Image reproducing device, image recording/reproducing device, image reproducing method, and image recording/reproducing method

• US 8,565,582 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Shimada, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Shibru, Helen
• Application Number:
  US12/674,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20110261045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: 386/248, 386/230, 386/231, 386/234, 386/228
• US Class Current: 386/248
• 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. An image reproducing device comprising:

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

a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal;

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

an operation-time-information acquisition unit for obtaining information on an operation time during which the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit have been operated in accordance with the operation command;

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

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 and an operation state in each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information, the operation state representing a reproducing state in which the reproducing drive unit is operated or a viewing state in which the broadcast receiving unit is operated; and

a mode setting unit for setting a electric-power supplying mode to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information, the electric-power supplying mode including a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices including the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit, 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 one unit selected from the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit.

2. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 1, 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.

3. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the point giving unit gives the higher weighting factor when the information history is new.

4. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 2, 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.

5. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 1, 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.

6. An image reproducing device as recited in claim 1, 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.

7. An image reproducing system including an image reproducing device and a display device, wherein:

the image reproducing device comprises

a reproducing drive unit for reproducing an image signal recorded on a recording medium,

a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal,

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

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

an operation-time-information acquisition unit for obtaining information on an operation time during which the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit have 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 and an operation state in each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information, the operation state representing a reproducing state in which the reproducing drive unit is operated or a viewing state in which the broadcast receiving unit is operated; and

a mode setting unit for setting an electric-power supplying mode to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information, the electric-power supplying mode including a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices including the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit, 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 one unit selected from the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit; and

the display device displays the reproduced image signal.

8. An image recording/reproducing device comprising:

a recording/reproducing drive unit for recording an image signal on a recording medium and reproducing the image signal recorded on the recording medium;

a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal;

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;

an operation-time-information acquisition unit for obtaining information on an operation time during which the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit have 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 and a operation state in each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information, the operation state representing a recording/reproducing state in which the recording/reproducing drive unit is operated or a viewing state in which the broadcast receiving unit is operated; and

a mode setting unit for setting an electric-power supplying mode to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information, the electric-power supplying mode including a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices including the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit, 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 one unit selected from the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit.

9. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 8, 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.

10. An image recording/reproducing device as recited in claim 8, 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.

11. A method for supplying electric power to an image reproducing device which includes a reproducing drive unit for reproducing an image signal recorded on a recording medium and a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal 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 receiving an input of an operation command to operate the image reproducing device; and

an operation-time-information acquisition step for obtaining information on an operation time during which the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit have 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 the point given for each of the predetermined time slots and a operation state in each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information, the operation state representing a reproducing state in which the reproducing drive unit is operated or a viewing state in which the broadcast receiving unit is operated; and

a mode setting step for setting a electric-power supplying mode to the image reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information, the electric-power supplying mode including a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices including the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit, 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 one unit selected from the reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit.

12. A method for supplying electric power to an image recording/reproducing device which includes a recording/reproducing drive unit for recording an image signal on a recording medium and reproducing the image signal recorded on the recording medium and a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal 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 receiving an input of an operation command to operate the image recording/reproducing device;

an operation-time-information acquisition step of obtaining information on an operation time during which the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit have 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 the point given for each of the predetermined time slots and a operation state in each of the predetermined time slots as operation-history information, the operation state representing a recording/reproducing state in which the recording/reproducing drive unit is operated or a viewing state in which the broadcast receiving unit is operated; and

a mode setting step for setting an electric-power supplying mode to the image recording/reproducing device according to the operation-history information and the operation-state information, the electric-power supplying mode including a normal mode for supplying electric power to all of a plurality of devices including the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit, 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 one unit selected from the recording/reproducing drive unit and the broadcast receiving unit.