Scan converting apparatus for transferring subtitles on a screen

• US 5,471,249 A
• Filed: 08/11/1993
• Issued: 11/28/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuura, Ryuji, Monta, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Application Number:
  US08/105,034
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 358/181, 358/183, 358/140, 358/148, 358/11, 358/147
• US Class Current: 348/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/278 Subtitling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0137 dependent on presence/absence of motion, e.g. of motion zones H04N7/014 takes precedence; movement detection in television signals H04N5/144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0885 for the transmission of subtitles

Abstract

A scan converting apparatus receives an NTSC signal which is scan converted and which has a changed aspect ratio. The subtitle domain, which is vertically overscaned out of the screen and cannot be observed, is extracted and superimposed on the scan converted image. Scanning lines of a brightness output signal of a brightness/chrominance signal separator are interpolated at a scanning line interpolator and are converted to a system which has more scanning lines at a scanning line converter. An odd/even field discriminator prevents deterioration of the resolution of the subtitle letters which is caused by an interchange of the positions between two adjacent scanning lines when the subtitle is transferred to a different field. By stopping the writing of data to a field memory in the subtitle signal processor when a subtitle is transferred, a subtitle transfer can be accomplished even when there is no subtitle on the image.

Claims

1. A scan converting apparatus comprising:

a video signal input terminal,

an A/D converter connected to said video signal input terminal and which converts an input analogue signal to a digital signal,

a movement detector connected to the output of said A/D converter and detects moving parts in the video signal,

a brightness/chrominance signal separator connected to the output of said A/D converter and the output of said movement detector and which separates a brightness signal from the video signal,

a subtitle signal processor connected to a brightness signal output of said brightness/chrominance signal separator and extracts and transfers a subtitle signal,

a constant value input terminal,

a second synthesizer connected to said constant value input terminal and the brightness signal output of said brightness/chrominance signal separator and which masks a subtitle part of the output signal from said brightness/chrominance signal separator with a constant value from said constant value input terminal according to a subtitle mask control signal from said subtitle signal processor,

a scanning line converter connected to an output of said second synthesizer and converts numbers of scanning lines,

a first synthesizer connected to a subtitle signal output of said subtitle signal processor, a subtitle control signal output of said subtitle signal processor, and a video output of said scanning line converter and synthesizes said subtitle signal output from said subtitle signal processor and said video output from said scanning line converter according to said subtitle control signal output from said subtitle signal processor to generate a further digital signal,

a D/A converter connected to an output of said first synthesizer and converts said further digital signal to a further analogue signal, and

a video signal output terminal which receives said further analogue signal from said D/A converter.

2. A scan converting apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said subtitle signal processor includes a field memory for storing the subtitle signal.

3. A scan converting apparatus comprising:

a video signal input terminal,

an A/D converter connected to said video signal input terminal and which converts a video signal which is an input analogue signal including an original field to a digital signal,

a movement detector connected to the output of said A/D converter and detects moving parts in the video signal,

a brightness/chrominance signal separator connected to the output of said A/D converter and the output of said movement detector and separates a brightness signal from the video signal,

an odd/even field discriminator which receives an input horizontal pulse and an input vertical pulse and determines a phase relationship between said input horizontal pulse and said input vertical pulse to discriminate whether said original field is an odd field or an even field,

a subtitle signal processor connected to an output of said odd/even field discriminator and the brightness signal output of said brightness/chrominance signal separator and extracts and generates a subtitle signal according to a discrimination result of said odd/even field discriminator,

a scanning line converter connected to said brightness signal output of said brightness/chrominance signal separator and converts scanning lines,

a first synthesizer connected to a subtitle signal output of said subtitle signal processor, a subtitle control signal output of said subtitle signal processor, and a video output of said scanning line converter and synthesizes said subtitle signal from a subtitle signal output from said subtitle signal processor and a video output from said scanning line converter according to a subtitle control signal output generated by said subtitle signal processor to generate a further digital signal,

a D/A converter connected to an output of said first synthesizer and converts said further digital signal to a further analogue signal, and

a video signal output terminal which receives said further analogue signal from said D/A converter.

4. A scan converting apparatus as recited in claim 3, further including said a subtitle signal processor comprising:

a field memory which receives a digital brightness signal and generates a subtitle signal which is extracted and read out in a desired position on the screen to a first synthesizer,

a field memory control signal generator which a subtitle extract start line signal, a subtitle extract end line signal and a subtitle transfer address line signal are applied to, generates a write enable pulse, a write reset pulse, a read enable pulse and a read reset pulse, and controls said field memory,

a comparator which compares a subtitle signal from said field memory and a threshold value from a subtitle threshold input terminal and discriminates which is bigger said subtitle signal or said subtitle threshold value,

a switching circuit which switches an output of said comparator and a subtitle processing on/off signal from a subtitle processing on/off signal input terminal and supplies a subtitle control signal to said first synthesizer, and

means for storing subtitle data in said field memory by said write enable pulse and for transferring a subtitle domain to a desired position during subtitle transfer.

5. A scan converting apparatus comprising:

a video signal input terminal,

an A/D converter connected to said video signal input terminal and which converts a video signal which is an input analogue signal to a digital signal,

a clamp level detector connected to an output of said A/D converter,

a brightness/chrominance signal separator connected to the output of said A/D converter and separates a brightness signal from the video signal and which generates a chrominance signal,

a first synthesizer connected to a chrominance signal output of said brightness/chrominance signal separator, an output of said clamp level detector, and a subtitle mask control signal input terminal and masks a subtitle area signal of the chrominance signal from said brightness/chrominance signal separator with a clamp level according to a subtitle mask control signal from said subtitle mask control signal input terminal,

a scanning line converter connected to an output of said first synthesizer and converts scanning lines,

a second synthesizer, connected to an output of said scanning line converter and which receives an input chrominance signal level which changes color of subtitle letters and a subtitle control signal input, synthesizes the chrominance signal from said scanning line converter and said input chrominance signal level according to said subtitle control signal to generate a further digital signal,

a D/A converter connected to an output of said second synthesizer and converts said further digital signal to a further analogue signal, and

a video signal output terminal which receives said further analogue signal from said D/A converter.