System and method of network-linked digital terrestrial television broadcasting

• US 7,733,373 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2006
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Company Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Osamu, Akiyama, Yasuhiro, Hamada, Koichi, Kageyama, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): KOSTAK, VICTOR R
• Application Number:
  US11/358,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20060212907A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: 348/180, 348/192, 348/607, 348/723, 348/735, 348/570, 348/838, 348/725, 348/466, 725/62, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/67.11, 455/67.13, 455/226.1, 455/226.2, 370/225, 370/333, 375/346, 375/240.27, 714746-748
• US Class Current: 348/192
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/19 on transmission of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint

Abstract

In a cellular phone terminal, a bit error rate measurement section measures a bit error rate of broadcast data received by a broadcast reception section for receiving a digital broadcast to output broadcast data while a transmission operation of a communication transmission section for wirelessly communicating with a broadcasting communication network is performed. When the measured bit error rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, stopping of the transmission operation of the communication transmission section is instructed. Thus, a failure such as interruption of television broadcasting reproduction can preliminarily be prevented by avoiding error occurrence in reception of the 1 segment broadcasting service due to an influence of a transmission electric wave in data communication. As a result, stable reception of the 1 segment broadcasting service can be executed.

Claims

1. A communication terminal for receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts, the terminal comprising:

a broadcast reception means for receiving a digital broadcast to output broadcast data;

a communication means for performing wireless communication with a communication network;

an error detection means for detecting a bit error rate of the broadcast data received by the broadcast reception means; and

an instruction means for instructing a transmission operation of the communication means to stop when the bit error rate of the broadcast data detected by the error detection means is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold while the communication means performs the transmission operation.

2. The communication terminal for receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts according to claim 1, wherein the error detection means starts detecting the bit error rate of the broadcast data when the broadcast reception means and the communication means simultaneously operate.

3. The communication terminal for receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts according to claim 1, wherein the instruction means comprises:

a resumption instruction means for instructing the transmission operation of the communication means to resume when the bit error rate detected by the error detection means returns to be lower than the predetermined threshold after a predetermined time elapses from a time when the communication means is set in a stopped status;

a continuance instruction means for instructing the transmission operation of the communication means to continue when the bit error rate detected by the error detection means is lower than the predetermined threshold while the transmission operation of the communication means is resumed according to the instruction of the resumption instruction means; and

a stop instruction means for instructing the transmission operation of the communication means to stop when the bit error rate detected by the error detection means is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold while the transmission operation of the communication means is resumed according to the instruction of the resumption instruction means.

4. The communication terminal for receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts according to claim 1, wherein the instruction means instructs the transmission operation of the communication means to stop at one of a time when the bit error rate of the broadcast data detected by the error detection means is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold and a time when a reception error occurs, while the broadcast reception means performs a broadcast reception operation and also the communication means performs the transmission operation.

5. The communication terminal for receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts according to claim 1, further comprising a notification means for notifying a user of an operational status according to the instruction of the instruction means by way of monitor display and audio.

6. A method of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts at a communication terminal, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at the communication terminal, a digital broadcast to output broadcast data;

communicating wirelessly from the communication terminal with a broadcasting communication network;

detecting, within the communication terminal, a bit error rate of the broadcast data received in the receiving step; and

instructing a transmission operation of the communicating step to stop when the bit error rate of the broadcast data detected in the detecting step is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold while the transmission operation of the communicating step is performed.

7. The method of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts at a communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the detecting step includes a step of starting to detect the bit error rate of the broadcast data when the receiving and the communicating simultaneously operate.

8. The method of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts at a communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the instructing step includes the steps of:

instructing the transmission operation of the communicating step to resume when the bit error rate detected in the detecting step returns to be lower than the predetermined threshold after a predetermined time elapses from a time when a stopped status is set in the communicating step;

instructing the transmission operation of the communicating step to continue when the bit error rate detected in the detecting step is lower than the predetermined threshold while the transmission operation of the communicating step is resumed according to the resumption instruction; and

instructing the transmission operation of the communicating step to stop again when the bit error rate detected in the detecting step is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold while the transmission operation of the communicating step is resumed according to the resumption instruction.

9. The method of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts at a communication terminal according to claim 6, wherein the instructing step includes the step of instructing the transmission operation of the communicating step to stop at one of a time when the bit error rate of the broadcast data detected in the detecting step is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold and a time when a reception error occurs, while a broadcast reception operation of the receiving step is performed and also the transmission operation of the communicating step is performed.

10. The method of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcasts at a communication terminal according to claim 6, further comprising a step of notifying a user of an operational status according to the instruction of the instructing by way of monitor display and audio.