Image display apparatus

• US 5,452,012 A
• Filed: 11/10/1994
• Issued: 09/19/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Saitoh, Mitsumasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Application Number:
  US08/337,309
• Time in Patent Office: 313 Days
• Field of Search: 348/553, 348/563, 348/564, 348/569, 348/565
• US Class Current: 725/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

An image display apparatus has a manually operable inputting device such as a remote controller. A predetermined function, for example, as a picture-in-picture is allocated to a predetermined area of a screen of a CRT display. When a cursor is located in the predetermined area by a mouse remote controller and a setting key of the mouse remote controller is clicked, a CPU executes the function allocated to the predetermined area.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus comprising:

a display screen having predetermined areas for respectively displaying a main picture, a picture-in-picture child picture, and a picture-out-picture child picture;

an input selector receiving a plurality of input video signals and outputting selected ones of said plurality of video signals for display in response to a selection control signal;

a controller operable by a user of the image display apparatus for causing a cursor to be displayed in any one of said predetermined areas of said display screen and for selected ones of said plurality of input video signals for display;

control means responsive to said controller for determining a position of said cursor in one of said predetermined areas of said display screen and producing one of a picture-in-picture control signal and a picture-out-picture control signal based on a determined cursor position and for producing said selection control signal fed to said input selector;

multipicture control means responsive to said picture-in-picture control signal and said picture-out-picture control signal for producing an image position control signal for causing an image to be displayed in one of said predetermined areas at which said cursor is determined to be positioned by said control means; and

multipicture processing means receiving said selected ones of said video signals from said input selector and said image position control signal from said multipicture control means for providing at least two video signals to said display screen for display in said predetermined areas in response to said image position control signal.

2. An image display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a character generator for generating characters for display on said display screen with said video signals from said multipicture processing means.

3. An image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller comprises a mouse adapted to be clicked by the user of the image display apparatus.

4. An image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprises a remote controller input analysis system for receiving and decoding signals produced by said controller.

5. An image display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said control means further comprises a central processing unit receiving channel select and cursor location data decoded by said remote controller input analysis system.

6. An image display apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an external input control system receiving an input select signal from said central processing unit and producing said selection control signal fed to said input selector.

7. An image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined areas of said display screen includes a menu area for displaying a menu and further comprising a menu output control section for causing a menu to be displayed in said menu area when the cursor is determined to be positioned in said menu area.