Patent ID: 8677421
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: H04B,H04H

Abstract:
1. A digital broadcast reception apparatus comprising: primary and secondary systems being tuned to a physical channel, receiving a digital broadcast signal of a broadcast service broadcasted from a broadcast station through the tuned physical channel, and demodulating and decoding the received digital broadcast signal; a tuning controller for instructing said primary and secondary systems about a physical channel to be tuned to; a switching controller for instructing said tuning controller to switch between a diversity operation mode in which the said primary system and said secondary system are tuned to the same physical channel and cooperate with each other to demodulate and decode the digital broadcast signal through a diversity process and an independent reception operation mode in which said primary system and said secondary system individually and independently demodulate and decode the digital broadcast signal; a current position detector for detecting a current position; and broadcast area information storage device in which is stored broadcast area information including a physical channel and a broadcast area of a broadcast station of a broadcast service that may be received, and at least either one of information concerning a relay station of said broadcast station and information concerning an affiliate station of said broadcast station, wherein, based on the current position detected by said current position detector and the broadcast area information stored in said broadcast area information storage device, said switching controller instructs said tuning controller to switch between said diversity operation mode and said independent reception operation mode, and wherein based on the current position detected by said current position detector and the broadcast area information stored in said broadcast area information storage device, said switching controller instructs said tuning controller to select said diversity operation mode if the detected current position is close to a boundary of a broadcast area that is acquired from said broadcast area information as a broadcast area of a broadcast station broadcasting the currently received broadcast service, and to select said independent reception operation mode if the detected current position is not close to the boundary of said broadcast area, wherein said tuning controller instructs said primary and secondary systems to, if a reception state of a currently received broadcast service is deteriorated in a case where said primary and secondary systems are operating in the diversity operation mode, cooperate with each other to search a relay station and an affiliate station of the broadcast station broadcasting the currently received broadcast service, and in a case where said primary and secondary systems are operating in the independent reception operation mode, one system of said primary and secondary systems demodulates and decodes the digital broadcast signal of the currently received broadcast service while the other system searches a relay station and an affiliate station of the broadcast station broadcasting the currently received broadcast service.