System and method for processing teletext information included with video signal utilizing buffered individual teletext information pages

• US 5,237,411 A
• Filed: 09/12/1991
• Issued: 08/17/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments Deutschland Gesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung (Texas Instruments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fink, Helmut, Jones, Trevor C., Hinson, Colin
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US07/758,033
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 358/142, 358/146, 358/147
• US Class Current: 348/468
• 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

Abstract

System for processing teletext information which makes it possible practically without any delay to reproduce the information pages transmitted by television transmitters on the screen of a television set, the updated state of the reproduced pages being ensured. The system includes a buffer (46) for the data signals corresponding in each case to an information page. Furthermore, it includes a microprocessor (32) which receives the buffered data signals and within the period required for the transmission of an information page stores them in a main memory (24) for all information pages. In dependence upon a page request signal entered by a user a control unit (26) generates a control command for the microprocessor (32) which causes the latter to fetch from the main memory (24) the page requested by the page request signal and supply it to an image processor (42) which generates from the data signals the signals necessary for the reproduction on the screen.

Claims

1. A system for processing data signals representative of teletext information as transmitted with a video signal for reception by a television receiver and display as teletext information with a television picture on a television screen of the television receiver, wherein the teletext information comprises a plurality of information pages as represented by data signals and transmitted at least once within a transmission cycle for presentation as required on the television screen of the television receiver, each one of said plurality of information pages of teletext information having a predetermined number N of lines, of which a subamount number n is transmitted with each field of the video signal, said system comprising:

a separating unit for separating the data signals representative of the teletext information from the video signals;

a teletext processor connected to the output of said separating unit for receiving the separated data signals representative of the teletext information from said separating unit;

a teletext information memory bi-directionally connected to said teletext processor in which the data signals representative of said plurality of information pages of teletext information are storable; and

a control unit connected to an input of said teletext processor and responsive to a page request signal entered by a user for generating a control command to said teletext processor causing said teletext processor to fetch the data signals corresponding to the information page identified by the page request signal from the user from said teletext information memory so as to provide the fetched data signals to said teletext processor;

said teletext processor including

a mirocprocessor connected to the output of said separating unit for receiving the data signals therefrom, said microprocessor being connected to said control unit and to said teletext information memory for fetching the data signals corresponding to the information page identified by the page request signal entered by a user into said control unit and in response to the control command as generated by said control unit from said teletext information memory,

an image processor connected to the output of said microprocessor for producing output data for reproduction of teletext information on the television screen of the television receiver, and

program means for regulating said microprocessor in the storage and acquisition of data signals in and out of said teletext information memory and the output of data signals corresponding to an information page of teletext information to said image processor; and

a buffer memory operably connected to said teletext information memory and to said microprocessor of said teletext processor and in which data signals representative of teletext information corresponding to an information page of said plurality of information pages are storable;

said microprocessor initially providing data signals to said buffer memory for each information page of teletext information of said plurality of information pages of teletext information to be stored in said teletext information memory and thereafter transferring the contents of said buffer memory into said teletext information memory for each information page, said microprocessor receiving said data signals from said buffer memory within the period required for transmitting data signals representative of an information page and storing the buffered data signals in said teletext information memory in which the data signals representative of the plurality of information pages of teletext information are storable.

2. A system for processing data signals representative of teletext information as set forth in claim 1, wherein said buffer memory is a buffer memory region of said teletext information memory;

said teletext information memory further including address data stored therein and representative of the addresses of the information pages as represented by the data signals stored in said teletext information memory; and

said microprocessor in conjunction with said buffer memory region updating the address data upon storing the buffered data signals representative of the information pages in said teletext information memory.

3. A system for processing data signals representative of teletext information as set forth in claim 1, wherein said teletext processor further includes a converter interposed between said separating unit and said microprocessor and respectively connected to the output of said separating unit and an input of said microprocessor for converting the data signals provided as an output from said separating unit and corresponding to an information page into a data format as converted data signals suitable for reproduction on the television screen of the television receiver for input to said microprocessor.

4. A system for processing data signals representative of teletext information as set forth in claim 3, wherein said separating unit provides separated data signals, clock signals and synchronizing signals as outputs therefrom;

and

said converter of said teletext processor having plural inputs for receiving said data signals, clock signals and synchronizing signals as output from said separating unit and converting said data signals representative of teletext information into said data format as converted data signals.

5. A method for processing data signals representative of teletext information as transmitted with a video signal for reception by a television receiver and display as teletext information with a television picture on a television screen of the television receiver, said method comprising:

intermittently transmitting with the video signal for reception by the television receiver data signals representative of teletext information corresponding to a predetermined number of lines of an information page of teletext information during a recurring time interval of the video signal transmission;

separating the transmitted data signals from the video signal;

converting the separated data signals into a data format as converted data signals suitable for reproduction on the television screen of the television receiver;

initially storing the converted data signals in a buffer memory prior to processing;

during the time interval preceding the next transmission of data signals representative of teletext information corresponding to the predetermined number of lines of an information page of teletext information, processing the content of the buffer memory;

performing an ordered storing of the processed converted data signals from the buffer memory in a teletext information memory; and

continuing the intermittent transmission of data signals with the video signal followed by converting the separated data signals into a data format as converted data signals and processing of the converted data signals as initially stored in said buffer memory and the subsequent storage of the processed converted data signals in the teletext information memory until converted data signals representative of a plurality of information pages of teletext information comprising the complete content of teletext information are stored within said teletext information memory.

6. A method of processing data signals representative of teletext information as set forth in claim 5, further including

transmitting the plurality of information pages of teletext information comprising the complete content of teletext information at least once within a transmission cycle for subsequent storage as converted data signals within said teletext information memory.

7. A method of processing data signals representative of teletext information as set forth in claim 6, further including updating the content of the plurality of information pages of teletext information as stored in the teletext information memory during subsequent transmission of data signals with the video signal in succeeding transmission cycles by

initially storing the updated converted data signals as transmitted during a succeeding transmission cycle in the buffer memory;

processing the content of the data signals within the buffer memory and transferring the converted data signals from the buffer memory in an ordered manner to the teletext information memory for storage in the teletext information memory; and

updating individual information pages of teletext information as stored in the teletext information memory as succeeding versions of the same information pages as processed in the buffer memory are transferred individually to the teletext information memory.