JP2009171433A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a television receiver capable of releasing an audio/visual regulation at an arbitrary timing by the establisher's permission even in a program where the audio/visual regulation is established. <P>SOLUTION: The television receiver includes: a program receiving means for receiving a program from a broadcasting station; and a program displaying means for displaying the program received through the program receiving means. Further, an audio/visual regulation conditioning table is prepared to store a condition to regulate looking and listening of the program, and to perform control for the audio/visual regulation to the relevant program when the audio/visual regulation is enforced on the program received under the audio/visual regulation conditioning table. A request is accepted on the permission for looking and listening to the program under the audio/visual regulation, and an electronic mail is transmitted to the establisher with a message requesting the permission for looking and listening to the program. The audio/visual regulation is released when the electronic mail is received from the establisher, stating that the request is approved on the release of the audio/visual regulation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a television receiver including program receiving means for receiving a program from a broadcasting station and program display means for displaying a program received by the program receiving means.

  In recent years, personalization of television receivers has progressed, and program viewing using a portable terminal which is a personal terminal is becoming common.

  When it becomes possible to view programs of all genres broadcast day and night on a personal portable terminal, various problems arise. For example, it may be difficult for a parent to manage concerns such as programs, time zones, and the number of viewing hours per day that are undesirable for children.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes an e-mail transmission / reception function in which functions and operability can be set by receiving a mail from a transmission source registered in advance. If this function is used, initial registration and setting for adjusting the usage environment can be performed, and thus, for example, it is possible to restrict viewing of a child's mobile terminal in advance.

Patent Document 2 proposes a function that allows timely viewing restriction by an e-mail or the like transmitted at an arbitrary timing from a viewing restriction setting person. Such viewing restrictions can be deleted later upon request or permission from the viewing restriction setter.
JP 2003-256334 A JP 2006-245915 A

  As described above, viewing on a personal portable terminal that is difficult to directly manage can be restricted from an external terminal registered in advance using a communication function such as mail. However, for example, in Patent Document 1, many initial registrations / settings are required, and it is difficult to perform only arbitrary items, setting for a limited time period, or only part of setting changes in the middle.

  In Patent Document 2, viewing restrictions can be applied at an arbitrary timing, and it can be deleted later according to the intention of the setter. However, there is a mechanism for restricting the viewing restriction by the set person, such as releasing the temporary time restriction, or restricting the viewing restriction such as permission to view a specific program related to the program genre restriction. Was not considered and could not be handled. In this way, even when the program is viewed exceptionally during a time period that is subject to restrictions, the set constraint conditions must be deleted once and then set again, which is flexible. It was not a system.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a television receiver that can release a viewing restriction at an arbitrary timing with the permission of a setter even for a program for which viewing restriction is set. Is to provide.

  In view of the above-described problems, a television receiver according to the present invention is a television receiver including program receiving means for receiving a program from a broadcasting station and program display means for displaying a program received by the program receiving means. A viewing restriction condition table for storing conditions for restricting viewing of a program, and control for restricting viewing of the program when viewing of the program received by the program receiving means is restricted by the viewing restriction condition table. A viewing control request unit for receiving a viewing permission request for a program for which viewing is restricted by the viewing restriction unit, and a viewing permission request received by the viewing permission request receiving unit. Based on this, a viewing permission request message is generated, and an e-mail including the viewing permission request message is sent to a setter who has set viewing restrictions. E-mail transmitting means, and when receiving an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message from the setter, the viewing control means performs control to release the viewing restriction of the program. To do.

  In the television receiver of the present invention, the viewing restriction condition table stores a program genre in association with a program, and the viewing permission request accepting unit is configured for a program genre whose viewing is restricted. It is a means for receiving a request for permission for viewing.

  In the television receiver of the present invention, when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received from the setter, a condition for permitting viewing of the program is added to the viewing restriction condition table. Further, a viewing restriction condition table updating means for updating the viewing restriction condition table is further provided.

  In the television receiver of the present invention, the viewing control means maintains the viewing restriction of the program when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is not received from the setter within a predetermined time. It is characterized by doing.

  In addition, the television receiver of the present invention includes a viewing permission button, and when the viewing permission button is pressed, an e-mail generating unit that generates an e-mail including a viewing permission request message regarding the currently received program. And the e-mail transmission unit transmits the e-mail generated by the e-mail generation unit to a setter who has set viewing restriction.

  According to the present invention, when viewing of a received program is restricted, a viewing permission request is received, and the viewing permission request is transmitted to the setter by electronic mail. Then, when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received from the setter, viewing restrictions on programs that are prohibited from being viewed are released. Therefore, whether or not viewing is possible can be set for each program without changing the contents set in the viewing restriction condition table.

  Further, the viewing restriction condition table stores the genre of the program in association with the program, and the viewing permission request can be made for the genre of the program. As a result, viewing restriction and permission can be performed for each program genre.

  Furthermore, when an electronic mail including a viewing permission approval message is received, a condition for permitting viewing of the program can be added to the viewing restriction condition table. Thereby, for example, it is possible to cancel the restriction of viewing in advance.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a mobile phone incorporating the function of a television receiver will be described.

  First, FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of a mobile phone 1 and a mobile phone 2 that incorporate the functions of a television receiver to which the present invention is applied. The mobile phone 1 is a terminal that requests release of viewing restrictions, and the mobile phone 2 is a terminal that permits viewing. The mobile phone 1 includes a display 3 and various input buttons, and in particular includes a direction button 5, an operation button 7, and a viewing permission button 9 as input buttons. The mobile phone 2 includes a display and various input buttons in the same manner as the mobile phone 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted (the mobile phone 2 needs to include a viewing permission button 9). There is no).

  The display 3 can display various information and setting screens in the mobile phone 1 and can display received television program images.

  In addition, buttons are provided as input units for selecting various operations, and in particular, a direction button 5, an operation button 7, and a viewing permission button 9 are provided. The direction button 5 is used for various selection operations in the mobile phone 1, and the operation button 7 is used when performing a telephone operation or used when selecting a broadcasting station. The viewing permission button 9 is a button for automatically requesting viewing permission when the selected program is a viewing-restricted program and is pressed.

[Function configuration]
Next, FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 10, a broadcast receiving unit 12, a communication unit 14, an authentication unit 16, a viewing control unit 18, a time management unit 20, a display unit 22, an input unit 24, and a storage unit. 30 are connected via a bus.

  The control unit 10 is a processing device that controls each operation unit of the mobile phone 1. Each process is realized by reading and executing various programs stored in the mobile phone 1. The control part 10 is comprised from CPU (Central Processing Unit) etc., for example.

  The broadcast receiving unit 12 is a functional unit that is connected to the external antenna ANT, receives a broadcast wave received from the external antenna ANT, decodes it into a broadcast program, and outputs it.

  The communication unit 14 is a functional unit for the mobile phone 1 to transmit / receive data to / from the outside. Here, the communication unit 14 performs transmission / reception of various data in addition to a normal call. For example, an e-mail including a viewing permission request message generated by the user is transmitted, or an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received.

  The authentication unit 16 is a functional unit for authenticating whether an electronic mail including a viewing permission approval message received via the communication unit 14 is from a preset setter.

  The viewing control unit 18 is a functional unit that controls whether to view a broadcast program or limit viewing based on a viewing restriction condition table 302 described later. The viewing restriction condition table 302 controls the broadcast receiving unit 12 to prohibit the reception of a broadcast program (viewing restricted program) whose viewing is restricted.

  In the present embodiment, it is described that the reception itself is not performed by controlling the broadcast receiving unit 12. However, for example, by controlling the display unit 22, a broadcast program is received and display is prohibited. It is also good.

  The time management unit 20 is a functional unit that manages the time of the mobile phone 1. The time of the currently received program is managed, and the reception timeout of the reception restriction information is monitored by a timer.

  The display unit 22 is a functional unit for displaying various character strings and the like on the mobile phone 1, and corresponds to the display 3 in FIG. Here, the display unit 22 is realized by a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) liquid crystal, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, or the like.

  The input unit 24 is a functional unit for transmitting an operation input from the user to the control unit 10. For example, in FIG. 1, the direction button 5, the operation button 7, and the viewing permission button 9 correspond. Here, the input unit 24 will be described as an example using a button in the present embodiment, but it is needless to say that the input unit 24 can also be realized in a touch panel or the like.

  The storage unit 30 is a memory that can be written at any time to hold data and the like related to the execution of various programs executed by the control unit 10. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 30 stores a viewing restriction condition table 302, setter information 304, and program information 306.

  The viewing restriction condition table 302 is a table in which conditions for restricting viewing on the mobile phone 1 are stored. The viewing restriction condition table 302 stores operations and setting programs in association with each other. In addition, as the set program, date and time, channel (CH), and genre are stored.

  An example of the viewing restriction condition table 302 is shown in FIG. For example, viewing of broadcast programs with the date “all day”, CH “all”, and genre “variety” is “prohibited”. Similarly, viewing of all CH animation broadcast programs from 23:00 to 6 o'clock every day and the program of CH “8” from 19:00 to 21:00 on December 24 is “prohibited”. In addition, at the end of the viewing restriction condition table 302, viewing of programs other than those set as viewing restriction is permitted.

  The setter information 304 stores setter information. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the setter (for example, “B”), the mail address of the setter (for example, “bbbb@keidenwa.ne.jp”), and the authentication number of the setter (for example, “5678”). )) Is stored in association with each other.

  The setter's authentication number is used for authenticating the setter during the viewing permission operation. In the case of an electronic mail including a viewing permission approval message from the setter, a number that matches the authentication number is included at a predetermined position of the mail. As a result, the terminal recognizes that the approval has been made by the setter himself and releases the designated viewing restriction.

  In this embodiment, the setter is stored in association with the viewing restriction condition table 302. However, for example, the setter may be stored for each viewing restriction condition.

  The program information 306 stores information related to broadcast programs. The program information 306 is included in the broadcast wave, is extracted by the broadcast receiving unit 12, and is stored in the storage unit 30 as program information 306.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the broadcast date of the program (for example, “12/20 19: 00-21: 00”), the genre (for example, “variety”), the channel (for example, “8”), The program name (for example, “AAA”), the program outline (for example, “In the comic showdown”), and the performers (for example, “Team K, Z combination, etc.) are stored.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 2 which is a terminal that permits viewing. The cellular phone 2 includes a control unit 30, a communication unit 32, a time management unit 34, a display unit 36, and an input unit 38.

  The control unit 30 is a processing device that controls each operation unit of the mobile phone 2. Each process is realized by reading and executing various programs stored in the mobile phone 2. The control unit 30 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

  The communication unit 32 is a functional unit for the mobile phone 2 to transmit / receive data to / from the outside. Here, the communication unit 32 performs transmission / reception of various data in addition to a normal call. For example, an e-mail including a viewing permission request message generated by a user of the mobile phone 1 is received, or an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is transmitted.

  The time management unit 34 is a functional unit that manages the time of the mobile phone 2. The time of the currently received program is managed, and the reception timeout of the reception restriction information is monitored by a timer.

  The display unit 36 is a functional unit for displaying various character strings and the like on the mobile phone 2. Here, the display unit 36 is realized by a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) liquid crystal, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, or the like.

  The input unit 38 is a functional unit for transmitting an operation input from the user to the control unit 10. Here, the input unit 38 will be described as an example using a button in the present embodiment, but it is needless to say that the input unit 38 can also be realized in a touch panel or the like.

[Process flow]
Next, processing when an operation for selecting a viewing program is performed in the mobile phone 1 will be described using an operation flow. First, the operation flow of FIG. 7 shows the flow of processing when a viewer selects a program to be viewed.

  First, when a viewing program is selected by the viewer (step S100), it is determined based on the viewing restriction condition table 302 whether or not the selected viewing program is a program whose viewing is restricted (viewing restriction program). Determination is made (step S102). Here, if it is determined based on the viewing restriction condition table 302, if the program does not correspond to the “prohibited” operation (step S102; No), the program is displayed.

  On the other hand, when the selected viewing program is a program whose viewing is restricted (step S102; Yes), the content whose viewing is restricted is displayed via the display unit 22 (step S104). Here, it is determined whether or not a request for viewing is made by the user (step S106). If there is no request for viewing, the process is repeated from step S100.

  If there is a request for viewing of a program whose viewing is restricted (step S106; Yes), the applicable viewing restriction condition is acquired (step S108). Based on the acquired viewing restriction condition, a viewing permission request message for the program is created (step S110).

  When the request for viewing permission is determined (step S112; Yes), the address of the setter is acquired from the setter information 304 (step S114). Subsequently, the control unit 10 generates an e-mail including the “viewing permission request message” determined in step S112 as addressed to “setting person's address” (step S116).

  The information included in the e-mail may include various information. For example, the program information 306 may be included in the e-mail and transmitted.

  Subsequently, the generated electronic mail is transmitted from the communication unit 14 to the mobile phone 2 (step S118). Here, after transmitting the e-mail, the time management unit 20 starts measuring a timer (step S120).

  If a reply to the transmitted e-mail is not received within a preset time-out period, it is determined that the viewing permission request has been rejected.

  Next, processing when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received from the mobile phone 2 will be described using the operation flow of FIG.

  First, when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received from the mobile phone 2 by the communication unit 14 (step S200; Yes), it is determined whether or not the received e-mail is received within a preset timeout period. (Step S202). Here, if it is received beyond the timeout time (step S202; No), it is determined that the viewing permission has not been approved, the viewing is disabled, and the process ends (step S216).

  When an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is received before the timeout (step S202; Yes), the authentication unit 16 determines whether or not the transmission source can be authenticated (step S204). Specifically, the sender address of the received e-mail is verified with the address of the setter stored in the setter information 304 to determine whether they match, thereby authenticating the sender. Here, when the address of the transmission source cannot be authenticated (step S204; No), display indicating that viewing is not possible is performed and the process is terminated (step S216).

  If the sender can be authenticated (step S204; Yes), it is determined whether or not an authentication number is included in the e-mail (step S206). Here, if the authentication number is not included in the e-mail (step S206; No), the display is disabled and the process ends.

  When the restriction release received mail includes an authentication number (step S206; Yes), it is authenticated by referring to the setter information 304 whether the authentication number is an authentication number corresponding to the mail address. (Step S208). Here, if the authentication numbers match and are authenticated (step S208; Yes), it is determined whether or not the content “viewing permission” is included in the viewing permission approval message included in the e-mail. (Step S210). When the content of “viewing permission” is not included in the viewing permission approval message (step S210; No), the viewing is disabled and the process is terminated.

  When the content of “viewing permission” is included in the viewing permission approval message (step S210; Yes), the content for permitting viewing of the viewing program is added to the viewing restriction condition table 302 as an (exception) condition. (Step S212).

  Then, the control unit 10 operates the viewing control unit 18 again (step S214), and performs the reception operation based on the updated viewing restriction condition table 302, thereby displaying the selected program.

[Operation example]
Specifically, the operation of the mobile phone 1 will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen W100 displayed on the display 3 connected to the display unit 22 of the mobile phone 1.

  Display screen W100 shows an example of a display screen in the case where viewing of the selected program is restricted. As shown in the display screen W100 of FIG. 9, it is displayed that the program selected by the viewer cannot be viewed because the viewing is restricted.

  Here, the display screen W110 shown in FIG. 10 is when the user requests viewing. On the display screen W110, “program genre (variety)” is displayed as the content of viewing restriction.

  Here, a region R110 and a region R112 for inputting a reason for viewing are displayed as a range that the viewer desires to view. For example, “this program: only this time” is selected in the area R110 as a range of programs desired to be viewed, and “homework end” is input as the reason for viewing desired in the area R112.

  Here, when the “request” operation is performed by the viewer, a viewing permission request message including the program information for which viewing is restricted and the input content is generated and set in the e-mail. Will be transmitted to the person's mobile phone 2.

  When the setting permission is approved by the setter, an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is transmitted from the mobile phone 2 to the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 can view the viewing-restricted program by receiving the viewing permission approval message and performing a predetermined process.

  11 and 12 are diagrams showing the state of the terminal of the setter. As shown in the display screen W120 shown in FIG. 11, the specific content of the viewing permission request is displayed. Here, when the setter approves the viewing permission, an authentication number is set and an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is transmitted.

  An example of the case where the viewing permission is approved is a display screen W130 shown in FIG. The display screen W130 displays contents for approving viewing permission and an area R130 for inputting an authentication number.

  When the mobile phone 1 receives (or verifies) the authentication number entered in the region R130, the viewing permission approval message is approved, and the mobile phone 1 can view a program whose viewing is restricted. It becomes.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the function of the television receiver is incorporated in the mobile phone has been described as an example. Of course.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a case has been described in which viewing restriction is displayed, a request for content desired to be viewed is made by the viewer, and the viewing restriction is released. For example, the viewing permission button 9 The viewing restriction may be lifted using.

  Specifically, the viewer presses the viewing permission button 9 when a program whose viewing is restricted is selected. When the viewing permission button 9 is pressed, the control unit 10 generates a viewing permission request message related to the program and automatically transmits an e-mail. As a result, the user can request release of the viewing restriction without including a complicated procedure.

  In addition, in order to determine whether the transmitted / received e-mail includes a viewing permission request message or a viewing permission approval message, determination may be made from the subject of the e-mail.

  For example, if an e-mail subject such as “shicho_system00: 0001” is attached, it is determined that the e-mail is related to viewing permission by detecting the part of “shicho_system00” when receiving both e-mails. can do.

  Further, when the terminal of the person to be set receives an e-mail for approval of the e-mail including the viewing permission request message, if the e-mail subject is “Re: shicho_system00: 0001”, the communication unit 14 From “shicho_system00”, it can be determined that the electronic mail is related to viewing restrictions. Furthermore, the control unit 10 can associate an approval mail with which condition from “0001” in the mail subject.

  Specifically, it is understood that an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message for adding an exception of “this program: only this time” to the restriction of “program genre” has been received. In this way, the control unit 10 manages numbering and the like so that it can be associated with the requested content when the viewing permission approval message is received when an e-mail including the viewing permission request message is created. It is also possible to go there.

  In the present embodiment, the viewing restrictions related to the program and the program genre have been described. However, regarding the conditions related to the total viewing time of the day, an exception such as “only today” has been added, With the increase in the number of terminals having positioning functions, it is possible to cancel the restriction on viewing at a specific location.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone to which the television receiver of this invention is applied. It is the figure which showed the structure of the mobile telephone in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the offense of the mobile telephone in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of the viewing-and-listening condition table in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of the setting person information in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of the program information in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the operation | movement flow for demonstrating the process in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the operation | movement flow for demonstrating the process in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen of the mobile telephone in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen of the mobile telephone in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen of the setting person terminal in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen of the setting person terminal in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Cellular phone 10 Control unit 12 Broadcast receiving unit 14, 32 Communication unit 16 Authentication unit 18 Viewing control unit 20, 34 Time management unit 22, 36 Display unit 24, 38 Input unit 30 Storage unit 302 Viewing restriction condition table 304 Setting Information 306 Program information

Claims (5)

In a television receiver comprising program receiving means for receiving a program from a broadcasting station and program display means for displaying a program received by the program receiving means,
A viewing restriction condition table for storing conditions for restricting viewing of the program;
When viewing of the program received by the program receiving means is restricted by the viewing restriction condition table, viewing control means for performing control to restrict viewing of the program;
Viewing permission request accepting means for accepting a request for viewing permission for a program whose viewing is restricted by the viewing restricting means;
A mail transmitting unit that generates a viewing permission request message based on the viewing permission request received by the viewing permission request receiving unit and transmits an e-mail including the viewing permission request message to a setter who has set the viewing restriction. When,
With
The television receiver, wherein when receiving an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message from the setter, the viewing control means performs control to release the viewing restriction of the program. In the viewing restriction condition table, the genre of the program is stored in association with the program,
2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the viewing permission request accepting unit is a unit that accepts a viewing permission request for a genre of a program whose viewing is restricted.   When receiving an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message from the setter, the viewing restriction condition table is updated by adding a condition for permitting viewing of the program to the viewing restriction condition table. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising condition table updating means.   The viewing control means maintains the viewing restriction of the program when an e-mail including a viewing permission approval message is not received within a predetermined time from the setter. The listed television receiver. The television receiver includes a viewing permission button,
When the viewing permission button is pressed, an email generating means for generating an email including a viewing permission request message regarding the currently received program is provided.
2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the mail transmission unit transmits the e-mail generated by the e-mail generation unit to a setter who has set viewing prohibition. 3.

Images