Apparatus and method for tuning a broadcast channel

• US 20060099962A1
• Filed: 11/14/2005
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Sung Ho
• Application Number:
  US11/274,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20060099962A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0008 using a central processing unit, e.g. a microprocessor digital tuning in general H03J5/0245
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/13 Television receiver combined with a GPS receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/26 Arrangements for switching distribution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/43 for identifying broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side

Abstract

An apparatus for tuning a broadcast channel and method thereof are disclosed, by which a broadcast channel is tuned using a global positioning system (GPS) in a mobile multimedia broadcast receiving terminal, and by which a first broadcast channel is changed to a second broadcast channel responsive to the terminal position. In tuning one of a plurality of broadcast channels belonging to a broadcasting station, the present invention includes an acquisition block acquiring position information, a calculation block calculating a position of a terminal using the position information, and a tuner for changing the broadcast channel responsive terminal position.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a mobile multimedia broadcast receiving terminal for tuning a broadcast channel, wherein the broadcast channel is one of a plurality of broadcast channels of a broadcast station, and wherein the terminal has a current position, the apparatus comprising:

an acquisition block for acquiring position information;

a calculation block for computing the current position of the terminal using the position information; and

a tuner for checking that the current position of the terminal is within a broadcast area of one of the plurality of broadcast channels, and for tuning the one of the plurality of broadcast channels responsive to the current position of the terminal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is loaded in the terminal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a memory table containing frequencies and broadcast areas of the plurality of broadcast channels.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the memory table further contains identifiers of the broadcast channels.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the memory table further contains identifiers for broadcast channels of a plurality of broadcasting stations.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the tuner checks that the position of the terminal is in the geographical area of one of the plurality of broadcast channels by comparing the current position of the terminal to the broadcast areas of the broadcast channels contained in the memory table.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the tuner searches the memory table for the broadcast channel geographical area of the current location of the terminal.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a processing block receiving a broadcast channel responsive to the current position of the terminal, wherein the processing block demodulates the received broadcast signal.

9. An apparatus for tuning a broadcast channel, comprising:

a memory for storing frequencies and broadcast areas of broadcast channels of a broadcasting station;

a calculation block for computing a position of the apparatus;

a tuner for searching the memory for the frequency of the broadcast channel corresponding to the position of the apparatus; and

a processing block for demodulating a signal corresponding to one of the broadcast channels responsive to the location of the apparatus.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus further comprises a global positioning system receiver (GPS) for receiving position information from a GPS satellite, the GPS receiver providing the received position information to the calculation block.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is located within a mobile terminal.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tuner checks that the position of the terminal is in the geographical area of one of the plurality of broadcast channels by comparing the current position of the terminal to the broadcast areas of the broadcast channels contained in the memory.

13. A method of tuning a broadcast channel in a terminal, wherein the broadcast channel is one of a plurality of broadcast channels belonging to a broadcasting station, and wherein each broadcast channel has a broadcast area, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring position information relating to a current position of the terminal;

calculating the current position of the terminal using the position information;

identifying the broadcast channel by comparing the current position of the terminal with the broadcast areas of the plurality of broadcast channels;

changing a current broadcast channel to the broadcast channel identified using the position of the terminal; and

receiving the changed broadcast channel.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of previously storing frequencies and broadcast areas of the plurality of broadcast channels.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the position of the terminal is compared to the previously stored broadcast areas for each of the plurality of broadcast channels.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the terminal acquires the position information from a global positioning system satellite.