Radio receiver

IS 2 198 643 T3

DESCRIPTION

Radio receiver.

The invention relates to a radio receiver, especially an ultrashort wave receiver with

- a reception stage for the reception and demodulation of a radio signal,

- an evaluation stage for the evaluation, according to predetermined reception criteria, of the quality of the reception of the radio signals received,

- a storage stage for storing data of at least the transmission frequencies of the stations, whose radio signals meet the established reception criteria,

- a control element for tuning the reception stage with the reception of the radio signal of the desired station,

- an indication element to indicate the information extracted from the stored data about at least the desired station and

- a control unit for controlling at least the reception stage, the storage stage and the display element in accordance with the actuation of the operating element and with the reception quality evaluated by the evaluation stage.

From EP-A-95 564 a mobile radio receiver is known, in particular a car radio with direct program selection, which, on an operating panel, has display surfaces and selection keys assigned to them for selection. of the indicated programs. In order to create a small and clear control panel, in which a large number of station programs are still displayed, which can be received with the radio receiver at different locations, the radio display areas can be occupied. programs with interchangeable program indicators, which reproduce the current selection of programs broadcast by stations whose reception quality satisfies, at the momentary location of the receiver, the previously established reception criteria, for example a certain intensity of the reception field.

This known radio receiver contains a freely accessible switching memory (RAM), which has a large number of memory locations, each of which is permanently assigned to one of the program display surfaces with its corresponding control key. selection. This switching memory is occupied with station definition quantities of the station that can be received at the receiver's location and that satisfy the predetermined reception criteria. This occupation is updated continuously. For the continuous updating of the memory content to adapt to a changing reception location, a circuit is required in known radio receivers, the essential components of which are a second reception stage with an automatic search system for the permanent location of the stations. that can be received, a station identification device for identifying the station located in each case and a reception quality control device for controlling the reception quality of the station located in each case. These components are contained in the known radio receiver together with the reception stage necessary for the reception and reproduction of the desired programs.

From GB-A-2 213 336 an RDS radio receiver with indication of selectable transmission frequencies of certain broadcast stations is known. This radio receiver contains a tuning stage, which can be tuned to at least two frequency bands. Combined with it is a data decoder for decoding the transmitted data signals together with a received radio signal. The received radio signal is in this case within a first frequency band, for example in the mid-wave range. The data signals comprise data referring to radio signals inside the first frequency band and data signals, referring to radio signals in the other frequency bands, for example the long wave range. A data memory is connected to the data decoder for storing the data signals relating to the other frequency bands. The data belonging to the selected radio signal are reproduced, at least in part, by means of a touch-sensitive display unit. In this way, RDS data, which are transmitted with the broadcast frequencies to which the RDS system applies, and which refer in particular to the broadcast frequencies of the same radio program with which the RDS system is not used, are retained with the reception arrangement. transmit RDS signals. In this way, the selection of all or at least part of the broadcast frequencies of a radio program can be represented in the display and the desired broadcast frequency corresponding to the desired radio program can be selected.

Radio receivers according to the state of the art are, on the one hand, relatively expensive in construction and / or, on the other, can only be used to a limited extent. The use of two complete reception stages (tuners), working in parallel, of which only one is needed during a predominant part of the operation of the radio receiver, means, especially in a consumer article manufactured in large quantities, such as the one that represents a radio receiver, a very high additional cost and not profitable. On the other hand, the indicated display devices are very expensive and, above all, require a lot of space on the front side of the radio set, on which generally all the operating elements of a radio receiver of this kind are arranged. Especially in the case of radio receivers intended for use in motor vehicles, where the dimensions of the front sides of the radio receivers are narrowly limited by the standard housings, any large operating element creates great difficulties in construction. . Furthermore, increasing the number of operating organs also increases the degree of complexity of handling by the listener. On the other hand, in radio receivers that can be used in another way, due to the miniaturization of the components, the ratio between the space necessary for the operating elements and the space necessary for the other elements increases, so that, in such a way As a matter of urgency, as the amount of performance of these radio receivers increases, a simplification of the operating elements is necessary without prejudice to the ease of use.

The invention has for its object to construct a radio receiver of the kind set out above in such a way,

ES 2 198 643 T3 that, with a low equipment cost, the simple, compact and clear selection of the desired stations is possible.

This problem is solved according to the invention in a radio receiver of the class set out above by the fact that for tuning the reception stage to the desired station it is possible to extract the data of the stations from the memory stage, the signals of which The radio stations meet the predetermined reception criteria, in an order, classified according to selectable characteristics, determined by the control unit by means of actuation of the operating means, at the same time, that the control element is built with a single selection device with which it is possible to go from one desired station to the previous or the next one in the pre-established order and that the data stored in the memory stage is updated, at least in part with the data of the stations whose radio signals momentarily meet the predetermined reception criteria, in one of the following selectable premises:

- when the quality of reception of the radio signal of a desired station does not meet, respectively no longer meets the preset reception criteria momentarily, the corresponding data is erased in the memory stage and the reception stage is adjusted in the reception of the radio signal of a new desired station; the new desired station preferably has the same program as the previous desired station and the data of the new desired station replaces the erased data of the previous desired station in the memory stage; the new desired station is located, in a particularly preferred manner, by means of a station search scan of the reception stage.

- when the desired station is changed by actuation of the operating element, it is checked whether the radio signal of the new desired station meets the predetermined reception criteria; if so, the control unit expands the data of the memory stage with the data of the new desired station; In this case, the broadcast frequency of the new desired station is preferably located by means of a station search sweep,

- before at least the reception stage of the radio receiver is switched off, the control unit stores again in the memory stage, by means of a station search scan for a range of emission frequencies as wide as possible , preferably for all transmission frequencies to which the reception stage can be tuned, the data of the stations. whose radio signals meet the predetermined reception criteria, at the same time, that the station data is obtained from the transmission frequencies of the received radio signals and / or the RDS data stream received as part of the signals radio.

In the terminology of the present invention, the term "transmitter" is defined as a signal, which comprises radio signals, in particular audio signals as well as optionally data signals modulated on a transmission frequency, respectively a carrier frequency and which are emitted by a radio station by means of a broadcasting facility at a particular location. With "program" the radio signal with a certain information content is designated. A program, broadcast in the Federal Republic of Germany as “NDR1”, “WDR1”, “SFB”, etc. can be broadcast, modulated through various transmission facilities on different transmission frequencies (carrier frequencies), in different places.

The term "station search scan" here refers to the continuous (automatic) tuning of the reception stage, in particular with the help of the control unit „which continues until a radio signal, respectively a station, is received. The disconnection of the radio receiver, respectively at least of its reception stage, in the object of the present invention, results in the taking out of service of the entire radio receiver or only in taking the radio receiver out of service. reception, at the same time, as, for example, the sound reproduction devices covered by the radio receiver, especially the loudspeakers, they can still be used for the reproduction of sound signals from other sound sources, for example for the reproduction of sound signals from cassettes or CDs. However, in each of these cases the reception stage of the radio receiver is no longer needed, once disconnected, for the reproduction of the sound of a station, respectively of a program.

The invention has the advantage that a radio receiver is created which, on the one hand, has a simple construction and, on the other hand, simple, compact and clear operating elements. In this case, at least the evaluation stage and the control unit can advantageously be combined in a microprocessor. Through its programming, a very powerful and flexible organization of data can be obtained in the memory stage.

The tuning member can be constructed as a search sweep key, but is preferably constructed as a radio station selection knob. This makes it possible to handle the selection of the desired station in an ergonomically favorable way. For this purpose, the operating element comprises an incremental transmitter coupled with the selection member to advance towards the adjacent station in the predetermined order. In this case, a determined angle of rotation of the rotary control of the station selection can be used in a fundamental way to advance from one station to the next, respectively the previous one; On the other hand, a preset angle of rotation can also be equivalent to a certain frequency separation on the scale of transmitting frequencies, which can be easily chosen through an appropriate configuration of the incremental transmitter or a suitable configuration of the transducers. steps of processing the signals supplied by the incremental transmitter. This choice also favors the ergonomics of the operating elements.

In order to determine the order of reading the data of the memory stage, different characteristics of the located stations can be used as a choice. For example, for this, the transmission frequency can be selected and, when the operating element is operated, the stations stored in the memory stage are tuned in the order of their transmission frequencies. Equally easy is an alphabetically defined order of the stations according to the station names, thus making it easier for the listener to choose the stations according to a searched program. Therefore, if the listener wants to hear a certain program, he can select directly with the ele3

ES 2 198 643 T3 the name of the station (respectively also the name of the program), without having to scan, respectively, scan the frequency scale and without taking into account the assignment of the station names to the frequency scale .

The drawing shows an exemplary embodiment of a radio receiver according to the invention. In it they show:

Figure 1, a block diagram of the radio receiver.

Figure 2, as a very simplified example, a list of stations whose reception quality meets predetermined reception criteria.

Figure 3 shows a symbolic alphabetical classification of the station names with their assignment to the operating element.

Figure 1 shows a highly schematic block diagram of a radio receiver according to the invention. The radio signals to be received arrive via an antenna 1 at a reception stage 2 in which they are demodulated in the usual way. The low-frequency audio signals obtained therefrom are applied through a connection 3 to an audio signal amplifier 4, amplified therein and brought to a loudspeaker 6 for reproduction via a loudspeaker connection 5. These components of the radio receiver from antenna 1 to loudspeaker 6 have a conventional construction.

The radio receiver according to FIG. 1 also contains a control unit 7 preferably constructed with a microprocessor and connected via signal lines 8, 9, respectively control, with the reception stage 2, respectively the amplifier 4. Also connected to the control unit 7 are a memory stage 10 via a data line 11, an indication element 12 via a line 13 and a control element 14 via a control line 15 . The control unit 7 equipped with a microprocessor also comprises in the present example an evaluation stage for evaluating the quality. reception quality of the radio signals received by the reception stage 2 through the antenna 1 according to reception criteria. preset, for example the intensity of the reception field. In this case, the microprocessor takes over both the functions of the evaluation stage, of the control unit of the control processes according to the invention, as well as control of the data and signal flow in and between the other components of the receiver. radio represented. Since modern radio receivers already provide, for example for scanning stations and for setting sound reproduction parameters (volume, tone, balance between several loudspeakers, switching between different sources of audio signals, etc.), a control with a microprocessor, can also be used in a simple way for the configuration according to the invention of the radio receiver, without the need for a significant construction cost. In this way, the advantages of the invention of the simplification of the display and operating elements are manifested in a particular way.

In the radio receiver according to the invention, the station scanning known per se is used, in which the reception stage 2 is continuously tuned with the aid of the control unit 7, in a manner known per se to locate the stations. radio signals of the stations to be received, especially those of a desired station, in the frequency range (wave range) covered by reception stage 2. The radio signals of a localized station are controlled by the evaluation stage, that is to say by the microprocessor of the control unit 7, from the point of view of meeting the predetermined reception criteria. In particular, it is checked whether the intensity of the reception field does not go below a specified limit value. However, other reception criteria can also be controlled, for example the non-linear distortion coefficient or the amplitude of certain data signals or characteristics in the radio signal, such as the stereo identification signal. If the radio signal meets the predetermined reception criteria, a data bank is created respectively updated with all the extractable data of this radio signal in the memory step 10. To this end, in memory stage 10, in particular, the detected transmission frequency of the station to which reception stage 2 is currently tuned is memorized. In addition, the radio signal may contain, in particular, RDS data signals, which contain additional information on the station currently tuned in. This data is also stored in memory stage 10. The stored data thus form - collected over the entire frequency range by scanning the stations - a database of stations, which can be received at that moment with a reception quality that satisfies the predetermined reception criteria. . The evaluation of the RDS data also makes it possible to store the data of other stations and, in a configuration of the radio receiver according to the invention, it is possible that the reception stage 2 is also tuned by the control unit 7 to these stations. additional to detect if these stations also meet the preset reception criteria.

The data bank of the stations, which can be received with a sufficient reception quality, stored in the memory stage 10, can be used by the user of the radio receiver (listener) for selection through the operating element 14 . Figure 2 shows a very simple example with a very schematic representation of the registration of five different stations in a list, which forms a data bank of stations that can be received in memory step 10. This data bank first contains the data of the stations in a disordered way, as they are located and stored in the station scan. A function of the microprocessor necessary in any case in the control unit 7 for the administration of the memory stage 10 now makes it possible to classify this initially disordered data bank according to different selectable criteria. It is therefore possible in a simple way to supply the listener with the various stations which fulfill the reception criteria (stations with sufficient reception quality), for example in alphabetical order, when operating the operating element. By actuating the operating element 14, the different stations can thus be selected in an order, as shown schematically in FIG. 3. By turning the tuning device, built as a rotary control for the selection of stations, you switch between the stations in the alphabetical order of their station names and the station chosen in each case, that is, the desired station, is indicated - so governed by unit 7 of

ES 2 198 643 T3 control via connection 13 - by the element 12 indicating its name. In the example of figure 1 it is the station "Bayern 3" and in the example of figure 3 it is the station "HR3".

Based on the conventional frequency scale for tuning the stations, another classification possibility is available due to the fact that the data bank is increasingly classified and offered in memory stage 10 of the transmitting frequencies of the stations. with a sufficient reception quality. With the operating element 14, the tuning of the different stations can then take place, that is to say the selection of the desired station, as on a conventional frequency scale (tuning scale of a conventional radio receiver).

In particular in mobile use of the radio receiver according to the invention, it is important to periodically update the data bank of the memory stage 10, since the local reception conditions and thus the reception quality of the different stations often vary greatly. . The updating of the data bank is carried out in the radio receiver according to the invention by the control unit 7 on all occasions in which the reception stage 2 is not used continuously for the reception of the radio signal, which it must be reproduced at that moment, or also by evaluating the RDS data signal. In this way, the quality of reception of the desired station reproduced at that moment is continuously monitored in the control unit 7 by means of the evaluation stage contained therein. If it does not meet or no longer meets the reception criteria, that is, if the reception of the desired station qualitatively deteriorates, the corresponding data is erased in memory stage 10 and the reception stage is tuned with the reception of the signal from radio of a new desired station. The new desired station preferably has the same program as the station desired up to now and the data of the new desired station replaces in the memory step 10 the data deleted for the station desired up to now. The data of the new desired station can be detected again in this case by means of a station search scan performed by the reception stage 2; However, it is also possible that in memory stage 10, due to the evaluation of the RDS signal data, the data of different stations with the same program are already stored and that these are selected successively by the control unit 7 , are checked from the point of view of their reception quality and, if they meet the reception criteria, the new station found is tuned in as the new desired station and its program is played.

Another occasion is obtained for updating the data bank in memory stage 10 with the change of station produced by the listener through the operating element 14, which includes both the change to another station with the same program, as well as to another station with a different program. The control of the reception criteria of the new desired station automatically leads to the updating of the database.

If the radio receiver according to the invention is connected respectively equipped with both the reception stage 2, and also with other sources of audio signals - not represented in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity - the control unit 7 will proceed whenever it is reproduced an audio signal from another audio signal source of this kind (cassette recorder, CD, ...) to a complete update as far as possible of the data bank in the memory stage 10. A station search scan is used for this as well as the evaluation of the RDS data signals. Preferably, the same process is also possible, when the listener takes the radio receiver out of service. The control unit 7 then performs - preferably unnoticed by the listener - a complete update of the data bank of the memory stage 10 over the entire frequency range, which can be received. This has the additional advantage that when the radio receiver is commissioned again, a database can be used with the maximum possible update.

The configuration of the tuning member of the operating element 14 as a rotary station selection knob enables ergonomically favorable handling of the radio receiver according to the invention. With the rotary drive of this tuning member, the selection and tuning of the desired station can be carried out in a very favorable manner, both from one station to the adjacent station, as well as across the entire list of stations in the data bank. In this case, no difficulties arise due to stations that are too close together in this tuning movement.

The exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1 shows in broken lines an auxiliary reception stage 16, which is not necessary according to the invention, but which can also be used in the radio receiver according to the invention. If the updating of the database in the memory stage 10 is carried out with an auxiliary reception stage 16 of this kind - governed by the control unit 7 - the steps are simplified, which the control unit 7 must carry out, but this forces to accept a higher construction cost.