Television receiver

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a television receiver to be manufactured with one microcomputer being commonly used in many types of television receivers by the initial setting operation for type switching use. The television receiver which is adapted to set in the type switch setting portion corresponding to the type or the data corresponding to it so as to specify a function to be carried out into a microcomputer and adapted to use the microcomputer so as to effect the receiving operation, and is provided with an on screen means for displaying on the television screen face the set contents of the above described type switch setting portion when the inspecting instructions have been detected.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to a television receiver to be manufactured with one microcomputer being commonly used in many types of television receivers by the initial setting operation for type switching use. In recent years, the television receivers using the microcomputer are manufactured in larger numbers with each circuit block for composing a television receiver being controlled by the microcomputer. In order to meet the various market demands, many types of receivers are manufactured with the microcomputers for control use to be used for each of the various types being respectively different. When the microcomputers are used in accordance with the respective types so as to manufacture many types of television receivers, the management becomes complicated, and also, the development efficiency is reduced. It is generally carried out that the inputs as to what functions to be effected are given to a microcomputer so as to use the same microcomputer for many types. The construction example of the conventional television receiver is shown hereinafter in Fig. 1 so as to illustrate the operation thereof and a function inspection at the manufacturing time. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a television receiver which is provided with a microcomputer 1 for operating the respective functions. The input portion of the above described microcomputer 1 is provided with a type switch setting portion 2, a remote control apparatus 3 (hereinafter referred to as remote control) for operating the television receiver, a keyboard 4 for effecting the same functions as those of the above described remote control 3, and so on. A circuit of an on screen means 7a for channel display use for displaying the reception channel, a television receiving circuit 5, a switching means 8 for switching the signals from the above described television receiving circuit 5 and the signals from the on screen means 7a for channel display use, a CRT 6 for displaying the pictures, and so on are connected with the output portion of the microcomputer 1. In order to manufacture many types of television receivers having the same microcomputer 1, a type as an object or data in accordance with it is inputted into the type switch setting portion 2 so as to specify in registration the function to be carried out. When the television receiver having such construction is manufactured and used, a programming of the microcomputer 1 is carried out so that only a function corresponding to the specified type may be operated at least when the power supply is put to work. In order to confirm whether or not the set contents of the type switch setting portion 2 are set by mistake because of component insertion errors, wiring errors on the print wiring basic plate and so on in the manufacturing step of such conventional television receiver, the bothersome operation of confirming whether the function is normal or not is forced to be effected by the actual operation in each function of the television receiver. The US patent US-A-4,626,892 discloses an apparatus for controlling various functions of a television receiver such as picture and audio responses. This apparatus enables the generation of an on-screen menue of various functions to be controlled. E.g. the brightness, contrast, sharpness, colour level ... can be displayed and controlled. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed with a view to substantially eliminating the above discussed drawbacks inherent in the prior art, and has for its essential object to provide an improved television receiver. Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved television receiver which is capable of checking with a short time whether or not the set contents of the reviver type switch setting portion 2 is correct if each function is not actually effected. In accomplishing these and other objects, according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a television receiver which is adapted to set in the type switch setting portion a type or the data corresponding to it so as to specify a function to be carried out into a microcomputer and adapted to use the microcomputer so as to effect the receiving operation, and is provided with an on screen means for displaying on the television screen face the setting contents of the above described type switch setting portion when the inspecting instructions have been detected. According to the construction, on the side of the television receiver which has detected the inspection instructions when the inspection instructions are inputted, the set contents the microcomputer have read from the type switch setting portion are displayed on the television screen face by the on screen means. Therefore, it is possible to check whether or not the actual set contents are right by the judgment as to whether or not the display contents are right. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the conventional television receiver; Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a television receiver in a first embodiment of the present embodiment; Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the transferring operation of the type switch setting data onto an on screen displaying means; Fig. 4 is a plane view showing the screen display embodiment; Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the relationship between the transfer of the type switch setting data and the memory; and Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a microcomputer control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings. The present invention is a television receiver where the respective types of functions such as station selecting operation or the like are adapted to be automatically controlled in accordance with the data predetermined by the microcomputer. It can be confirmed at a glance by the on screen display of the set contents without checking through the actual operation of the television receiver by the various checking machines whether or not the data established in accordance with the type is properly set. The setting operation of the data corresponding to each type is effected by the circuit print wired in hardware with respect to the data setting memory (RAM) of the microcomputer. When it has been connected with a DC5V power supply from the on/off wiring of the voltage application of DC5V with respect to the BS BS=Broadcasting Satellite terminal, the BS tuner/existing is shown with respect to the existing/none of, for example, the BS tuner. When the input voltage into the BS terminal is 0V without any application of the DC5V, the BS tuner/none is shown. The existence/none of the BS is data set in terms of hardware with respect to the memory of the microcomputer through the wiring pattern by whether or not the BS terminal is connected with the DC5V power supply. In order to check whether the data which were set by wiring with respect to the memory (RAM) of the microcomputer in terms of hardware in accordance with each type in this manner are correctly set in accordance with the type, there are considered methods of (1) checking the wiring patterns in terms of hardware, (2) checking by the actual operation of the television receiver, (3) checking by the on screen displaying of the set data in accordance with the title, and so on. Conventionally, the checking methods of the above described (1) and (2) are effected. Namely, the patterns wired in terms of hardware are visually checked or it is automatically checked by an exclusive apparatus whether or not they agree with the correct patterns by the image processing. Or by the actual operation of the television receiver, it is checked whether or not the controlling by the set data is correctly effected in accordance with the functions provided in the type. In the visual check of the wiring patterns, errors are likely to be caused when the patterns become complicated, thus resulting in worse production efficiency. The confirming checks are made by the method of automatically checking the image processed wiring patterns by an exclusive inspecting machine or the method of actually getting the television receiver to operate and inputting the necessary signals from the exclusive transmitter. The checking method which requires facilities such as exclusive automatic inspecting apparatuses, transmitter and so on is suitable for a step of manufacturing one type in large quantities. But it is difficult to correspond the small quantity production into many different types one after another as in multitype small quantity production. Also, as many exclusive automatic inspecting apparatuses are required even with respect to the overseas plant expansion, preparations are hard to effect in terms of facilities, and many production engineers skilled in the facilities are also required. Therefore, it is difficult to deploy many types. The invention of the present application is adapted to provide the television receiver with a self-check function by the method of the above described (3). Special exclusive inspecting apparatuses and so on are not required even in the multitype small quantity production, and the abroad deployment. The complicated wiring patterns themselves are not required to be visually checked. All they have to do is to confirm the existing/none of the set functions in accordance with the title of the on screen dispaly. Therefore, the above described method of (3) is a preferred method of better productivity. Embodiment The present invention will be described hereinafter in one embodiment with reference to the drawings. Fig. 2 shows the construction of the television receiver of the present invention. A type switch setting portion 2, a remote control 3 for operating the television receiver, a keyboard 4 which works as in the above described remote control 3, and so on are provided respectively in the input portion of the microcomputer 1 for operating the respective functions of the television receiver as in the conventional embodiment. The on screen means 7a for channel display use is adapted to display the reception channel as before. The on screen means 7b for type displaying use is to display on the screen face of the CRT6 the set contents of the type switch setting portion 2 when the inspecting person has instructed the check with the above described remote control 3 and the keyboard 4. A function of effecting the type switch setting operation is built in, by the above described type switch setting portion 2, within the microcomputer 1, so that the type name and so on of the television receiver being manufactured are displayed on the television screen face. When the inspecting operation is effected at a step of manufacturing the television receivers in the present embodiment constructed as described hereinabove, the inspecting instructions are given from the remote control 3 and the keyboard 4, so that the set contents read from the type switch setting portion 2, which are the inputs of the microcomputer 1 are displayed on the television screen face by the on screen means 7b for type displaying use on the side of the television receiver which has detected the inspecting instructions. The judgment as to whether or not the type setting of the present television receiver is effected correctly is effected immediately by a look at the display on the screen face. Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing a means of transferring, inputting the set data in accordance with the title into the on screen memory (RAM) so as to effect the on screen display of the data set in the type. First, it is checked whether or not the type has been switched with the on screen display instructions. In the case of yes, namely, when the type has been switched, the title displays, which are set on the type, such as voice multiplex functions, established stationary data built in within the BS are transferred into the on screen memory (RAM). Further, the video version established in the memory (RAM) of the microcomputer is read so as to check whether or not it is TV. If it is television, it is transferred into the on screen memory (RAM). Then, the voice multiplex data are read from the memory (RAM) of the microcomputer, and are transferred into the on screen memory (RAM). The existence/none of the voice multiplex function is checked with respect to the "voice multiplex" data. If it is attached with the voice multiplex function, the "existence" is transferred into the on screen memory (RAM). The BS data is read so as to check whether or not it is attached with a BS tuner. If it is attached with the BS, the "existence" is transferred, inputted. An example of the on screen display on the CRT screen face is shown in one embodiment in Fig. 4. In the case of the example, the voice multiplex built in type with the BS tuner attached may be confirmed at a glance. When it is not the type switching, the data reading . transferring for effecting the on screen displaying operation is effected in the normal mode. Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the relationship of the relationship of the Yes/No in the switching operation. In Fig. 5, the flowing of the reading transferring of the data is approximately equal even in the case of the existence or the none of the type switching. The transferred data are displayed on the on screen memory (RAM), and are inputted as numeral values corresponding to the address number of the letter font (ROM) in accordance with the display title. Fig. 6 is a schematic bloc diagram showing the whole microcomputer control. For example, in the JOB, the actual control program is set. The existence/none of the BS is decided with respect to the BS-7 station selection. If it is "existence", the control operation such as station selecting control of the BS-7 or the like is effected. In the present embodiment, the type name set at present as the type switching information is outputted as the on screen signal by the operation of the remote control 3 and the keyboard 4 so as to display it on the television screen face. But data such as numeral, type name corresponding to the respective types, instead of the type name, may be used. As is clear from the foregoing description, according to the arrangement of the present invention, the type or the data corresponding to it is set into the type switch setting portion so as to specify into the microcomputer a function to be carried out. The receiving, driving operations are adapted to be effected with the use of the microcomputer. An on screen means for displaying on the television screen face the set contents of the above described type switch setting portion when the inspecting instructions have been detected is provided. When many types of television receivers are manufactured with one type of microcomputer, the type switch setting contents corresponding to the type may be easily known by the on screen means. The inspection errors may be reduced in the many types of television receivers, and the productivity may be improved by the reduction in the inspecting time.

Claims: A television receiver comprising a microcomputer (1) for controlling the operation of the television receiver and an on screen means (7a) for displaying control information on the television screen, characterized in that the microcomputer (1) is a programmable multi purpose microcomputer adapted for use in various kinds of television receivers having different modes of operation, the television receiver comprises a type switch setting portion (2) connected to said microcomputer (1) for entering and storing data corresponding to the actual specific type of television receiver and specifying those functions the microcomputer (1) shall be capable to carry out, and the on screen means (7a) is capable of displaying the set contents of said type switch setting portion (2).

Inventors: YOSHIMI OSAMU, YOSHIMI, OSAMU
Applicants: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC IND CO LTD, MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: H04N5
IPC codes: H04N5, H04N17