Broadcast receiver capable of autonomous format-scanning, program identification and searching

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are, of course, numerous devices for conveying, particularly with displays, information to the users of broadcast receivers, particularly, home and auto radio receivers. Such displays have taken the form of 7-segment gas diodes, light emitting diodes and even liquid crystal display panels to provide the user information about the frequency of the station to which he is listening. An example of a liquid crystal display is shown in the U.S. patent to Schiebelhuth U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,719. Another such patent is the U.S. patent to Oshawa U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,714. In this patent, the liquid crystal display merely advises the user whether the broadcast is stereo or monaural. Still another patent concerned with displaying the broadcast frequency to the user is the U.S. patent to Froeliger U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,651.

A conventional scanning receiver is one which can be operated to scan over a portion of the broadcast frequency spectrum to stop at a received station having a sufficient signal strength and permit a user to listen to or watch that station. Such receivers, for instance, are often provided in vehicles and operated to scan either AM or FM bands to stop at the first station received for a period of time to permit the user to decide if the station received is one he wants to listen to or to let the scanning operation resume.

There are currently several systems which are used to provide automatic station-identification of broadcast stations on a broadcast receiver. Reference is made in particular to the ID LOGIC system as described in application Ser. No. 07/078,286 for DISPLAY FOR RADIO RECEIVER filed Jul. 27, 1987 and its Continuation-In-Part Applications Ser. No. 212,863 for BROADCAST RECEIVER CAPABLE OF SELECTING STATIONS BASED UPON GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND PROGRAM FORMAT filed on Jun. 29, 1988 and Ser. No. 07/515,629 for BROADCAST RECEIVER CAPABLE OF AUTOMATICALLY UPDATING LOCATION AND PERFORMING SPIRAL SEARCHING filed on Apr. 27, 1990, as well as the RADIO DATA SYSTEM (RDS) as published in the public domain in the Technical Journal Tech. 3244-E titled SPECIFICATIONS OF THE RADIO DATA SYSTEM RDS FOR VHF/FM SOUND BROADCASTING by the European Broadcasting Union.

The later publication is directed to a system in which digital coded data containing, amongst other things, the broadcasting station information is sent via an FM subcarrier along with main program contents. This subcarrier digital data is then decoded at the receiver for display on the receiver display means. The limitation of this system stems from three problems: (1) this system can only perform adequately in the FM band; (2) to be effective, every FM radio station must be equipped with a subcarrier encoding system; and (3) format-scanning is only possible after the receiver has interrogated all of the FM stations in its receiving range.

The ID LOGIC system, on the other hand, is based on a large internal preprogrammed database in a memory means such as a Read-Only Memory (ROM) which can contain station information for all stations in all bands. ID LOGIC can therefore operate in all bands without restrictions and perform format-scanning instantaneously, which is a great advantage to the user.

The weakness of a system without the present invention stems from the fact that the database must be updated manually by the user--either by replacing the memory means containing the database, or by entering updated data in a memory means such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) via the front panel--the RAM data is then used by the controlling processor in place of the information in the ROM.

As broadcasters sometimes spend great sums of money to advertise format, call-letter changes and other changes pertaining to their broadcasting stations, and since receiver users will want the data stored in their receivers to reflect the latest changes in their markets, it is desirable to offer a system in which stored data can be updated as soon and as easily as practicable.

The present invention provides a means to update a receiver-integrated database containing station identification and station attribute information so that data update can be done automatically or semi-automatically through VHF/FM subcarrier data transmission as soon as a data change is known and as easily as practicable. The real benefit of the invention stems from the fact that not only the data for the station being tuned to is updated, but also the data for stations which may not have subcarrier-capable transmission capability, such as stations transmitting in a band where subcarrier data transmission is impracticable (such as in the AM band) or stations which have not made the capital expenditure necessary for the installation of such subcarrier data transmission capability.

The recent deregulation of broadcast subcarrier usage has spurred a new interest in using subcarrier for data transmission and paging services in addition to the more conventional audio services. FM and TV stations are now permitted to use up to two additional audio or data channels on the main carrier of the station. Subcarriers added to FM broadcast stations include Subsidiary Communications Authorizations (SCA) while subcarriers added to a TV station's aural carrier include a Secondary Audio Program (SAP) or a non-public channel for Professional use (PRO).

Conventional broadcast receivers, whether receiving broadcasts via the airwaves, via cable or telephone lines, or via satellite, usually do not, by themselves, provide any information as to channel assignments, programming or scheduling. This information must be acquired by the user or by the receiver on an on-going basis.

There are currently several methods which are used to set or preset one's broadcast receiver or recording apparatus.

The traditional method is based simply on using program listings acquired through the printed media or through broadcast announcements.

Another method implemented by some VCR manufacturers is providing an input device to scan bar coded information or to enter a unique numeric code (such as used by the GemStar system--known in certain areas as VCR Plus), which is then translated by the central microprocessor into the appropriate start time, end time, date, channel, and the like.

Another method involves the transmission of programming and scheduling data via the vertical blanking interval (VBI)--the vertical retrace space present in a television signal (such as used by the StarSight system)--or via telephone lines, teletext or the like. Said transmissions usually require the user to subscribe to an updating service.

A disadvantage of each of the previously discussed systems is that proper operation of the receiving system is dependent on the reception of the programming and scheduling data or on the user's manual input.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The usefulness and attractiveness of receivers using internal data storage means that are capable of automatically identifying a received station and performing format-scanning can be enhanced considerably by the provision of an automatic updating procedure which allows the data stored in the receiver to be easily updated, thereby affording up to date data which is comparable to the RDS system but which removes the shortcomings of that RDS system.

Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a novel receiver capable of conveying to the user the salient and timely information relating to the broadcasting stations the user may want to tune to or may be tuned to, including the geographic location of the broadcasting stations.

It is another object of this invention to provide this timely data for broadcasting stations in all the bands the receiver can receive.

It is another object of this invention to provide a format- or other attribute-scanning capability based on timely information for all bands.

It is another object of this invention to provide an automatic or quasi-automatic data updating system based on subcarrier technology or other on-the-air data transmission techniques.

The present invention has also been made in consideration of the situation in the prior art and one of its objects in this regard is to permit broadcast receiver users to find their desired stations and programs easily, to allow them to quickly identify a frequency, channel or program, and to provide a minimum of data necessary for the automatic setting of a broadcast recording device.

Thus, the present invention is directed to a broadcasting/receiving system including a database of schedule information and through which broadcasters, cable operators or other service providers update the database resident in a broadcast receiver, such as a TV receiver, a VCR, a radio receiver and the like. Users or viewers may then apply the channel or frequency and program event information stored in that database to automatically select a frequency or channel and a time for the viewing, listening or recording of the program.

In addition, the automatic identification of a particular channel, frequency or program can be provided.

Moreover, as will be discussed hereinafter, the present invention offers each of these features even if the receiver does not perform any program data acquisition.

The present invention is accomplished by using a factory-, or user-installed database containing a skeleton of the scheduling information necessary to provide the benefits herein described, even if no other scheduling data is received by the receiving system.

It is another object of the present invention to permit the user to manually update the skeleton of scheduling information or to provide the automatic updating of that skeleton by data transmission.

It is another object of this invention to offer the means to automatically provide and update more detailed data to complement the skeleton of scheduling information.

It is still another object of this invention to provide the user with a choice whereby he or she is not forced to subscribe to, or even receive, a service of automatic update to benefit from the majority of the features described herein.

It is still another object of this invention to provide the user with a choice whereby, when the skeleton of the schedule information is deemed sufficient, only updates to that skeleton need be obtained either via transmission or otherwise entered in the system, rather than having to join a system which provides updates to all the detailed programming information; the former being reasonably expected to be less onerous than the latter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention itself is set forth in the claims appended hereto and forming a part of this specification, while an understanding of embodiments thereof may be had by reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a radio receiver in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of the front of a receiver which can be used to practice the invention;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of a liquid crystal display which can be used to practice the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustration of an embodiment of the invention used in conjunction with a television receiver;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an improved embodiment of the front of a receiver that can be used to practice the invention;

FIG. 6 is an example of a database organization for information stored in ROM relating to various attributes of available broadcast stations particularly useful for format scan;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for a program that scans a database stored in the receiver of FIG. 5 to permit selective reception of available stations based on user preferred attributes such as station format;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for an alternative program that scans the database prior to frequency selection;

FIG. 9 is another example of a database organization for information stored in ROM relating to various attributes of available broadcast stations particularly useful for format scanning, manual or automatic location updating, and spiral searching;

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a data structure for FORMAT fields 919 and 924 shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing an example of a grid matrix map for the United States;

FIG. 12 is a layout of grids in the vicinity of a central current grid P;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a layout of direction keys for indicating the direction of movement;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing a procedure to automatically update the location of the receiver as the receiver moves from one grid to another;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an improved embodiment of the front of a receiver that can be used to practice the invention in an automotive environment;

FIG. 16 is an illustration of the embodiment of a frequency directory which may be used to practice the invention without a receiver;

FIG. 17 is an illustration of the embodiment of the front of a television receiver showing automatic station identification and network affiliation that also illustrates the network affiliation attribute selection keys used for network scanning in television receiver applications;

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an embodiment of the front of a TV receiver showing the directory listing capability particularly useful for cable television applications;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram for an alternative program to that shown in FIG. 26 that scans the database for updated data prior to frequency selection to permit selective reception of available stations based on user preferred attribute such as station format;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a radio receiver in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of an organization of updated data and its relation to the superseded data it replaces;

FIG. 22 is an illustration of an embodiment of the front of a receiver which can be used to practice the invention in the user-prompted mode;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of an organization of bits to form codes to be stored in Read-Only Memory (ROM) to practice the invention;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of an organization of bits to form codes to be stored in Random-Access Memory (RAM) to practice the invention;

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating a program that scans for superseded data and which retrieves the updated data;

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram for a program that scans a database stored in the receiver of FIG. 20 which also scans for updated data to permit selective reception of available stations based on user preferred attribute such as station format;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of the overall circuit arrangement in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a table illustrating of an example of the skeleton of schedule information pertaining to one broadcaster;

FIG. 29 is an illustration of a segment of the skeleton as shown in FIG. 28 showing the more detailed data in that segment of the skeleton;

FIG. 30 is an illustration of an example of input keys for a remote control;

FIG. 31 is an illustration of an example of icons to be displayed on the screen to facilitate interaction with the user; and

FIG. 32 is a flowchart describing the functions of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

I. Radio Receiver

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a radio receiver in accordance with the invention includes a control module 1. In this embodiment, the control module is constituted by a one-chip CPU such as the T-18 manufactured by Toshiba and is described in the published technical data for this chip. It includes as a program memory a ROM, a RAM data memory together with a liquid crystal display driver circuit, input/output ports and timing oscillators. As will be described hereinafter various inputs are provided for the T-18 chip.

The receiver itself includes the usual radio frequency and audio frequency circuits for both AM and FM. The FM circuit includes an antenna 11 for connection to a RF radio frequency section 17, the output of which in turn is connected to a mixer 18. The output of the mixer is supplied to an intermediate frequency amplifier 19 and its output in turn is supplied to a detector 20. The output of the detector is coupled to a multiplexer 25 which feeds earphones 28 and an audio frequency amplifier 26 that supplies a speaker 27.

A similar circuit is provided for AM signals and is constituted by an antenna 12 for connection to a RF radio frequency section 21 the output of which in turn is connected to a mixer 22. The output of the mixer is supplied to an intermediate frequency amplifier 23 and its output in turn is supplied to a detector 24. As before, the output of the detector is coupled to the multiplexer 25 which feeds earphones 28 and an audio frequency amplifier 26 that supplies the speaker 27.

Tuning of the radio is accomplished through the provision of a phase-lock-loop (PLL) chip 5. The PLL receives input signals from the control module 1 which signals determine the frequency of the output of the chip 5. A phase-lock-loop chip suitable for this purpose is the Toshiba TC9125BP in conjunction with a prescaler 6 such as the Toshiba TD6129P chip for the purpose of dividing, when in the FM mode, the output of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO2) 14. A switch 29 is provided to switch the input of the chip 5 from the prescaler when FM is desired. Otherwise, the chip 5 is connected directly to a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO1) 13. The PLL chip 5 also supplies output voltage to low pass filters (LPF1) 15 and (LPF2) 16 which feedback on the VCO1 13 and VCO2 14 to ensure that the mixers 18 and 22 continue to produce the desired intermediate frequency for the amplifiers 19 and 23. The low pass filters (LPF1) 15 and (LPF2) 16 also provide the tuning signal for the RF receivers 17 and 21.

In the operation of a digital tuning module (DTM), the control module 1 supplies signals indicating the lock frequency that is the frequency of the station desired and the mode selection, that is whether the signal desired is the AM signal or the FM signal. As will be explained hereinafter the control unit is programmed to wait there a predetermined period, for instance 100 MS, and if within that period it receives a signal back indicating that the desired radio frequency has been received, no further signal will be sent from the control unit and the radio will operate to permit the reception of that signal. If within that period, no acknowledgement is received by the control unit, the program will direct the control unit to step to the next frequency and try again to determine if a signal is being received. The receiver shown and described is intended as an example that can be used in accordance with the invention and other forms of receivers can be used. For instance, it would be possible to utilize a receiver wherein a digital output of the control module 1 can be utilized in a digital to analog circuit controlling the frequency of local oscillators for the FM and AM circuits for tuning purposes.

In accordance with the invention, a read-only-memory (ROM) 3 is included in order to store information intended to be displayed. This information includes the identification of the various broadcasting stations, for instance in the case of United States stations: the frequency of each; the station call letters; the location, that is city and state; and even the format (type of programming). Thus the data stored in memory 3 can indicate on a display 8 whether a particular station in a particular city broadcasts, for example, classical music, country & western, jazz, or other format or type of programming. In the operation of the system, this memory would be addressed by a slave processor or CPU 2 so as to permit the visual display of data, such as that described, as the user tunes the radio or simply turns it on in order to receive a pre-selected station. A ROM 3 suitable for this purpose is the TC531000P chip from Toshiba which can store up to 128 kilobytes of data and which has the advantage of requiring a relatively low power for operation, thus permitting extended use of batteries. A slave processor suitable for this purpose is the MSM6404 chip available from Oki.

In order to display the desired information to the user and to permit programming of the radio, the display 8 is provided and may be of the liquid crystal type. An additional driving element 4 may be provided to enhance the output capacity of the control module 1. An element suitable for this purpose is the T-7724 chip from Toshiba. A keyboard 7 permitting the user to program the receiver is provided and constitutes an input to the control module 1.

Power can be supplied from battery sources 9 and 10 to produce the DC operating and backup voltages required. An optional AC to DC adapter can be provided to permit use without batteries.

The Display

An embodiment of the receiver in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 2. An embodiment of the display in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 3. Thus, such a receiver includes the speaker 27 mounted behind outlet louvres 44. A digital signal strength meter 42 is shown and can consist of a number of LEDs provided with a scale to show signal strength. A tuning knob 40 may be placed on the side of the receiver. An on/off switch 30 together with a light 31 can be provided toward the bottom of the receiver. Volume control may be provided by the use of a sliding switch 38 cooperating with a scale, while another sliding switch 39 is also provided with a scale for tone control.

The display 8, in addition to the information display capability that will be described, also includes a series of markers 65 to 72 and 52 to 57 (FIG. 3). These markers are used to permit programming of the receiver, whether it is to select the current time and the current date or the current location of the receiver or to preselect or tune to a radio station desired or to select an alarm or circuit to turn the receiver on or off at a predetermined time.

The markers are controlled by the keyboard 7. The keyboard comprises a series of push buttons which may be of the diaphragm type and operates as follows: switch 32 labeled L causes the markers to be sequentially enabled toward the left, that is from 72 toward 65 or 57 toward 52. The switch 33 labeled R causes the markers to be sequentially enabled toward the right. To enter a program of preselected stations, or the time at which an alarm should be activated, or any other data, switches 34 and 35 are provided. The switch 34 with the minus sign causes a decrease of the values or alphabetical data, chosen by the L or R switch, each time it is operated. The switch 35 with the plus sign causes an increase of the values or alphabetical data, chosen by the L or R switch, each time it is operated. The switch 36 labeled "DO IT" will enter into the memory the information displayed and programmed by the use of the switches 32 to 35. Switch 37 labeled "CANCEL" is provided to cancel any unterminated action.

Provided on the display in FIG. 3 are a series of indications 60 of the format (that is, type of programming) conducted by the particular station being received. For example, such formats or types of programming may be classical music, country and western, pop, jazz, news, etc. This display is of particular value when the user is attempting to listen to stations that are unfamiliar to him.

Another section of the display 8 is an indication of the frequency of the station 61 being received, whether it is FM or AM, and whether the number displayed represents MHz or KHz. Also displayed are the call letters of the station 62, as is the city 63 and state 64 wherein the station is located. These city and state displays 63 and 64 are also used to select the location of the receiver.

These elements just described cooperate with the control module 1 and slave module 2 and the data stored in the ROM 3 to permit operation of the system. To achieve this end, a program is written for the control module 1 and the slave module 2 providing the basic control intelligence. Such programs can be written using well known computer languages and techniques and would include the capability of controlling and displaying the markers and alphanumerical displays in response to the actuation of the switches 32 to 37. The stored program can also provide the required phase-lock frequency parameters to the PLL chip 5. Likewise the program will access the database stored in the ROM chip 3.

Manually Setting Current Location

The markers 71 and 72 are used to select a state and a city within that state when the receiver is moved to a different location, so that tuning or presetting within that new location may be accomplished as described above. In this case, the cities and states will be shown in alphabetical order in the displays 63 and 64 and the user can, by operating the keys 34 and 35, change the city and/or state displayed, thereby, permitting a new portion of the database in memory 3 to be activated.

Receiving Current Location Information within Data Stream

Rather than selecting a state and a city within that state, an alternative embodiment of the current invention determines the geographic location of the receiver by receiving geographic location data over the air. In this embodiment the location, i.e. Grid number, of each station sending data is coded in the data, received by the receiver, and used as the approximate location of the receiver. In addition, an alternative to placing the Grid number in the data stream would be to send an encoded latitude/longitude, which would then be converted into the corresponding Grid number by the receiver.

Determining Current Location Information by Station Attribute

Another alternative embodiment of the current invention determines the approximate geographic location of the receiver by using a received station attribute, such as the unique call letters, to look in the ROM database and find the corresponding Grid number of that station. The order in which the ROM database is searched is as follows:

1) Search the FM band file (assuming the updating station is an FM station) for a callsign matching the callsign received;

2) Get the city pointer in the FM band file in the record in which there is a match;

3) Go to the record in the city file pointed to by the city pointer in the FM band file;

4) Find the Grid number in the record in the city file.

After conducting the above search, the radio receiver knows that it is either within, or close to, the Grid number indicated.

The location of the receiver can be refined by tuning to several stations pointed to by the FM pointer in the city file, listening to the other stations in that Grid, and determining which signals are received weak or clear.

In the alternative, the radio can do a "Spiral Search", as defined in application Ser. No. 515,629 for BROADCAST RECEIVER CAPABLE OF AUTOMATICALLY UPDATING LOCATION AND PERFORMING SPIRAL SEARCHING filed on Apr. 27, 1990, to listen to radio stations in the adjacent Grids, and determine thereby which signals are received clearly.

Station Selection

In the use of the receiver, after it has been turned on by the user and its location has been manually set or received, and it is desired to select a station to be listened to, either the minus switch 34 or the plus switch 35 can be depressed or the dial 40 can be rotated causing the frequency to change either in the upward or downward direction. The program is such that if either switch 34 or 35 is depressed for a longer period than a predetermined period of time, the receiver will go into an automatic scanning mode. In such mode, upon receiving a signal of sufficient strength, the receiver will stop the scan at that station and, if available, display the call letters of the station together with information about its geographic location and its broadcasting format. If this station is not what the user wishes, depressing either switch 34 or 35 will cause the receiver to scan for the next station.

II. TV Receiver

In TV receiver applications, the network affiliation information can be used instead of format information. FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention as applied to television receivers.

As may be seen in FIG. 4, the invention may be applied in a second embodiment for use in a television receiver. In this embodiment of the invention, a control module 100 receives inputs from keys and switches 102 as described above in connection with a receiver or tuning module 104 for selecting stations in a conventional video circuit 106 that are in turn, output to a television screen 108 in order to display the image being received. As before, database ROM 110 stores the information to be displayed about stations being received in this embodiment of the invention. The television screen 108 itself becomes the display and alpha-numeric characters are produced by a character generator 112 under the control of the control module and are supplied as input to the video circuit 106.

III. Update RAM Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) may be added to either broadcast receivers or frequency directories to allow the user to store update data which will take prec