Method and apparatus for translating closed caption data

• US 5,543,851 A
• Filed: 03/13/1995
• Issued: 08/06/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wen F. Chang
• Original Assignee: Wen F. Chang
• Inventors: Chang, Wen F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/403,203
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 348/468, 348/476, 348/552, 348/472, 348/478, 348/563
• US Class Current: 348/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0255 Display systems therefor
• 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

A closed caption processing system processes a television signal having caption data therein. A detector receives the television signal. A decoder coupled to the detector receives the television signal, and removes the caption data from the signal to form a stripped video signal and a caption data signal. The stripped video signal is provided to a television. The closed caption data is displayed as text on a screen. A microcontroller receives the caption data from the decoder and provides the caption text to the screen. The caption text is updated unless the microcontroller receives a user selected command for freezing the displayed text. The user enters user selected commands for selecting a portion of the displayed text. A memory stores a dictionary that includes either definitions or translations of text or both. The microcontroller retrieves either the definition or translation of a selected portion of the text responsive to a user request, and then displays the definition or translation.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving a television signal including caption data;

removing the caption data from the television signal to form a stripped video signal and a caption data signal;

providing the stripped video signal to a television;

displaying the caption data;

receiving a user command indicative of a portion of the caption data; and

retrieving a dictionary record corresponding to said portion of the caption data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of retrieving a dictionary record includes the step of defining the portion of the caption data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of retrieving a dictionary record includes the step of translating the portion of the caption data.

4. An apparatus for processing a television signal having caption data therein, the apparatus comprising:

a detector for receiving the television signal;

a decoder having an input coupled to the detector for receiving the television signal, having a first output for providing the television signal to a television, and having a second output for providing caption data;

a display having an input for receiving caption text and having a screen for displaying the caption text;

a memory for storing a dictionary and having an output for providing a portion of the dictionary responsive to a dictionary request; and

a central processing unit having a first input coupled to the output of the decoder for receiving the caption data, having a second input coupled to the output of the memory for receiving said portion of the dictionary, having a first output coupled to the input of the display for providing the caption text and for providing said portion of the dictionary, and having a second output coupled to the memory for providing the dictionary request in response to a user selected command.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the central processing unit has a third input for receiving at least one user selected command and the caption text provided to the display is not updated responsive to a second user selected command.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the memory stores, an identifier indicative of a level of difficulty for each of a plurality of text words and the central processing unit provides a portion of the dictionary corresponding to one of the plurality of text words if the identifier corresponding to the caption text word is greater than a user selected threshold.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the dictionary includes definitions of text and the dictionary request is a definition request.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the dictionary includes a translation dictionary and the dictionary request is a translation request.

9. An apparatus for processing caption text comprising:

a detector for receiving caption data separate from a television signal;

a display having an input for receiving caption text and having a screen for displaying the caption text;

a memory for storing a dictionary and having an output for providing a portion of the dictionary responsive to a dictionary request; and

a central processing unit having a first input coupled to the output of the detector for receiving the caption data, having a second input for receiving user selected commands, having a third input coupled to the memory for receiving said portion of the dictionary, having a first output coupled to the input of the display for providing the caption text as received in a first operational mode and for providing the same text in a second operational mode responsive to a first user selected command and for providing said portion of the dictionary.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the memory stores, an identifier indicative of a level of difficulty for each of a plurality of text words and the central processing unit provides a portion of the dictionary corresponding to one of the plurality of text words if the identifier corresponding to the caption text word is greater than a user selected threshold.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the dictionary includes definitions of text and the dictionary request is a definition request.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the dictionary includes a translation dictionary and the dictionary request is a translation request.

13. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving a television signal including caption data;

removing the caption data from the television signal to form a stripped video signal and a caption data signal;

providing the stripped video signal to a television;

displaying the caption data;

retrieving an identifier indicative of a level of difficulty corresponding to the caption data; and

retrieving a dictionary record corresponding to said caption data of the identifier exceeds a predetermined threshold.