Broadcast receiver apparatus

• US 20060264170A1
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ono, Tadashi
• Application Number:
  US11/434,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20060264170A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/426 Receiver side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/63 Generation or supply of power specially adapted for television receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The broadcast receiver apparatus is capable of receiving a broadcast signal and operating with power fed from at least a battery, and the broadcast receiver apparatus includes a tuner for tuning a broadcast wave, a tuning controller capable of a while station search of controlling the tuner and scanning sequentially all of the channels allocated to the television broadcast so as to search for a receivable channel, and a power remaining amount detector for detecting a power remaining amount of a battery, and the broadcast receiver apparatus suppresses the whole station search in accordance with the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector. As a result, even when a channel selection operation not intended by a user is input, wasteful power consumption is prevented and duration of the viewing can be extended.

Claims

1. A broadcast receiver apparatus capable of receiving a broadcast signal and operating with power fed from at least a battery, comprising:

a channel searcher that is capable of an operation of searching for a viewable channel,

a tuner that selects a broadcast wave corresponding to the channel searched by the channel searcher, and

a power remaining amount detector that detects the power remaining amount of the battery;

wherein the broadcast receiver apparatus suppresses the searching operation in accordance with the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector.

2. The broadcast receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel searcher is capable of a whole station search of controlling the tuner and scanning sequentially all of the channels allocated to the broadcast so as to search for a receivable channel, and

suppresses the whole station search when the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector is less than a value of a first predetermined power remaining amount value.

3. The broadcast receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel searcher is capable of a next station search of searching for a receivable adjacent channel with respect to a channel currently selected by the tuner, and

suppresses the next station search when the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector is less than a value of a second predetermined power remaining amount value.

4. The broadcast receiver apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operator capable of selecting and inputting whether or not to perform the channel selection operation by the channel searcher,

the broadcast receiver apparatus suppressing the searching operation when the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector is less than a predetermined power remaining amount value and when there is an input of selection of not performing the channel selection operation by the operator.

5. The broadcast receiver apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the channel searcher is capable of a whole station search of controlling the tuner and searching sequentially all of the channels allocated to the broadcast so as to search for a receivable channel, and

the broadcast receiver apparatus suppresses the whole station search when the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector is less than a first predetermined power remaining amount value and when there is an input of selection of not performing the channel selection operation by the operator.

6. The broadcast receiver apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the channel searcher is capable of a next station search of searching for a receivable adjacent channel with respect to a channel currently selected by the tuner, and

the broadcast receiver apparatus suppresses the next station search when the power remaining amount detected by the power remaining amount detector is less than a second predetermined power remaining amount value and there is an input of selection of not performing a channel selection operation by the operator.