JPH11346354A - Television broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service in response to utilizing environment of the television broadcast receiver by a broadcast computer program. SOLUTION: An auxiliary storage device 108 stores a table describing a function, a service and its utilization cost available by the television broadcast receiver 101. A script control execution section 105 conducts processing for a specific purpose according to a computer program included in a broadcast script. In this case, the script control execution section 105 references the table to select a function available for the processing for attaining a specific purpose, a utilized function at a lowest cost when pluralities of services are available and a service.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for using a computer program multiplexed and broadcast on a television broadcast signal in a television broadcast receiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, there has been provided a service called a teletext which multiplexes a character or the like with a normal television broadcast signal of video and audio to broadcast. In such a text broadcast, a program is provided that conveys news, weather forecast, traffic information, sightseeing guide, and the like by text or the like without using video and audio.

On the other hand, in recent years, a variety of services can be provided to viewers by multiplexing a normal television broadcast signal of video and audio with a computer program usable in a television broadcast receiver and broadcasting it. Technology has been proposed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46662 discloses a computer program which automatically dials a predetermined telephone number and automatically transmits information received from a viewer via a telephone line. A technique for broadcasting and executing this computer program in a television broadcast receiver is described. Use of such computer programs to respond to viewers such as TV shopping and program questionnaire surveys and quiz programs can prevent incorrect calls due to incorrect dialing and mistaken telephone calls when telephone numbers are incorrectly recorded. Can be. In addition, since it is expected that a response from a viewer can be obtained immediately, such a computer program can be used to provide an infant program that responds to a question or a quiz that responds to a viewer's answer. It is expected to realize interactive programs such as programs.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46662, a symbol mark "i" is displayed on a screen during a period in which a computer program can be used.
When a user's instruction is given while "i" is displayed, the computer program is executed.

[0006]

Now, with the development and spread of various services using television broadcasting, a television broadcasting receiver of a certain viewer has a communication function and a television broadcasting of another viewer. It is expected that the environment in which the television broadcast receiver is used will differ for each viewer, such as the receiver not having a communication function. In such a case, a computer program that assumes a specific environment using a television broadcast receiver can be used in one television broadcast receiver but does not operate normally in another television broadcast receiver. Things can happen. For example, the above-described computer program described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46662 does not operate properly on a television broadcast receiver having no communication function. Further, when the environment in which the viewer uses the television broadcast receiver is different, and when a certain service is to be provided to the viewer by a broadcast computer program, the method of realizing the service or the best method of realizing the service is as follows. May differ depending on the environment in which the television broadcast receiver is used.

However, the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-46662 is based on the premise that all viewers use the same television broadcast receiver environment. To
The service corresponding to the environment in which the television broadcast receiver is used cannot be provided.

Further, according to the technique of displaying the same symbol mark "i" on the screen during the period in which the computer program described in JP-A-9-46662 can be used, the viewer can use the computer program. Even if the computer program can be grasped, the viewer cannot grasp what kind of service the computer program provides. Therefore, there is a problem that the viewer cannot determine whether to use the computer program.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a television broadcast receiver that provides a viewer with a service according to the usage environment of the television broadcast receiver by the broadcasted computer program. I do.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a television broadcast receiver capable of presenting to a viewer the contents of a service provided by a computer program that can be used by the viewer.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention relates to, for example, a television broadcast receiver for receiving a broadcasted television program signal and a computer program, wherein the management means manages functions / services available from the television broadcast receiver; Processing means for performing a process described in the program, wherein the computer program includes, in the television broadcast receiver, a plurality of functions / services predetermined as mutually interchangeable functions / services; A selection process for selecting a function / service managed by the means as a use target function / service and a use process for using the use target function / service in the television broadcast receiver are described. Provided is a television broadcast receiver.

According to such a television broadcast receiver, a computer program can be implemented by using functions / services that can be used in the television receiver among a plurality of functions / services predetermined as mutually interchangeable functions / services. Is executed. That is, the functions / services that can be used in a plurality of television receivers do not need to be the same, and a television broadcast receiver having any of a plurality of functions / services predetermined as mutually interchangeable functions / services Then, the service by the computer program can be received. Therefore, the service can be provided to each viewer by the broadcast computer program in a form corresponding to the usage environment of the television broadcast receiver of the viewer.

[0012] Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned object,
A television broadcast receiver for receiving a broadcasted television program signal and a computer program, comprising: means for extracting additional information added to the received computer program; and extracting the extracted additional information from the received computer program. Means for displaying as an explanation, and when receiving execution of the received computer program,
Means for executing the computer program.

According to such a television broadcast receiver, if the content of the service provided by the computer program is added as additional information, this is displayed.
The content of services provided by a computer program that can be used by the viewer can be presented to the viewer.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a television broadcast receiver according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, a television broadcast receiver 101 according to this embodiment includes a tuner 102, a video processing unit 103, a video display 104, a script control / execution unit 105, a script display 106,
An input unit 107 and an auxiliary storage device 108 are provided.

Such a television broadcast receiver 101
In, the input unit 107 receives an input from the remote controller 109. In addition, the tuner 102 has a broadcast station 113.
Receive broadcasts from. External devices such as a VCR 110, a printer 111, and a modem 112 are connected to the television broadcast receiver 101.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the script control / execution unit 105 in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the script control / execution unit 105 includes a script buffer 201, a remote control input buffer 202, a central processing unit 203, a main storage unit 204,
It comprises a signal output unit 205.

FIG. 3 shows information stored in the auxiliary storage device in this embodiment.

As shown in the drawing, the auxiliary storage device 108 includes a script 301, an available function / service setting program 302, a user information setting program 303, a function execution program group 304, a service request program group 305, a script management table 306, An available function table 307, available service table 308, user information table 309, and main program 310 are stored. The script 301 is a computer program received from a broadcasting station. The available / function service setting program is a program for generating and updating the available function table 307 and the available service table 308. The user information setting program 303 is This is a program for generating and updating the information table 309.
The main program 310 is a program that is read into the main memory 204 at the time of activation of the script control / execution unit 105 and is executed by the central processing unit 203.

The function execution program group 304 is a set of function execution programs provided for each function and for controlling the execution of the function. In the present embodiment, video recording that can be realized using an external device that may be connected to the television broadcast receiver 101 such as a VCR 110, a printer 111, and a modem 112, a telephone, a fax,
For each function such as printing and printing, a function execution program for controlling execution of the function is provided.

Next, the service request program group 305
Is a set of service request programs provided for each service and requesting use of the service. In the present embodiment, services provided by an external system such as a video recording proxy service, a video on demand service (VOD), and an E-mail service that may be used by the user of the television broadcast receiver 101 Each time, a service request program for requesting a service from the external system is provided.

The script management table 306 includes:
This is a table for managing the script 301 stored in the auxiliary storage device 108, and is generated and updated by the script control / execution unit 105.

Here, available function / service setting program 302, user information setting program 303, function execution program group 304, service request program group 3
05 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 108 in advance. The available function table 307 and the available service table 308 are generated by the available function / service setting program 302 as described above. The user information table 309 is generated by the user information setting program 303 as described above. Also, script 30
1. The script management table 306 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 108 by the script control / execution unit 105.

As shown in FIG. 4, the script 301 includes a header 501 indicating that the script is a script, a script ID 502 for identifying each script, a script name 503, a scene ID 504 for identifying a scene,
It comprises a computer program 505, program information 506, and prerequisites 509 for execution. The execution precondition 509 describes functions and services that need to use the script in order to execute the script.

Here, as the script name 503, a name is given so that the computer program 505 of the script can grasp the type of processing. The program information 506 in the script 301 is a list of a pair of a name 507 and a value 508 as shown in FIG. Program information 506
The computer program 505 includes information on a program to be processed by the computer program 505.
Information that assists in understanding the process of step 05 is described. For example, the program information 505 includes the computer program 50
Reference numeral 5 describes the genre of the program to be processed, the contents of the program such as performers and broadcast time, and the like. Also, scene ID
Reference numeral 504 designates a period during which an instruction to execute the computer program 505 is received, depending on the scene of the program.

Next, the script management table 306 stores
As shown in FIG. 6, the script management table 306
This is a list of a set of a script ID 701 for identifying a script and a flag 702 indicating whether or not the script has been executed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the available function table 307 includes a function name 801, a flag 802 indicating whether or not the function of the function name can be used, and a calculation of a usage fee when the function is used. A method 803 is a list of a set of function execution program IDs 804 for identifying programs in a function execution program group 304 that controls the execution of the function.

Next, the available service table 308
As shown in FIG. 8, a service name 901, a flag 902 indicating whether or not the service can be used, a method 903 for calculating a usage fee for using the function, a service request program for controlling the use of the service Service request program for identifying programs in group 305
It is a list of a set of IDs 904.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the user information table 309 stores a user ID 10 for identifying the user.
02, a list of a set of a flag 1001 indicating whether or not the user is in use, an address 1003, a name 1004, a date of birth 1005, a telephone number 1006, a facsimile number 1007, and an e-mail address 1008.

FIG. 10 shows the contents of the signals 1 to 9 transmitted and received between the respective blocks in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the signal 1 sent from the broadcasting station 113 to the tuner 102 includes the video / audio 40 of the program.
1, a script 301, a scene start signal 403, and a scene end signal 404 are multiplexed signals. As shown in FIG. 11, the scene start signal 403 includes a header 510 indicating a start signal and a scene ID 504 for identifying a scene. The scene end signal 404 includes a header 511 indicating an end signal and a scene ID 5 for identifying a scene.
04.

Next, the signal 2 sent from the tuner to the video processing section is the video / audio 401 of the program.

The signal 3 sent from the tuner to the script execution / control unit comprises a script 301, a scene start signal 403, and a scene end signal 404.

Then, the input unit 107 is input from the remote control 109.
The signal 4 sent to is a channel selection signal 405, ON / O
It comprises an FF signal 406, a volume adjustment signal 407, a menu selection signal 408, a user identification signal 409, and a direction signal 410. As shown in FIG. 11, the user identification signal 405 includes a header 512 indicating that the user identification signal is a user identification signal and a user ID 513 for identifying a user. Remote control 10
For example, as shown in FIG.
300, a user identification button 1301, a channel selection button 1302, a menu selection button 1303, and a volume adjustment button 1304. And the power button 1300
, A user identification signal 409 by pressing a user identification button 1301, a menu selection signal 408 by pressing a menu selection button 1303, a volume adjustment signal 407 by pressing a volume adjustment button 1304, Each is sent to the input unit 107 as a signal 4. Further, the remote control 109 has a function as a pointing device, and always sends a direction signal according to the user's movement of the remote control 109 to the input unit 107 from power ON to power OFF.

Next, the signal 5 sent from the input unit 107 to the tuner is a channel selection signal 405, an ON / OFF signal 40
6. Volume control signal 407.

Next, script control /
The signal 6 sent to the execution unit 105 is a menu selection signal 4
08, user identification signal 409, coordinates 4 on display
11, consisting of an ON / OFF signal 420.

The signal 7 sent from the video processing unit 103 to the video display is the video / audio 412 of the program.

The signal 8 sent from the script control / execution unit 105 to the script display is a screen image.

The signal 9 that travels between the script control / execution unit 105 and the auxiliary storage unit 108 includes a script 301, an available function / service setting program 30
2. User information setting program 303, function execution program group 304, service request program group 305, script management table setting information 414, available function table setting information 416, available service table setting information 416, and user information table setting information 417 Become.

Hereinafter, the operation of such a television broadcast receiver 101 will be described.

The input unit 107 receives the channel selection signal 405 and the ON / OFF signal 40
6, the volume adjustment signal 407 is the signal 5 as the tuner 10
Send to 2. The input unit 107 sends the menu selection signal 408, the user identification signal 409, and the ON / OFF signal 406 of the signal 4 from the remote controller 109 to the script control / execution unit 105 as the signal 6. The input unit 107 adds a direction signal 410 of the signal 4 from the remote control 109 to the signal 6.
Are converted to coordinates on the script display 106.

The tuner 102 controls ON / OFF of the operation according to the ON / OFF signal 406 received as the signal 5. Also, in the operation ON state, the tuner 102 selects one of a plurality of signals 1 sent from one or more broadcasting stations based on the channel selection signal 405 of the signal 5, and selects a program included in the selected signal 1. The video / audio signal 2 is separated and sent to the video processing unit. Also, the tuner 102
Are the script 301, the scene start signal 403, and the scene end signal 4 included in the selected signal 1 in the operation ON state.
04 is separated and sent as a signal 3 to the script control / execution unit. In the operation ON state, the tuner 102 reproduces audio based on the audio of the program received as the signal 2 and outputs the audio at a volume according to the volume adjustment signal 407 received as the signal 5 from a speaker (not shown) or the like. I do.

The video processing unit 103 reproduces a screen image based on the video of the program received as the signal 2, and outputs it as a signal 8 to the video display 104 to display the video.

The script control / execution unit 105 receives the signal 3
And a signal 6 and, if necessary, a script 301, an available function / service setting program 302, a user information setting program 303, a function execution program group 304, and a service request program group 305.
Is read from the auxiliary storage unit 108 to the main storage unit 204, and is executed by the central processing unit 203.

Hereinafter, the processing performed by the script control / execution unit 105 will be described in detail.

When started, the script control / execution unit 105 reads the main program 310 from the auxiliary storage device 108 into the main storage 204 and executes it.

FIG. 13 shows the script control / execution unit 105
Shows a procedure of a process performed by the main program 310 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, in this processing, the script control / executing unit 105 first waits until an ON / OFF signal 406 is received (step 1401), and if so, as shown in FIG. Display 106
The main menu screen 1108 is displayed on the screen, and the following steps are repeated until the next ON / OFF signal 406 is received (step 1402). The main menu screen 110
In FIG. 8, the current user name 1101, previous button 1103, next button 1104, setting button 1105, script execution button 1106, and program description 1107 are displayed by the following steps as shown in FIG.

That is, upon receiving the user identification signal 405 (step 1403), the user information table 309
Is updated and displayed on the script display 106 (step 1404). That is, a row having the user ID 513 corresponding to the received user identification signal 405 is searched from the user information table 309, the busy flag 1001 of the row is set to TRUE, and the busy flags of other rows are set to FALS.
E. At the same time, the current user name 110 in the main menu screen 1108 of the script display 106 is displayed.
As 1, the value of the name 1004 of the searched row is displayed.

When the script 301 is received (step 1405), the received script 301 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 108, and the script management table 306 is stored.
The script ID 502 of the received script 301 is registered (step 1406).

When the coordinate signal 411 is received (step 1407), the cursor 1102 shown in FIG.
Is moved (step 1408).

When a scene start signal is received (step 1409), menu display processing is performed (step 14).
10) Display a script execution button 1106 having the scene ID of the started scene. Details of this processing will be described later.

When the scene end signal is received (step 1411), the script execution button 1106 of the script 301 having the scene ID of the scene that has ended in the main menu screen 1108 of the script display 106 shown in FIG. 14 is deleted. (Step 1412).

When a menu selection signal is received, a program execution process is performed (step 1413). Details of this processing will be described later.

Next, the procedure of the menu display processing in step 1410 is shown in FIG.

In this process, the script management table 3
It is determined whether all the scripts registered in 06 have been processed (step 1501), and if they have been processed, the process ends. If all processing has not been performed, the following processing is performed.

That is, attention is paid to an unprocessed script (step 1502), and it is determined whether or not the focused script has a scene ID 504 included in the scene start signal 403 received in step 1409 (step 150).
3) If not, return to step 1501. If so, whether or not the script has been executed is determined by the executed flag 702 of the script management table 306 (step 1504).
Return to 501.

If the execution has not been performed, whether the device or service available in the television broadcast receiver 101 satisfies the condition described in the execution prerequisite 509 in the script 301 is determined by using the available function table 30.
7. Judgment is made with reference to the available service table (step 1505).
Return to 1. If so, the main menu screen 110 of the script display 106 as shown in FIG.
8 during the script button 1106
01, the script name 503 in the script 301 is displayed as a description of the script in 1107.
6 are displayed (step 1506), and step 1
Return to 501.

If there are a plurality of scripts for which the script name 503 should be displayed as the script buttons 1106 and cannot be displayed on the main menu screen 1108, the next button 1103 and the previous button are replaced with the script buttons 1106 which cannot be displayed. 1104 is displayed. Then, according to the selection of the next button 1103 and the previous button 1104, the script execution button to be displayed is switched. The selection of each button is received by the cursor 1102 displayed on the display.

Next, the program execution process 131 shown in FIG.
Step 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

In this process, the cursor 1102 when the menu selection signal 408 is received in step 1311
If the coordinates 411 are in the area of the setting button 1105 (step 1601), the main menu screen 1 shown in FIG.
A setting menu screen 120 shown in FIG.
0 is displayed (step 1602). The setting menu screen 1200 displays a user name 1201, a user information setting button 1202, a function setting button 1203, a service setting button 1204, and a button 1205 for returning to the main menu screen 1108.

On the other hand, the coordinates 411 are displayed by a return button 1205.
(Step 1603), the main menu screen 1108 is displayed (step 1604). Also,
If the coordinates 411 are in the area of the user information setting button 1202 (step 1605), the user information setting program 303 in the auxiliary storage device 108 is started. The user information setting program 303 receives an input from the user,
Update the user information table 309 (step 160
6). If the coordinates 411 are in the area of “function” 1203 (step 1607), the available function / service setting program 302 is started. The available function / service setting program 302 receives an input from the user and updates the available function table 307 (step 1608). Also, the coordinates 411 are displayed on the service setting button 1
If it is in the area of 204 (step 1609), the available function / service setting program 302 is started. In this case, the available function / service setting program 302
Receives the input from the user and updates the available service table 308.

If the coordinates 411 are in the area of “before” 1103 (step 1611), the script button 11
The script name 503 and the script information 506 of the script located before the script whose script name is currently displayed on the script button 1106 among the scripts to be displayed on the 06 are displayed on the 1107 as the script button 1106 and the program description, respectively ( Step 161
2). If the coordinates 411 are in the “next” 1104 area (step 1613), the script button
The script name 503 and the script information 506 of the script located next to the script whose script name is displayed at 06 are displayed at 1107 as the script button 1106 and the program description (step 1614).

Then, the coordinates 411 correspond to the script button 1
If it is in 106, script 3 with that script name
01 is started (step 1615).

Hereinafter, the script control / execution unit 10 according to the computer program 505 of the script 301
5 shows an example of processing performed by the fifth embodiment.

First, an example in which the computer program 505 of the script 301 automatically records a program will be described as a first example.

Now, it is assumed that this script has a scene ID of a scene such as a program for publicizing a program or a next notice of a regularly broadcasted program. The program information 506 of the script is assumed to be information of a program to be recorded by the computer program 505. In this case, the user, while watching the advertisement of the program, when the user wants to watch the program, clicks the script button displayed on the script screen and displaying the script name “recording reservation” of this script. select.

Then, in the processing of the computer program 505 of the script activated by this, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, first, it is determined from the available function table 307 whether or not video recording is available (step 1701). If it is not available, video recording proxy service or video on demand (abbreviated as VOD) ) Whether service is available or not Available service table 308
(Step 1702), and if not available, the process ends.

In step 1702, if the service is available, the usage fee of each service is calculated based on the usage fee calculation method 903 (step 1702), and the service with the lowest usage fee is selected (step 1704). The user is inquired whether to request the selected service (step 1705). If so, the service is requested by designating the service request program ID 904 and activating the service request program 305 (step 1705). 1706). Here, the video recording agency service is a service for recording and delivering a requested video on behalf of a requester, and the VOD is a service for delivering a requested program online. The content of the request for the video recording proxy service performed by the service request program 305 is a request for proxy recording of a program to be recorded this time. The content of the VOD service request is a request for delivery of a program to be recorded this time.

On the other hand, if the video recording function is available in step 1701, it is determined whether or not video recording is possible during the broadcast time included in the program information 506 in the script 301 (step 1707). If any, the function execution program 30 having the function execution program ID 804
4 is started and a recording reservation is made (step 1713). In step 1707, if the recording reservation cannot be made at the designated time because another recording reservation has already been registered, the program information 506 includes another broadcast time (for example, a rebroadcast time). Then, it is determined whether or not recording is possible during those time periods (step 1708). If recording is possible, another broadcast time is set as the recording time period (step 1).
709), a recording reservation is made (step 1713).

If it is determined in step 1708 that recording reservation cannot be made in any time zone, it is determined from the available service table 308 whether or not the video recording proxy service or the VOD service is available (step 171).
0) If not available, the user designates which of the program for which recording reservation is already registered and the program to be recorded this time is to be recorded (step 1712), and the program which has received the designation is selected. (Step 171)
3).

On the other hand, in step 1710, if the service is available, the fee for recording the program to be recorded this time and the fee for using the service are calculated based on the fee calculation method 803 and the fee calculation method 903. (Step 1714) The fee for recording and the fee for using the service of the program for which the recording reservation is already registered are calculated based on the fee calculating method 803 and the fee calculating method 903 (Step 1715), and the recording and the service using are calculated. Select the combination with the lowest price (step 171)
6), a program to be reserved for recording is reserved for recording in the same manner as in step 1713 (step 1717), and the user is inquired whether to request a service (step 171).
8) If a request is made, a service is requested in the same manner as in step 1706.

Information such as the address and name required by the service request program 305 is retrieved from the user information table. The determination as to whether or not video recording is possible (steps 1707 and 1708) may refer to the recording reservation information registered in the video, or the television broadcasting receiver 101 manages the recording reservation information. And
You may refer to it.

According to the above-described script, of the functions, services, or a combination thereof that can be automatically used for recording or obtaining a program in a television broadcast receiver, the actual use in each television receiver is performed. Extract the possible programs, select the one with the lowest usage fee from them, and use the selected function, service, or combination thereof to record / obtain the program that the user wants to record. Can be arranged.

Next, an example in which the computer program 505 of the script 301 automatically prints a cooking recipe will be described as a second example.

Now, it is assumed that the script is broadcast simultaneously with the cooking program. The user selects the script button of the script name “recipe print” of this script displayed on the script screen when he wants to make the dish being broadcast while watching the cooking program.

In the processing of the computer program 505 started as a result, as shown in FIG. 19, it is first determined based on the available function table 307 whether or not the printing function is available (step 1801). If so, the print program having the function use program ID 804 is started, and the recipe of the dish is printed (step 180).
2). If printing is not available, it is determined whether an e-mail is available based on the available service table 308 (step 1803). If available, an e-mail transmission program having a service request program ID 904 is activated. Then, an e-mail including the cooking recipe is transmitted to the user (step 1804). If the e-mail is not available, it is determined whether facsimile transmission is possible (step 1805). If the e-mail is available, the cooking recipe is facsimile transmitted (step 1806). If the fax transmission is not possible, the recipe is displayed on the script screen (step 1).
807).

The e-mail address and FAX number required as the contents of the e-mail and FAX are acquired from the user information table 309.

According to the above-described script, a function or service that can be used for printing or obtaining a recipe in a television broadcast receiver is automatically extracted from functions and services that can be actually used in each television receiver. And
It is possible to select the one with the lowest usage fee from among them, and to arrange using the selected function and service so that the recipe desired by the user is printed / obtained.

Next, an example in which the computer program 505 of the script 301 automatically requests a catalog will be described as a twenty-third example.

It is assumed that this script is broadcasted simultaneously with a commercial or a television shopping program. When the user wants to buy the aired product while watching a commercial or TV shopping program, the script with the script name "catalog request" displayed on the script screen is displayed Select a button.

In the process of the computer program 505 started as a result, as shown in FIG. 20, first, it is determined whether or not the telephone is available based on the available function table 307 (step 1901). If possible, start a telephone program having the function use program ID 804 and request a catalog by telephone (step 1).
902). If the telephone is not available, it is determined whether the e-mail is available based on the available service table 308 (step 1903).
An e-mail transmission program having the service request program ID 904 is started, and an e-mail for requesting a catalog is transmitted (step 1904). If the e-mail is not available, it is determined whether facsimile transmission is available (step 1905). If it is available, a catalog request is transmitted by facsimile (step 1906). If fax transmission is not possible, it is determined whether printing is available (step 190).
7) If possible, print a catalog billing table (step 1908). If printing is not possible, a catalog request method is displayed on the script screen (step 1909).

According to the script as described above, the functions and services that can be used for requesting a catalog in a television broadcast receiver are automatically extracted from those that can be actually used in each television receiver. Select the one with the lowest usage fee, and select the function,
Using the service, the user can request a catalog desired by the user.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described.

Note that, in the television broadcast receiver of the above embodiment, the control of the external device may be performed via a remote control input interface provided in the external device.

In the above embodiment, the video display and the script display are provided separately.
The output of the video processing unit and the output of the script control / execution unit may be simultaneously displayed on one display.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 21, a screen synthesizing unit 2002 is provided in a television broadcast receiver, and the signal synthesizing unit 2002 synthesizes the signal 7 and the signal 8 to be displayed on the display 2003.

Although the script control / execution unit is provided in the television broadcast receiver, the script control / execution unit may be provided in a set-top box connected to the receiver or in the VCR. . When a script control / execution unit is provided in the set-top box, the units in FIG. 1 are allocated as shown in FIG. 22 to constitute a television broadcast receiver and a set-top box. In the case where a script control / executing unit is provided in the VCR, as shown in FIG. 23, the respective units in FIG. 1 are allocated to configure a television broadcast receiver and a VCR. In FIG. 23, the recording / reproducing / recording reservation mechanism corresponds to a portion that performs recording, reproduction, and recording reservation of the VCR.

According to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, a conventional television broadcast receiver can be used as it is.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention, a television broadcast receiver which provides a viewer with a service according to the usage environment of the television broadcast receiver by the broadcasted computer program. Can be provided. Further, it is possible to provide a television broadcast receiver capable of presenting to a viewer the contents of a service provided by a computer program that can be used by the viewer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a television broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing contents of an auxiliary storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a script according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of program information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a script management table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an available function table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an available service table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a user information table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of each signal used in the television broadcast receiver according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a scene start signal, a scene end signal, and a channel selection signal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of a remote controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with a main program.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a main menu screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by a script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with a main program.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process performed by the script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with a main program.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a setting menu screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process performed by the script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with a script computer program.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with a script computer program.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the script control / execution unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in accordance with the computer program of the script.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the television broadcast receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the television broadcast receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the television broadcast receiver according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... television broadcast receiver, 102 ... tuner, 103 ... video processing part, 104 ... video display, 105 ... script control / execution part, 106 ... script display, 107 ... input part, 108 ... auxiliary storage device, 109 ... remote control, 110 ... VCR, 1
11 printer, 112 modem, 113 broadcast station, 2
01: script buffer, 202: remote control input buffer, 203: central processing unit, 204: main storage unit, 20
5 ... Signal output unit, 1101 ... Current user name, 1102
... Cursor, 1103. Previous button, 1104. Next button, 1105. Setting button, 1106. Script name,
1107 Script description 1200 Setting name new screen 1201 User name 1202 User information setting button 1203 Function setting button 1204 Service setting button 1205 Return button 1300 Power button 1301 User Identification button, 1302 ... Channel selection button, 1303 ... Menu selection button, 13
04… Volume adjustment button

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Toshiaki Kamino 1099 Ozenji Temple, Hitachi, Ltd. Inside Hitachi, Ltd. System Development Laboratory

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A television broadcast receiver for receiving a broadcasted television program signal and a computer program, comprising: management means for managing functions / services available from the television broadcast receiver; Processing means for performing the processing described in (1), wherein the computer program includes, among the plurality of functions / services predetermined as mutually interchangeable functions / services in the television broadcast receiver, the management means A television, wherein a selection process of selecting a function / service managed by the user as a target function / service and a use process of using the target function / service in the television broadcast receiver are described. John Broadcast Receiver. 2. The television broadcast receiver according to claim 1, wherein said management means further manages use cost information for calculating a use cost of a function / service available from the television broadcast receiver. The selection process is performed by the management unit when there are a plurality of functions / services managed by the management unit among a plurality of functions / services predetermined as functions / services that can be replaced with each other. The function / service with the lowest usage cost calculated according to the managed usage cost information,
A television broadcast receiver, which is a process of selecting a function / service to be used. 3. A television broadcast receiver for receiving a broadcasted television program signal and a computer program, comprising: means for extracting additional information added to the received computer program; A television broadcast receiver comprising: means for displaying a description of a received computer program; and means for executing the computer program when execution of the received computer program is received. 4. A plurality of television broadcast receivers for broadcasting television program signals and computer programs.
A television broadcasting system having the above broadcasting stations, wherein the television broadcasting receiver receives a broadcasted computer program, and a management unit for managing functions / services available from the television broadcasting receiver, Processing means for performing processing described in the received computer program, the broadcast station is a computer program in which processing related to the broadcast television program is described, in each television broadcast receiver, A description of a selection process for selecting a function / service managed by the management means as a target function / service from among a plurality of functions / services predetermined as functions / services that can be mutually substituted, and receiving a television broadcast Target functions /
A television signal broadcasting system for broadcasting a computer program including a description of a use process using a service. 5. A television signal broadcasting system having a plurality of television broadcasting receivers and a broadcasting station, wherein a computer program is broadcast from the broadcasting station and the television broadcasting receiver executes the received computer program. A step of, in each television broadcast receiver, managing a function / service available from the television broadcast receiver; a step of receiving the broadcasted computer program in each television broadcast receiver, and receiving the received computer program. And a computer program in which, in the broadcasting station, a television program signal and a computer program in which processing related to a television program to be broadcast is described. Replaceable functions / services And a description of a selection process of selecting a function / service managed by the television broadcast receiver as a target function / service from among a plurality of predetermined functions / services, and using the function / service in the television broadcast receiver. Broadcasting a computer program including a description of a use process using a target function / service. A method of processing a broadcast computer program in a television signal broadcasting system.