Still sub-picture-in-picture television receiver

• US 4,777,531 A
• Filed: 01/05/1987
• Issued: 10/11/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Inashima, Satoshi, Terada, Kiyoshi, Hakamada, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Application Number:
  US07/000,450
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 358/183, 358/22, 358/181
• US Class Current: 348/565
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

A picture-in-picture type television receiver in which a sub-picture is displayed inset into a main picture. In the television receiver of this invention the viewer, by operating a single control switch, can cause the receiver to display as the sub-picture either a moving picture or a still picture taken from either the main picture or the sub-picture at a selected point in time, at the viewer'"'"'s option. When the still picture is taken from the main picture, a new still picture is displayed each time the control switch is operated, whereas when the still picture is taken from the sub-picture, the display of the still picture and the display of a real moving picture are alternately carried out each time the control switch is operated.

Claims

1. A method of operating a television receiver of the type in which a sub-picture is displayed on a sub-picture screen inset within a main picture screen on which a main picture is displayed comprising the steps of:

selectively displaying on the sub-picture screen either a succession of still pictures taken from the main picture or alternately a still picture and a real moving picture taken from said sub-picture.

2. A television receiver comprising:

(a) a cathode ray tube having a picture screen which is divisible into a main picture screen and one or more sub-picture screens inset into the main picture screen;

(b) a main picture circuit for selecting a first video signal from a plurality of video signals and supplying it as the video signal for the main picture screen;

(c) a sub-picture circuit for selecting a second video signal from a plurality of video signals and supplying one of the selected first and second video signals as a sub-picture video signal for said sub-picture screen, said sub-picture circuit including memory means for storing one or more frames of the one video signal and repeatedly reading out one or more stored frames as the sub-picture video signal;

(d) a composing circuit for composing the selected first video signal for a main picture screen of said cathode ray tube and the selected one video signal for a sub-picture screen which is inset into a part of said main picture screen into a composite signal which is supplied to the cathode ray tube;

(e) system controller means, including viewer controllable still picture means, connected to the main picture circuit and the sub-picture circuit for controlling their operations to cause the one video signal and the frame or frames from said one video signal to be stored in the memory means and then repeatedly read out of the memory means to be reproduced on the sub-picture screen as a moving picture or a still picture, depending upon whether a single frame is repeatedly read out of the memory means or a continuous series of frames are read out of the memory means, and wherein when the stored frame is taken by the sub-picture circuit from the first video signal of said main picture, a new still picture is displayed each time said still picture control means is operated, whereas when the still picture is taken by the sub-picture circuit from the second video signal of said sub-picture, the display of the still picture and the display of a real moving picture are alternately carried out each time said still picture control means is operated.