Patent Publication Number: US-2005141870-A1

Title: Apparatus for receiving broadcast signals and method of receiving broadcast signals

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-427044, filed Dec. 24, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for receiving broadcast signals such as digital TV signals. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method that has the function of helping the user to make a record of the TV programs he or she has enjoyed.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      As is known in the art, the digital television broadcasting has been promoted in recent years. Broadcasting satellite (BS) digital broadcasting and 110°-communications satellite (CS) digital broadcasting have already been practiced. Ground digital broadcasting will be soon started.  
      The digital TV broadcasting is performed through more and more channels. Users can therefore enjoy a great number of TV programs. A system has been put to practical use, which generates an electronic list of the programs from the electronic program guide (EPG) data which a TV receiver has received and which represents the programs that the broadcast station will broadcast.  
      Another system has been developed, which enables a TV receiver to acquire the EPG data from a dedicated server via an information network such as the Internet.  
      Most users prefer to have a record of the programs they have selected from many and appreciated. The users may add, to the record, their impression of each program, e.g., a movie program. Then, the record will be a more pleasant one.  
      However, no systems have been yet developed, which enable the TV receiver to cooperate with a device designed to prepare a record of the TV programs the user has appreciated.  
      To make a record of the programs the user has appreciated, he or she must collect information about the programs and then write the information in a notebook, or in an electronic data file by using a word-processor application.  
      In other words, the user needs to use a system totally independent of the TV receiver, in order to prepare and save a record of the programs he or she has appreciated. It is troublesome for the user to do so.  
      Such an electronic data file, to say nothing of a notebook, is no more than an item of the user&#39;s personal collection. Anybody else, for example, the producers of the TV programs, would use neither the notebook nor the electronic file. That is, the notebook or the electronic file is not put to secondary use.  
      As pointed out above, no systems have been developed, which enable the TV receiver to cooperate with a device designed to prepare a record of the programs the user has appreciated. Inevitably, the user must use a system utterly independent of the TV receiver to prepare and save a record of the programs he or she has appreciated. Here arise the following problems:  
      1. The user must collect information about the programs he or she has appreciated.  
      2. The user may not remember the programs well, making it difficult for he or her to prepare a record efficiently.  
      3. The record that the user has prepared and saved can hardly be put to secondary use, unless it is sent to the other persons.  
      4. The records prepared by users differ in format and contents, and will hardly be put to secondary use.  
      Jpn. Pat. Appln. Publication 2001-237787 discloses an apparatus for use in the interactive television service. This apparatus determines whether the audience&#39;s responses to a program are well reflected in the data to be broadcast from the broadcast station.  
      However, the publication teaches no measures that should be taken to solve the above-mentioned problems 1 to 4 arise when the user uses prepares and saves a record of the TV programs he or she has appreciated.  
      This invention has been made in view of the foregoing. An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method for receiving broadcast signals, which helps the user to make easily a record of the TV programs he or she has enjoyed.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An apparatus for receiving broadcast signals, according to the invention, comprises: a receiving unit which receives a broadcast signal; a restoring unit which restores a program from the broadcast signal received by the receiving unit; an acquiring unit which acquires data related to the program being restored by the restoring unit, from an information network; a producing unit which produces a record format for the type of the program, on the basis of the data acquired by the acquiring unit; a menu display unit which prepares an answer-input menu of the record format produced by the producing unit and which displays the answer-input menu in which items are input to be described in a program record, after the program has been restored by the restoring unit; and a program-record display unit which prepares a program record from answers input in the answer-input menu displayed by the menu display unit and which displays the program record of the record format produced by the producing unit.  
      A method of receiving broadcast signals, according to the invention, comprises: receiving a broadcast signal; restoring a program from the broadcast signal received; acquiring data related to the program being restored, from an information network;  
      producing a record format for the type of the program, on the basis of the data acquired; preparing an answer-input menu of the record format produced, and displaying the answer-input menu in which items are input to be described in a program record, after the program has been restored; and preparing a program record from answers input in the answer-input menu displayed and displaying the program record of the record format produced.  
      In the present invention, the data related to the program being restored from a broadcast signal received is acquired from an information network. A record format for the type of the program is produced on the basis of the data acquired. An answer-input menu of the record format is prepared and displayed after the program has been restored. In the answer-input menu, a user inputs items to be described in a program record. A program record is prepared in the record format, from the answers the user has inputs in the answer-input menu, and is displayed. The invention therefore helps the user to prepare program records easily. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
      The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a digital TV receiver according to an embodiment of this invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a plan view of the remote controller for controlling the digital TV receiver shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart explaining some major steps of the operation that the digital TV receiver performs;  
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart explaining the other major steps of the operation that the digital TV receiver performs;  
       FIG. 5  depicts an answer-input menu displayed on the digital TV receiver, in which the user may input answers to basic questions;  
       FIG. 6  shows another answer-input menu displayed on the digital TV receiver, in which the user may input answers to the questions the content producer asks;  
       FIG. 7  depicts a record displayed on the TV receiver, which concerns a TV program the user has enjoyed;  
       FIG. 8  depicts an answer-input menu displayed on the digital TV receiver, in which the user may input a permission or prohibition of the uploading of the program record;  
       FIG. 9  is a plan view of a modified remote controller for controlling the digital TV receiver shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 10  shows a list-type selection menu displayed on the digital TV receiver, in which the user may select a list type for the program record;  
       FIG. 11  depicts a program-genre selection menu displayed on the digital TV receiver if the user has selected “genre” in the list-type selection menu shown in  FIG. 10 ;  
       FIG. 12  depicts a list of the movies the user has enjoyed, which is displayed on the digital TV receiver if the user has selected “movies” in the program-genre selection menu shown in  FIG. 11 ;  
       FIG. 13  depicts a date selection menu displayed on the digital TV receiver if the user has selected “date” in the list-type selection menu shown in  FIG. 10 ; and  
       FIG. 14  depicts a record-item selection menu displayed on the digital TV receiver if the user has selected “record item” in the list-type selection menu shown in  FIG. 10 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      An embodiment of the invention will be described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment is a digital TV receiver. As  FIG. 1  shows, the digital TV receiver  11  has a tuner unit  13 , a decoder unit  14 , an on-screen display (OSD) unit  15 , a video-signal generating unit  16 , a display unit  17 , a control unit  18 , a signal-receiving unit  20 , a memory unit  21 , an EPG-decoder unit  22 , a recording/reproducing unit  24 , and a communications control unit  25 . The digital TV receiver  11  receives digital TV broadcast signals from an antenna  12 .  
      In the TV receiver  11 , the tuner unit  13  selects the TV broadcast signal of a desired channel. The broadcast signal selected in the tuner unit  13  is supplied to the decoder unit  14 . The decoder unit  14  converts the broadcast signal to a video signal, which is supplied to the OSC unit  15 . In the OSC unit  15 , an OSC video signal is added to the video signal. The video signal is output to the video-signal generating unit  16 .  
      The video-signal generating unit  16  converts the video signal to an analog video signal that the display unit  17  can process to display images. The analog video signal is output to the display unit  17 , which is, for example, a cathode-ray tube (CRT). Thus, the display unit  17  displays the image represented by the analog video signal.  
      The control unit  18  incorporates a central processing unit (CPU). It controls the other components of the digital TV receiver  11 , in accordance with various control signals supplied from a remote controller  19  via the signal-receiving unit  20 .  
      The memory unit  21  assists the control unit  18 . The memory unit  21  includes a read-only memory, a random-access memory, and a nonvolatile memory. The read-only memory stores the control program that the CPU of the control unit  18  executes. The random-access memory provides work areas the CPU may use. The nonvolatile memory stores various fixed data items, control data, an electronic list of TV programs, a program-record format, and the like. The nonvolatile memory can store program records the user may prepare.  
      The decoder unit  14  extracts EPG data from the TV broadcast signal the tuner unit  13  has selected. Note that the EPG data is periodically broadcast. The EPG data is supplied to the EPG-decoder unit  22  and decoded. The control unit  18  generates an electronic program table from the EPG data decoded by the EPG-decoder unit  22 . The data representing the electronic program table is stored in the nonvolatile memory incorporated in the memory unit  21 .  
      The digital TV receiver  11  has a recording/reproducing unit  24 . The recording/reproducing unit  24  can hold a removable recording medium  23  such as a memory card. The control unit  18  can control the recording/reproducing unit  24  to cause the unit  24  to store the program record prepared in the removable recording medium  23 .  
      When controlled by the communications control unit  25 , the control unit  18  can be connected to an external router  26  via a local area network (LAN). A personal computer (PC)  27  can be connected to the router  26 . The PC  27  may supply control signals to the control unit  18 . In this case, the remote controller  19  need not supply control signals to the control unit  18 .  
      The router  26  is connected by the telephone line to the Internet  28 . Thus, the router  26  can communicate with an EPG server  29  and a content-producer server  30  through the Internet  28 . This enables the control unit  18  to communicate with the EPG server  29  and content-producer server  30  via the communications control unit  25 , the router  26  and the Internet  28 .  
      The EPG server  29  can access an EPG database  31  that stores EPG data about all broadcast programs and can therefore acquire an EPG data items about the broadcast programs specified by the user. The EPG data stored in the EPG database  31  is always updated.  
      The content-producer server  30  can access a content-producer database  32  that stores the producers&#39; data about the programs the producers have produced, such as questions to the users. The content-producer server  30  can therefore acquires the producers&#39; data from the content-producer database  32 . Further, the content-producer server  30  can supply the users&#39; answers to the content-producer database  32 . The users&#39; answers can therefore be accumulated in the content-producer database  32 .  
      The remote controller  19  has an operation panel, which is shown in  FIG. 2 . The panel has a power switch  33 , a channel keypad  34 , a mode keypad  35 , a channel shift key  36 , a volume key  37 , a move key  38 , a set key  39 , a menu key  40 , and a return key  41 .  
      The channel keypad  34  consists of 12 keys to which numerals “1” to “12” are assigned, respectively. When the user depresses the “4” key, for example, channel  4  will be selected. Ten groups of characters are assigned to the “1” to “10” keys, respectively, and punctuation marks are assigned to the “11” key. Thus, the user may depress the “1” to “11” keys to input character data.  
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are a flowchart explaining the major steps of the operation that the digital TV receiver performs;  
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart explaining the other major steps of the operation that the digital TV receiver  11  performs. When the user turns on the power switch  33  provided on the remote controller  19 , the TV receiver  11  starts operating (Step S 1 ). In Step S 2 , the user depresses the channel keypad  34 , selecting one channel. The tuner unit  13  selects the TV broadcast signal of the channel thus selected. The display unit  17  displays the program represented by the TV broadcast signal.  
      In Step S 3 , the control unit  18  accesses the EPG server  29  while the user is watching the program. Thus, the control unit  18  acquires the EPG data about the program that the display unit  17  is displaying. The EPG-decoder unit  22  decodes the EPG data, which is recorded in the nonvolatile memory incorporated in the memory unit  21 .  
      The control unit  18  accesses the content-producer server  30 , too. If the producer of the program being displayed has prepared data, e.g., questions about the program, the control unit  18  acquires this data. The data acquired is recorded in the nonvolatile memory incorporated in the memory unit  21 .  
      In Step S 4 , the control unit  18  generates a format of a program record from the EPG data and the data prepared by the content producer. The format includes basic items of every kind (genre) of a TV program, so that unified program records may be prepared. If the content producer has made questions, the control unit  18  will add the questions to the basic items of the format.  
      In Step S 5 , the control unit  18  determines whether the program has ended, or whether the user has switched the channel to another before the program ends.  
      If YES in Step S 5 , the operation goes to Step S 6 . In Step S 6 , the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display an answer-input menu prepared on the basis of the format generated in Step S 4 . Seeing this menu, the user may input answers to the questions made by the content producer.  
       FIG. 5  depicts an example of the answer-input menu which the display unit  17  displays if the program is a movie. In the answer-input menu, the tile of the movie, the date of broadcasting the movie, and the place and condition at and in which the movie is enjoyed, on the basis of the EPG data acquired in Step S 3 . Question Q 1 , “What do you think of the scenario?” is displayed in the answer-input menu, too. Five choices of evaluation are available in the menu, one of which the user may select to evaluate the scenario.  
      To be more specific, the user may first depress the channel-selecting key “1,” “2,” “3,” “4” or “5” to select the one of the five choices of evaluation, and may then depress the set key  39 , thereby to evaluate the scenario.  
      When the user finishes evaluating the scenario, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display the next answer-input menu. This menu shows several questions, asking the user to evaluate the direction, photography, art, music, acting, and the like. They user may evaluate each item, by selecting one of five choices of evaluation.  
      If the content producer has made questions to users, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display an answer-input menu, after the user answers the questions set about a specific type of a TV program.  
       FIG. 6  shows an example of this answer-input menu. In this menu, the questions are displayed one after another. The name of the content producer who has asked the questions and a message of “I do/do not answer this question” are displayed in the answer-input menu. Also displayed in this menu are the tile of the movie, the date of broadcasting the movie, and the place and condition at and in which the movie is enjoyed. The user may select either “do” or “do not” in the message.  
      Five choices are available for each question. The user may depress first one of the keys of the channel keypad  34  and then the set key  39 , thereby to select one choice.  
      If the user wants to answer a question, he or she operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to “do” in the message of “I do/do not answer the question.” Otherwise, the user operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to “do not” and then depresses the set key  39 .  
      In Step S 7 , the control unit  18  determines whether the user has answered or not answered the last question displayed in the answer-input menu shown in  FIG. 6 . If YES, the operation goes to Step S 8 . In Step S 8 , the control unit  18  generates a program record from the answers the user has input in the various answer-input menus. The display unit  17  displays the program record thus generated.  
       FIG. 7  depicts a program record that the unit  17  displays. This record shows the tile of the movie, the date of broadcasting the movie, and the place and condition at and in which the movie is enjoyed. The record also shows a still-picture display zone, data about the movie, data about the content source, a review chart, and a remarks zone.  
      Any one of the various still pictures the user has selected while enjoying the movie broadcast is displayed in the still-picture display zone. The data about the movie and the data about the content source are extracted from the EPG data and automatically displayed on the screen of the display unit  17 . They may include character data that the user has input by operating the keys of the channel keypad  34 .  
      The review chart looks like a polar chart and represents the values the user has determined of the direction, photography, art, music, acting, and the like. In the remarks zone, the user may write his impression of the movie, by operating the keys of the channel keypad  34 .  
      The user&#39;s answers to the content producer&#39;s questions may be reflected in the program record. Thus, the format in which the program record is displayed my be altered in accordance with the type of the program, the number of the producer&#39;s questions and the types of the producer&#39;s questions.  
      In Step S 9 , the control unit  18  stores the program record thus generated, in the nonvolatile memory incorporated in the memory unit  21  or in the removable recording medium  23  held in the recording/reproducing unit  24 . The user may operate the remote controller  19  to select the nonvolatile memory or the recording medium  23 , as record-storing device.  
      In Step S 10 , the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display an answer-input menu, in which a question is displayed, asking the user whether the program record should be uploaded into the content-producer server  30 . That is, it is determined whether the record should be uploaded into the server  30 .  
       FIG. 8  shows an example of this answer-input menu. In this menu, the question of “Do you permit/prohibit the uploading of the record?” is displayed. The title of the program is displayed in this menu, too.  
      The user may first operate the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to “permit” in the question, and may then depress the set key  39 . In this case, the program record is uploaded into the content-producer server  30 . The user may move the cursor K to “prohibit” and then depresses the set key  39 , thereby to prohibit the uploading of the program record.  
      If YES in Step S 10 , or if the user moves the cursor K to “permit,” the operation goes to Step S 11 . In Step S 11 , the control unit  18  supplies the program record to the content-producer server  30 , and the record is loaded into the server  30 . Thus, the operation ends in Step S 12 . If NO in Step S 10 , the operation jumps to Step S 12 .  
      In the embodiment described above, the EPG data is acquired and described in the record about a program while the user is enjoying the program. Thus, the user need not acquire the data about the program. This renders it easy for the user to prepare the record about the program.  
      As specified above, questions are displayed in various answer-input menus displayed by the display unit  17 . This encourages the user to prepare a record about the program that he or she has just enjoyed. As a result, more program records are prepared than otherwise.  
      When questions of specific types are displayed in any answer-input menu, several choices of answer are displayed for each of these questions. In this case, the user only needs to select one of the choices. This makes it easy for the user to prepare the record about the program. Thus, more program records are prepared than otherwise.  
      Various formats of program records are preset, each for programs of a specific type. Hence, records of programs of the same type can be provided in the same format. The records thus provided are unified ones. Such unified records may be put to secondary use. That is, they may be used by persons other than the user.  
      The digital TV receiver  11  acquires the questions the content producer has made about a program, through the Internet  28 . The receiver  11  transmits the record of the program, containing the user&#39;s answers to the questions, to the content producer through the Internet  28 . This helps encourage the secondary use of the record.  
      The content producer is not the sole secondary user. Any other person and any organization whose digital TV receiver can be connected to the Internet  28  can use the record that the user has prepared. Being an electronic one, the record can be distributed for sale. Records prepared by many users may publish on the Internet. Statistical data about such records may be provided through the Internet. The records prepared by each user may be analyzed in order to provide a list of programs to be broadcast, which may interest the user.  
      In the embodiment described above, the user operates the channel keypad  34  of the remote controller  19  in order to add character data to a program record. Instead, the user may operate, for example, the keyboard of the PC  27  to input the character data.  
      Alternatively, the remote controller  19  may have a microphone  42  as is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . In this case, the user talks to the microphone  42 , and the microphone generates an audio signal. The audio signal is supplied to the control unit  18 . The unit  18  converts the audio signal to text data, which is added to the program record.  
      The display unit  17  can display a list of the program records stored in the nonvolatile memory provided in the memory unit  21  or in the removable recording medium  23  held in the recording/reproducing unit  24 . How this list is displayed will be explained. To display the list, the user depresses the menu key  40  provided on the remote controller  19 , selecting the record-list displaying that is one of the menu items displayed on the display unit  17 .  
      When the user selects the record-list displaying, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display a list-format selection menu shown in  FIG. 10 . The list-format selection menu shows various list formats, e.g., genre-list format, date-list format, and evaluation-list format. The user first operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to a desired list format, and then depress the set key  39 , thus selecting the list format.  
      Assume that the user selects the genre-list format in the list-format selection menu as shown in  FIG. 10 . Then, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display a genre-selecting menu shown in  FIG. 11 . The genre-selecting menu shows several genres of programs, such as movies, dramas and sports. The user first operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to a desired genre, and then depress the set key  39 , thus selecting the genre.  
      The user may select movies in the genre-selecting menu, as is illustrated in  FIG. 11 . In this case, the control unit  18  reads the records about movies from the nonvolatile memory provided in the memory unit  21  or from the removable recording medium  23  held in the recording/reproducing unit  24 . The control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display a list of the movies, more precisely a list of the movie titles, as is illustrated in  FIG. 12 .  
      The user first operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to a desired movie tile, and then depress the set key  39 , thus selecting the movie as shown in  FIG. 12 . As a result, the display unit  17  displays the program record about the movie, as is illustrated in  FIG. 7 .  
      Assume that the user selects the date-list format in the list-format selection menu ( FIG. 10 ). In this case, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display a date-selecting menu shown in  FIG. 13 . The date-selecting menu shows several time-periods, such as “last 7 days” and “last 30 days.” The user first operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to a desired period, and then depress the set key  39 , thus selecting the period. If the user selects “last 7 days,” the control unit  18  will make the display unit  17  display a list of the records about all programs the user enjoyed in the last seven days.  
      The user may select the evaluation-list format in the list-format selection menu ( FIG. 10 ). In this case, the control unit  18  causes the display unit  17  to display an evaluation-item selecting menu shown in  FIG. 14 . If the user has already selected movies in the genre-selecting menu as shown in  FIG. 11 , the display unit  17  displays several evaluation items, such as scenario evaluation and direction evaluation. The user first operates the move key  38 , moving the cursor K to a desired evaluation item, and then depress the set key  39 , thus selecting the evaluation item. Then, the control unit  18  will make the display unit  17  display a list of the records about all programs the user enjoyed, in ascending or descending order of evaluation.  
      The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. The components of the embodiment can be modified in various manners in reducing the invention to practice, without departing from the sprit or scope of the invention. Further, the components of any embodiment described above may be combined, if necessary, in various ways to make different inventions. For example, some of the component of the embodiment may not be used.