Broadcast receiving apparatus and starting method thereof
Patent No. US7730507 (titled "Broadcast receiving apparatus and starting method thereof") on May 14, 2007. The application was issued on Jun 1, 2010.
What is this patent about?
’507 is related to the field of digital broadcast receiving apparatuses, such as modern televisions, that utilize complex operating systems and digital signal processors. These devices often face a significant trade-off between energy efficiency and user convenience, as the high-performance components required to decode digital signals typically involve lengthy boot-up sequences that can exceed ten seconds, leading to user frustration when powering on the device from a cold standby state.
The underlying idea behind ’507 is to implement a multi-stage standby architecture that uses a low-power auxiliary processor to anticipate user activity and pre-warm the system. By separating the power management into distinct tiers, the invention allows the device to remain in a deep, energy-saving sleep until a trigger—such as a proximity sensor, a timer, or a network signal—indicates a high probability of use. This trigger prompts the system to boot the main processor and OS in the background, effectively hiding the startup latency from the user.
The claims of ’507 focus on a control architecture featuring a first controller and a second controller, where the first controller manages a tiered waiting mode. Specifically, the independent claims describe a system that transitions between a first waiting condition, where power is withheld from the main decoder and OS-driven controller to save energy, and a second waiting condition, where power is proactively supplied to these high-latency components. This allows the main control circuit and decoder to complete their initialization while the display remains off, ensuring the device is ready for near-instantaneous image output upon receiving a final remote control command.
In practice, the system functions as an intelligent gatekeeper. While the television appears off to the user, the low-power sub-CPU remains active, monitoring for environmental changes or specific time windows. When a person enters the room or a scheduled viewing time arrives, the sub-CPU engages the main power source unit to energize the primary digital LSI and MPEG decoder. This background initialization ensures that when the user finally presses the power button on their remote, the system has already bypassed the time-consuming OS loading and microcode downloading phases.
This approach differs from prior solutions that either relied on maintaining a high-power standby state—which wastes electricity—or attempted to mask boot times by temporarily displaying analog broadcasts. By utilizing a staged power-up sequence triggered by external sensors or timers, the invention achieves a 'quick-start' experience compatible with purely digital broadcasting environments. It effectively balances the modern requirement for sophisticated software-driven processing with the practical need for low standby power consumption and immediate responsiveness.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the mid-2000s when ’507 was filed, the transition from analog to digital broadcasting standards necessitated the integration of complex signal processing components, such as CPUs and digital LSIs running dedicated operating systems, into consumer receiving hardware. At a time when system initialization was typically implemented using sequential boot sequences—including microcode downloading and OS decompression—startup latencies often exceeded ten seconds, creating a significant delay between power-on and image display. When hardware constraints made high-speed cold booting non-trivial, engineering efforts were often directed toward bridging this gap by temporarily utilizing faster-starting analog tuners, a strategy that became increasingly obsolete as analog signals were phased out.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement by introducing a multi-stage power management architecture that utilizes proximity detection to decouple the lengthy system boot process from the user's manual power-on command. By integrating a proximity detector that monitors physical changes in the surrounding space, the system enables an architectural shift where the high-latency video processing components—specifically the CPU and OS—are energized and initialized in a background state before the main power switch is activated. This configuration overcomes the technical constraint of slow digital boot times by achieving a pre-initialized state while maintaining low power consumption, as the display and other high-draw components remain unpowered until the user explicitly engages the device.
Claims
This patent contains 15 claims, with claims 1, 2, and 14 serving as the independent claims. The independent claims focus on a broadcast program receiving apparatus and a corresponding method that utilize a dual-controller architecture—comprising a low-power sub-controller and a main controller—to manage power distribution between a first waiting condition, where power is cut to the main controller and decoder, and a second waiting condition, where power is supplied to these components to enable faster startup. The dependent claims further define this system by incorporating human sensors, timers for scheduled power state transitions, visual indicators for current waiting modes, and network-based triggers for shifting between power states.
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US7730507
- Application Number
- US11748108A
- Filing Date
- May 14, 2007
- Publication Date
- Jun 1, 2010
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents