Receiving apparatus having a database containing broadcasting-station information

• US 5,819,166 A
• Filed: 12/21/1995
• Issued: 10/06/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Yutaro, Kimura, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/576,040
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 455/186.1, 455/185.1, 455/184.1, 455/161.1, 455/186.2, 455/161.2, 455/161.3
• US Class Current: 455/186.1
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0058 provided with channel identification means arrangements for monitoring the use made of broadcast services H04H60/31

Abstract

A receiving apparatus has a database containing broadcasting-station information. A controller in this receiving apparatus determines based on the storage contents of a memory that a reception frequency set to be tuned matches with reception frequencies of a plurality of broadcasting stations in a predetermined geographical range when the reception position lies within the predetermined geographical range. When the reception of broadcast waves is detected in the tuning operation, the controller determines that the set reception frequency is the reception frequency of a multistation. When the set reception frequency is determined as the reception frequency of the multistation, the controller selects information associated with one of a plurality of broadcasting stations which uses that reception frequency, based on the storage contents of the memory and sequentially stores the selected broadcasting-station information together with the reception frequency as the reception history of the multistation in association with the predetermined geographical range.

Claims

1. A receiving apparatus having a database containing broadcasting-station information, comprising:

tuning means for tuning the receiving apparatus to receive broadcast waves at a set reception frequency;

a database memory in which broadcasting-station information having at least three types of data previously stored therein in association with geographical positional information, the three types of data including identification data on broadcasting stations, identification data on program types available from said broadcasting stations, and reception frequency data of said broadcasting stations;

multistation reception determining means for determining that said set reception frequency is a reception frequency of a multistation in a case where a reception position lies within a predetermined geographical range, said set reception frequency of said tuning means matches a reception frequency used by a plurality of broadcasting stations in said predetermined geographical range on the basis of data stored in said database memory, and reception of broadcast waves by said tuning means is detected;

selection means for selecting broadcasting-station information associated with one of said plurality of broadcasting stations using said set reception frequency according to said multistation reception determining means and said data stored in said database memory;

a multistation history memory for sequentially storing said broadcasting-station information associated with said multistation selected by said selection means with the reception frequency; and

a controller for retrieving said broadcasting station information, wherein said controller retrieves said broadcasting station information from said database memory when said set reception frequency is not a reception frequency of a multistation, wherein said controller retrieves said broadcasting station information from said multistation history memory when said set reception frequency is a reception frequency of a multistation and when said multistation history memory contains broadcasting-station information associated with said multistation previously stored using said selection means.

2. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said broadcasting-station information to be stored in said history memory are memory addresses indicative of memory positions of stored data in said database memory.

3. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying broadcasting-station information stored in said history memory associated with said reception frequency of said multistation when said reception frequency of said multistation is determined.

4. The receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said broadcasting-station information to be stored in said history memory are memory addresses indicative of memory positions of stored data in said database memory.

5. The receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said display means displays, by priority, newly stored broadcasting-station information among those broadcasting-station information stored in said history memory and associated with said reception frequency of said multistation.

6. The receiving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said broadcasting-station information to be stored in said history memory are memory addresses indicative of memory positions of stored data in said database memory.

7. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller prompts a user to select said broadcasting-station information when said multistation history memory does not contain broadcasting-station information associated with said multistation and when said set reception frequency is a reception frequency of a multistation.

8. A receiving apparatus having a database containing broadcasting-station information, comprising:

a database memory in which broadcasting-station information comprising at least three types of data has been previously stored in association with geographical positional information, the three types of data including identification data on broadcasting stations, identification data on program types available from said broadcasting stations and reception frequency data on broadcast waves emitted from said broadcasting stations;

tuning means for tuning to broadcast waves at a set reception frequency;

means for generating an instruction for storing broadcasting-station information including a reception frequency in association with a specified program type;

means for setting a reception frequency in said tuning means while sweeping said reception frequency in response to said instruction;

means for detecting that broadcast waves have been received by tuning of said tuning means during sweeping; and

a program-type associated memory for, when reception of broadcast waves is detected, reading broadcasting-station information having said specified program type and said reception frequency of said received broadcast waves from said database memory and storing said read broadcasting-station information in association with a reception level of said broadcast waves.

9. The receiving apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for reading, by priority, a reception frequency corresponding to a broadcasting program having a higher reception level from reception frequencies respectively corresponding to said specified program type and respectively stored in said program-type associated memory and setting said read reception frequency into said tuning means, in response to an instruction for receiving a broadcasting program of said specified program type.