Patent Application
20080052740
Those and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be fully explained by referring to the attached drawings.
First of all,
In this
On the other hand, a display portion 10, in particular, a display panel 11 thereof is built up with a liquid crystal panel, a PDP or a FED, etc., and any one of them is connectable with the receiving apparatus 20 mentioned above. However, hereinafter, explanation will be made with an assumption that either the liquid crystal panel or the PDP is used to be the display panel 11. Also a reference numeral 12 in the figure depicts speakers for outputting audio therefrom. In addition thereto, a reference numeral 30 in the figure depicts so-called a remote controller, to be used for a user to control the receiving apparatus 20 mentioned above.
Between the receiving apparatus 20 mentioned above and the display portion 10, electrical connection is made through a means for electrically connecting, i.e., a cable 40. However, this cable 40 includes a video line and an audio line for supplying a video signal and an audio signal (i.e., so-called the video signal) to the display panel 10, a communication line for transmitting a control signal, etc., from the receiving apparatus 20 to the display portion 10, and also an electric power line for supplying driving electric power from an electric power portion of the above-mentioned receiving apparatus 20, which will be mentioned later.
Next, in
And, when receiving the digital broadcast, tuning of RF modulation waves inputted from the antenna 50 mentioned above is made by the main CPU 201 controlling the (digital) tuner circuit 21, upon the desired channel, and the video data is extracted from it, so that the video data extracted is outputted to the video processing portion 200. Further, in more details thereof, but not shown herein, an IF signal outputted from this tuner circuit 21 is demodulated, in particular, a digital modulation waver thereof within a digital modulator circuit, and is outputted into a transport decoder to be a transport data. And, in this transport decoder, from the transport data is extracted (MPEG) video data, thereby to output the extracted video data into the video processing portion 200.
In this video processing portion 200, also under the control of the main CPU 201 mentioned above, the MPEG decoder 202 treats a MPEG decoding process upon the video data, which is obtained from the tuner circuit 21 and treated with MPEG processing, and further in the video processing circuit 203, the video data treated with the MPEG decoding process is outputted into the display panel (i.e., the display portion) 10, in the form of a predetermined video signal required by the display portion. However, in this instance, it is also possible to record that video data into the built-in HDD 80 shown in the lower right portion in
However, in the above, the main CPU 201 mentioned above, for controlling the operations of the apparatus, as a whole thereof, including those of the tuner circuit 21 and the video processing portion 200 mentioned above, it is a CPU installing OS therein. For this reason, it is necessary to execute downloading of micro-code for each device and initial setup, by downloading the OS stored within the memory and also extending the compressed data, after boot-up of the CPU by turning ON the power source of that apparatus. And for starting up of such system, there are cases of taking about 10 seconds or more, sometimes.
Also, within the receiving apparatus 20 mentioned above, as is shown in the left-hand side in
And, in the receiving apparatus 20, according to the present invention, as well as the main CPU 201 mentioned above, there is further provided a sub-CPU 60, separately; i.e., a sub-controller circuit being smaller in the consumption of electric power than the main CPU 201. And, as is apparent from the figure, the sub-CPU 60 is connected to a STB (i.e., standby) power terminal 71 of a main power source unit 70 provided within that apparatus. Further, this STB (standby) power terminal 71 is a terminal, being turned into ON condition always during a time-period when a power plug 75 is inserted into (connected with) a commercial power source, which is connected at a tip of a power cable 72 extending from the main power source unit 70, i.e., the electric power source portion of the receiving apparatus 20. For this reason, to this CPU 60 is always supplied necessary electric power (from 1 watt to several watts, approximately).
Also, though not shown in the figure, but the main power source 70 generates various kinds of power-supply voltages desired, with using electric power switching elements, etc., for example, and it also starts supplying the various kinds of power-supply voltages desired to predetermined power terminals, upon basis of a control signal (CSU) from the sub-CPU 60 mentioned above. However, in this
Thus, with the constructions of the receiving apparatus 20 mentioned above, the above-mentioned sub-CPU 60, which is connected with the STB (standby) power terminal 71 of the main power source unit 70 is turned into ON condition through insertion (or connection) of the power plug 75 into the commercial power source, and as a result thereof, the sub-CPU 60 is in the condition of enabling to execute a predetermined process, always, irrespective of presence of an instruction of power ON from the main switch 22 or the remote controller 30 mentioned above.
Further, in
Following to the above, detailed explanation will be made upon the operations within the receiving apparatus 20, according to the present invention, the detailed structures thereof were already explained in the above, and in particular, the operations after setting up the apparatus at a predetermined location, such as, within a room, for example, starting from the condition of inserting (or connecting) the power plug 75 of the main power source unit 70 into the commercial power source up to when the viewer turns the power of the apparatus ON through the main switch 22 or the remote controller 30 (i.e., the power button of the remote controller), by referring to the flowchart shown in
In this
Thereafter, the sub-CPU 60 makes determination on if a human being approaches or comes close to the television receiver or not (i.e., including the receiving apparatus 20 and the display panel (the display portion) 10 therein), with an aid of the detection signal, for example, from the human sensor 40, and/or that from the human sensor 40′ provided with the remote controller 30 (S42), and as a result thereof, in case when determination is made that no human being approaches (i.e., “NO” in the figure), the process is turned back to the step S41 mentioned above, again. Thus, this is repeated until when detecting that a human being approaches thereto (i.e., “YES” in the figure).
And, in case when detecting approach of the human being in the determining step S42 mentioned above (i.e., “YES” in the figure), the sub-CPU 60 mentioned above brings the television receiver, including the receiving apparatus 20 and the display panel (the display portion) 10, into a second waiting condition (S43). Thus, under this second waiting condition, supply of the electric power from the main power source unit 70 is started, at least, to the main CPU 201 mentioned above, and further to the constituent parts necessitating a relatively long time for starting thereof, including the MPEG decoder 202 and the memory 204 thereof, for example. In more details thereof, as was mentioned above, since the main CPU 201 executes the downloading of micro-code for each device and the initial setup, by downloading the OS stored within the memory and also extending the compressed data, after being boot-up thereof, therefore it consume a time, for example, about ten (10) seconds or more. However, according to the present embodiment, as was mentioned above, the apparatus starts various kinds operations necessary for of the starting, including the boot-up mentioned above, at the time-point when detecting the approach of the human being (i.e., the second waiting condition). And, after completing the starting operations, the apparatus is in the waiting condition. Under this second waiting condition, since no image is displayed on the display panel, no electric power is supplied to the display panel 11 and the video processing circuit 203, etc.
Thereafter, the sub-CPU 60 further makes determination on if the viewer turns ON or not the switch for operating the apparatus (S44), for example, through pushing-down of the power ON button of the remote controller or the main switch 22 mentioned above. As a result thereof, in case when determining that the switch of the apparatus is turned ON (i.e., “YES” in the figure), the normal starting operation is executed (S45). Thus, in the television receiver mentioned above, supply of the electric power from the main power source unit 70 is started, further, to the constituent parts necessary for the operations thereof, including the constituent parts that are not yet started under the first waiting condition and the second waiting condition, for example, the display panel (the display portion) 10, the video processing circuit 203, and the tuner circuit 21, etc. Further, it is also possible to start supply of the necessary electric power, at the same time, to the built-in HDD 80 and the external DVD recorder 90 mentioned above.
Thus, with the starting operation within the television receiver, according to the present embodiment mentioned above, startup is made in advance, by supplying the electric power, in particular, to the constituent parts needing a relatively long time for starting thereof, such as, the CPU and/or the digital LSI installing OS therein, for example, under the second waiting condition, i.e., at the time-point when detecting the approach of the human being, the viewer, to the apparatus, and thereafter, the electric power is supplied to the constituent parts necessary for other operations of the apparatus, under the condition where the switch actually operating the apparatus is turned ON; therefore it is possible to shorten the waiting time after the starting of the television receiver. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time from the time when turning the power ON of the remote controller up to the time when an actual image is displayed on the display panel 11, greatly, under the waiting condition of the display apparatus 10, for example, from about 10 seconds with the conventional apparatus down to 1 to 2 seconds.
However, in that instance, for example, the consumption of electric power within the sub-CPU 60, the remote controller light receiver portion 35, and the human sensor 40, which are started under the first waiting condition mentioned above, is equal or less than 1 W, and further, is 5-10 W at the maximum, even including the power consumption within the MPEG decoder 202 and the memory 204 thereof; i.e., it is very small comparing to the power consumption 150-200 W of the LCD (liquid crystal display) or the power consumption 200-300 W of the PDP (i.e., the plasma display panel), building up the display panel (the display portion) 10. Therefore, it is also possible to suppress the power consumption within the broadcast receiving apparatus, in particular, during the waiting time thereof.
Although the explanation in the above was made that, in addition to the main CPU 201 mentioned above, the MPEG decoder 202 and the memory 204 thereof are also the constituent parts to be started up under the second waiting condition, however the present invention should not be restricted only to this; i.e., it is also possible to start up as an unit, for example, if mounting the video processing circuit 203, etc., on one (1) piece of substrate (or one (1) chip), including those.
And, in the embodiment mentioned above, in case when determining that the switch of the apparatus is not turned ON (i.e., “NO” in the figure) as a result of the determination (S44), the apparatus waits as it is until when the switch thereof is turned ON. However, in the place of this, though not shown in the figure, it is also possible to provide a timer of several minutes, for example, so that it turns back, again, to the step S41 mentioned above, i.e., the first waiting condition, when that condition of not turning this switch ON (i.e., “NO” in the figure) exceeds the setup timer, and this may be preferable, in particular, for suppressing the consumption of electric power when it is under the waiting condition.
Following to the above, explanation will be made hereinafter, upon the human sensors 40 and 40′ mentioned above. As is apparent from the above, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned human sensors 40 and 40′ are provided for detecting the fact that a human being, i.e., an operator (or the viewer) of the television receiver approaches to the apparatus, so as to start (i.e., power ON) that apparatus, in advance to the actual startup (i.e., the power ON) of the apparatus. For that reason, as such the human sensors can be adopted one for detecting change of electrostatic capacitance due to approach of the human being (i.e., a proximity switch of electrostatic capacitance method), one for detecting with using change of temperature due to approach of the human being (i.e., a thermo-sensor), and further one for detecting a touch on the remote controller 30 to be utilized for operation thereof, in many cases, as is shown in
Further, for example, as is shown in
It is also possible to change the timing for shifting between the first and second waiting conditions, by changing the detection sensitivity of the human sensors 40 and 40′ mentioned above. For example, if increasing the detection sensitivity of the human sensors 40 and 40′, since by the sensors 40 and 40′ it is possible to detect the existence of that user when she/he enters into the room where the display apparatus 10 is set up, it is possible to shift the apparatus from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition, as quickly as possible. The detection sensitivity of the human sensors 40 and 40′ may be shown on a menu screen on the display, so as to be changed by the remote controller through this menu screen.
Also, with the embodiment mentioned above, detection of approach of the human being to the display apparatus, by means of the human sensor(s) or the like, brings the apparatus to shift from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition. However, the present invention should not be restricted to this. For example, detecting is made upon the present time, with using a timer, which is equipped with the display apparatus 10, inherently, and the display apparatus may shifted from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition depending on that present time detected. For example, since the time zones when the viewer watches the television program are 6:00-8:00 and 18:00-24:00, in average, then as predetermined time zone for shifting into the second waiting condition are set 6:00-8:00 and 18:00-24:00, in advance. And, when the present time detected by the timer mentioned above enters into the time zones, which are set up in advance, in case where the display apparatus 10 is in the first waiting condition, then that display apparatus 10 is shifted, automatically, from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition. On the contrary, when the present time detected by the timer comes out of the time zones, which are set up in advance, in case where the display apparatus 10 is in the second waiting condition, then that display apparatus 10 is shifted, automatically, from the second waiting condition I to the first waiting condition. Such the timer as was mentioned above may be built in the sub-CPU 60 or the main CPU 201, for example.
Also, this time zone may be freely settable, by the user. For example, on the display panel 11 is displayed a menu screen for time setup, so as to into the time zone from this menu screen. If that viewer watches the television program within a time zone 13:00-18:00, for example, the time 13:00 and the time 18:00 are inputted on the menu screen with using the remote controller 30. And, in case when the present time detected by the timer enters into the time zone 13:00-18:00, which is set up by the viewer, the display apparatus is shifted from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition, automatically. On the contrary, where the display apparatus 10 is in the second waiting condition, that display apparatus 10 is shifted from the second waiting condition into the first waiting condition, automatically, in case when the present time detected by the timer mentioned above comes out of the time zone, which is set up by the viewer.
As was mentioned above, with shifting the apparatus into the second waiting condition during only the predetermined time zone with using the timer, it is possible to shorten the time from the waiting condition until the display operation, while suppressing the consumption of electric power under the waiting condition thereof, at a low cost, without provision of new elements, such as, the human sensor, etc. Further, also for the purpose of making the display apparatus acknowledgeable to be in the first waiting condition or in the second waiting condition, from an outlook thereof, there may be provided a display or light emitting element, such as, a LED, etc., for visually distinguishing the waiting condition thereof. For example, three (3) kinds of LEDs are provided, i.e., a green color LED, a red color LED, and a yellow color LED, for example, wherein the red color LED irradiates when the apparatus is in the normal operation condition, the red color LED irradiates when it is in the first waiting condition, and the yellow color LED irradiates when it is in the second waiting condition. Also, it is possible to provide of two (2) kinds of LEDs, i.e., a green color LED and a red color LED, wherein the green color LED irradiates when it is in the normal operation condition, the red color LED irradiates when it is in the first waiting condition, and the red color LED turns ON and OFF when it is in the second waiting condition.
Furthermore, connecting the display apparatus 10 with an air conditioner or a lighting apparatus within the room through a home network, thereby communicating with each other, it is possible to control shifting between the first waiting condition and the second waiting condition linking with the power switch of the air conditioner or the lighting apparatus. For example, when the user turns the light ON within the room where the display apparatus 10 is set up, a control signal is transmitted from the lighting apparatus, responding to the turning ON of the light, through the home network, to the sub-CPU 60 of the display apparatus 10. With this, the display apparatus 10 can be shifted from the first waiting condition into the second waiting condition in linkage with the turning ON of the lighting apparatus. In the similar manner, when turning the power of the air condition within the room into ON condition, the control signal may be transmitted from the air conditioner, responding thereto, to the sub-CPU 60 of the display apparatus 10 through the home network. With this, it is possible to execute that shifting mentioned above in linkage with the turning ON of the power of the air conditioner. With such the structures, it is possible to control shifting between the waiting conditions of the display apparatus 10, under the condition of high probability that the user views the display apparatus 10.
As was mentioned above, according to the present embodiment, the display apparatus 10 has the waiting conditions (i.e., the signal of the remote controller); thus, as the waiting operation modes, a first waiting operation mode, being a normal waiting operation mode, and a second waiting operation mode, though being larger in the consumption of electric power than the first waiting operation mode, but able to display an image thereon, quickly, when turning the power ON. And, according to the present embodiment, the time during when the second waiting operation mode is in effective, is restricted, appropriately, upon basis of the control signals or the like from the human sensor, the timer, the external equipments connected with the home network. With this, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce or shorten the time from the turning ON of power until displaying of an image, but without increasing the electric power consumption, largely, during the time-period of the waiting condition (i.e., the waiting operation mode).
While we have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with our invention, it should be understood that disclosed embodiments are susceptible of changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, we do not intend to be bound by the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the ambit of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-228804 | Aug 2006 | JP | national |
