Patent ID: 7873975
Filing Date: 2011-01-18
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A television broadcast receiver connected to a multi-directional antenna having predetermined multiple receiving directions for receiving a television broadcast signal, transmitted in one of multiple channels from one of multiple broadcast stations, by making one of the multiple receiving directions active, the television broadcast receiver comprising: a tuner connected to the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal; a memory for storing a receiving direction table containing information of channel numbers of the channels transmitted from the broadcast stations, information of best receiving directions of the multi-directional antenna for receiving the channels, and register channel information indicating whether the channels are registered therein as selectable channels or non-selectable channels; a channel selection control unit for controlling a channel selection operation for a channel registered in the receiving direction table as a selectable channel in a manner that based on the receiving direction table stored in the memory, the channel selection control unit outputs, to the multi-directional antenna, a receiving direction control signal to command the multi-directional antenna for an active receiving direction, and also outputs, to the tuner, a channel control signal to command the tuner for a channel to select; an omni-directional scanning unit for performing an omni-directional scanning process: of sequentially outputting the receiving direction control signal to the multi-directional antenna to sequentially command the multi-directional antenna for all the receiving directions, and to receive the television broadcast signal in the respective receiving directions; and of determining the best receiving direction and the register channel information of arbitrary one of the channels, transmitted from the broadcast stations, on the basis of signal intensities of the television broadcast signal in the respective receiving directions; and further of renewing the content of the receiving direction table on the basis of the determination; a user interface to be operated by a user for manually changing the register channel information of the receiving direction table stored in the memory; a receiving direction table editing unit for performing a receiving direction table editing process in a manner: that when based on the operation of the user interface by the user, a channel registered in the receiving direction table as a selectable channel is newly registered in the receiving direction table as a non-selectable channel, the receiving direction table editing unit deletes the best receiving direction of the channel in the receiving direction table; and that when based on the operation of the user interface by the user, a channel registered in the receiving direction table as a non-selectable channel is newly registered in the receiving direction table as a selectable channel, the omni-directional scanning unit determines a best receiving direction of the channel, and stores the thus determined best receiving direction in the receiving direction table; an output circuit for outputting, to a monitor, an image showing the channel numbers, the best receiving directions and the register channel information of respective channels registered in the receiving direction table when the user operates to change the register channel information in the receiving direction table stored in the memory; and an all-channel scanning unit for causing the omni-directional scanning unit to repeat the omni-directional scanning process for determining the best receiving direction and the register channel information of each of all the channels transmitted from the broadcast stations, and for renewing the content of the receiving direction table on the basis of the determination.