JP4799524B2 - Receiver, channel switching program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus that receives broadcast such as STB (Set Top Box), and a channel switching program.

  For example, FIG. 20 shows an example of a schematic configuration of an STB used for receiving a digital satellite broadcast.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the STB 100 is connected to a receiving antenna 201 and a television receiver 202. A signal received by the receiving antenna 201 from the satellite is input to the tuner unit 101 of the STB 100. The tuner unit 101 outputs a signal of any one of a plurality of frequency channels (hereinafter simply referred to as channels) to the signal processing unit 102. The signal processing unit 102 separates video data, audio data, and the like from the signal from the tuner unit 101, decodes these data, and outputs them to the television receiver 202 and the hard disk drive 203. A microcontroller 104 is connected to the tuner unit 101 and the signal processing unit 102, and the tuner unit 101 and the signal processing unit 102 are under the control of the microcontroller 104. In addition to the tuner unit 101 and the signal processing unit 102, a data input / output unit 105 is also connected to the microcontroller 104. The data input / output unit 105 is, for example, an infrared light receiving unit provided on the housing of the STB 100. Infrared light transmitted from the remote control 106 is received by the data input / output unit 105. Of course, the remote controller 106 is used to switch channels away from the STB 100.

  When the user performs an operation to switch channels using the remote controller 106, a channel switching command that is a command to switch channels is transmitted from the remote controller 106 and received by the data input / output unit 105.

  The channel switching command received by the data input / output unit 105 is supplied to the microcontroller 104. When the channel switching command is supplied from the data input / output unit 105, the microcontroller 104 instructs the tuner unit 101 to switch the channel.

  As a result, the signal output from the tuner unit 101 to the signal processing unit 102 is switched to the signal of the channel for which the channel switching command has been issued.

  In a conventional broadcast receiving apparatus such as the STB 100 described above, anyone who can operate the buttons on the remote control 106 or the STB 100 casing can switch channels.

  By the way, if programs and contents are stored in a hard disk drive built in the receiving apparatus, a television receiver can be used as an interface for services such as product sales, telemedicine, and advertisement.

  In this case, in order to continuously provide a high-quality service, it is preferable to update programs and contents stored in the hard disk drive as needed.

  As a method of performing the update, it is conceivable to provide a dedicated channel for update so that the update performed by the service provider can be provided to the user as needed.

  However, in the conventional receiving apparatus, even if a channel dedicated for updating is provided, if the channel is switched by the user, the broadcast of the service provider is not received. For this reason, it is difficult for the service provider to reliably update.

  On the other hand, for example, if an exclusive tuner unit for update is provided, the influence can be avoided even if the user switches channels. However, the user cannot freely switch the channel of the tuner unit provided separately.

  In addition, it may be inappropriate that any user who can operate the remote controller 106 can switch channels. For example, parents may think that they do not want their children to watch TV when the night is deep, taking into account educational aspects and health. Even in such a case, in the conventional receiving apparatus, the child can switch to a favorite program channel without the parent's knowledge.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem in the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receiving apparatus and a channel switching program that can improve convenience for both the user and the service provider. To do.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the above object. This means will be described on the premise of a receiving apparatus as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving device 1 includes a receiving unit 1 such as a tuner. The channel switching unit 2 switches the channel of the receiving unit 1. The receiving unit 1 receives the data of the channel switched by the channel switching unit 2. A channel switching command, which is a command to switch channels, is transmitted from, for example, the remote controller 6 and received by the command receiving unit 3. The channel switching control unit 4 instructs the channel switching unit 2 to switch channels when the command receiving unit 3 receives a channel switching command.

  However, the channel switching control unit 4 does not always instruct the channel switching unit 2 to perform channel switching when the command receiving unit 3 receives a channel switching command.

  Whether the channel switching control unit 4 instructs the channel switching unit 2 to perform channel switching is determined by the transmission source of the channel switching command received by the command receiving unit 3.

  For example, even if the command receiving unit 3 receives a channel switching command from the user, the channel switching control unit 4 may determine that the channel switching command is not issued. At this time, since the receiving unit 1 is not used by the user, it can be used by another person by transmitting a channel switching command from a broadcasting station, for example. A user of the receiving unit 1 is, for example, a service provider. Here, the service provider refers to a person who is involved in broadcasting in some form, excluding the user, and performs services such as product sales, telemedicine, and advertisement.

  If this service provider has the right to use the receiving unit 1, the channel switching control unit 4 determines to instruct channel switching. As a result, the convenience of the user and other users can be improved.

  Note that the receiving device can be configured by dedicated hardware, or the computer can function as the above-described receiving device by cooperating the computer hardware and the program. In this case, the program may be distributed by distribution through broadcasting or the Internet, or may be distributed in a state where it is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  By adopting the above configuration, according to the receiving device and the channel switching program of the present invention, it is possible to improve convenience for both the user and the service provider.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the present invention appears in an STB that receives a digital satellite broadcast, for example.
(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 2, this STB is connected to a receiving antenna 201 and a television receiver 202. The STB has two tuner units 1 a and 1 b as the receiving unit 1. A signal from the receiving antenna 201 is input to each of the tuner units 1a and 1b. The receiving unit 1 receives the data of the channel switched by the channel switching unit 2 among the input signals and outputs the data to the signal processing unit 5.

  The signal processing unit 5 includes, for example, a microprocessor and a decoder, and the microprocessor separates video data, audio data, and other data multiplexed in the signals from the tuner units 1a and 1b. Further, the decoder decodes video data and audio data and outputs them to the television receiver 202 and the hard disk drive 203.

  The channel switching unit 2 is provided separately for the two tuner units 1a and 1b. One channel switching unit 2a performs channel switching for the tuner unit 1a, and the other channel switching unit 2b performs channel switching for the tuner unit 1b.

  Each channel switching unit 2a, 2b is connected to a channel switching control unit 4, respectively. The channel switching control unit 4 instructs the channel switching units 2a and 2b to switch channels. The channel switching instruction is given when a channel switching command is supplied to the channel switching control unit 4.

  The channel switching command is a command for switching channels. This command includes, for example, channel information indicating a channel and target tuner information indicating which tuner unit 1a, 1b the command is for. A channel switching command is supplied from the command receiving unit 3 to the channel switching control unit 4.

  The command receiving unit 3 receives a channel switching command input to the STB. The channel switching command is transmitted from, for example, the remote controller 6 and input to the STB. A data input / output unit 7 such as an infrared light receiving unit is used for the command receiving unit 3R that receives the channel switching command. When a channel switching command from the remote controller 6 is received by the command receiving unit 3R and a channel switching command is supplied, the channel switching control unit 4 acquires channel information and target tuner information from the channel switching command. When the target tuner information represents the tuner unit 1a as the target tuner, channel information is sent from the channel switching control unit 4 to the channel switching unit 2a, and a channel switching instruction is given. When there is a channel switching instruction from the channel switching control unit 4, the channel switching unit 2a switches the channel of the tuner unit 1a to the channel represented by the channel information.

  If the user operates the remote controller 6 in this way, the channel of the tuner unit 1a can be switched. The same operation is performed when the channel of the other tuner section 1b is switched. In order to display a program of a channel different from the main screen on the child screen, such as PinP (Picture in Picture), or to record a program of a channel different from the main screen to the hard disk drive 203, the channel of each tuner unit 1a, 1b is set. It may be switched separately.

  However, if only the user uses both of the two tuner units 1a and 1b, the service provider cannot smoothly provide services such as product sales and advertisements through broadcasting. Even if information required for the service is recorded in the hard disk drive 203, it is difficult for the STB to reliably receive the information.

  Therefore, in this STB, not only a user but also a channel switching command from a service provider is accepted. For a specific time zone such as a time zone from midnight to early morning, for example, channel switching of the tuner unit 1b is performed in accordance with a channel switching command from the service provider.

  Here, the target tuner information included in the channel switching command from the service provider is limited to information indicating the tuner unit 1b as the target tuner. A channel switching command from the service provider is input to the STB through broadcasting or a network. In the case of broadcasting, the channel switching command is multiplexed and broadcast with respect to broadcasting of all channels, for example.

  The broadcasting station performs broadcasting including a channel switching command according to a predetermined schedule. For example, at midnight, broadcasting including a channel switching command representing a channel used by the service provider A to transmit information necessary for the service is performed. Further, at 3 am, broadcasting including a channel switching command representing a channel used by the service provider B to transmit information necessary for the service is performed. Further, at 5:00 am, broadcasting including a channel switching command representing a channel used by the service provider C to transmit information necessary for the service is performed.

  Broadcast including a channel switching command from the service provider is received by the receiving unit 1, and the channel switching command from the service provider is separated by the signal processing unit 5. The command receiving unit 3B receives the channel switching command separated by the signal processing unit 5 and supplies the channel switching command to the channel switching control unit 4.

  When the specific time zone is a time zone from 11:30 pm to 6:00 am on the next day, in other time zones, a channel switching command from the service provider is supplied from the command receiving unit 3B. In addition, the channel switching control unit 4 does not instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching. In the time zone other than the specific time zone, as described above, the user can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b using the remote controller 6 or the like.

  Here, FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the channel switching control unit 4 in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the instruction switching unit 3 receives a channel switching command (S1) and the channel switching command is supplied, the channel switching control unit 4 targets the target tuner designation information of the channel switching command. It is determined whether or not the tuner unit 1b is represented as a tuner (S2).

  If it is determined that the tuner unit 1b is not represented, the channel switching command is not from the service provider, so that the channel switching control unit 4 sends the channel information to the channel switching unit 2a as described above. Instructs channel switching. The channel switching unit 2a switches the channel of the tuner unit 1a as designated by the user using the remote controller 6 (S3).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the tuner unit 1b is represented, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not the channel switching command is supplied during the specific time period (S4). The channel switching control unit 4 holds the setting for the specific time zone in advance, and acquires the time when the channel switching command is supplied from the system clock or the like.

  When it is determined that the specific time zone is reached, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not the transmission source of the channel switching command is a service provider by the transmission source determination unit 41 (S5).

  The transmission source determination unit 41 included in the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not the transmission source of the channel switching command is a service provider, for example, depending on whether or not the command receiving unit 3B has received the channel switching command. to decide. When the channel switching command is supplied from the command receiving unit 3B, the channel switching command is input to the STB through broadcasting. Therefore, the transmission source judgment unit 41 is the transmission source of the channel switching command is the service provider. Judge. On the other hand, when the channel switching command is supplied from the command receiving unit 3R, the channel switching command is transmitted from the remote controller 6, and therefore the transmission source determination means 41 indicates that the transmission source of the channel switching command is the user. Judge that there is.

  The determination result of the transmission source determination unit 41 is output to the switchability determination unit 42 included in the channel switching control unit 4. The switchability determination unit 42 determines whether to instruct the channel switching unit 2b to switch the channel according to the determination result of the transmission source determination unit 41.

  When the determination result that the transmission source of the channel switching command is the service provider is supplied from the transmission source determination unit 41, the switchability determination unit 42 determines to instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching. When a channel switching instruction is issued in accordance with this determination, the channel switching unit 2b switches the channel of the tuner unit 1b to a channel used by the service provider (S6).

  On the other hand, when the determination result that the transmission source of the channel switching command is not the service provider is supplied from the transmission source determination unit 41, the switching possibility determination unit 42 does not instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching. (S7).

  Also, when it is determined in step S4 that it is not the specific time zone, the transmission source determination unit 41 determines whether or not the transmission source of the channel switching command is a service provider (S8).

  In this case, when the determination result that the transmission source of the channel switching command is the service provider is supplied from the transmission source determination unit 41, the switchability determination unit 42 instructs the channel switching unit 2b to switch the channel. It is determined that there is not (S9).

  On the other hand, when a determination result that the transmission source of the channel switching command is not a service provider is supplied from the transmission source determination unit 41, the switchability determination unit 42 determines to instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching. When a channel switching instruction is issued according to this determination, the channel switching unit 2b switches the channel of the tuner unit 1b as designated by the user using the remote controller 6 or the like (S10).

  For example, the time at which the broadcast including the channel switching command representing the channel used by the service provider A is performed, midnight, is in the specific time zone. For this reason, when this broadcast is performed, the channel of the tuner unit 1b is switched to the channel used by the service provider A through steps S1, S2, S4 to S6. At this time, even if the user inputs a channel switching command to the STB using the remote controller 6, the channel switching command is not instructed by the channel switching command through steps S1, S2, S4, and S8.

As a result, the service provider A can transmit information necessary for the service through broadcasting and reliably record it on the hard disk drive 203 of the STB.
In addition, in the specific time zone, the user rarely uses both tuner units 1a and 1b, and the inconvenience given to the user is extremely small.

  When further time elapses from such a state and it becomes 3:00 am, broadcast including a channel switching command representing a channel used by the service provider B is performed. Then, as in the case of the service provider A, the channel of the tuner unit 1b is switched to the channel used by the service provider B. Therefore, from 3:00 am, on behalf of the service provider A, the service provider B can record information necessary for its service on the hard disk drive 203 of the STB.

  Further, when time elapses and it becomes 5:00 am, the channel of the tuner unit 1b is switched to the channel used by the service provider C.

  However, after 6:00 am, even if a command for switching the channel is supplied from the command receiving unit 3B to the channel switching control unit 4, the channel switching control unit 4 does not instruct the tuner unit 1b to switch the channel. When 6 am has passed and the time zone other than the specific time zone is reached, the user can switch the channels of both tuner units 101a and 101b.

  It is not always necessary to assign different channels for each service provider, and a plurality of service providers may be assigned to the same channel with different time zones. Even in this case, in order for the service provider to reliably record information necessary for the service in the hard disk drive 203 of the STB, it is necessary to switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b to the channel by a channel switching command from the service provider. is there.

  In the above-described example, when a command for switching channels is received from the data received by the receiving unit 1 by the command receiving unit 3B, the channel is switched immediately. Even when a different channel is assigned to each service provider, if a schedule for switching the channel is transmitted in advance through broadcasting, it is possible to switch the channel after the scheduled time according to the schedule.

  The signal processing unit 2 is provided with a designation information extraction unit 8. The designation information extraction unit 8 extracts designation information for designating the transmission source of the channel switching command from the received data. The designation information is, for example, a schedule in which the transmission source of the channel switching command is assigned to the time zone. Here, a specific example of the schedule is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in this schedule, the transmission source of the channel switching command is represented by a channel. The channel “103” used by the service provider A is allocated during the time period from midnight to 3 am, and the service provider B ’s channel is allocated from 3:00 am to 5:00 am. The channel “107” to be used is assigned. Further, the channel “108” used by the service provider C is allocated in the time zone from 5 am to 6 am.

  For example, before a specific time, instead of channel information, a channel switching command including this schedule is transmitted to the STB through broadcasting. The designation information extraction unit 8 extracts a schedule from the data received by the reception unit 1. The extracted schedule is supplied to the channel switching control unit 4 together with the channel switching command through the command receiving unit 3B. When the specific time zone is reached, the channel switching command received by the command receiving unit 3B becomes valid as described above, and therefore the channel switching control unit 4 instructs channel switching according to the schedule.

  Further, in the above-described example, when the transmission source of the channel switching command for the tuner unit 1b in the specific time zone is a user, the channel switching unit 2b is instructed to switch the channel as in step S9. It was decided not to. Following this, the channel switching control unit 4 may send the channel information acquired from the channel switching command to the other channel switching unit 2a and instruct the channel switching unit 2a to perform channel switching. .

  Furthermore, if the channel of the tuner unit 1b cannot be switched suddenly at a specific time zone, the user may be misunderstood that the remote control 6 has failed.

  For this reason, the user may be notified that the channel cannot be switched for the tuner unit 1b before the specific time zone is reached. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the channel switching control unit 4 periodically acquires the current time from the system clock or the like (S101). The interval for acquiring the current time is set in the timer. Each time the channel switching control unit 4 acquires the current time, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not the difference between the current time and the start time of the specific time zone is greater than, for example, 5 minutes (S102). In this case, the timer is set to about 1 minute which is shorter than 5 minutes. When it is determined that the difference between the current time and the start time is not greater than 5 minutes, the channel switching control unit 4 outputs a notification request to the signal processing unit 5 together with the setting for the specific time zone. When there is a notification request from the channel switching control unit 4, the signal processing unit 5 uses the tuner from the service provider stored in the hard disk drive 203, for example, from “*** to ***. , The other tuner can be used "is read (S103). Further, the notification message information is combined with the setting for a specific time zone to create a notification message (S104), and this notification message is combined with the image signal (S105). Then, this image signal is output to the television receiver 202, and a notification screen including a notification message is displayed (S106). At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the service provider uses the tuner from 11:30 pm to 6:00 am. During this time, the other tuner may be used. A notification screen including a notification message “You can do it” will be displayed.

In this way, it is possible to notify the user in advance that the channel cannot be switched for the tuner unit 1b in a specific time zone. Of course, the notification method is not limited to displaying the notification message on the television receiver 202. The notification message may be output as an acoustic signal from the speaker, or may be transmitted as an acoustic signal or electronic data to the user's mobile phone. The acoustic signal may be stored in the hard disk drive 203 in advance, or may be synthesized from text data by a speech synthesis engine. When transmitting to a mobile phone as an acoustic signal, the modem stores the number of the mobile phone stored in advance. For example, when a notification message is transmitted as electronic data (text data) to a mobile phone using e-mail, an e-mail address or a phone number of the mobile phone is stored in advance in the STB. Furthermore, although the notification was given 5 minutes before the specific time zone, of course, it is not limited to this. For example, the notification time may be dynamically changed such that notification is made 10 minutes before the daytime and notification is made 5 minutes before the night time. Notifications may be repeated minutes before. Further, if a printer is connected to this STB, a notification message may be printed out from the printer.
(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment described above, the channel switching of the tuner unit 1a can always be performed by any user who can operate the remote controller 6 or the like. However, it may not be appropriate for any user to perform channel switching. This is the case when parents think that they do not want their children to watch TV when the night is deeper, taking into consideration educational aspects and health.

  In such a case, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, two types of remote controllers, a parent remote controller 6P and a child remote controller 6C, are prepared. A remote control identifier for identifying the remote control is registered in advance in each of the remote controls 6P and 6C, and the user cannot change it.

  This remote control identifier is used as a transmission source identifier for identifying the transmission source of the channel switching command. Each remote controller 6P, 6C also transmits its own remote controller identifier when transmitting a channel switching command. The command receiving unit 3 receives not only the channel switching command but also the transmission source identifier, and supplies both to the channel switching control unit 4. The channel switching control unit 4 includes a determination unit 43 as shown in FIG.

  The determination unit 43 determines whether or not the transmission source identifier received by the command reception unit 3 matches the transmission source identifier acquired from the identifier storage unit 9.

  The identifier storage unit 9 stores a transmission source identifier. As the identifier storage means 9, for example, a partial area of the hard disk drive 203 can be used. In the second embodiment, the determination unit 43 uses the remote control identifier received by the command receiving unit 3R as a determination target, and the identifier storage unit 9 stores a time table in which the remote control identifier is assigned for each time zone. Shall. A specific example of the time table is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the remote controller identifiers of the remote controllers 6P and 6C are given as, for example, a 4-bit bit string. A remote control identifier of 0010 represents a parent remote control 6P, and a remote control identifier of 0020 represents a child remote control 6C.

  In this time table, both remote control identifiers are assigned for the time zone from 6:00 am to 11:30 pm (6:00 to 23:30), but are assigned in other time zones. The remote control identifier is only 0010.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the channel switching control unit 4 in the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the channel switching command and the remote control identifier are supplied from the command receiving unit 3R to the channel switching control unit 4 (S901), the channel switching control unit 4 stores the time stored in the identifier storage means 9. With reference to the table, the remote control identifier assigned for the time zone to which the current time belongs is acquired (S902). If a plurality of remote control identifiers are assigned, all of them are acquired. For example, if the current time is 11:45 pm, the remote control identifier acquired is only 0010, and if the current time is 7 pm, the two remote control identifiers acquired are 0010 and 0020. .

  Next, the determination unit 43 compares any one of the remote control identifiers acquired from the time table stored in the identifier storage unit 9 with the remote control identifier received by the command receiving unit 3R, and determines whether or not they match. Is determined (S903).

  This determination result is supplied from the determination unit 43 to the switching instruction determination unit 44 provided in the channel switching control unit 4. The switching instruction determination unit 44 determines that the channel switching unit 2 is instructed to switch the channel when the determination unit 43 determines that they match (S904). The channel switching control unit 4 sends the channel information acquired from the channel switching command to the channel switching unit 2 and instructs channel switching. The channel switching unit 2 switches the channel of the receiving unit 1 to the channel represented by the channel information.

  On the other hand, if the determination unit 43 determines that they do not match, the channel switching control unit 4 has compared the remote control identifier received by the command receiving unit 3R with all the remote control identifiers acquired from the time table. Is determined (S905).

  If it is determined that all remote controller identifiers have been compared, the channel switching control unit 4 does not instruct channel switching (S906). On the other hand, when it is determined that the remote controller identifiers are not compared with all the remote controller identifiers, one of the remote controller identifiers acquired from the time table is not compared with the remote controller identifier received by the command receiving unit 3R. The comparison target is changed (S907).

  Then, step S903 is repeated until it is determined in step S903 that the two match, or in step S905 it is determined that all remote controller identifiers have been compared.

  For example, when a channel switching command and a remote control identifier transmitted from the remote control 6P at 11:45 pm are received by the command receiving unit 3R, only the remote control identifier 0010 assigned for the time zone to which this time belongs is acquired from the time table. Is done. In this case, since the remote controller identifier of the remote controller 6P matches the acquired remote controller identifier, it is determined that the channel switching unit 2 is instructed to switch channels. On the other hand, even if the channel switching command and the remote control identifier are received by the command receiving unit 3R from the remote control 6C at the same time, the remote control identifiers do not match.

  For this reason, the channel can be switched using the parent remote control 6P, but the channel cannot be switched even using the child remote control 6C.

  In addition, if the time when the command receiving unit 3R receives the channel switching command and the remote control identifier is 7:00 pm, the remote control identifiers acquired from the time table are 0010 and 0020 as described above.

  In this case, even if any of the remote controllers 6P and 6C is the transmission source of the channel switching command, the channel is switched to the channel indicated by the channel information. That is, both parents and children can switch channels.

  In the second embodiment, two remote controllers for parents and children are prepared. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a remote controller for each user may be prepared.

  For example, when three remote controls for fathers, mothers, and children are prepared, if each remote controller identifier is defined as 0011, 0012, 0021, not only can each person's remote controller be identified. It can also be identified whether the remote control is for a person belonging to the parent group or the remote control for the person belonging to the child group. When the third bit is 1, it represents the remote controller of the person belonging to the parent group, and when the third bit is 2, it represents the remote controller of the person belonging to the child group.

  If a remote control identifier that does not define the fourth bit, 001 *, is assigned to a certain time zone in the time table, the determination unit 43 determines whether the first to third bits of the remote control identifier match. judge. At this time, regardless of whether the remote control identifier received by the instruction receiving unit 3R is 0011 or 0012, the determination unit 43 determines that the remote control identifiers match.

Thus, not only when it is determined that the transmission source identifiers completely match, but also when the determination unit 43 determines that the transmission source identifiers have a certain relationship, the switching instruction determination unit 44 performs the channel determination. It may be determined that a switching instruction is given.
(Embodiment 3)
Similar to channel switching by the user, channel switching by each service provider can also be performed with a source identifier that identifies each service provider.

  For example, it is assumed that the tuner unit 1b of the STB is used only by the service provider, and a schedule in which a transmission source identifier is assigned in advance for each time slot is transmitted to the STB through broadcasting or various telecommunication lines. As shown in FIG. 10, the STB has a schedule storage unit 10 for storing this schedule. A part of the hard disk drive 203 can be used for the schedule storage unit 10.

  A specific example of the schedule is shown in FIG.

  The schedule shown in FIG. 11 includes items such as a time zone and a transmission source identifier. The schedule designates the transmission source of the channel switching command with the transmission source identifier. Here, the transmission source identifier is a code for identifying the service providers A, B, C, D,... The source identifiers of service providers A, B, C, D,... Are given by IA, IB, IC, ID,.

  In this schedule, the sender identifier IA is in the time zone from midnight to 3:00 am, the sender identifier IB is in the time zone from 3:00 am to 5:00 am, and the time from 5:00 am to 6:00 am A transmission source identifier IC is assigned to each band. Further, a transmission source identifier ID is allocated in the time zone from 6 am to 9 am, and a transmission source identifier IA is allocated in the time zone from 9 am to 1 pm. Although omitted in FIG. 11, it is a matter of course that a transmission source identifier is assigned in all time periods of one day.

  In addition, in the data received by the receiving unit 1, not only the channel switching command but also the transmission source identifier of the service provider is multiplexed. The command receiving unit 3B receives the channel switching command and the service provider's transmission source identifier, and supplies them to the channel switching control unit 4.

  When a channel switching command and a service provider source identifier are supplied from the command receiving unit 3B, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not to instruct channel switching in accordance with steps S902 to S907. However, instead of acquiring the remote control identifier from the time table, the transmission source identifier of the service provider is acquired from the schedule stored in the schedule storage unit 10. Of course, the comparison target is the source identifier of the service provider.

  For example, if it is 1:00 am that the channel switching command and the service provider's transmission source identifier are supplied from the command receiving unit 3B to the channel switching control unit 4, the transmission source allocated to the time zone to which the time belongs. The identifier is only IA. Therefore, only the service provider A can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b during this time period. If the service provider A uses a plurality of channels, a plurality of channel switching commands each including channel information representing those channels are transmitted during the time period, thereby providing one service provider A to use. You can also switch from one channel to another.

  In the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the transmission source identifier is assigned for each time zone, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a transmission source identifier may be assigned for each day of the week or each month.

Further, in the above-described schedule, not only the transmission source identifier of the service provider but also the remote control identifier may be assigned to the time zone. If it is determined that the transmission source identifier of the service provider does not match the remote control identifier, whether the user instructs channel switching with the transmission source identifier even when the tuner 1b is shared between the user and the service provider. Control what the service provider does.
(Embodiment 4)
Further, the remote control identifier assigned for a certain time zone and the transmission source identifier of the service provider may be changed manually. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 12, an input receiving unit 11 that receives an input of a transmission source identifier is prepared. For example, as the input receiving unit 11 that receives an input of a remote control identifier to be changed, input means 11P such as an operation button 11B provided on the STB main body or a numeric key provided on the parent remote control 6P can be used. The user edits the time table stored in the identifier storage unit 9 using the input receiving units 11B and 11P.

  When the time table stored in the identifier storage unit 9 is edited using the input receiving units 11B and 11P, the channel switching control unit 4 is notified to that effect.

  Even when the remote control identifier assigned to the time zone to which the current time belongs has already been acquired, the channel switching control unit 4 receives the notification and then receives the channel switching command and the remote control identifier from the command receiving unit 3R. Then, the remote control identifier is obtained again from the edited time table. Then, according to the above-described procedures S902 to S907, it is determined whether or not to instruct channel switching.

  For example, it is assumed that the input to the time table shown in FIG. 8 is received by the input receiving unit 11P, and the remote controller identifier “0020” is also assigned to the time zone from 11:30 pm to midnight.

  In this case, even if a channel switching command is transmitted from the remote control 6C in the time zone, the remote control identifiers match, so that the parent and the child can switch channels even in this time zone.

  Note that editing of the time table is not limited to changing, adding, or deleting a remote control identifier. For example, the time zone for assigning the remote control identifier may be changed.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned example, although the input reception part 11B and 11P received the input of the transmission origin identifier, it is not restricted to this. A mobile phone or the like can also be used as the input receiving unit 11. When a mobile phone having an e-mail client function is used, for example, the e-mail client function is also implemented in the STB and a mail address is given to the STB. The editing instruction is given by an electronic mail subject, and the editing content may be described in a predetermined format in the body of the mail. For example, when the remote control identifier “0020” is added for the time zone from 23:30 pm to midnight, “edit time table” is described in the subject field of the e-mail, and “23: 30-0: 00> >> + 0020 ”. The STB e-mail client function receives e-mails from e-mail addresses given to the STB at 30-minute intervals, for example. Next, it is determined whether or not “time table editing” is described in the subject field of the received electronic mail. If it is determined that “time table editing” is described, the editing content is extracted from the text. Then, the editing contents are interpreted, and the time table is edited according to the interpretation.

  Further, editing by the input reception unit 11 is not limited to the time table, and a schedule stored in the schedule storage unit 10 may be edited by the input reception unit 11B. Further, when a channel is used to designate the transmission source of the channel switching command, the channel may be changed.

(Embodiment 5)
For example, it is assumed that the specific time zone in the first embodiment is changed by the user. In this case, if the broadcast station side does not grasp the contents of the change, even if the time zone during which the service provider can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b is expanded due to the change, the time zone cannot be utilized.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 13, the identification unit 12 and the communication unit 13 are provided in the STB. For example, the specifying unit 12 monitors a setting change for a specific time zone. This specific time zone is a time zone when the transmission source of the channel switching command is the service provider when the channel switching control unit 4 determines to instruct channel switching. The setting for a specific time zone is held in the channel switching control unit 4, and the changed content input using the remote controller 6 or the like is reflected in this setting. When reflecting the change contents in the setting for a specific time zone, for example, the time stamp added to this setting is rewritten.

  In this case, the specifying unit 12 periodically acquires the time stamp from the channel switching control unit 4 as shown in FIG. 14 (S1401). The interval for acquiring the time stamp is set in the timer. Each time the specifying unit 12 acquires a time stamp, the specifying unit 12 compares the acquired time stamp with the time stamp acquired before and determines whether or not they match (S1402). If it is determined that the time stamps do not match, the setting for the specific time zone is acquired from the channel switching control unit 4 (S1403). In this way, the specifying unit 12 specifies the time zone (date and time) in which the transmission source of the channel switching command is the service provider when the channel switching control unit 4 determines to instruct channel switching. The identification result of the identification unit 12 is supplied to the communication unit 13.

  The communication unit 13 is connected to a broadcasting station 302 through an electric communication line 301 such as the Internet or a public telephone line network. For example, a file transfer server is arranged in the broadcasting station 302, and when receiving a specific result, the communication unit 13 sends a file transfer request to the file transfer server. When there is a response from the file transfer server, the file describing the specific result is transmitted to the file transfer server through the telecommunication line 301 (S1404).

  In the broadcasting station 302, if the broadcast content is changed according to the specific result described in the received file, if the time period during which the service provider can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b is widened due to the change, it is utilized. be able to.

  In this example, the case where the specific time zone is changed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the schedule stored in the schedule storage unit 10, when both the service provider and the user are managed by the transmission source identifier, the change of the schedule may be monitored by the specifying unit 12. Further, for example, when the user provides a button for allowing the service provider to switch the channel in the STB and the channel switching control unit 4 follows the operation of this button, the specifying unit 12 has pressed this button. Get the time from the system clock. As a result, the date and time when the transmission source of the channel switching command when the channel switching control unit 4 determines to instruct channel switching is the service provider is specified. If the specific result is transmitted to the broadcast station 302 by the communication unit 13, the broadcast station 302 side can quickly grasp that the service provider has been given permission.

(Embodiment 6)
For example, in the first embodiment described above, only the service provider can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b in a specific time zone. However, the service provider's data is not always broadcast in this specific time zone. If the service provider data is not broadcast, there is no problem even if the user can switch the channel of the tuner unit 1b.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the channel switching control unit 4 in this case.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the basic operation is the same as the operation described in the flowchart shown in FIG. The difference is in steps S71 to S73 when it is determined in step S5 that the transmission source of the channel switching command is not a service provider.

  If the channel switching control unit 4 determines in step S5 that the transmission source of the channel switching command is not a service provider, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether data is received by the tuner unit 1b (S71). The signal processing unit 5 may determine whether or not the data is received by the tuner unit 1b. For example, whether or not data is received by the tuner unit 1b is determined based on whether or not there is an input from the tuner unit 1b. The channel switching control unit 4 requests a determination result from the signal processing unit 5, and when the determination result indicates that data is not received by the tuner unit 1 b, makes a determination to that effect.

  If the channel switching control unit 4 determines that data is not received by the tuner unit 1b, the channel switching control unit 4 determines to instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching even in a specific time zone (S72). . The channel switching control unit 4 sends the channel information acquired from the channel switching command to the channel switching unit 2b and instructs channel switching. Then, the channel of the tuner unit 1b is switched by the channel switching unit 2b.

  On the other hand, if the channel switching control unit 4 determines that no data is received by the tuner unit 1b according to the determination result, the channel switching control unit 4 does not instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching as usual. This is determined (S73).

  Accordingly, it is possible to increase the time during which the user can perform channel switching of the tuner unit 1b without hindering the broadcast of the service provider.

If the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not data is received by the tuner unit 1b based only on the determination result when the channel switching command is supplied to the channel switching control unit 4, the broadcast is performed for a short time. It can't be said that there is no possibility of switching to another channel when the is idle. Therefore, the channel switching control unit 4 may determine that no data has been received by the tuner unit 1b for a predetermined time or more. In this case, for example, when there is no input from the tuner unit 1 and when there is an input from the tuner unit 1, the signal processing unit 5 notifies the channel switching control unit 4 to that effect. The channel switching control unit 4 acquires the time when there is a notification that there is no input from the tuner unit 1 from the system clock or the like, and holds it until there is a notification that there is an input from the tuner unit 1b. . In step S71, the channel switching control unit 4 acquires the time at that time, and calculates the difference between the two when the notified time is held. If the calculation result is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the channel switching control unit 4 determines that data is not received by the tuner unit 1b.
(Embodiment 7)
For example, when the program organization changes, the user's channel switching method may change greatly. For this reason, even if the specific time zone is set to a time zone where the user does not use the tuner unit 1b as much as possible as in the first embodiment, the user may feel inconvenience.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 16, a learning unit 14 is provided in the STB. The learning unit 14 is connected to the command receiving unit 3. When the channel switching command is received by the command receiving unit 3, the channel switching command is supplied not only to the channel switching control unit 4 but also to the learning unit 14.

  As shown in FIG. 17, when the channel switching command is supplied (S1701), the learning unit 14 acquires the time when the channel switching command is supplied from the system clock or the like. Next, the switching information including the time when the channel switching command is supplied is stored, for example, in a specific area of the hard disk drive 203 (S1702). Here, it is assumed that the learning unit 14 stores the switching information only for the channel switching command received by the command receiving unit 3R.

  By storing switching information every time a channel switching command is supplied, a history of channel switching commands is formed in a specific area of the hard disk drive 203. The learning unit 14 learns about this history, and changes the setting for a specific time zone held by the channel switching control unit 4 based on the learning result.

  At that time, for example, when one month has passed since the start date (S1703), the learning unit 14 determines the number of channel switching commands sent from the remote controller 6 on Monday based on the history of Monday in the past month. (S1704). Here, Monday means a time period from 6:00 am on the original Monday to 6:00 am on the original Tuesday.

  A specific example of the total result is shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, the horizontal axis represents time of day, and the vertical axis represents the total value of the number of channel switching commands transmitted from the remote controller 6. Moreover, the thick solid line parallel to the vertical axis represents the start and end times of a specific time zone.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the channel switching command is mainly transmitted in the time zone from 7:00 am to 9:00 am on the original Monday, from 6:00 pm on the original Monday to 1 am on the original Tuesday. It is a time zone until time.

  The learning unit 14 determines whether or not it is necessary to change the setting for a specific time zone using such a totaling result (S1705). This determination is performed by totaling the total values for each hour in a specific time zone and comparing the total value with a reference value.

  In the example of FIG. 18, the total value in the time zone from 11:00 pm to 12:00 pm is 4. The start time of a specific time zone is 11:30 am, but 30 minutes are rounded down. Further, the time zone from midnight to 1 am is 3, and the total value of the time zone from 2 am to 3 am is 1. Therefore, the total value of these is 8.

  If the reference value is 5, the total value exceeds the reference value. When the total value exceeds the reference value, the learning unit 14 determines that the setting for a specific time zone needs to be changed. When the total value is equal to or less than the reference value, the learning unit 14 determines that it is not necessary to change the setting for the specific time zone.

  If it judges that the setting with respect to a specific time slot | zone needs to be changed, the learning part 14 will start 1 hour with the largest total value from the specific time slot | zone, for example among each 1 hour which belongs to a specific time slot | zone. Perform the removal operation and recalculate the total value. The operation is repeated until the recalculated total value is equal to or less than the reference value.

  In the example of FIG. 18, if one hour from 11:00 pm to 12:00 pm is removed, the total value becomes 4, which is below the reference value. In this case, the learning unit 14 performs a setting to change the specific time zone from 11:30 pm to 6:00 am from 0:00 am to 6:00 am (S1706). Therefore, the channel switching control unit 4 determines whether or not to instruct the channel switching unit 2b to perform channel switching according to the learning result of the learning unit 14.

  By providing the learning unit 14 in this way, even if the user's channel switching method is changed, the setting for a specific time zone can be adapted to the change.

  Even when the setting for a specific time zone is automatically changed according to the learning result of the learning unit 14, the change is notified to the broadcast station 302 as in the case of the sixth embodiment, as in the case of manual change. Is preferred.

  In the seventh embodiment, the learning unit 14 stores the switching information as a channel switching command received by the command receiving unit 3R. In other words, the target tuner information includes the one representing the tuner unit 1a as the target tuner and the one representing the tuner unit 1b. Since the user normally stores the setting for a specific time zone, the user switching method appears almost in the channel switching command for the tuner unit 1a. For this reason, it is good also considering only the channel switching command with respect to the tuner part 1a.

  Further, for example, learning may be performed only for a channel switching command by a predetermined user. In this case, a remote control identifier is used. The remote control identifier is also supplied from the command receiving unit 3R, and the remote control identifier is also stored as part of the switching information. Then, only the predetermined remote controller identifiers need be tabulated. Accordingly, it is possible to preferentially reflect the channel switching method by a predetermined user in the setting for a specific time zone.

In the seventh embodiment, the setting for the specific time zone is changed so that the total value is equal to or less than the reference value. However, the time zone where the total value is 0 is simply determined as the time zone without the channel switching command. A specific time zone may be set for the time zone.
(Embodiment 8)
When charging is performed in order to secure a time when the service provider or user can perform channel switching, the charging fee can be automatically calculated on the STB side.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, the STB is provided with a totaling unit 15 and a billing fee calculation unit 16. For example, according to the schedule stored in the schedule storage unit 10, the totaling unit 15 totals, for each service provider, the time for which the right to perform channel switching of the tuner unit 1b is given in units of one month. .

  In the example of FIG. 19, since the transmission source identifier of the service provider A is allocated in the time zone from 0:00 am to 3:00 am, and from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, the service provider A in one day The total time is 7 hours.

  The totaling unit 15 adds the totaling time of the day to the total of the totaling time from the totaling start date to the previous day stored in the hard disk drive 203. Then, if the same schedule is continued for 30 days and one month has passed, the total time granted to the service provider A during one month is 210 hours. When the total time given to each service provider is obtained in this way, the totaling unit 15 supplies each total time to the billing fee calculation unit 16.

When the accounting result (total time) is supplied from the accounting unit 15,
A billing fee for each service provider corresponding to the total time is calculated using a table representing the correspondence between the total time and the billing fee or using a predetermined calculation formula.

  For example, the predetermined calculation formula is given by charging fee = (ratio of total time in which rights are given to each service provider in the whole) × basic amount. If the basic amount is 5000 yen, the total time for the service provider A is 210 hours. Therefore, according to this calculation formula, the charge for the service provider A is 1458 yen (= (210 / (30 × 24)) × 5000). Of course, the billing fee calculation method is not limited to this.

  When the charging fee calculation unit 16 calculates the charging fee for each service provider, the charging fee calculation unit 16 supplies the calculated charging fee to the communication unit 13. In this case, the communication unit 13 transmits the charging fee of each supplied service provider to the broadcasting station 302 through the telecommunication line 301. As a result, even if the schedule is changed on the STB side, an accurate charging fee can be automatically obtained from the STB on the broadcasting station 302 side.

  In the eighth embodiment, the charging fee is calculated for each service provider. However, the charging fee may be calculated for the user. For example, when a user is watching a paid channel broadcast using the tuner unit 1b in a time zone other than a specific time zone, a channel switching command representing the channel is received by the command receiving unit 3R, and then other Get time to switch to channel. The totaling unit 15 totals the time acquired for the channel, for example, every month, and calculates the total time. Then, the charging fee calculation unit 16 calculates the viewing fee of the channel for the user by multiplying the total time by the viewing fee per hour.

Thus, the user's viewing fee can be automatically calculated.
(Other)
In each of the above-described embodiments, information necessary for the service provider's service is stored in the hard disk drive 203. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the television receiver 202 may immediately output and display the information. Good.

  In addition, the channel switching control unit 4 in each of the above-described embodiments may be realized by a dedicated circuit, or may be realized by using hardware and programs provided in the STB such as a processor and the hard disk drive 203. is there.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the STB including one or two tuner units has been described as the receiving unit 1. However, the present invention for determining whether or not to instruct channel switching by the transmission source is not limited to the tuner unit. The present invention can also be applied to a receiving apparatus including three or more.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to a receiving device used for receiving digital satellite broadcasting. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a receiving device used for receiving broadcasting such as CATV, for example. The present invention can also be applied to other receiving apparatuses having a tuner unit.

  The receiving device and the channel switching program according to the present invention can improve the convenience for both the user and the service provider, and are useful for digital satellite broadcasting and CATV receiving devices.

Block diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the STB according to the first embodiment. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB according to the first embodiment The figure which shows the specific example of the schedule which concerns on Embodiment 1. Flowchart for explaining an operation of displaying the STB notification screen according to the first embodiment The figure which shows the example of a display of the notification screen of STB which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the second embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the time table which allocated the remote control identifier in the time slot | zone. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB according to the second embodiment FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the third embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the schedule which allocated the transmission origin identifier of the service provider in the time slot | zone FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the fifth embodiment. Flowchart for explaining operation of STB according to embodiment 5. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB according to the sixth embodiment FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the seventh embodiment. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB according to the seventh embodiment The figure which shows the concrete example of the total result which totaled the number of transmission of the channel change command FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an STB according to the eighth embodiment. Block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a conventional STB

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiving part 1a, 1b Tuner part 2, 2a, 2b Channel switching part 3, 3B, 3R Command reception part 4 Channel switching control part 5 Signal processing part 6 Remote control 7 Data input / output part 8 Designated information extraction part 9 Identifier storage means 10 Schedule storage unit 11 Input reception unit 12 Identification unit 13 Communication unit 14 Learning unit 15 Totaling unit 16 Accounting fee calculation unit 41 Transmission source determination unit 42 Switchability determination unit 43 Judgment unit 44 Switching instruction determination unit 201 Receiving antenna 202 Television receiver 203 Hard disk drive 301 Electric communication line 302 Broadcasting station

Claims (6)

A channel switching unit for switching channels;
A receiving unit for receiving data of the channel switched by the channel switching unit;
A command receiving unit that receives a channel switching command that is a command to switch channels, and a transmission source identifier that identifies a service provider of the data that is a transmission source of the channel switching command;
In a receiving apparatus comprising a channel switching control unit for instructing the channel switching unit to switch the channel when receiving a channel switching command in the command receiving unit,
The channel switching control unit is configured to determine whether or not the transmission source identifier received by the command reception unit and a transmission source identifier stored in advance have a certain relationship; When it is determined that there is a relationship, a switching instruction determination means for determining that the channel switching unit is to be instructed to switch the channel and a transmission source of the channel switching instruction when it is determined that the instruction for channel switching is to be specified ; and a schedule storage section that stores a schedule for,
The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel switching control unit determines whether to instruct the channel switching unit to perform channel switching according to a schedule stored in the schedule storage unit . Said schedule, said a transmission correspondence table assigned the source identifier in the time zone, the receiving apparatus according to claim 1. The receiving device according to claim 2 , further comprising an input receiving unit that receives an input of the transmission source identifier for editing the schedule. The receiving apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the input receiving unit has a mail client function and edits the schedule based on a subject of the received electronic mail. A specifying unit that monitors editing of the schedule and specifies a time zone in which a transmission source of the channel switching command is a specific service provider; and a transmission unit that transmits the specific result to the transmission source. The receiving device according to claim 4 . A totaling unit that totals the time when the specific service provider was the transmission source of the channel switching command; and a charging fee calculation unit that calculates a charging fee to the transmission source according to a totaling result of the totaling unit, The receiving device according to claim 5 .

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