Video receiver with permanent electronic program journal

• US 5,231,493 A
• Filed: 01/18/1990
• Issued: 07/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia GmbH (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Deustchland GmbH (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Apitz, Siegfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US07/467,727
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 358/142, 358/146, 358/147, 358/188, 358/191.1, 358/335
• US Class Current: 348/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0882 for the transmission of character code signals, e.g. for teletext circuits for the digital non-picture data signal H04N7/035
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals

Abstract

A video receiver is provided having a screen forecast journal with teletext data, collected from different broadcast stations and continuously updated with text pages at preset time intervals. The data is arranged in tables by programme identification and page identification and stored in memory devices, for accessing at any time. The page identifications are allocated to the programme slots, i.e. one programme identification with a page number each time. The tables can be accessed by page numbers for programmes not being transmitted at that time. A programme identification/page identification table proves beneficial for programming such page identifications. Pages are referenced by moving a cursor to margin areas of a text page. All programmes in the same time period can be paged through. Telecasts to be recorded can be selected from the pages of the forecast journal. Telecast data is transferred on a timer memory device. In this memory device, telecasts are marked (flagged) as soon as they are recorded completely. Either only flagged or only unflagged broadcasts can be displayed. A timer table can show marked (recorded) and/or unmarked (not yet recorded) telecasts, to function as a video library, which can also show the information, regarding which cassette contains the individual telecast previously recorded. In addition to the recording data, and cassette number information, the system is also capable of copying the individual telecast titles from the forecast page, and entering them into the video library, for ease of identification for later replay purposes.

Claims

1. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a programme identification/page number memory device for storing programme identifications and page numbers,

a text page memory device for storing decoded text page data, and

an updating device (CPU),

for the automatic driving of the tuner depending on programme identifications which are retrieved in a specified sequence from the programme identification/page number memory device,

for the automatic driving of the text decoder depending on page numbers which are retrieved in the specified sequence from the programme identification/page number memory device,

for the automatic retrieval of text page data from a TV signal, according to the settings of the tuner and text decoder, and

for the automatic storage of such text page data in the text page memory device.

2. Video receiver, in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the updating device (CPU) further functions as a test device (CPU) for testing the plausibility of the decoded text page data for a text page and for storing the text page data in the text page memory device, but only if the plausibility condition is fulfilled.

3. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a page selector device for selecting a text page by setting the tuner and text decoder, depending on a specific programme identification and a specific page number,

a programme slot selection device for updating one of several programme slots at a time,

a page identification memory device for storing page identifications, each of which comprises a programme identification and a page number, and

a page identification retrieval device (CPU)

for retrieving page identifications, irrespective of the programme slot, and

for outputting each page identification retrieved to the tuner and decoder,

whereby, depending on each programme identification retrieved at the same time as the page identification, such pages can also be selected, but whose programme identification is not identical with the programme identification of the activated programme slot.

4. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages, and

a programme identification/page identification table, which stores at least one page identification, assigned to one of several programme identifications in each case, whereby each page identification comprises one programme identification and one page number.

5. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a picture generator for producing cursor symbol data for a cursor and picture page data from the decoded text page data and for outputting decoded picture data, either from a text page memory device or direct from the text decoder, to a screen whereby the picture data to be displayed is such that every text page is surrounded by a margin on all four edges when displayed,

a cursor control device for positioning the cursor within the field of the picture to be displayed and for triggering specific procedures when a preset key is pressed, and

a page switchover device,

for switching over to a page of a higher number when the cursor is positioned in the first of the four picture margins and then the preset key is pressed,

for switching over to a page of a lower number when the cursor is positioned in the second of the four picture margins and then the preset key is pressed, whereby the second picture margin runs parallel to the first picture margin,

for switching over to a programme of a higher number and from there to a specified page number when the cursor is positioned in the third of the four page margins and then the preset key is pressed, whereby the third picture margin runs at a right-angle to the first picture margin, and

for switching over to a programme of a lower number and from there to a specified page number when the cursor is positioned in the fourth of the four picture margins and then the preset key is pressed, whereby the fourth picture margin runs parallel to the third picture margin.

6. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which can be set to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a picture generator for producing cursor symbol data for a cursor and picture page data from the decoded text page data and for outputting decoded picture data, either from a text page memory device or direct from the text decoder, to a screen,

a cursor control device for positioning the cursor within the field of the picture to be displayed and for triggering specific procedures when a preset key is pressed, and

a page switchover device,

for switching over text pages from one programme to text pages from another programme,

whereby, if broadcast pages are present as text pages containing time information, the first broadcast page selected in a programme attained by switching over is that which contains the information in the period in which that time occurs corresponding to respective time information at which the cursor is displayed in the broadcast page before switchover to text pages from another programme.

7. Video receiver, in accordance with claim 6, characterised by the fact that the page switchover device is designed so that, when it first switches over to a page, it selects the broadcast page which contains the information in the time domain in which that time occurs.

8. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a tape device for recording TV signals received via the tuner,

a broadcast memory device to store recorded broadcasts,

a flagging device to place flags in the broadcast memory device at the data for recorded broadcasts, and

a broadcast data retrieval device to retrieve either only flagged or only unflagged broadcast data and to display the relevant broadcast data on a screen.

9. Video receiver, in accordance with claim 8, characterised by the fact that

a cassette identification input device is available for entering a cassette code for every cassette in the broadcast memory device, assigned to each broadcast which is recorded whilst the cassette is in the tape device,

the broadcast memory device permanently stores the broadcast data which is provided with a cassette code, and

the broadcast data retrieval device retrieves the flagged broadcast data which refers to an entered cassette code.

10. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which can be set to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a tape device for recording TV signals received via the tuner,

a broadcast memory device to store recorded broadcasts, and

a search device

for checking whether broadcast information relating to a recorded broadcast is already stored in the broadcast memory device and if this is not the case,

for searching for a text page which contains broadcast information for that time span applying to the recorded broadcast,

for searching for the time-based broadcast information relating to the recorded broadcast within a located text page, and

for storing the located broadcast information in the broadcast memory device.

11. Video receiver, characterised by

a tuner which is adjustable to a preset TV programme by means of programme identification signals,

a text decoder which can be driven by page number signals for decoding text data when it is transmitted in TV signals, arranged according to pages,

a programme identification/page number memory device for storing programme identifications and page numbers,

a text page memory device for storing decoded text page data,

a preview day memory device for storing a preset number of previewing days for text pages for at least one programme, and

a page search device

for the automatic driving of the tuner depending on programme identifications which are retrieved in a specified sequence from the programme identification/page number memory device,

for the automatic driving of the text decoder depending on page numbers which are retrieved in a specified sequence from the programme identification/page number memory device,

for the automatic retrieval of text page data from a TV signal, according to the settings of the tuner and text decoder, and

for the automatic storage of such text page data in the text page memory device if the date of each page that is located falls within the period of the previewing days.

12. Video receiver, in accordance with claim 11, characterised by the fact that

a sequence code memory device is available which stores a page number depending on the code laid down for each preview day,

the page search device only accesses those pages which comply with the sequence code.

13. Video receiver, in accordance with claim 12, characterised by a learning device which attempts to locate a preview page depending on one of several specified sequence codes and which, if it fails to locate preview pages depending on a selected sequence code then, switches to a new sequence code and performs this operation until such time as it locates preview pages depending on the specified sequence codes at the first attempt.