Apparatus and method for controlling display of image information including character information

• US 20020067433A1
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Published: 06/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuzaki, Eiichi, Tsunoda, Takashi, Yui, Hideaki
• Granted Patent: US 6,885,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/588
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/125 wherein one of the images is motion video
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/027 Arrangements and methods specific for the display of internet documents
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

A multi-window display apparatus is provided with such characteristics that, when a data telecast window is displayed as one window of multi-window display, the user can view the screen with improved visibility of a character area of the data telecast and the multi-window display, without disturbing the “standardized presentation” of the data telecast window intended by a telecast service provider. In scale-down display of the date telecast window, an area of character telecast display part is discriminated, the area is displayed with focus to facilitate recognition of the character part, and, in response to user'"'"'s selection of the focus part on a remote controller, the character area is displayed in a scale-up state of original size.

Claims

1. A multi-window display apparatus for combining windows corresponding to a plurality of input image data to present a multi-window display thereof, comprising:

identifying means for identifying a character information area in one window of the windows;

contour area extracting means for extracting a contour area of said identified character information area; and

display changing means for changing a display mode of the character information area in said extracted contour area when said one window is displayed in a scale-down state equal to or less than a predetermined size as one of window elements of said multi-window display.

2. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 1, comprising layout changing means for changing a layout of a data telecast window as said window when said plurality of image data is supplied from a plurality of picture sources including a data telecast,

wherein said display changing means changes said display mode in accordance with a change of said layout.

3. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined size is such a size that a character size in said character information area is equal to or less than a predetermined character size.

4. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the multi-window display apparatus is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling said data telecast.

5. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display changing means provides no display of character information in said contour area.

6. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display changing means changes said contour area to focus display of a color frame.

7. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when said display changing means changes said contour area to focus display of a color frame, said display changing means sets the focus display of the color frame to a same color as a color button provided in said remote controller.

8. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said display changing means scales the character information area in said contour area up to a predetermined character size permitting discrimination of character information, in response to an operation of said remote controller, and displays said character information area in the predetermined character size.

9. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when a control element designated in said data telecast is included in said character information area in said contour area displayed in the scale-up state, said control element can be controlled by said remote controller.

10. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said identifying means identifies said character information area while separating said character information area into a text element consisting of text information and a control element consisting of a menu button,

wherein said contour area extracting means separately extracts said contour areas for the respective elements, and

wherein said display changing means changes display modes of the contour areas for the respective elements.

11. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said display changing means changes the contour area for each said element to focus display of a color frame.

12. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the multi-window display apparatus is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast, wherein when said display changing means changes the contour area for each said element to focus display of a color frame, said display changing means sets the focus display of said color frame to a same color as a color button provided in said remote controller.

13. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the multi-window display apparatus is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast, wherein said display changing means scales the character information area in the contour area for each said element up to a predetermined character size permitting discrimination of said character information, in response to an operation of said remote controller, and displays the character information area in the predetermined character size.

14. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 13, wherein when the control element designated in said data telecast is included in the character information area in said contour area displayed in the scale-up state for each said element, said control element can be controlled by said remote controller.

15. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said display changing means displays a character string or an icon by which the contents of the element can be visually discriminated, over the character information area in the contour area for each said element.

16. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said display changing means performs alpha blending of the character information area in said contour area and a multi-window display area to present alpha-blended display.

17. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 8 or 13, wherein when said character information area is displayed in the scale-up state, said display changing means effects stepwise scale-up transition of said character information area within a predetermined time.

18. A multi-window display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the multi-window display apparatus is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast,

wherein said identifying means identifies said character information area while separating said character information area into a plurality of areas for the respective elements and for each identical element, and

wherein said display changing means changes the display mode by switching among contour areas of the plurality of separate character information areas for each said identical element, in response to an operation of the remote controller.

19. A data telecast receiving apparatus for accepting input of a plurality of image data from a plurality of picture sources including a data telecast, and combining windows corresponding to said image data to present multi-window display thereof, comprising:

identifying means for identifying a character information area in a data telecast window;

contour area extracting means for extracting a contour area of the character information area thus identified; and

display changing means for changing a display mode of the character information area In said extracted contour area when said data telecast window is displayed in a scale-down state equal to or less than a predetermined size as one of window elements of said multi-window display.

20. A multi-window display method of combining windows corresponding to a plurality of input image data to present multi-window display thereof, comprising:

a step of identifying a character information area in a said window;

a step of extracting a contour area of the character information area thus identified; and

a step of changing a display mode of the character information area in said extracted contour area when said window is displayed in a scale-down state equal to or less than a predetermined size as one of window elements of said multi-window display.

21. A multi-window display method according to claim 20, comprising a step of changing a layout of a data telecast window as said window when said plurality of image data is supplied from a plurality of picture sources including a data telecast,

wherein in said step of changing the display mode, said display mode is changed according to a change of said layout.

22. A multi-window display method according to claim 20, wherein said predetermined size is such a size that a character size in said character information area is equal to or less than a predetermined character size.

23. A multi-window display method according to claim 21, which is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling said data telecast.

24. A multi-window display method according to claim 20, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, character information in said contour area is not displayed.

25. A multi-window display method according to claim 20, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, said contour area Is changed to focus display of a color frame.

26. A multi-window display method according to claim 23, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, when said contour area is changed to focus display of a color frame, the-focus display of the color frame is set to a same color as a color button provided in said remote controller.

27. A multi-window display method according to claim 23, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, the character information area in said contour area is scaled up to a predetermined character size permitting discrimination of character information, in response to an operation of said remote controller, and the character information area is displayed in the predetermined character size.

28. A multi-window display method according to claim 27, wherein when a control element designated in said data telecast is included in the character information area in said contour area displayed in the scale-up state, said control element can be controlled by said remote controller.

29. A multi-window display method according to claim 20, wherein in said step of identifying, said character information area is identifying while being separated into a text element consisting of text information and a control element consisting of a menu button,

wherein in said step of extracting the contour area, said contour area is separately extracted for each said element, and

wherein in said step of changing the display mode, the display mode of the contour area for each said element is changed.

30. A multi-window display method according to claim 29, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, the contour area for each said element is changed to focus display of a color frame.

31. A multi-window display method according to claim 29, which is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, when the contour area for each said element is changed to focus display of a color frame, the focus display of said color frame is set to a same color as a color button provided in said remote controller.

32. A multi-window display method according to claim 29, which is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, said character information area in the contour area for each said element is scaled up to a predetermined character size permitting discrimination of said character information, in response to an operation of the remote controller, and is displayed in the predetermined character size.

33. A multi-window display method according to claim 32, wherein when a control element designated in said data telecast is included in the character information area in said contour area displayed in the scale-up state for each said element, said control element can be controlled by said remote controller.

34. A multi-window display method according to claim 29, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, a character string or an icon, by which the contents of the element can be visually discriminated, is displayed over the character information area in the contour area for each said element.

35. A multi-window display method according to claim 27, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, alpha blending of the character information area in said contour area and a multi-window display area is effected to present alpha-blended display.

36. A multi-window display method according to claim 27 or 32, wherein in said step of changing the display mode, when said character information area is displayed in the scale-up state, stepwise scale-up transition is implemented within a predetermined time.

37. A multi-window display method according to claim 29, wherein the method is applied to a data telecast receiving apparatus having a remote controller for controlling a data telecast,

wherein in said step of identifying, said character information area is identified while being separated into a plurality of areas for the respective elements and for each identical element, and

wherein in said step of changing the display mode, the display mode is changed by switching among contour areas of the plurality of separate character information areas for each said identical element in response to an operation of said remote controller.

38. A memory storing a program code for implementing the multi-window display method as set forth in claim 20.

39. A program comprising a program code for implementing the multi-window display method as set forth in claim 20.