JP2011071716A - Pay television control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pay television control device that prohibits a user from viewing a pay broadcast illegally. <P>SOLUTION: A control unit 41 has a charging control unit 48 that receives an operation signal to instruct the channel selection of a predetermined pay broadcast, and in response to this reception, allows the conversion of a retransmission signal corresponding to the operation signal if authentication for charging is completed in advance. A timer body 11 has not only a current detection unit 36 for detecting an amount of current for a television receiver 2, and an unauthorized use decision unit 44 that monitors the presence of the operation signal from a remote controller 12, and the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36, and cuts off current supply to the television receiver 2 if the amount of current for the television receiver 2 is reduced to a value less than a threshold even though the operation signal is not received. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pay TV control apparatus that enables a TV receiver to view a pay TV by receiving an operation signal from a remote controller and controlling a reception function of the TV receiver.

  Conventionally, this type of pay TV control device is equipped with a card timer having a billing function and a tuner having a TV broadcast receiving function, and when a tuner selects a specific channel by remote control operation, it corresponds to that channel. Video and audio signals are sent to the television receiver, and various programs can be viewed through the television receiver while performing billing processing by a card timer as necessary.

  However, as television broadcasts are switched from analog to digital, there are many restrictions and a significant increase in costs when a tuner that supports digital terrestrial broadcasting is incorporated into pay TV control devices. It was a general dissemination obstacle.

  Therefore, in order to increase general spread, the tuner is not intentionally installed in the apparatus, but the tuner built in the TV receiver is effectively used as a pay and free TV broadcast tuner. A method of controlling by remote control retransmission by a control device has become mainstream (see Patent Document 1).

  In such a remote control re-transmission method, when an operation signal from the remote control is received by a receiving unit incorporated in the main body of the pay TV control device, the operation signal is converted into a re-transmission signal of a code and a pattern corresponding to the television receiver. A re-transmission signal is sent from the re-transmission unit of the pay television control device to the television receiver. Thereby, for example, the tuner of the television receiver can be controlled so that the television broadcast of the channel designated by the operation signal is selected.

JP-A-8-317370

  In the above background art, it is preferable that the re-transmission unit of the pay TV control device is originally not exposed to the outside of the TV receiver and is incorporated in the TV receiver. However, if the TV receiver is internally modified, the manufacturer guarantee At present, most of the methods are pasting the re-transmission part to the light-receiving part exposed in the front of the television receiver.

  However, when the re-transmission unit is pasted on the front of the television receiver, if the user deliberately removes the re-transmission unit and directly operates the television receiver with the remote controller corresponding to the television receiver, Pay TV broadcasts can be viewed for free without going through. Therefore, from the viewpoint of maintaining the reliability of the pay TV control device, there has been a demand for a device that prevents the user from illegally viewing the pay TV broadcast.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pay TV control device that prevents a user from illegally viewing a pay broadcast.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pay television control device of the present invention comprises a remote device that sends an operation signal according to an operation of an operating body, and a device body that receives an operation signal from the remote device, The apparatus main body is disposed opposite to a control unit that converts the operation signal into a retransmission signal that can be discriminated by a television receiver, and a reception unit of the television receiver, and sends the retransmission signal to the reception unit. A re-transmission unit, and when the control unit receives the operation signal instructing to select a specific pay broadcast, if the charging authentication has been performed in advance, the control unit converts the re-transmission signal corresponding to the operation signal. In a pay TV control device including a charge control unit to permit, a current detection unit for detecting an amount of current supplied to the television receiver, presence / absence of the operation signal from the remote device, and detection by the current detection unit. Current And the unauthorized use determination unit that cuts off the current supply to the television receiver when the amount of current falls below a threshold value even though the operation signal is not received. It is provided in the device body.

  Here, the unauthorized use determination unit has a configuration in which the current value is sampled and acquired a plurality of times at regular intervals, and the threshold value is set and updated based on an average value of the acquired values.

  The unauthorized use determination unit counts the number of times the current amount has decreased below a threshold value even though the operation signal has not been received, and when the number reaches a plurality of times, the television receiver The structure which interrupts | blocks the electric current supply to is provided.

  In this case, the unauthorized use determination unit is not receiving the operation signal, and the current amount is lower than a threshold value, but the operation signal is not received. It is preferable to have a configuration in which the count of the number of times is reset if the current amount does not decrease below a threshold value even after a predetermined time has elapsed.

  The applicant of the present application pays attention to the fact that the current consumption for a television receiver is temporarily reduced when the channel selection of the broadcast wave is changed on the television receiver, and monitors the presence or absence of an operation signal from a remote device. This has led to the idea of the present invention that prevents unauthorized use by the user.

  That is, if the amount of current supplied to the television receiver falls below the threshold value even though no operation signal has been received from the remote device, the current supply to the television receiver is cut off. In this way, even if the user removes the retransmission unit from the television receiver and tries to send a signal from another remote device to the exposed reception unit of the television receiver, the unauthorized use determination unit accurately detects this. Recognize and prevent unauthorized viewing of pay broadcasts.

  In the configuration of claim 2, the value of the current amount to the television receiver is sampled and acquired a plurality of times at regular intervals, and the threshold value is calculated from the average value of the acquired values, and the setting is sequentially updated. Then, it can always be correctly determined that the channel selection change of the television receiver 2 broadcast wave has been performed.

  In the configuration of claim 3, even when the television receiver receives an operation signal from a remote device of another device and the current amount to the television receiver falls below a threshold value, such a situation remains. If it does not occur more than once, viewing by the television receiver can be continued. Therefore, it is possible for the unauthorized use determination unit to accurately determine whether or not the user is improperly used, and to prevent a malfunction in which the television receiver is unexpectedly turned off.

  In the configuration of claim 4, the unauthorized use determination unit is in a state in which the amount of current to the television receiver is lower than the threshold value for a certain period of time even though the operation signal from the remote device is not received. If it does not occur repeatedly, it is determined that it is not an illegal remote control operation for the television receiver, and the occurrence count is reset. In this way, it is possible for the unauthorized use determination unit to more accurately determine whether or not the user is unauthorized use.

It is a schematic block diagram of the television viewing system containing the pay television control apparatus of this invention. It is a front view of a television receiver same as the above. It is a left side view of a television receiver. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the principal part. It is a schematic block diagram of the television viewing-and-listening system which shows another modification. It is a front view of the display panel which shows the state of the display screen which prompts input of a ticket number. It is a front view of the display panel which shows the state of the display screen which input all the numbers. It is a wave form diagram which shows the output voltage from IR light-receiving part of a timer main body. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in an unauthorized use determination part. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in an unauthorized use determination part.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a television viewing system 100 including a pay television control device (hereinafter simply referred to as “control device”) 1. In FIG. 1, a system 100 is installed in various user facilities such as a hotel and a hospital, and includes a television receiver 2 and a center device 3 in addition to the control device 1. The control device 1 and the television receiver 2 are installed in each hotel room and hospital hospital room, while the center device 3 is centrally installed in a hotel or hospital reception etc. Connected with a communication cable 4.

  The control device 1 includes, for example, a box-shaped timer main body 11 and a remote control 12 as a remote device separate from the timer main body 11, and the remote control 12 is an operation composed of a plurality of push buttons and keys as is well known. A body 13 and an IR (infrared) light emitting unit 14 as a transmission unit for sending a unique operation signal according to the operation of the operation body 13 are provided. Further, in order to receive an operation signal from the remote controller 12, the timer body 11 is provided with an IR light receiving unit 15 as a receiving unit. The above-described communication cable 4 is connected between the timer main body 11 and the center device 3 of each control device 1 so that signals can be exchanged in both directions.

  The timer body 11 is connected to a retransmitting part 16 having an IR light receiving element via a cable 17. The retransmitting unit 16 sends a retransmitting signal that can be discriminated by the television receiver 2 in response to the operation signal from the remote controller 12, and the IR light receiving unit 18 of the television receiver 2 installed in the same room. It is stuck in a state exposed to the outside of the television receiver 2 so as to face each other. In addition, another cable 19 that enables transmission of video and audio signals from the timer main body 11 to the television receiver 2 is provided between the timer main body 11 and a line input terminal (not shown) of the television receiver 2. Connected. As the communication cable 4 and the cables 17 and 19 as these connection means, various existing forms can be used as appropriate.

  Reference numeral 21 is a CS broadcast receiving antenna that receives CS (Communications Satellite) broadcast waves and converts them into electric circuit energy. Reference numeral 22 is a digital terrestrial broadcast receiving antenna that receives digital terrestrial broadcast waves and converts it into electric circuit energy. Thus, the electric circuit energy from the receiving antennas 21 and 22 is taken into the television receiver 2 directly or via the CS tuner 23 which is a dedicated tuner device shown in FIG. 24, the video and audio signals are converted. In addition, the form of the broadcast wave shown in FIG. 1 is an example to the last, and is not limited to this.

  2 and 3 show the external configuration of each part of the television receiver 2 and the control device 1 attached thereto. In each of these drawings, the television receiver 2 is provided with a display panel 25 as a display means and a speaker 26 as an audio output means on the front side in addition to the IR light receiving unit 17, and a timer of the control device 1 on the back side. The main body 11 is attached. The display panel 25 displays a broadcast wave video signal captured by the antennas 21 and 22 and a service providing video signal stored in the timer body 11, and a speaker 26 It outputs an audio signal for service provision. As another modification, the timer main body 11 may be installed not in the television receiver 2 but in a cradle (not shown) on which the television receiver 2 is placed.

  FIG. 4 shows a more detailed configuration of the main part. In the figure, a timer body 11 includes a power plug 31 to be plugged into a commercial power outlet (not shown) and a power plug of the television receiver 2 as a power feeding section for supplying power to each portion of the timer body 11 and the television receiver 2. And a socket 33 into which a power supply plug 31 and the socket 33 are connected, and an open / close switch 35 that is inserted into and connected to a power supply path 34. In addition, in order to detect the current consumption of the television receiver 2, the timer main body 11 is provided with a current detection unit 36 that detects the amount of current flowing through the power supply path 34 and thus the television receiver 2. It should be noted that the socket 33 is provided so as not to be exposed to the inside of the timer body 11 so that a user who tries to use it illegally cannot insert the power plug 32 of the television receiver 2 directly into a commercial power outlet. preferable.

  The timer main body 11 includes a control unit 41 including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an input / output device. The control unit 41 here is a functional component necessary for controlling each unit as the timer main body 11, that is, an IR signal identification unit 42 as a signal identification unit, and necessary information according to an operation signal from the remote controller 12. An information providing unit 43 that outputs to the display panel 25 and the speaker 26 of the television receiver 2 and an unauthorized use determination unit 44 that correctly determines the unauthorized use of the user are provided. Further, in order to enable sequential writing and reading of authentication codes and threshold values with the control unit 41, an authentication code storage unit 46 and a threshold value storage unit 47 constituted by various storage elements are connected to a timer body. 11 respectively.

  The functional component of the control unit 41 will be described. The IR signal identification unit 42 constantly monitors the signal received by the IR light receiving unit 15 and determines whether or not the received signal is an operation signal from the remote controller 12. If the operation signal is from the remote controller 12, the information providing unit 43 has a function of transmitting the operation signal. In particular, when the IR light receiving unit 15 receives an operation signal from the remote controller 12, the IR signal identifying unit 42 here can send a confirmation signal indicating that to the unauthorized use determining unit 44.

  The information providing unit 43 receives the coded or patterned operation signal from the IR signal identifying unit 42 and converts it into another coded or patterned retransmission signal that can be discriminated by the television receiver 2. , And a function of sending to the retransmitting unit 16. Since the re-transmission signal includes a code or pattern for controlling the tuner unit 24 of the television receiver 2, it is received by the IR light receiving unit 18, so that the broadcast wave from the receiving antennas 21 and 22 is received. Alternatively, various service providing information sent from the timer body 11 via the cable 19 can be output to the display panel 25 or the speaker 26 of the television receiver 2.

  In addition, the information providing unit 43 is charged so that a specific pay broadcast wave can be viewed on the display panel 25 or the speaker 26 of the television receiver 2 only when charging authentication is performed in advance by operating the remote controller 12. A control unit 48 is provided. More specifically, the operation of the remote controller 12 is performed when service providing information prompting entry of a ticket number is displayed on the display panel 25 of the television receiver 2 via the cable 19 from the information providing unit 43. When the signal is received from the IR light receiving unit 15, if the ticket number corresponding to the operation signal matches the authentication code stored in the authentication code storage unit 46, the charging control unit 48 determines that the charging authentication has been performed. Thereafter, viewing of the pay broadcast wave through the television receiver 2 is permitted. The ticket number as the input code is added to the ticket when the user purchases the ticket with a ticket vending machine (not shown) installed on each floor of the facility, for example. The authentication code is written in the authentication code storage unit 46 of each timer body 11 from the center device 3 through the communication cable 4.

  In this case, the ticket number may be changed periodically, and the authentication code written in the authentication code storage unit 46 may be updated each time. The ticket purchase procedure may be processed online between the center device 3 and each control device 1.

  As a modification, the charge control unit 48 may be in a form corresponding to a prepaid card system. The overall configuration of the television viewing system 100 in that case is shown in FIG.

  In this modification, a prepaid card (not shown) read / write (read / write) device 51 is incorporated in each timer body 11 and connected to the charge control unit 48 shown in FIG. 3 and the communication cable 4 are not required. Then, when a prepaid card is inserted into the insertion port 52 of the read / write device 51, the charging control unit 48 determines whether or not the prepaid card is correct, and if it is correct, the balance information stored in the prepaid card is stored. If the balance is not 0, the balance is subtracted according to the viewing time of the pay broadcast wave. Eventually, when the balance becomes 0, the fact is written in the prepaid card, the prepaid card is forcibly discharged, and thereafter the pay broadcast wave cannot be viewed with the prepaid card.

  Note that the form of the charging control unit 48 is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and various modifications may be made in consideration of the special features of the facility where the television viewing system 100 is introduced.

  The unauthorized use determination unit 44 constantly monitors the presence / absence of a confirmation signal transmitted from the IR signal identification unit 42 and the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36, even though the confirmation signal is not transmitted. First, when the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36 is lower than the threshold value read from the threshold value storage unit 47, a signal for switching the open / close switch 35 from on to off is sent to the television. It has a function of cutting off the current supply to the receiver 2.

  The threshold value here is not always a constant value, but the current amount to the television receiver 2 is fetched a plurality of times every predetermined time, and is calculated and averaged from the average value of each value of the current amount. It is preferable to do this. The threshold value is set each time by the unauthorized use determination unit 44 and written and updated in the threshold value storage unit 47. The threshold value is calculated by, for example, multiplying, dividing, or subtracting a constant value from the average value of the current amount, and setting the threshold value to a value smaller than the average value.

  Next, the operation of the television viewing system 100 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the timer body 11 and the television receiver 2 are appropriately connected. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the center device 3, the timer body 11, Are connected so that bidirectional communication is possible. By inserting the power plug 31 of the timer body 11 into a commercial power outlet, a predetermined operating voltage is supplied to the control unit 41, and the operation unit 41 operates to switch the open / close switch 31 to the on state. As a result, power is supplied from the power supply path 34 of the timer body 11 to the television receiver 2 via the power plug 32 connected to the socket 33, so that the television receiver 2 can be activated.

  The television receiver 2 is controlled via the timer body 11 by pushing the operating body 13 of the remote controller 12. For example, when a broadcast wave of a specific channel is instructed to be selected by the operating body 13, a pattern or code selection signal corresponding to the selection instruction is transmitted from the IR light emitting unit 14 of the remote controller 12, and this is received by the timer body 11 as the IR light reception. When the unit 15 receives the signal, the IR signal identifying unit 42 sends the operation signal to the information providing unit 43.

  The information providing unit 43 decodes the channel instructed to be selected from the code or pattern included in the operation signal, and determines whether or not the channel is a pay target. If the charging control unit 48 is not charged even though it is charged, a retransmission signal for switching to the external input is sent to the tuner unit 24 of the television receiver 2. 16, information for prompting the user to input the ticket number described in the purchase ticket is sent to the tuner unit 24 via the cable 19. Thereby, for example, a display screen 71 as shown in FIG. 6 appears on the display panel 25.

  When the user operates the operation body 13 of the remote controller 12 corresponding to the ticket number based on the display screen 71, the ticket number is displayed on the number display portion 72 of the display screen 71, and whether or not the correct number is input. Can be confirmed. FIG. 7 shows the state of the display screen 71 in which all numbers have been entered.

  If the ticket number input from the remote controller 12 and the authentication code stored in the authentication code storage unit 46 match, the charging control unit 48 determines that the charging authentication has been performed, and retransmits to switch from external input to antenna input. Then, a signal and a retransmission signal for instructing to select pay channel broadcasting are sent to the retransmission unit 16. Thus, the pay channel broadcast can be viewed through the display panel 25 and the speaker 26.

  If the channel for which the selection is instructed by the information providing unit 43 is not a pay target, the retransmission signal for selecting and instructing the channel broadcast is sent to the retransmitting unit 16. As a result, the free channel broadcast can be viewed through the display panel 25 and the speaker 26.

  In a series of operations via the remote controller 12 described above, the IR signal identification unit 42 of the timer body 11 recognizes that it is based on the operation signal from the remote controller 12. FIG. 8 shows the output voltage from the IR light receiving unit 15, but the IR signal identification unit 42 may receive a random pulse voltage (symbol “V1” in FIG. 8) due to noise or the like, or a remote control of another device. Even if a pulse voltage (reference numeral “V2” in FIG. 8) based on the operation signal that is output is output from the IR light receiving unit 15, it is not recognized as an operation signal from the remote controller 12. Only when the pulse voltage based on the operation signal from the remote controller 12 (symbol “V3” in FIG. 8) is output from the IR light receiver 15, a confirmation signal indicating that fact is sent to the unauthorized use determination unit 44. . The unauthorized use determination unit 44 determines whether or not the signal received by the IR light receiving unit 15 is noise. If the signal is not noise, the unauthorized use determination unit 44 determines whether or not the signal is an operation signal from the remote controller 12. It has a function.

  9 and 10 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure in the unauthorized use determination unit 44. The unauthorized use determination unit 44 detects channel selection switching of the television receiver 2 by using a temporary decrease in current consumption of the television receiver 2, and the channel selection switching is due to an operation of the remote controller 12. The current supply to the television receiver 2 is cut off when it is determined that there has been unauthorized use.

  FIG. 9 shows a basic processing procedure. Steps S1 to S6 are combined with subsequent step S8, and when an operation is performed by the remote controller 12, the current amount detected by the current detection unit 36 is calculated. Even if it falls temporarily, it is a routine which judges that it is accompanied by normal operation. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the IR signal identification unit 42 has transmitted a confirmation signal. If there is a confirmation signal, the flag is changed from 0 to 1 in the initial state in the next step, and the built-in time measurement is performed. The operation of the timer, timer 1, is started.

  While the timer 1 is operating in step S4, the value of the current amount detected by the current detection unit 36 is read from the threshold value storage unit 47 when the channel selection of the television receiver 2 is switched. If it is determined that the flag is 1 in the next step S8, the procedure returns to step S1. That is, even if the value of the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36 falls below the threshold between the time when the confirmation signal is sent and the time when the operation of the timer 1 ends, the normal remote controller Therefore, the current supply to the television receiver 2 is continued.

  On the other hand, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the operation of the timer 1 for a predetermined time has ended. If the operation ends, the flag is returned from 1 to 0 (step S5), and the timer 1 is reset (step S6). ). This is because when a certain amount of time has elapsed since the operation of the remote controller 12 and the current amount detected by the current detector 36 falls below the threshold value, it is correctly recognized that this is accompanied by an operation other than the remote controller 12. It is to do.

  Thus, in step S7, when the value of the amount of current detected by the current detector 36 falls below the threshold value, if the flag is 0 in step S8, it is associated with an operation other than the remote controller 12. As a result, the open / close switch 35 is turned off (step S9), thereby making it impossible for an unauthorized user to view the television receiver 2.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is obtained by improving the processing procedure of FIG. In the figure, first, the count value is set to 0 as an initial state (step S11), and the above-described steps S1 to S8 are performed. In this example, even if the flag is 0 in step S8, the procedure of step S9 is not immediately executed, but first, one count value is added in step S12. Further, if necessary, a procedure for starting the operation of the timer 2, which is another timing unit, may be added (step S21).

  In the next step S13, it is determined whether or not the count value has reached a predetermined number of times, that is, three times here, and if it has not reached three times, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if the count value has reached three times, then the open / close switch 35 is turned off (step S9), making it impossible for an unauthorized user to view the television receiver 2. Thus, even if the value of the amount of current detected by the current detector 36 falls below the threshold value, viewing by the television receiver 2 can be continued if it is sudden and does not occur a plurality of times. In this way, it is possible to avoid a problem that the television receiver 2 suddenly becomes impossible to watch due to an erroneous determination by the unauthorized use determination unit 44 despite the normal use.

  Further, when the procedure of step S21 is added, if the value of the current amount is not lower than the threshold value in step S7, or if the flag is 1 in step S8, a predetermined time in step S22 It is determined whether or not the operation of the timer 2 is completed. If the operation is completed, the timer 2 is reset (step S23), and the count value is returned to 0 (step S24). In this way, if the operation of the remote controller 12 is not permitted, but the state in which the amount of current is lower than the threshold value does not occur again within the predetermined time set by the timer 2, the television receiver The unauthorized use determination unit 44 can correctly determine that it is not an unauthorized remote control operation for 2.

  The re-restoration for returning the open / close switch 35 to ON is performed by sending a special re-restoration operation signal to the IR light receiving unit 15 of the timer body 11 from a dedicated remote controller managed on the facility side, for example. Further, in the prepaid card system shown in FIG. 5, a special card for recovery can be inserted into the insertion slot 52 of the read / write device 51.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the remote controller 12 that transmits an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the operation tool 13 and the timer main body 11 as an apparatus main body that receives the operation signal from the remote control 12 are provided. The control unit 41 that converts the operation signal into a retransmit signal that can be discriminated by the television receiver 2 and the IR light receiving unit 18 that is the receiving unit of the television receiver 2 are disposed opposite to the IR light receiving unit 18. A re-transmission unit 16 for transmitting a re-transmission signal. When the control unit 41 receives an operation signal for instructing to select a specific pay broadcast, if the charging authentication has been performed in advance, the control unit 41 re-transmits the operation signal. In the pay TV control apparatus 1 including the charge control unit 48 that permits the conversion of the transmission signal, the current detection unit 36 that detects the amount of current supplied to the television receiver 2 and the presence / absence of an operation signal from the remote controller 12 The current amount detected by the current detection unit 36 is monitored, and the television receiver 2 is detected when the current amount to the television receiver 2 falls below the threshold value even though the operation signal is not received. The timer main body 11 includes an unauthorized use determination unit 44 that interrupts the current supply to the timer body 11.

  Here, paying attention to the fact that the current consumption for the television receiver 2 temporarily decreases when the broadcast wave channel selection is changed in the television receiver 2, and monitors the presence or absence of an operation signal from the remote controller 12. This prevents unauthorized use by users.

  That is, when the amount of current supplied to the television receiver 2 falls below the threshold value even though no operation signal is received from the remote controller 12, the current supply to the television receiver 2 is cut off. In this way, even if the user removes the retransmitting unit 15 from the television receiver 2 and tries to send a signal from another remote device to the exposed IR light receiving unit 18 of the television receiver 2, the unauthorized use determining unit. 44 can recognize this accurately and prevent unauthorized viewing of the pay broadcast.

  Further, the unauthorized use determination unit 44 obtains a value of the current amount to the television receiver 2 by sampling a plurality of times at regular intervals, and sets the threshold based on the average value of the acquired values. It has a configuration to update.

  The current supplied to the television receiver 2 is constantly changing due to various factors. If the threshold value is kept fixed, it is correctly determined that the selection of the broadcast wave has been changed in the television receiver 2. There is a risk that it will not be possible. Therefore, if the value of the current amount to the television receiver w is sampled and acquired a plurality of times at regular time intervals, a threshold value is calculated from the average value of the acquired values, and this is sequentially set and updated, the television receiver It is always possible to correctly determine that the broadcast wave channel selection has been changed on the machine 2.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the unauthorized use determination unit 44 determines that the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36 is greater than the threshold value even though the control unit 41 has not received an operation signal from the remote controller 12. When the number of occurrences decreases, the number of occurrences is counted. When the number of occurrences reaches a plurality of times (for example, 3 times), a signal for switching the open / close switch 35 from on to off is sent to cut off the current supply to the television receiver 2. It has a configuration to make it.

  In this case, the television receiver 2 receives an operation signal from the remote controller of another device (for example, an air conditioner), and the video display on the display panel 25 is accidentally darkened. Even if the amount of current falls below the threshold value, viewing by the television receiver 2 can be continued if such a situation does not occur accidentally a plurality of times. Therefore, it is possible for the unauthorized use determination unit 44 to accurately determine whether or not the user is unauthorized use, and to prevent a malfunction in which the television receiver 2 is unexpectedly turned off.

  Further, the unauthorized use determination unit 44 here counts that the amount of current detected by the current detection unit 36 has fallen below the threshold value even though the operation signal from the remote controller 12 has not been received. After that, even if the operation signal from the remote controller 12 is not received again, the same state in which the amount of current detected by the current detector 36 is lower than the threshold value is maintained even after a certain time has passed. If it does not occur again, a configuration for resetting the count of the number of times may be selectively adopted.

  When there is a remote control of another device (for example, an air conditioner) in the vicinity of the television receiver 2, it is considered that the operation of the remote control is performed at a wider time interval than the operation of the unauthorized remote controller for the television receiver 2. . Paying attention to this point, the unauthorized use determination unit 44 is in a state where the amount of current to the television receiver 2 is lower than the threshold value even though the operation signal from the remote controller 12 is not received. If it does not occur repeatedly within a preset time, it is determined that the operation is not an unauthorized remote control for the television receiver 2, and the occurrence count is reset. By doing so, it becomes possible for the unauthorized use determination unit 44 to more accurately determine whether or not the unauthorized use is made by the user.

  It should be noted that the reset function of the number of times may be selected so as to be incorporated into the unauthorized use determination unit 44 according to the situation of the room where the control device 1 and the television receiver 2 are installed. For example, if there is no remote control for another device described above, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the unauthorized use determination unit 44 is an unauthorized use of the user without intentionally incorporating such a function.

  The present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. In the embodiment, CS television broadcasting received by the receiving antenna 21 is charged, but for example, cable television broadcasting that does not use radio waves may be charged. Further, the remote controller 12 that is a remote device may be connected to the timer main body 11 by wire.

2 TV receiver 11 Timer body (device body)
12 Remote control (remote device)
13 Operating body 16 Retransmission unit 18 IR light receiving unit (receiving unit)
36 Current detection unit 41 Control unit 44 Unauthorized use determination unit 48 Charge control unit

Claims (4)

A remote device for sending an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the operating body;
It comprises a device body that receives an operation signal from the remote device,
The apparatus main body is disposed opposite to a control unit that converts the operation signal into a retransmission signal that can be discriminated by a television receiver, and a reception unit of the television receiver, and sends the retransmission signal to the reception unit. And a re-sending unit
The control unit includes a charging control unit that, when receiving the operation signal instructing to select a specific pay broadcast, permits conversion of the retransmission signal corresponding to the operation signal if charging authentication has been performed in advance. In pay TV control equipment,
A current detector for detecting the amount of current supplied to the television receiver;
The presence or absence of the operation signal from the remote device and the amount of current detected by the current detection unit are monitored, and the amount of current is less than a threshold value even though the operation signal is not received. A pay TV control device comprising: an unauthorized use determination unit that cuts off the current supply to the television receiver when the power is reduced.   The unauthorized use determination unit includes a configuration in which the current value is sampled and acquired a plurality of times at regular time intervals, and the threshold value is set and updated based on an average value of the acquired values. The pay TV control device according to claim 1.   The unauthorized use determination unit counts the number of times the current amount has decreased below a threshold value even though the operation signal has not been received, and when the number reaches a plurality of times, the television receiver 3. The pay TV control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a configuration for interrupting current supply to the TV.   The unauthorized use determination unit, although not receiving the operation signal, after the amount of current has fallen below a threshold value, but not receiving the operation signal, the current 4. The pay TV control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of times is reduced below the threshold value, and the count of the number of times is reset if it does not occur again after a predetermined time has elapsed. .

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