IMAGE REPRODUCING DEVICE, IMAGE RECORDING/REPRODUCING DEVICE, IMAGE REPRODUCING METHOD, AND IMAGE RECORDING/REPRODUCING METHOD.

• US 20110261045A1
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Shimada, Masaaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

An objective of the present invention is to provide an image reproducing device in which energy saving characteristics and responsiveness are balanced. An image reproducing device according to this invention includes an operation-state-information acquisition unit for obtaining operation-state information of a display device for displaying the reproduced image signal, an operation input unit for inputting an operation command to operate the image reproducing device, and a mode setting unit for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device according to the operation-state information.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. An image reproducing device which reproduces an image signal recorded on a recording medium, the image reproducing device comprising:

an operation-state-information acquisition unit for obtaining operation-state information of a display device for displaying the reproduced image signal;

an operation input unit for inputting an operation command to operate the image reproducing device; and

a mode setting unit for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device according to the operation-state information,.

21. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

an operation-time-information acquisition unit for obtaining information on an operation time during which the image reproducing device has been operated in accordance with the operation command;

a point giving unit for giving a point for each of predetermined time slots according to the operation-time information,;

a storage unit for storing the point given for each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information; and

a mode setting unit for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information.

22. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 21, wherein:

the electric-power supplying mode includes a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices constituting the image reproducing device, a standby mode for supplying electric power to a device that enables the operation input unit to operate, and an energy saving mode for supplying electric power to a

device that enables the operation input unit to operate and a device that requires waiting time until a predetermined operation starts; and

the operation command includes a reproducing command for the image reproducing device to reproduces the recorded image signal.

23. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 22, wherein:

the operation-state information indicates whether the display device is running or suspended;

the operation-time information includes an operation start time and an operation end time of the image reproducing device;

the point given by the point giving unit for each of the predetermined time slots can be obtained by calculating usage probability of the image reproducing device for each of the time slots from the operation start time and the operation end time; and

the mode setting unit sets the electric-power supplying mode to the energy saving mode;

when the point is higher than a predetermined first level and the operation-state information indicates that the display device is running.

24. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 21, wherein the point giving unit gives the higher weighting factor when the information history is new.

25. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 23, wherein:

the storage unit stores silence flag information added to the operation-history information;

for each of the predetermined time slots, the silence flag information being used for determining whether the rotation speed of the recording medium is decreased from that speed when reproducing; and

the mode setting unit controls the rotation speed of the drive unit according to the stored silence flag information added to the operation-history information when the electric-power supplying mode is set to the energy saving mode.

26. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 23, further comprising a

selection control unit for controlling so as to supply electric power to a device selected among the plurality of devices constituting the image reproducing device, wherein:

the storage unit stores an operation command having longest operation time in each of the predetermined time slots according to the operation-time information, the operation command being added to the operation-history information for each of the predetermined time slots; and

the selection control unit selects a device operated by the stored operation command added to the operation-history information when the mode setting unit sets the electric-power supplying mode to the energy saving mode.

27. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 21, wherein the operation-state information indicates whether the display device is running or suspended, and the mode setting unit sets the electric-power supplying mode to the standby mode when the operation-state information indicates that the display device is suspended.

28. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 27, wherein the mode setting unit sets the electric-power supplying mode to the standby mode, when the point is lower than a predetermined second level which is lower than the predetermined first level, and the operation-state information indicates that the display is suspended.

29. An image reproducing system comprising:

a image reproducing unit for reproducing an image signal recorded on a recording medium;

a display unit for displaying the reproduced image signal;

an operation-state-information acquisition unit for obtaining operation-state information of the display unit;

an operation input unit for inputting an operation command to operate the image reproducing device; and

a mode setting unit for setting, on the basis of the operation-state information, a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device.

30. An image recording/reproducing device which records and reproduces an image signal comprising:

an operation-state-information acquisition unit for obtaining operation-state information of a display device for displaying the reproduced image signal;

an operation input unit for inputting an operation command to operate the image recording/reproducing device;

a mode setting unit for setting, on the basis of the operation-state information, a mode for supplying electric power to the image recording/reproducing device.

31. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

an operation-time-information acquisition unit for obtaining information on an operation time during which the image recording/reproducing device has been operated in accordance with the operation command;

a point giving unit for giving a point for each of predetermined time slots according to the operation-time information,;

a storage unit for storing the point given for each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information; and

a mode setting unit for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image recording/reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information.

32. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 31, wherein:

the electric-power supplying mode includes a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices constituting the image recording/reproducing device, a standby mode for supplying electric power to a device that enables the operation input unit to operate, and an energy saving mode for supplying electric power to the device that enables the operation input unit to operate; and

to a device that requires waiting time until a predetermined operation starts; and

the operation command includes a recording command for the image recording/reproducing device to record the received image signal on the recording medium and a reproducing command for the image recording/reproducing device to reproduce the image signal recorded on the recording medium.

33. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 32, wherein:

the operation-state information indicates whether the display device is running or suspended;

the operation-tune information includes an operation start time and an operation end time, of the image recording/reproducing device;

the point given by the point giving unit for each of the predetermined time slots can be obtained by calculating usage probability of the image recording/reproducing device for each of the time slots from the operation start time and the operation end time; and

the mode setting unit sets the electric-power supplying mode to the energy saving mode, when the point higher than a predetermined first level and the operation-state information indicates that the display device is running.

34. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 33, wherein, the point giving unit gives a point different from the point obtained by calculating the usage probability of the image recording/reproducing device, instead of the point obtained by calculating the usage probability of the image recording/reproducing device, when an operation command instructs is to record the received image signal at a predetermined time.

35. A method for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device which reproduces an image signal recorded on a recording medium comprising:

an operation-state-information acquisition step of obtaining operation-state Information of a display device for displaying the reproduced image signal;

an operation input step of inputting an operation command to operate the image reproducing device; and

a mode setting step of setting, on the basis of the operation-state information, a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device.

36. A method as recited in claim 35, further comprising:

an operation-time-information acquisition step for obtaining information on an operation time during which the image reproducing device has been operated in accordance with the operation command;

a point giving step for giving a point for each of predetermined time slots according to the operation-time information;

a storing step for storing as operation-history information the point given for each of the predetermined time slots; and

a mode setting step for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information,.

37. A method as recited in claim 36, wherein:

the electric-power supplying mode includes a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices constituting the image reproducing device, a standby mode for supplying electric power to a device that enables the operation input unit to operate, and an energy saving mode for supplying electric power to the device that enables the operation input unit to operate and a device that requires waiting time until a predetermined operation starts;

the operation command includes a reproducing command for the image reproducing device to reproduce the recorded image signal.

38. A method for supplying electric power to the image reproducing device which records and reproduces an image signal, the method comprising:

an operation-state-information acquisition step of obtaining operation-state information of a display device for displaying the reproduced image signal;

an operation input step for inputting an operation command to operate the image recording/reproducing device; and

a mode setting step for setting a mode for supplying electric power to the image recording/reproducing device according to the operation-state information.

39. A method as recited in claim 38, further comprising:

an operation-time-information acquisition step of obtaining information on an operation time during which the image recording/reproducing device has been operated in accordance with the operation command;

a point giving step for giving, on the basis of the operation-time information, a point for each of predetermined time slots;

a storing step for storing as operation-history information the point given for each of the predetermined time slots; and

a mode setting step for setting, on the basis of the operation-history information and the operation-state information, a mode for supplying electric power to the image recording/reproducing device.

40. A method as recited in claim 39, wherein:

the electric-power supplying mode includes a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices constituting the image recording/reproducing device, a standby mode for supplying electric power to a device that enables the operation input unit to operate, and an energy saving mode for supplying electric power to the device that enables the operation input unit to operate, and to a device that requires waiting time until a predetermined operation starts; and

the operation command includes a recording command for the image recording/reproducing device to record the received image signal on the recording medium, and a reproducing command for the image recording/reproducing device to reproduce the recorded image signal on the recording medium.