JP4783417B2 - Digital broadcast receiving apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital television broadcasting system using, for example, a satellite, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus that receives the television broadcast program, data broadcast content, and the like and a control method thereof.

  As is well known, in recent years, digital television broadcasting using a satellite has been put into practical use. In this digital television broadcast, it is possible not only to view a television broadcast program by a corresponding digital broadcast receiver, but also to present a wide variety of contents to viewers by data broadcasting.

  In this data broadcast, when a content having a plurality of options is presented to a viewer and the viewer selects a desired option via a digital broadcast receiver, the selection result is sent to a predetermined destination via a telephone line. By performing two-way communication of transmission, viewers can participate in programs and purchase products.

  In such a digital broadcast receiver capable of two-way communication, various information about the viewer (for example, personal information such as the viewer's address, name and telephone number, and points acquired by the program in which the viewer participated) , Purchased products, payment amount, payment method, etc.) are stored in a non-volatile memory and stored.

  In this case, in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, reading and writing of viewer-related information with respect to the nonvolatile memory is controlled based on a read command and a write command included in the received data broadcast content. Also, rewriting of information already written in the nonvolatile memory is controlled based on the same type of instruction.

  By the way, as the nonvolatile memory, a semiconductor storage device is generally used. This semiconductor memory device normally has a limitation on the number of times of writing, and if this number of times is exceeded, the reliability of written data becomes very low.

  For this reason, if data broadcast contents in which many commands for writing data in the nonvolatile memory are described frequently are received, the nonvolatile memory will reach its write limit count in a short period of time. There is a problem that the lifetime of the broadcast receiving apparatus is also shortened.

  To deal with this problem, recently, when the power switch of the digital broadcast receiver is turned on, the contents of the nonvolatile memory are transferred to the temporary storage memory, and the power switch of the digital broadcast receiver is cut off. At that time, it is also considered to transfer the contents of the temporary storage memory to the nonvolatile memory again.

  According to such a means, when a write command is included in the data broadcast content, the viewer-related information requested to be written by the write command is controlled to be written in the temporary storage memory. It is possible to reduce the number of times the nonvolatile memory is written.

  However, with such means for reducing the number of times of writing to the nonvolatile memory, for example, in the event of an unexpected accident such as a sudden power failure or accidental removal of the power plug from the outlet, the stored contents of the temporary storage memory Disappears, so that the original effect cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the number of times of data writing is reduced with respect to a nonvolatile memory for storing viewer-related information in data broadcasting, and also inadvertent power cut-off, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a very good digital broadcast receiving apparatus that can cope with it as much as possible, and that can perform safe and highly reliable data storage and a control method thereof.

The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is intended for a device in which data writing to a nonvolatile memory is controlled based on received viewer-related information. And there is a transfer means for transferring the viewer related information recorded in the non-volatile memory to the temporary storage memory after the power switch is turned on, and a command for analyzing the received data broadcast content and writing the viewer related information. A recording means for writing the viewer-related information received in accordance with the write command to the temporary storage memory when it is determined that there is a write command, and the recording means to the temporary storage memory Control means for transferring the recorded viewer-related information to the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing before the power switch is shut off is provided.

The method for controlling a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the present invention is directed to a method for controlling the digital broadcast receiving apparatus so as to write data to a nonvolatile memory based on received viewer-related information. Then, after the power switch is turned on, a transfer step of transferring the viewer related information recorded in the non-volatile memory to the temporary storage memory, and after this transfer step, the received data broadcast content is analyzed and the viewer related information is analyzed. A recording process for determining whether or not there is a command to write, and when it is determined that there is a write command, the viewer-related information received with the write command is written in a temporary storage memory, and this recording process And a control step of transferring the viewer-related information recorded in the temporary storage memory to the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing before the power switch is shut off.

According to the above-described invention, after the power switch is turned on, the viewer-related information recorded in the nonvolatile memory is transferred to the temporary storage memory, and then the received data broadcast content is analyzed and the viewer-related information is written. It is determined whether or not there is a command. When it is determined that there is a write command, the viewer-related information received with the write command is written to the temporary storage memory and recorded in the temporary storage memory. Since the viewer-related information is transferred to the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing before the power switch is turned off, the number of times data is written to the nonvolatile memory for storing the viewer-related information in the data broadcast In addition, it is possible to cope with accidental power cuts as much as possible, and safe and reliable data storage can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a digital broadcast receiver 11 described in this embodiment. The digital broadcast receiver 11 receives and demodulates a digital television broadcast and a data broadcast linked to or independent of the television broadcast.

  That is, the digital broadcast receiver 11 includes a tuner 12, an MPEG (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group) decoder 13, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15, a RAM (Random Access Memory). ) 16 and a non-volatile memory [hereinafter referred to as NV (Non Volatile) RAM] 17.

  Among these, the tuner 12 performs a demodulation process on the digital broadcast wave received by the antenna 18, selects one program data designated by the CPU 14 from the digital data stream, and outputs it to the MPEG decoder 13. Have.

  The MPEG decoder 13 performs MPEG decoding on the image data and audio data included in the program data selected by the tuner 12 and outputs the decoded data to a display device 19 capable of image display and audio output. It has a function to reproduce.

  Further, the CPU 14 uses the RAM 16 as a working memory based on a processing program stored in the ROM 15 to centralize a series of television broadcast receiving operations by the tuner 12 and the MPEG decoder 13. I have control.

  Further, the CPU 14 performs a decoding process on the received data broadcast wave and receives an OSD (On Screen Display) display on the display device 19 based on the data broadcast content and other data broadcast contents. Storage function, reception function, communication function, presentation function, etc.

  Further, the CPU 14 has a function of selectively writing various information about the viewer described above into the RAM 16 and the NVRAM 17 based on a write command included in the data broadcast content, and data between the RAM 16 and the NVRAM 17. It has a function to transfer.

  Here, FIG. 2 shows the main functions of the CPU 14 described in this embodiment. That is, the CPU 14 has functions as a browser unit 14a, a scope change notification unit 14b, a bidirectional communication start notification unit 14c, and a cache control unit 14d.

  Among these, the browser unit 14a has a function of analyzing the received data broadcast content. The browser unit 14a has a function of reading and writing viewer related information to a cache (temporary storage) memory unit 16a set in a part of the storage area of the RAM 16. The browser unit 14a has a function of setting a flag for the flag unit 16b set in a part of the storage area of the RAM 16.

  Further, the scope change notification unit 14b has a function of notifying the cache control unit 14d of the detection result when an instruction to change the scope is detected as a result of analyzing the data broadcast content by the browser unit 14a.

  That is, in digital broadcasting currently in practical use, a method called BML (Broadcast Markup Language) is adopted as a description language of the data broadcast content. And in this BML system, in order to prescribe | regulate operation | movement of the browser part 14a, the concept called a scope is introduced.

  This scope defines a range in which an operation described in the BML method (which is often described as a function) is effective. The detailed contents of this scope are given to the ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses) STD B24 that defines BML, and the following are defined.

・ In document: Screen switching (Many functions are valid only in one BML document)
・ In data event: Batch replacement of content structure (file) ・ In component: Other content in channel (main data, sub data)
-In service: channel And, as a result of analyzing the data broadcast content by the browser unit 14a, the scope change notification unit 14b displays the detection result when an instruction to change the above four types of scopes is detected. It has a function of notifying the cache control unit 14d.

  The bidirectional communication start notifying unit 14c analyzes the data broadcast content by the browser unit 14a, and as a result, detects a command from the digital broadcast receiver 11 to communicate with a predetermined destination via a telephone line. The detection result is notified to the cache control unit 14d.

  Then, the cache control unit 14d transmits the contents stored in the cache memory unit 16a to the NVRAM 17 when the detection result is notified from the scope change notification unit 14b or the bidirectional communication start notification unit 14c. Function to forward to.

  The cache control unit 14d also has a function of transferring data between the cache memory unit 16a and the NVRAM 17. Further, the cache control unit 14d has a function of canceling the set flag with respect to the flag unit 16b.

  In the digital broadcast receiver 11 configured as described above, the main operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The operation described here is started (step S11) when the digital broadcast receiver 11 is turned on.

  Then, in step S12, the CPU 14 transfers the viewer related information already stored in the NVRAM 17 to the cache memory unit 16a of the RAM 16. And CPU14 discriminate | determines whether the data broadcast was received by step S13, and when not received (NO), performs the process of step S13 repeatedly.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the data broadcast has been received (YES), the CPU 14 activates the browser unit 14a in step S14, analyzes the received data broadcast content, and in step S15, the NVRAM 17 It is determined whether or not there is an instruction to write viewer related information.

  If it is determined in step S15 that there is a write command to the NVRAM 17 (YES), the CPU 14 sets a flag in the flag unit 16b in step S16, and the viewer received along with the write command. It operates to write the related information to the cache memory unit 16a.

  After step S16 or when it is determined in step S15 that there is no instruction for writing viewer-related information to the NVRAM 17 (NO), the CPU 14 determines whether or not there is a change in scope in step S17. To do.

  If it is determined that there is no change in scope (NO), the CPU 14 determines whether or not bidirectional communication has been started in step S18. If it is determined that the scope has not been started (NO), step 14 is performed. The process returns to S15.

  If it is determined in step S18 that bi-directional communication has started (YES), or if it is determined in step S17 that there is a change in scope (YES), the CPU 14 determines in step S19 the flag portion 16b. Whether or not the flag is set is determined. If it is determined that the flag is not set (NO), the process returns to step S15.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S19 that the flag is set (YES), the CPU 14 transfers the contents stored in the cache memory unit 16a of the RAM 16 to the NVRAM 17 in step S20, and step S21. Thus, the setting of the flag in the flag part 16b is canceled and the process returns to the process of step S15.

  According to the above-described embodiment, first, the viewer-related information stored in the NVRAM 17 is transferred to the cache memory unit 16a of the RAM 16 in a state where the power of the digital broadcast receiver 11 is turned on. Every time a command for writing viewer-related information to NVRAM 17 is detected from the received data broadcast content, the viewer-related information is controlled to be written in cache memory unit 16a.

  For this reason, even if the data broadcast content includes many instructions for writing viewer-related information to the NVRAM 17, the number of times of data writing to the NVRAM 17 can be reduced, so that the life of the NVRAM 17 can be extended. can do.

  Further, the viewer-related information stored in the cache memory unit 16a is transferred to the NVRAM 17 when the scope changes and when the bidirectional communication is started.

  For this reason, for example, even when there is an unexpected accident such as a sudden power failure or an accidental unplugging of the power plug from the outlet, it is possible to keep viewer-related information as new as possible in the NVRAM 17. Therefore, safe and reliable data storage can be performed.

  Further, a flag is set when a command to write viewer-related information to NVRAM 17 is detected from the received data broadcast content, and the flag is set when the scope changes or when two-way communication is started. Only when it is, viewer-related information is transferred from the cache memory unit 16a to the NVRAM 17.

  That is, when the viewer-related information is not requested to be written by the data broadcast content, that is, when the storage content of the cache memory unit 16a is not updated, the scope is changed or the two-way communication is started. However, the viewer related information is not written from the cache memory unit 16a to the NVRAM 17.

  For this reason, it is possible to prevent the same data from being repeatedly written in the NVRAM 17, so that the number of times of writing to the NVRAM 17 can be effectively reduced. In this respect, the life of the NVRAM 17 can be extended. .

  Here, the reason that the timing at which the viewer-related information stored in the cache memory unit 16a is transferred to the NVRAM 17 is the time when the scope is changed is that the data broadcast content is generally presented when the scope is changed. This is because there are many cases where the meaning is changed.

  The above timing is set to the point in time when the bidirectional communication is started because the data broadcast content is expected to be in a special state when the bidirectional communication is started.

  Furthermore, as a timing for transferring the viewer-related information from the cache memory unit 16a to the NVRAM 17, when the browser unit 14a finishes the operation, the digital broadcast receiver 11 is in a standby state (only the minimum resources necessary for starting viewing). For example, when the power is supplied, for example, when the power switch of the remote controller is turned off, this state is generally reached.

  That is, the timing for transferring the viewer-related information from the cache memory unit 16a to the NVRAM 17 is summarized as follows.

(1) When straddling a BML document,
(2) When crossing data events,
(3) When straddling components,
(4) When crossing services,
(5) When the digital broadcast receiver 11 shifts to the standby state,
(6) When the browser unit 14a is terminated,
(7) When bidirectional communication is started,
(8) When the conditions appropriately combining the above (1) to (7) are satisfied,
Etc. are considered.

  In the embodiment described above, the viewer-related information is transferred from the NVRAM 17 to the cache memory unit 16a when the digital broadcast receiver 11 is turned on. It can also be considered when the machine 11 is selected or when the browser unit 14a is activated.

  Further, when the received data broadcast content includes an instruction to read the viewer related information from the NVRAM 17, the CPU 14 reads the requested viewer related information from the cache memory unit 16a. Control.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, after the latest viewer-related information is written in the cache memory unit 16a, it may not be transferred to the NVRAM 17, so that the viewer-related information is also read out for the cache. This is because if it is not performed from the memory unit 16a, the operation is hindered.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure shown in order to demonstrate the main functions which CPU of the digital broadcast receiver in the embodiment has. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate the main operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Digital broadcast receiver, 12 ... Tuner, 13 ... MPEG decoder, 14 ... CPU, 15 ... ROM, 16 ... RAM, 17 ... NVRAM, 18 ... Antenna, 19 ... Display apparatus.

Claims (2)

In the digital broadcast receiving device in which data writing to the nonvolatile memory is controlled based on the received viewer-related information,
Transfer means for transferring viewer-related information recorded in the nonvolatile memory to the temporary storage memory after turning on the power switch;
Analyzing the received data broadcast content to determine whether or not there is a command to write the viewer related information, and if it is determined that there is a write command, the viewer related information received with the write command is Recording means for writing to the temporary storage memory;
Control means for transferring viewer-related information recorded in the temporary storage memory by the recording means to the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing before the power switch is shut off. Digital broadcast receiver. In a control method of a digital broadcast receiving device that controls the digital broadcast receiving device to write data to a nonvolatile memory based on received viewer-related information,
A transfer step of transferring viewer-related information recorded in the non-volatile memory to a temporary storage memory after turning on the power switch;
After this transfer process, the received data broadcasting content is analyzed to determine whether there is a command to write viewer-related information. When it is determined that there is a write command, it is received along with the write command. A recording step of writing the viewer-related information into the temporary storage memory;
And a control step of transferring viewer-related information recorded in the temporary storage memory to the nonvolatile memory at a predetermined timing before the power switch is shut off by the recording step. Control method of broadcast receiving apparatus.

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