Television broadcast signal receiving system

• US 20060020976A1
• Filed: 07/07/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Takagi, Toshihiro, Narita, Shusuke
• Application Number:
  US11/175,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20060020976A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/46 for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27

Abstract

In a TV broadcast signal receiving system, setting up of a multi-directional antenna and a TV broadcast signal receiver is made simple and easy. The multi-directional antenna identifies a standard direction used as a standard for receiving a TV broadcast signal, at least latitude and longitude of a location of the multi-directional antenna. The TV broadcast signal receiver memorizes TV tower information including position information of latitudes and longitudes of positions of a plurality of TV towers and channel information of channels, TV broadcast signals of which are transmitted from each TV tower. The TV broadcast signal receiver decides an optimum signal receiving direction of each receivable channel with using the antenna information and the TV tower information, which is used for switching an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna for receiving a TV broadcast signal of an optional channel chosen by a user.

Claims

1. A television broadcast signal receiving system comprising a multi-directional antenna having a plurality of signal receiving directions previously defined and a television broadcast signal receiver connected to the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal, wherein

the multi-directional antenna has a standard direction identifying means for identifying a standard direction used as a standard for receiving a television broadcast signal;

and

the television broadcast signal receiver has a television tower direction identifying means for identifying directions of television towers relative to a location of the multi-directional antenna with respect to the standard direction, and an optimum signal receiving direction deciding means for deciding optimum signal receiving directions of receivable channels which are used for switching an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal of an optional channel chosen by a user with using the directions of the television towers.

2. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the standard direction identifying means of the multi-directional antenna is a mark provided on a main body of the multi-directional antenna, which is used so that the mark is oriented to a predetermined standard direction of actual azimuth;

and

the television tower direction identifying means is a display for displaying an image showing signal receiving directions of the multi-directional antenna and a remote controller used for selecting one among the signal receiving directions of the multi-directional antenna.

3. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 1, wherein

the multi-directional antenna further has a location of multi-directional antenna identifying means for identifying at least latitude and longitude of a location of the multi-directional antenna, and an antenna information output means for outputting antenna information including the latitude and the longitude of the location of the multi-directional antenna;

the television broadcast signal receiver further has an antenna information input means for inputting the antenna information, and a television tower information memory means for memorizing television tower information including position information relating to positions of a plurality of television towers and channel information relating to channels, television signals of which are transmitted from each television towers; and

the television tower direction identifying means identifies the directions of the television towers relative to the location of the multi-directional antenna with respect to the standard direction with using the antenna information and the television tower information.

4. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 3, wherein

the location of multi-directional antenna identifying means of the multi-directional antenna further identifies altitude of the location of the multi-directional antenna.

5. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 3, wherein

the television tower information includes latitudes and longitudes of the positions of the television towers.

6. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 3, wherein

the antenna information output means is a display for encoding and displaying the antenna information;

and

the antenna information input means is a remote controller operated by a user for inputting the antenna information displayed on the display.

7. The television broadcast signal receiving system in accordance with claim 3, wherein

the antenna information output means is a transmitter for encoding and transmitting the antenna information;

and

the antenna information input means is a receiver for receiving and decoding the antenna information transmitted from the transmitter via a wireless or wired transmission.

8. A television broadcast signal receiving system comprising a multi-directional antenna having a plurality of signal receiving directions previously defined and a television broadcast signal receiver connected to the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal, wherein

the multi-directional antenna comprises:

a compass for identifying a standard direction used as a standard for receiving a television broadcast signal;

a GPS (Global Positioning System) terminal for identifying latitude and longitude of a location of the multi-directional antenna;

an altimeter for identifying altitude of the location of the multi-directional antenna; and

a display for encoding and displaying antenna information including the standard direction, the latitude, longitude and altitude of the location of the multi-directional antenna, and a kind and a size of the multi-directional antenna; and

the television broadcast signal receiver comprises;

a remote controller used for inputting the antenna information;

a memory for memorizing television tower information including position information relating to positions of a plurality of television towers and channel information relating to channels, television signals of which are transmitted from each television towers;

a main controller for identifying directions of television towers relative to a location of the multi-directional antenna with respect to the standard direction with using the antenna information and the television tower information, and for deciding optimum signal receiving directions of receivable channels which are used for switching an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal of an optional channel chosen by a user with using the directions of the television towers.

9. A television broadcast signal receiver comprising:

an input means used for inputting antenna information including at least latitude and longitude of a location of a multi-directional antenna connected to the television broadcast signal receiver;

a memory for memorizing television tower information including position information relating to positions of a plurality of television towers and channel information relating to channels, television signals of which are transmitted from each television towers;

a control means for identifying directions of television towers relative to a location of the multi-directional antenna with respect to a standard direction with using the antenna information and the television tower information, and for deciding optimum signal receiving directions of receivable channels which are used for switching an effective signal receiving direction of the multi-directional antenna for receiving a television broadcast signal of an optional channel chosen by a user with using the directions of the television towers.