from the electronic program guide (EPG) on the network. For example, if you execute a communication program by CPU11 force http (HyperText Trans fer Protocol) and obtain an electronic program guide from a website on a broadband network, [0054] The broadcast frequency is the frequency of the broadcast channel. Further, the correspondence between the broadcast channel and the broadcast frequency is built in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) of the television viewing device 10.

[0055] The program guide shown in FIG. 4 is specified from the program guide database shown in FIG. That is, the program guide database is obtained by converting the program guide shown in FIG. 4 into a format that can be stored as electronic data.

FIG. 5 shows a processing flow of the television viewing device 10. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the genre channel patrol process.

In step S101, pressing of the “same genre” button is detected. The detection unit 22 receives from the operation unit 18 a signal indicating that the user has pressed the “same genre” button, and detects that the start instruction for the same channel tour has been made. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0057] In step S102, the current genre is detected. The current genre detection unit 23 acquires the channel currently displayed on the display unit 21 in response to the detection unit 22 detecting the start instruction of the same genre channel patrol and detects the current time on this channel. Detect Jian Nore of the program that is being organized. The current genre detection unit 23 refers to the program guide data stored in the program guide data storage unit 24, and detects the genre of the program assembled at the current time from the Giannole ID. For example, in the program table shown in Fig. 4, when the "Same Genre" button is pressed and the channel displayed on the display unit 21 is 8ch and the current time is 8:00, "Wide Show" is detected as the genre. Is done. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0058] In step S103, a cyclic channel list is created. The traveling channel list creation unit 25 refers to the program guide data stored in the program guide data storage unit 24, and from the genre ID in the program guide data, the same genre as the genre detected in step S102 at the current time. List the channels that have the program. The created cyclic channel list is stored in the cyclic channel list storage unit 26. For example, in the program table shown in FIG. 4, the genre detected in step S102 is “wide show”. Yes, if the current lj power is 00 minutes, 4ch, 6ch, 8ch, 10ch, 12ch force S will be listed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S104.

Note that the genre of the program may be detected by the power of using the genre ID in the program table data or other methods for the detection of the program genre in step S102 and step S103. For example, the genre information may be included in the program guide data as a character string, and the genre information may be detected from the character string, or the genre may be detected from the character string of the program title in the program guide data. Good.

[0060] When detecting the title from the character string of the program title, there is a method of detecting the genre of the program by searching a dictionary or the like stored in advance in the hard disk drive device 16. More specifically, if character strings such as “professional baseball”, “soccer”, “golf” are associated with “sports” in the dictionary, and these character strings are included in the program title, This is a method of detecting the genre of the program as “sports”.

[0061] Alternatively, a method of directly detecting a program title from a character string of a program title may be used. More specifically, when the program title is “ABCD news”, “news” in the character string is detected as the genre of the program.

[0062] In step S104, automatic circulation of the same genre channel is performed. The switching command unit 27 refers to the cyclic channel list stored in the cyclic channel list storage unit 26, and broadcasts the display of the channels listed here in order at predetermined intervals (for example, every 3 seconds). By commanding the receiver 14, the same channel is automatically circulated. If the cyclic display reaches the end of the list, the cyclic display continues from the top of the list. For example, if 4ch, 6ch, 8ch, 10ch, 12ch are listed, after displaying up to 12ch, the cyclic display is performed again from 4ch. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0063] In step S105, it is determined whether or not the same genre channel tour end operation has been performed. The detection unit 22 determines whether or not a signal indicating that the “user power same genre” button or the channel selection button has been pressed is received from the operation unit 18. If it is determined that a signal indicating that the button has been pressed has not been received, the process proceeds to step S106. If it is determined that a signal indicating that the button has been pressed is received, the process proceeds to step S107. [0064] In step S106, it is determined whether or not the number of circulations of the same genre channel has reached a predetermined number. As described above, the Giannole channel circulation process loops through the listed channels until a termination operation is detected. Here, the switching command unit 27 counts the number of loops, and determines whether or not the number of loops has reached a predetermined number (for example, three). If the number of laps has not reached the predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S104. If the number of laps has reached a predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S103. That is, until the number of laps reaches a predetermined number, the same channel tour is continued with reference to the same tour channel list. When the number of laps reaches a predetermined number, the cyclic channel list is created again (step S103). This is a process to cope with a change in the channel on which the television program of the same Giannole is set as time passes during the patrol.

[0065] For example, in the program table shown in FIG. 4, when the time is 8:30, the wide show is also started in lch. At this time, by updating the cyclic channel list every predetermined number of laps, lch is added to the cyclic channel list shortly after 8:30. Conversely, when the time is 10:00, the wide show ends on lch, 6ch, and 10ch, and another genre program starts. At this time, by updating the cyclic channel list every predetermined number of laps, lch, 6ch, and 1 Och are deleted from the cyclic channel list shortly after 10:00.

[0066] In the present embodiment, the power for recreating the cyclic channel list on condition that the number of laps has reached a predetermined number of times is the change in the channel of the same genre. It is preferable to set appropriately so that it can respond. For example, the occurrence of a predetermined number of channel switching or the elapse of a predetermined time may be used as a trigger for recreating the cyclic channel list. Alternatively, the program guide data may be pre-read and a cyclic channel list to be used after a predetermined time may be created in advance and stored in the cyclic channel list storage unit 26.

In step S107, end processing of the same genre channel circulation processing is performed. The switching command unit 27 determines a channel whose display should be fixed when it is determined in step S105 that the same genre channel patrol end operation has been performed. here When the detected button is the “same genre” button, the switching command unit 27 determines the channel displayed on the display unit 21 when the “same genre” button is pressed as the channel to be fixed. To do. If the detected button force is a channel selection button, the channel selected by this channel selection button is determined as the channel to be fixed. Then, the switching command unit 27 instructs the broadcast receiving unit 14 to switch the display to the determined channel when the channel power that was last commanded to the broadcast receiving unit 14 is different from the determined channel, and End processing. Finally, if the channel commanded to the broadcast receiving unit 14 is the same as the determined channel, the same Giannole channel circulation processing is terminated.

In FIG. 3-5, the internal configuration of the control unit 10A shown in FIG. 2, that is, the detection unit 22, the program guide data storage unit 24, the current genre detection unit 23, the cyclic channel list creation unit 25, and the cyclic channel list storage An example is shown in which the unit 26, the switching command unit 27, etc. are realized by a program executed by the CPU 11. However, instead of such a configuration, as described in <General configuration of television device>, any one or more of the internal configuration of the control unit 10A is realized by a processor, hardware circuit, etc. different from the CPU11. Also good. In other words, depending on the processing capacity and processing amount of the CPU 11, each component shown in FIG. 2 may be configured by a different processor or digital circuit. Even when a processor other than CPU 11 or a digital circuit is included, the processing procedure is the same as that shown in FIG. That is, the television viewing device 10 of the present embodiment can be realized as a program of the CPU 11, a dedicated processor, or a dedicated digital circuit.

As described above, according to the television viewing device 10, the user performs a predetermined operation, such as pressing the “same genre” button, so that the channel in which the program of the same genre is organized at the same time is visited. I can do it. Basically, the user's operation is only to start patrol by pressing the “same genre” button, or to determine the viewing channel by pressing the “same genre” button again when a channel that the user wants to continue watching is found during patrol. And Very simple.

[0067] For this reason, if you want to see the contents of a broadcast about the same incident from a multifaceted perspective, or if you want to easily find a program that you want to watch the medium of the same Giannole program, what is the channel selection button? As described above, according to the television viewing device 10, it is possible to collect necessary information with a simple operation. In addition, according to the television viewing device 10, since the tour is performed according to the genre of the program that was being viewed at the start of the tour, it takes time and effort to set the genre that the user wants to visit at each tour. Absent.

<Computer-readable recording medium>

A program for causing a computer or other machine or device (hereinafter, a computer or the like) to realize any of the above functions can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The function can be provided by causing a computer or the like to read and execute the program of the recording medium.

[0068] Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to the storage of information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action. A recording medium that can be read. Examples of such a recording medium that can be removed from the computer include a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R / W, a DVD, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, and a memory card.

[0069] Further, as a recording medium fixed to a computer or the like, there are a hard disk, a ROM (read-only memory), and the like.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A control device for controlling a television receiver,

An interface to the television receiver;

A detection unit that detects that a television program of the same genre is assembled and a start operation of the same genre channel tour that automatically circulates the channel is performed when watching a television program;

When the detection unit detects that the start operation has been performed, a current television detection unit that detects a genre of a television program that was being viewed at the time when the start operation was performed;

A control device comprising: a switching command unit that commands the television receiver to switch to a channel in which a television program of the same genre as the genre detected by the current genre detection unit is set.

[2] It further includes a cyclic channel list creation unit that creates a list of channels in which television programs of the same genre as the genre detected by the current Giannole detection unit are created by referring to the program guide data. ,

The control device according to claim 1, wherein the switching command unit commands the television receiver to switch a reception channel according to the list created by the cyclic channel list creation unit.

[3] When watching a television program, a detection unit that detects that a television program of the same genre is assembled and a start operation of the same genre channel tour that automatically tours the channels is performed;

A switching control unit that switches a reception channel to a channel in which a television program of the same genre as the genre detected by the current genre detection unit, and an interface that can connect a display device that displays the program of the reception channel; Information equipment equipped with.

[4] A computer that can be connected to a television receiver

A detection step for detecting when a television program of the same genre is assembled and a start operation of the same genre channel tour that automatically circulates the channel when the television program is viewed;

A current genre detection step of detecting a genre of a television program viewed at the time when the start operation is performed when it is detected that the start operation is performed in the detection step;

A switching instruction step for instructing the television receiver to switch to a channel in which a television program of the same genre as the genre detected in the current genre detection step is set.

[5] By referring to the program guide data, a cyclic channel list creation step is further executed for creating a list of channels in which television programs of the same genre as the genre detected in the current Giannole detection step are created. And

5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein in the switching command step, the television receiver is commanded to switch the reception channel according to the list created in the cyclic channel list creation step.

[6] To a computer that can be connected to a television receiver,

A control program for executing a switching instruction step for instructing the television receiver to switch to a channel in which a television program of the same number is detected in the current genre detection step.

[7] By referring to the program guide data, a list of channels in which television programs of the same genre as the genre detected in the current Giannole detection step are created. Further execute the channel list creation step,

7. The control program according to claim 6, wherein in the switching command step, the television receiver is commanded to switch the reception channel according to the list created in the cyclic channel list creation step.