Equipment for reproduction of alphanumerical data

• US 4,600,918 A
• Filed: 06/28/1982
• Issued: 07/15/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Safer Display Technology Limited
• Original Assignee: Indesit Industria Elettrodomestici Italiana SPA
• Inventors: Belisomi, Pietro, Farina, Attilio
• Primary Examiner(s): Curtz, Marshall M.
• Application Number:
  US06/393,127
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 340/721, 340/711, 340/745, 368/28, 368/29, 368/10
• US Class Current: 345/160
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/222 Control of the character-code memory
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0016 Indicating arrangements digital indication of tuning in general H03J1/048
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/005 in a loop
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 5/0281 the digital values being held in an auxiliary non erasable memory

Abstract

The invention relates to a television set provided with a alphanumerical display device for displaying on the television screen (6), as an alternative to the received video picture, another complete picture constituted by alphanumerical data which can comprise all the letters in the alphabet, the numbers from 0 to 9 and graphic symbols.

The invention also relates to a receiver provided with color picture display means for displaying, following a control from the user, a calendar data constituted by at least one of the said colour pictures and composed of alphanumerical characters.

The invention also relates to a receiver for receiving radioelectric signals which is provided with an alphanumerical character display device in which the tuning of a radioelectric signal takes place by means of a message from the user composed of alphanumerical characters and representative of the station which transmits the said radioelectric signal.

The invention relates furthermore to a receiver comprising reproducer means for reproducing on a display screen, or reproducer printing means or vodal reproducer means for the reproduction of alphanumerical data, in which the instruction from the user for the generation of the alphanumerical data coded control signals takes place by means of telecontrol unit.

All the said receivers comprise a control unit (1, 2) comprising an alphanumerical keyboard apt to generate at least as many coded control signals as the characters which can be generated for being reproduced, a control unit (3) for the detection of the control signals generated by the control unit, and circuit means (4) for generating, through reproducer means (5), the alphanumerical data formed by the said selected characters.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising:

(a) display means for displaying a color image;

(b) character generation means capable of being operatively coupled at video frequencies to said display means;

(c) a keyboard for inputting coded data signals corresponding to characters and control signals corresponding to commands by remote control;

(d) random access memory (RAM) means for non-volatilely storing data signals, and

(e) control means connected to said keyboard, said RAM means, and said character generation means, said control means comprising means for decoding coded data signals received from said keyboard, means for storing decoded data signals in said RAM means, means for sending said decoded data signals to said character generation means, means for sending format control signals received from said keyboard to said character generation means for displaying characters corresponding to said data signals received from said keyboard and formatting said characters in accordance with said format control signals, means for reading data signals stored in said RAM means, buffer means for temporarily storing data signals read from said RAM means, means for sending said data signals stored in said buffer means to said character generation means for displaying characters corresponding to said data signals, and means for controlling the operating mode of said television receiver in response to mode control signals received from said keyboard,

wherein said television receiver is placed in a first operational mode in which said character generation means is coupled to said keyboard for displaying a picture comprising formatted characters corresponding to data signals directly input by way of said keyboard and stored in said RAM means in response to first mode control signals and in a second operational mode in which said character generation means is coupled to said RAM means for displaying a picture comprising formatted characters corresponding to stored data signals read-out from said RAM means in response to second mode control signals.

2. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means further comprises a pointer register, means for selecting an address of said RAM means, each address being selected in response to receipt of a set of coded data signals corresponding to a character to be displayed and in dependence on the content of said pointer register, means for storing decoded data signals in binary form in a cell corresponding to said selected address in said RAM means, means for reading said stored code out of said RAM means, means for sending said read code to said character generation means, and means for modifying the contents of said pointer register by one unit.

3. The television receiver as defined in claim 2, wherein said control means further comprises means for sequentially reading the cells of said RAM means, means for sending the contents of said cells to said character generation means, means for receiving further coded data signals corresponding to further characters to be displayed and control signals corresponding to commands, and means for storing further decoded data signals in said cells of said RAM means in place of the previously stored decoded data signals.

4. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said character generation means comprise means for generating said characters in the form of dot matrices.

5. The television receiver as defined in claim 4, wherein said input means comprises means for assigning a color code to each character to be displayed, and said control means further comprises random access memory (RAM) buffer means including a first group of cells for storing decoded data signals corresponding to characters to be displayed and a second group of cells for storing decoded data signals corresponding to associated color codes received from said input means, and further comprises means for periodically sending, in synchronization with line and frame scanning on said receiver, said character and color data signals from said RAM buffer means to said character generation means for displaying said characters in a format comprising a predetermined number of lines each having a predetermined number of characters.

6. The television receiver as defined in claim 5, wherein said control means further comprises means for storing character and color data signals in said RAM buffer means corresponding to a single line of characters to be displayed in synchronization with the vertical scanning return period of said receiver.

7. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said input means comprises a keyboard having a cursor key for controlling the position of a first pointer character on said display means and a shift key for enabling at least one key of said keyboard which produces a first coded signal in response to depression to produce a second and different coded signal in response to depression, and said control means further comprises a pointer register for storing a value corresponding to the position of said pointer on said display means, means for modifying the contents of said pointer register in response to depression of said cursor key, and means for controlling said character generation means to display a second pointer character in place of said first pointer character in response to depression of said shift key.

8. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said input means comprises a keyboard having a color key for selecting one of a plurality of colors for the characters to be displayed following depression of said color key and means for assigning one of a plurality of color codes to each character to be displayed following said depression and before the next succeeding depression of said color key, said plurality of color codes being assigned in a predetermined sequence which is cyclically repeated, the next color code in said predetermined sequence being assigned following the next depression of said color key, and said control means further comprises means for controlling said character generation means to display said first or second pointer character in the color selected by said depression of said color key.

9. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means further comprises read only memory (ROM) means for storing a binary coded sequence and means for reading out said stored binary coded sequence for controlling said character generation means to display an instruction message corresponding to said stored binary coded sequence, and said input means comprises a keyboard having an instruction key for actuating display of said instruction message in response to depression of said instruction key.

10. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means further comprises means for generating in a predetermined sequence the codes corresponding to each of a multiplicity of characters and means for controlling said character generation means to display a test pattern made up of said predetermined sequence of characters, and said input means comprises a keyboard having a test key for actuating display of said test pattern in response to depression of said test key.

11. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said input means comprises means for inputting coded data signals corresponding to tuning, color, brightness, or volume data for controlling said receiver in said first operating mode.

12. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means further comprises means for detecting a predetermined sequence of signals in a predetermined part of the signals corresponding to said complete alternative picture and means for activating a preset function on said receiver in response to detection of said predetermined sequence.

13. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said input means comprises a keyboard having a first function key for actuating display of a first calendar month and a multiplicity of data keys corresponding to arabic number 0-9, and means for generating a coded control signal representing a calendar operating mode and coded data signals identifying a calendar month to be displayed in response to depression of said first function key and said data keys respectively, and said control means further comprises means for switching to said calendar mode in response to receipt of said calendar mode control signal and means for executing said calendar mode whereby said calendar month data signals are decoded, the day of the first date of and first calendar month to be displayed is calculated, and signals are output for controlling said character generation means to generate a seven-column array of data representing said first calendar month on said display means in at least two colors.

14. The television receiver as defined in claim 13, wherein said control means further comprises means for associating coded signals representing a first color with a first group of days and a second color with a second group of days of a calendar month to be displayed.

15. The television receiver as defined in claim 14, wherein said input means comprises means for selecting a third color and means for associating said third color with a predetermined day of a calendar month to be displayed, and said control means further comprises means for controlling said character generation means to generate a character representing said predetermined day in said third color on said display means.

16. The television receiver as defined in claim 13, wherein said control means further comprises means for controlling said character generation means to generate an instruction on said display means in response to receipt of said calendar mode control signal, said instruction requesting the input of numbers corresponding to the month and year of the calendar month to be displayed by the user, and said input means comprises means for generating said calendar month data signals in response to despression of keys corresponding to said month and year numbers.

17. The television receiver as defined in claim 13, wherein said keyboard has a second function key for actuating display of the calendar month next in sequence after said first calendar month, and said control means further comprises means for calculating the numbers corresponding to the month and year of said next calendar month in response to depression of said second function key and means for controlling said character generation means to generate a seven-column array of data representing said next calendar month on said display means.

18. The television receiver as defined in claim 1, wherein said input means comprises a remote control transmitting means having an alphanumerical keyboard and receiving means remotely coupled to receive radiation from said transmitting means and connected to output coded signals to said control means in response to receipt of radiation.

19. A television receiver comprising:

(a) an alphanumerical character display means;

(b) character generation means capable of being operatively coupled to said display means;

(c) a keyboard for inputting coded data signals corresponding to alphanumerical characters and control signals corresponding to commands by remote control;

(d) television signal tuning means for direct channel tuning;

(e) random access memory (RAM) means for non-volatilely storing data signals, and

(f) control means connected to said character generation means, said signal tuning means, said RAM means, and said keyboard;

wherein said RAM means comprises a first plurality of cells and a second plurality of cells associated with said first plurality of cells, said first plurality of cells storing data relating to tuning of television signals broadcast by a plurality of broadcast stations, and said second plurality of cells storing data forming identifying labels corresponding to each of those broadcast stations having tuning data stored in said first plurality of cells, said control means comprising means for decoding a sequence of data signals representing an identifying label received from said keyboard, means for storing a plurality of identifying labels in said second plurality of cells, means for receiving from said keyboard a sequence of data signals representing a selected identifying label, means for searching said second plurality of cells for stored data representing said selected identifying label received from said keyboard, means for reading the tuning data in those cells of said first plurality which are associated with the cells of said second plurality in which said selected identifying label is stored, and means for sending the read tuning data to said tuning means in order to tune the broadcast station corresponding to said selected identifying label.

20. The radioelectric signal receiver as defined in claim 19, wherein in response to a second coded signal from said input means, said control means addresses a second group of cells in said RAM means, said second group of cells being associated with said first group of cells, and stores decoded signals in said second group of cells corresponding to the alphanumeric characters forming the message identifying said selected station.

21. The radioelectric signal receiver as defined in claim 19, wherein said tuning means comprises a frequency-synthesis circuit having a programmable divider and said tuning data stored in said RAM means comprises a division number, said tuning data being read from said RAM means and sent to said frequency-synthesis circuit by said control means for tuning in to the radioelectric signal.

22. The radioelectric signal receiver as defined in claim 20, wherein said control means comprises means for decoding coded signals received from said input means, read only memory (ROM) means in which codes corresponding to a multiplicity of broadcast stations are stored, and means for comparing the broadcast station codes stored in said ROM means and said decoded selected station identification signal stored in second group of cells of said RAM means, said control means reading tuning data from said first group of cells of said RAM means corresponding to said selected station and sending said tuning data to said tuning means only in response to a signal output by said comparison means representing correspondence of said selected station identification signal and one of said broadcast station codes stored in said ROM means.

23. The radioelectric signal receiver as defined in claim 22, further comprising an auxiliary circuit for connection with a video recorder wherein said comparison means outputs a switching signal for enabling said auxiliary circuit in response to corresponding of decoded signals stored in said second group of cells of said RAM means and a predetermined combination stored in said ROM means.