JPH08265199A - Receiver for broadcasting to synchronize required broadcasting station and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correctly select the desired station of a listener by replacing or supplementing display by vision by the acoustic identification of a selected station. SOLUTION: A control circuit 44 identifies the time when the listener controls this receiver and selects a program or the time when a processor 36 identifies that acoustic identification signals are broadcasted. When the acoustic identification signals are broadcasted, the control circuit 44 can record the acoustic identification signals by a recorder 38. When the listener tries to select the program and the acoustic identification signals are not broadcasted, the control circuit 44 switches the recorder 38 so as to reproduce the appropriate acoustic identification signals and displays signals to an acoustic switch 48 so as to relay the record to an acoustic output stage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receiver and method for tuning to a required broadcasting station.

[0002]

When tuning to a radio or television broadcast station, it is often difficult to know which channel was selected.

It is easy to mistune a radio receiver because there are so many radio stations that a small error in tuning can select the wrong station. Unless the listener knows that the sound they are listening to matches the program they expect to hear,
It is difficult to see which station was selected. Often, the first thing to notice about this is when a station announces that it is.

Occasionally, the listener is lucky and may tune in when the station is broadcasting its identification signal. By international agreement, all radio stations are expected to send such identification signals regularly. However, this signal does not occur often enough to ensure tuning to the channel.

This problem has often been solved by sending data identifying the selected station along with the broadcast signal. For example, the Radio Data System (RDS) described in European Communication Standard No. ETS300 401 issued by ETSI and the European Commission for Electrotechnical Standards (European Committee).
or Electro-Technical Stan
CENELEC standard E issued by
Together with the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system described in N 50067, it includes some signal capacity to aid station identification. There are other methods of transmitting data with a broadcast signal that accomplish similar goals. All of these systems operate so that the receiver identifies the transmitted data and converts this data into text that can then be displayed on a visual display of the receiver itself.

[0006]

This solution is good for normal listeners. However, those who have difficulty or are unable to see the display due to other actions (such as driving a vehicle) may use this type of system to facilitate identification of the selected radio station. Can not. Similarly, blind people have difficulty selecting television channels.

[0007]

According to the present invention, means for receiving and reproducing in aural (acoustic) form an acoustic signal sent on a selected one of a plurality of channels, and for receiving a data signal. There is provided a broadcast signal receiver including means and control means operable to audibly identify one of said plurality of channels selected by a user in response to a received data signal simultaneously with its selection. It

In this proposal, the visual display is
It is replaced or complemented by the auditory identification of the selected station. This allows the listener to select exactly which station he wants to listen to.

Some receivers have already used speech synthesizers that convert traffic information sent as a single digital code into a form suitable for human understanding. This attempt can also be used for station identification.
However, sound quality is not very good in today's technology and does not provide the same aesthetic impression as the normal identification of radio stations, which are part of the main audio broadcast.

A novel and desirable approach is to use a record of the station's own identification signal that indicates the station selected.

In this system, whenever a broadcaster sends an auditory identification as part of its program,
We propose that this fact be signaled in the data stream in a clear way.

When the identification is being transmitted, the receiver is
It responds by detecting the data signal and recording the station identification on a suitable recording medium.

Next, whenever a listener needs to know which station has been selected, the station's so that the listener knows which station has been selected without having to read the information on the display. A suitable record of identification can be played.

This system facilitates tuning of a radio or television. As outlined above, it is proposed to record the auditory identification signal of the station selected by the listener. Whenever the listener selects (tunes) a station, this audio identification record is replayed.

This record gives the listener an auditory confirmation of which station has been selected without having to look at the visual indication. This is an easy method for everyone, especially those who are blind or who cannot see the screen like the driver of a vehicle.

By this means, people with limited vision,
Vehicle drivers and others who are unable to see a visual display can all tune in to a radio or television broadcast station by fully knowing its name.

[0017]

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings by way of example.

The system of the present invention requires that the radio or television broadcast station also transmit the signaling channel in addition to its normal audio program. There are many signaling channels used or proposed for broadcast channels. Examples include (i) RDS used in frequency-modulated radio in Europe.
Channels, (ii) various signal channels associated with DAB systems, and (iii) data channels used in amplitude modulated data systems (AMDS).

In this data channel, two other features are signaled, in addition to other information sent together.

First, it is necessary to transmit a distinct signal that identifies the station. This station identification code should be sent on the data channel at very frequent intervals. The proper timing is at least once per second,
More frequent is desirable. In RDS, for example, this information is already sent as a program identification (PI) code, in DAB signals this code is sent in the form of a service identifier (SID).

Second, whenever a station's identity is broadcast by that station on its acoustic channel, it is ensured that the data channel carries a well-defined signal to communicate this fact to the receiver. is necessary. There are many options available in RDS and DAB systems. DAB feature points such as "program type", "announcement switch" and "program number" can all be applied to provide this function. Features in RDS that can be used as well are relevant.

FIG. 1 shows data sent with means 12 for generating the acoustic component of the signal to be transmitted, the agreement of the stations and the time at which the station acoustically transmits its identification in the acoustic component of the signal. . Signal source or transmitter 1 including channel 14
Indicates 0. Thus, the data signal sent to data channel 14 has two parts that are individually generated. The first data component is a station identification signal generated at 16, for example by conventional circuitry used to produce an indication of station identification in an RDS system. To this signal is added a second data component produced by circuit 18, which gives an indication as to when the acoustic identification signal is contained in the acoustic component. These two data signals are combined so as to be sent via the data channel 14. This data channel signal is then combined with the acoustic components in combining means 20 to produce a signal having the appropriate transmission format used in the RDS system.

FIG. 2 shows how the receiver 30 may be configured to produce the proposed functionality.

Receiver 30 includes components that include three general but additional features of a broadcast receiver. Listening by making the audio channel 32 available (in digital or analog format), and by controlling the receiver 30 with data from the data channel signal sent with the audio component of the transmitted signal. A digital bus 34 is provided which carries control signals indicating when a person has attempted to select a program.

The digital bus 34 carries data to a processor and memory circuit 36 that identifies the data signal corresponding to the station identification and controls the recorder 38, and to a second processor circuit 46. To do.

Data signals arriving at the processor and memory circuit 36 indicating station match are compared with a list of stations already processed and contained in memory internal to the circuit 36. This memory also displays the location of the recording of the acoustic identification signal in the recorder 38. Circuit 36 is 2
Information about the addresses of the elements in the recorder can be exchanged via the data bus 40, which comprises one unidirectional bus or one bidirectional bus.

The control circuit 42 confirms that the acoustic identification signal is being broadcast.

The second control circuit 44 indicates when the listener attempts to select a program by controlling the receiver or when the processor circuit 36 identifies that an audio identification signal is being broadcast. Identify. When the sound identification signal is being broadcast, the control circuit 44 controls the recorder 3
8 makes it possible to record the acoustic identification signal. If the listener attempts to select a program and the audio identification signal is not broadcast, the control circuit 44 switches recorder 38 to reproduce the appropriate audio identification signal and relays this recording to the audio output stage. Then, a signal is displayed on the acoustic switch 48. Communication from the control circuit 44 to the switch 48 is via the signal transmission bus 50.

The recorder 38 includes a recording medium capable of taking out a recording from the sound output of the receiver 30 and reproducing it to the sound output stage via the switch 28. This medium is controlled by the control circuit 44 via the control bus 52 so as to cause recording, reproduction or non-operation. The location of the recorded or reproduced recording is exchanged with the processor and memory circuit 36 via the data bus 40. This record may be either analog or digital depending on the nature of the incoming signal.

Switch 48 is an audio switch that selects between a normal audio program and the output from recorder 38 to the receiver's normal audio output stage 54.

At the receiver, both the audio signal and the data need to be received using a technique as appropriate for the particular broadcast channel in question.

Furthermore, there must be a recording means for audio signals. The capacity of such a recording means should be sufficient to record the audible identification signal of the station of all the signals often received by the receiver. This may be a conventional magnetic tape system, but the preferred embodiment is a digital memory using a non-volatile store. Volatile memory held by a backup battery is another option. If the original transmission used digital technology, the recorded signal may be the original transmission. If the transmitted signal is an analog system, it is necessary to convert the analog signal to digital prior to recording.

If memory cost is an issue, one of the known bit rate reduction methods can be used to reduce the sound bit rate prior to recording.

If the recording medium has a limited capacity, it may not be possible to record all available local acoustic identification signals. One way to address this is to include additional memory to record the usage pattern of the receiver by the listener. Whenever new capacity is needed and the recording medium is full or close to full, the recording capacity can be released by cutting off the identification of the least needed stations. Whether this is the station identification of a station that is rarely listened to or recently accessed is two compatible options.

In addition to the components mentioned above, it is also necessary to include means for controlling the system. This control means receives an incoming data signal. This control means must decode and detect the data signal identifying the station. This means must also decode and detect the data signal which indicates the time when the station identification signal is broadcast. Whenever the program signal corresponding to the station identification is broadcast, the control means must record the station identification.

If the data channel also contains associated checks for other broadcasts, it will also be possible to detect and decode station identification from these broadcasts.

A number of such station identifications will be recorded, so that these identifications are on the recording medium,
For example, it is necessary to know whether it is recorded on a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, or a digital memory. To this end, the preferred configuration is non-volatile digital memory or memory backed by a long-life battery.

When the listener first turns on the receiver, or when the listener selects another station, or when the listener needs to know which station has been selected, the control circuit is responsible for the signal data. Must be accessed, the station identification code must be decoded, and then a record of the station identification signal must be retrieved and played back in the receiver headphones or loudspeaker.

By this means, the listener confirms that the correct station has been selected.

It is possible for the station to broadcast its identification as soon as the listener attempts to tune. At this time, a conflict at the receiver may occur between the recording of the identification and the reproduction of the previously recorded identification. The desired operation is for the receiver to listen to a live broadcast of the acoustic identification signal.

The description of the operation of the system assumes that all inputs to the receiver are over the broadcast link. This can cause some difficulties when the receiver is first used. It is entirely possible to program the system during manufacture to provide these functions from scratch.

Furthermore, if the broadcaster does not transmit the required signal, or if the listener prefers or desires other means of identifying the radio station, then the listener may:
It is possible to choose to record the acoustic identification signal of the station either from the usual program material or by recording another signal. This can be controlled by another user operated control switch or button not shown in the drawings.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing the formation of a transmitted signal used in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a receiver used in the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 transmitter 12 acoustic component generating means 14 data channel 16 station identification signal generating means 18 acoustic identification signal displaying means 20 data channel signal / acoustic component synthesizing means 30 receiver 34 digital bus 36 processor and memory circuit 38 recorder 40 data -Bus 42 control circuit 44 second control circuit 46 second processor circuit 48 acoustic switch 50 signal transmission bus 54 audio output stage

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Peter Shellswell Sally Katy 20.6 UK, Taddworth, Kingswood, Woolen (no house number) in British Broadcasting Corporation (72) Inventor David Marys United Kingdom Sally Katie 20.6 NP, Tadworth, Kingswood, Woolen (no street number) within British Broadcasting Corporation (72) Inventor Michael Charles Martin Hampshire GU 307 PEX, Lip Hook, Hill Hows Hill, Gellers (no street number)

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A means for receiving and reproducing in an acoustic form an audio signal sent to a selected one of a plurality of channels, a means for receiving a data signal, and a user in response to the received data signal. And a control means operable to perform an auditory identification of one of the selected channels upon selection. 2. A means for recording a channel identification signal, said control means being operable to reproduce the recorded channel identification signal to produce said aural identification of the selected channel. The receiver according to item 1. 3. The receiver according to claim 2, wherein the channel identification signal recorded by the recording means is a channel identification signal forming a part of an audio signal sent to the acoustic channel. 4. The receiver of claim 1 wherein said channel identification signal comprises a composite representation of an acoustic channel identification signal forming part of an audio signal transmitted on said acoustic channel. 5. A receiver as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the means for recording comprises a memory for storing the acoustic channel identification signal in digital form. 6. The reception according to claim 2, wherein the recording means includes a magnetic recording medium for recording a part of the transmitted audio signal including the transmitted acoustic channel identification signal. Machine. 7. The data indicating the time when the audio channel sends the audio signal representing the audio channel identification signal, the data channel to which the data signal is sent is collated, and the acoustic channel identification signal is obtained according to the result of the collation. The receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising means for performing recording. 8. A method of receiving and reproducing in acoustic form an audio signal sent to a selected one of a plurality of channels, receiving a data signal, and responding to the received data signal by a user. Operating the control means to make an audio identification of one of the selected channels upon selection. 9. A step of recording a channel identification signal, and a step of reproducing the recorded channel identification signal to operate the control means to perform the auditory identification of the selected channel. Item 8. The method according to Item 8. 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the channel identification signal recorded by the recording means is a channel identification signal forming part of an audio signal transmitted on the acoustic channel. 11. The method of claim 8 including the step of synthesizing an indication of an acoustic channel identification signal that forms a portion of an audio signal sent to said acoustic channel for use as a channel identification signal. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the channel identification signal is stored in memory in digital form. 13. A method according to claim 9, wherein a portion of the transmitted audio signal, including the transmitted acoustic channel identification signal, is recorded on a magnetic recording medium. 14. Data for which the data signal is sent, for data indicating when the audio channel carries an audio signal representative of the audio channel identification signal.
14. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, comprising the steps of matching channels and recording the acoustic channel identification signal according to the result of the matching.