Broadcasting signal receiving system

• US 20060136962A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Masaki, Yasuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,673,313 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4415 using biometric characteristics of the user, e.g. by voice recognition or fingerprint scanning cryptography using biological data H04L9/3231; authentication in networks using biometric H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A broadcasting signal receiving system includes: an obtaining part for obtaining program information of a receiving program; a broadcasting signal receiving part for receiving a broadcasting signal; an image pick-up part for recording an image of a viewer; a certifying part for comparing the image of the face of the viewer recorded by the image pick-up part with the previously registered image of a face of an individual to certify the viewing individual; an image recording and reproducing part for recording and storing preset useful programs; a harmful program condition setting part for setting harmful program conditions; and a viewing limit control part, wherein when a certified result indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited and the receiving program corresponds to a set harmful program, the viewing limit control part reproduces and displays on a monitor screen the useful programs.

Claims

1. A broadcasting signal receiving system comprising:

an obtaining part for obtaining program information of a receiving program;

a broadcasting signal receiving part for receiving a broadcasting signal to obtain a video signal and an audio signal;

an image pick-up part for recording an image of a viewer;

a certifying part for comparing the image of the face of the viewer recorded by the image pick-up part with the previously registered image of a face of an individual to certify the viewing individual;

an image recording and reproducing part for recording and storing preset useful programs;

a priority setting part for setting a priority of viewing to the useful programs stored in the image recording and reproducing part;

a harmful program condition setting part for collectively setting harmful program conditions in accordance with viewing limit levels included in the program information obtained by the obtaining part or individually setting the harmful program conditions in accordance with the names of the programs;

a clock part for timing a current time;

a time zone setting part for setting a time zone for limiting a viewing; and

a viewing limit control part, wherein when a certified result indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited, the receiving program corresponds to a set harmful program on the basis of the certified result by the certifying part, the contents of the receiving program based on the program information and the set harmful program conditions, if a plurality of useful programs are stored in the image recording and reproducing part, the viewing limit control part reproduces and displays on a monitor screen the useful programs in order of the higher priority set as described above, and when the certified result indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited and the receiving program corresponds to the set harmful program, if the current time is not located within a viewing limit time zone set to the time zone setting part, the viewing limit control part does not limit the viewing and receives the broadcasting signal to display a program on the monitor.

2. A broadcasting signal receiving system comprising:

an obtaining part for obtaining program information of a receiving program;

a broadcasting signal receiving part for receiving a broadcasting signal to obtain a video signal and an audio signal;

an image pick-up part for recording an image of a viewer;

a certifying part for comparing the image of the face of the viewer recorded by the image pick-up part with the previously registered image of a face of an individual to certify the viewing individual;

an image recording and reproducing part for recording and storing preset useful programs;

a harmful program condition setting part for setting harmful program conditions; and

a viewing limit control part, wherein when a certified result indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited and the receiving program corresponds to a set harmful program on the basis of the certified result by the certifying part, the contents of the receiving program based on the program information and the set harmful program conditions, the viewing limit control part reproduces and displays on a monitor screen the useful programs stored in the image recording and reproducing part.

3. A broadcasting signal receiving system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a clock part for timing a current time; and

a time zone setting part for setting a time zone for limiting a viewing;

wherein when the certified result indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited and the receiving program corresponds to the set harmful program, if the current time is not located within a viewing limit time zone set to the time zone setting part, the viewing limit control part does not limit the viewing.

4. A broadcasting signal receiving system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a priority setting part for setting a priority of viewing to the useful programs stored in the image recording and reproducing part;

wherein when a plurality of useful programs are stored in the image recording and reproducing part, the viewing limit control part reproduces the useful programs in order of the higher priority set as described above.

5. A broadcasting signal receiving system, according to claim 2, wherein

the viewing limit control part displays the list of the useful programs stored in the image recording and reproducing part on the monitor screen to reproduce a useful program selected from the list by the viewer.

6. A broadcasting signal receiving system according to claim 2, wherein

elapse time information after recording the programs and information showing that the programs are reproduced or not reproduced are added to the useful programs stored in the image recording and reproducing, and when the useful program stored in the image recording and reproducing part is not reproduced yet and a preset and prescribed time elapses, if the certified result by the certifying part indicates an individual as an object whose viewing is limited, the viewing limit control part limits the viewing of even the receiving program that is not the set harmful program and reproduces and displays on the monitor screen the useful program.

7. A broadcasting signal receiving system according to claim 2, wherein

the harmful programs are individually set in accordance with the names of programs included in the program information obtained by the obtaining part.