JP5247097B2 - Broadcast program viewing support system and portable terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for supporting viewing of a broadcast program, and more particularly to a broadcast program viewing support system and a mobile terminal for supporting program viewing in a mobile receiver such as a mobile phone.

  The provision of digital terrestrial broadcasting services started in December 2003. In particular, the broadcast reception function for One Seg (one segment partial reception service for mobile phones and mobile terminals), which is a service for mobile receivers, is a mobile phone terminal. Mobile receivers are widely used.

  One Seg is a channel in which digitally encoded broadcast content is divided into 6 MHz bands of VHF (1 to 12 channels) or UHF (13 to 62 channels) based on the ISDB-T standard using the OFDM modulation method. Is transmitted by a signal wave divided into 13 segments. One Seg is a broadcasting service provided using one of the 13 segments.

By the way, terrestrial digital broadcast services are provided by different broadcasters in each region, and the frequency at which the broadcast service is transmitted differs depending on the reception region. For this reason, the receiving terminal must set the frequency to be received in accordance with the region where the receiver exists.
Also, in the digital terrestrial broadcasting one-seg service, there is a system that uses a small repeater (gap filler) to transmit broadcast waves to underground streets where broadcast waves do not reach or to spaces where waves are shielded, such as in buildings. Has appeared. In this system, broadcast radio waves received on the ground are transmitted by wire and retransmitted as radio waves toward a target radio wave shielding space. Further, at that time, a system is realized in which the apparatus for retransmission is simplified by changing the signal form to reduce the use frequency band.

  Furthermore, a system that uses the above-described repeater as a transmission device and can perform small-scale broadcasts with unique contents, as well as simple relays, has appeared.

  However, when the signal form is changed by the repeater, the frequency of the small-scale broadcasting in the radio wave shielding space and the radio wave used for general one-seg broadcasting may be different. In this case, the frequency to be received must be set.

Patent Document 1 discloses that channel scanning is automatically performed in advance when the identification number of the service area of the mobile phone service changes, so that viewing can be performed immediately.
JP 2006-229531 A

  As described above, in terrestrial digital broadcasting, the frequency at which the broadcasting service is transmitted differs from region to region, and when receiving, the receiving terminal must set the frequency to be received according to the region where the receiver is located. I must. In addition, even when re-distribution is performed by changing the transmission frequency by the repeater, the reception frequency must be set in the receiving terminal.

  In the receiving terminal, to set the receive frequency, there is a problem that must be known whether the service in advance which frequency is provided.

  In addition, as a method called channel scan, a method of detecting a channel provided with a service by sequentially performing reception processing on all channels of VHF and UHF and trying to detect whether a signal of a digital broadcasting service can be detected. Is taken.

  However, the operation of setting the reception frequency by channel scanning for each reception terminal user is complicated and inconvenient.

  Further, when performing a channel scan, it takes about several tens of seconds to several minutes, which is inconvenient.

  By the way, in addition to the telephone call function, the mobile phone terminal has a data communication function based on a non-contact type that can exchange data without performing a wired connection, and the user interface is a button input using numeric buttons, arrow buttons, etc. In addition, barcode reading by a built-in digital camera and information exchange with an external device using an infrared communication module, a Bluetooth (trademark) module, or a non-contact IC card are realized. If a bar code, an infrared communication module, a Bluetooth module, or an IC card is used instead of button input, information of about several kilobytes of arbitrary contents can be input simply and instantaneously.

  It is desired to be able to easily start viewing a broadcast program without performing channel scanning or the like using such a communication function.

  It should be noted that the above description is made only for easy understanding of the present invention, and that the present invention is not limited to the above-described problems and the like.

  According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, a broadcast program viewing system includes: a broadcast signal transmission device; a server device that stores information relating to a broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast signal transmission device; and the server device. Viewing support information presenting device for presenting viewing support information for obtaining information related to the broadcast signal from; and viewing support information presented by the viewing support information presenting device, and using the viewing support information, the server device And a portable receiver for acquiring information on the broadcast signal.

  According to the present invention, viewing of a broadcast program can be easily started without performing a channel scan or the like.

  The above-described viewing support information presentation device is, for example, a non-contact IC card reader / writer device, and a portable reception device (hereinafter also referred to as a portable terminal device) includes a non-contact IC card function, and transmits and receives radio signals. Thus, the mobile receiving device acquires viewing support information from the viewing support information presenting device. The portable receiving device may acquire viewing support information using transmission / reception using weak radio waves such as a Bluetooth module, communication using a barcode, other infrared communication, and a keyboard.

  Also, the information related to the broadcast signal (hereinafter also referred to as program information) typically includes reception control information for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast signal transmission device.

  Moreover, the information regarding the broadcast signal may include information describing the content of the broadcast program provided by the broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast signal transmission device.

  The information explaining the content of the broadcast program includes, for example, information explaining the content of the currently provided broadcast program.

  The viewing support information is, for example, a URL for providing program information in the server device.

  The viewing support information may be viewing support identification information assigned to the broadcast signal transmitting apparatus. The server device holds information about the broadcast signal for each identification information for viewing support, receives the identification information for viewing support as an argument, returns the information about the corresponding broadcast signal to the portable receiving device, and the portable receiving device Use the information to make reception settings. The identification information for viewing support is composed of an arbitrary column such as numerals, alphabets, and symbols, and may be a broadcasting station name or the like.

  The present invention can be realized not only as an apparatus or a system but also as a method. Of course, a part of the invention can be configured as software. Of course, software products used to cause a computer to execute such software are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The above-described aspects and other aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, and will be described in detail below using examples and the like.

  According to the present invention, viewing of a broadcast program can be started easily and reliably without performing a channel scan or the like.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a broadcast program viewing support system of the present invention as a whole. In this figure, a broadcast program viewing support system includes a mobile terminal device 1, a non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2, a program, and the like. The information providing server device 3 and the broadcasting facility 50 are included. In this figure, it is shown that the mobile terminal device 1 and the non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 are within a broadcast signal receivable area 51 (shown by a broken line) by the broadcast facility 50. Of course, the portable terminal device 1 enters or leaves the receivable area 51 as the user moves. The receivable area 51 is, for example, a subway station yard, an underground shopping area, or the like, but is not limited thereto. The non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 is arranged in the form of a stand, a post, a panel or the like so as to be fixed or movable. The intensity of the radio wave of the broadcast signal of the broadcast facility 50 may be various values depending on the purpose of the broadcast, and may be a weak radio wave in the case of a limited broadcast area.

  The mobile terminal device 1 is connected to the contactless IC card reader / writer 2 and the wireless communication path 6 through the contactless IC card function 11, the program information providing server device 3 on the network line 4, and the network line 4. A program information acquisition function 12 for acquiring program information on the server device 3 by performing communication, a program information storage function 13 for storing the acquired program information and the like, a program information display function 14 for displaying program information, and a key An input function 15 and a broadcast receiving function 16 are provided. The mobile terminal device 1 is typically a mobile phone, but may be other portable information devices and audio / video playback devices.

  The non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 includes a network communication function 21, an information storage function 22, and an IC card communication function 23.

  The program information providing server device 3 and the contactless IC card reader / writer device 2 are connected by a network line 5.

  The mobile terminal device 1 acquires link information that is an address on the network of the program information providing server device 3 from the non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 by using the non-contact IC card 11, and further acquires the acquired link information. Originally, the program information acquisition function 12 accesses the program information providing server device 3 to acquire program information, and the program information display function 14 displays the program information. Furthermore, when a program desired to be viewed by the user is selected from the displayed program information by the key input function 15, the broadcast receiving function 16 starts receiving the selected program.

  Thus, by automatically acquiring the broadcast frequency from the non-contact IC card 11, the user can save time and effort for setting the reception frequency and the time required for channel scanning. Receiving can be realized.

  The non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 can communicate with the program information providing server device 3 by the built-in network communication function 21 and appropriately acquire link information of the server device 3. The acquired link information is stored in the information storage function 22 and is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 1 via the IC card communication function 23 when a request is made from the mobile terminal device 1. Of course, it may be fixed link information.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the flow of processing in the mobile terminal device 1 will be described.

  First, when the mobile terminal device 1 is brought close to the non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 by the user, it is recorded in advance in the information storage function 22 in the non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 or the network line 5 The link 100 (FIG. 3) to the program information read from the program information providing server device 3 by the network communication function 21 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 1 via the IC card communication function 23.

  The link 100 to the program information includes at least a character string indicating a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the program information, and may further include a character string indicating a service provider name, a server name, and the like. (S1)

  Subsequently, based on the link 100 to the acquired program information, the mobile terminal device 1 accesses the program information providing server device 3 via the network line 4 and acquires the program information 110 (FIG. 4).

  The program information 110 includes presentation information including a description about a provided program and reception control information including a parameter for a receiver necessary for receiving the program. The program information includes at least information regarding a currently viewable program, but may include information regarding a plurality of programs at the same time. Further, when there are a plurality of broadcast signals receivable in the receivable area 51, each reception control information and presentation information may be included. Of course, only program information of a part of broadcast signals (for example, those of affiliated broadcast stations) out of a plurality of receivable broadcast signals may be supplied. When a plurality of one-segment broadcasts are transmitted in a bundle on one physical channel, reception control information for acquiring each one-segment broadcast and each presentation information may be included. In this case, the mobile terminal device 1 needs a function of decoding each one-segment broadcast stream bundled in one physical channel.

  Examples of specific contents of the presentation information include a channel name, a program name, a synopsis, a broadcast date and time, and the like. On the other hand, the reception control information includes a channel number, a transmission frequency, a TS (Transport Stream) identifier, a service identifier, and the like.

  The mobile terminal device 1 analyzes the acquired program information and presents it with the program information display function 14. When listing and displaying program information related to a plurality of programs, items corresponding to the currently focused program can be distinguished from other program items by underlined display, reverse display, color change, etc. Is displayed. As a state at the time of starting the presentation, the state displayed at the top is displayed as being focused. (S3)

  After the program information is presented, the system waits until the user selects a program. The user can sequentially change the program item of interest with the key input device 14 using an arrow key or the like. After setting the program information desired to be viewed to a state of interest, the program information is selected by pressing a decision button or the like. (S4)

  The broadcast receiving function 15 is controlled with reference to the reception control information corresponding to the program selected by the user, and reception of the corresponding program is started. If the frequency is designated, the tuner is directly set to the corresponding middle fraction reception state and the reception process is started. If the TS identifier and service identifier obtained by reception are consistent with the contents described in the program information, presentation of the received program is started. If a channel number is specified without specifying a frequency value, the corresponding frequency is received with reference to a pre-stored correspondence table between channel numbers and frequencies (FIG. 5). (S5)

  This is the end of the description of the embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, only reception control information may be acquired, and transmission / reception of presentation information regarding program content may not be performed. Further, other weak radio wave transmission systems other than the non-contact ID card, such as Bluetooth (trademark), infrared transmission, and bar code communication may be used. Also, support information simply consisting of numbers, alphabets, symbols, etc. is displayed in the vicinity of the broadcasting equipment for re-transmission, etc., which is input by the user from the portable terminal and is sent to the server device based on this support information. The program information may be acquired by accessing.

  Alternatively, only the presentation information may be sent first, and when a program is selected, the program ID may be sent again to the server device to obtain reception control information and start viewing. In this way, the viewing tendency of the user can be known on the server side.

  In the above-described example, the description has basically been made on the assumption that one broadcast signal is received from one broadcast facility. However, the broadcast program viewing environment receives a plurality of broadcast signals from one or a plurality of broadcast facilities. For example, in the case of normal terrestrial digital broadcasting including a one-segment service, the mobile terminal device may acquire information (program information) related to a plurality of broadcast signals from the server device.

  In the above example, only one non-contact IC card reader / writer device is shown, but one server device is a plurality of non-contact IC card reader / writer devices (as described above, other weak radio wave systems may be used). May be supported. If the broadcast program differs from site to site, it is sufficient to distinguish and access using an identification number. In this case, the identification number is also transmitted from the non-contact IC card reader / writer device (which may be another weak radio wave system as described above) to the mobile terminal device.

  Also, program information (reception control information or presentation information, for multiple channels) corresponding to the region is held in the server device in accordance with the identification number of the service area of the cellular communication network, and the portable terminal acquires the identification number. As an argument, program information corresponding to the region may be acquired from the server device to support program viewing. In this case, the mobile terminal itself may store the correspondence between the service area identification number and the program information.

  Also, information (program information) related to the broadcast signal is sent from the server device 3 to the non-contact IC card reader / writer device 2 (which may be another weak radio wave system as described above), and the portable terminal device 1 is connected to the non-contact IC card reader. Information regarding broadcast signals may be acquired directly from a writer device or the like.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the broadcast program viewing assistance system of the Example of this invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a processing flow in the receiving terminal device 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the link to program information. It is a figure which shows an example of program information. 4 is a table showing correspondence between physical channel numbers and broadcast frequencies.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable terminal device 2 ... Non-contact IC card reader / writer device 3 ... Program information provision server device 4 ... Network line 5 ... Network line 6 ... Wireless communication path 11 ... Non-contact IC card function 12 ... Program information acquisition function 13 ... Program information display function 14 ... Key input function 15 ... Broadcast reception function 21 ... Network communication function 22 ... Information storage function 23 ... IC card communication function 50 ... Broadcasting equipment 100 ... Link to program information 110 ... Program information

Claims (5)

A broadcast signal transmission device;
It includes at least reception control information for receiving a broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast signal transmission device, and further includes information describing the content of a broadcast program provided by the broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast signal transmission device. A server device for storing information relating to the broadcast signal ;
A viewing support information presentation device for transmitting a link address for acquiring information on the broadcast signal from the server device;
A broadcast program viewing support system, comprising: a portable reception device that receives link information transmitted by the viewing support information presentation device and acquires information about the broadcast signal from the server device using the link address . Information describing the content of the broadcast program, a broadcast program viewing support system of claim 1 further comprising information describing the contents of a broadcast program currently provided. It said link address is a broadcast program support system according to claim 1 or 2 is a URL for providing program information (Uniform Resource Locator) in the server device. The mobile receiving device, a broadcast program viewing support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to acquire information by wireless communication from the viewing support information presentation device. The broadcast program viewing support system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the portable receiving device sets viewing based on information related to the broadcast signal .

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