Program switching device and method

• US 5,754,258 A
• Filed: 08/16/1995
• Issued: 05/19/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hanaya, Hiroyuki, Yuchi, Hirofumi, Ohta, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Application Number:
  US08/515,659
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 348/906, 348/9, 348/12, 348/13, 348/7, 348/563, 348/569, 348/570, 348/586, 348/589, 348/596, 348/734, 348/468, 348/461
• US Class Current: 725/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• 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 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 for the sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0255 Display systems therefor

Abstract

A program switching device and a method thereof which can prevent a disorder of images and an invisible state of the image when a channel (program) is switched. When it is instructed to switch a program to the other program in the state where the image of a program of a predetermined channel is displayed, at step SP111, the image of the program currently received is converted into a static image to mute the sound. Then, at step SP212, the receiving processing of channel is started after switching. At step SP113, the process waits until the processing of channel switching is terminated, and when it is terminated, the static image set at step SP111 and the mute are released at step SP114.

Claims

1. A program switching apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a signal of a broadcast program;

static image output means for freezing and temporarily outputting as a static image an image of said broadcast program;

a switcher for selectively switching between an output of said receiving means and an output of said static image output means;

control means for controlling said switcher, said static image output means and said receiving means so as to output said static image for a predetermined duration, after which the output of said static image is switched to said broadcast program signal received by said receiving means;

selection screen output means for selecting and displaying a selection screen having button icons corresponding to a plurality of programs as a window superimposed on said image of said broadcast program; and

operating means for moving a cursor among said button icons on said selection screen and for selecting a program designated by said cursor,

wherein said control means controls said receiving means to receive a program designated by said cursor while said cursor is moved on said selection screen by said operating means before a program is selected by said operating means, thereby receiving said program designated by said cursor before said program is selected for quickly switching to said selected program.

2. The program switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said control means controls completion of a receiving processing of said broadcast program by said receiving means when the switching of said received program is instructed, and wherein said control means controls said static image output means for switching the output of said static image after the receiving processing of said broadcast program is completed.

3. The program switching apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

display means for displaying an image of said broadcast program received by said receiving means.

4. The program switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operating means is an up down button for incrementing and decrementing the channel of said program.

5. The program switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operating means is a numeric keypad for inputting a channel number of said program.

6. The program switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said operating means comprises a cursor moving means for moving said cursor, and button icon selection means for selecting a button icon designated by said cursor.

7. The program switching apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

said cursor moving means and said button icon selection means can be operated with one finger.

8. A program switching apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a signal of a broadcast program;

static image output means for freezing and temporarily outputting as a static image an image of said broadcast program;

a switcher for selectively switching between the output of said receiving means and said static image output means;

control means for controlling said switcher, said static image output means and said receiving means so as to output said static image for a predetermined duration, after which the output of said static image is switched to said broadcast program signal received by said receiving means;

selection screen output means for selecting and displaying a selection screen having button icons corresponding to a plurality of programs as a window superimposed on said image of said broadcast program; and

operating means for moving a cursor among said button icons on said selection screen and for selecting a program designated by said cursor,

wherein said control means controls said receiving means to receive a program designated by said cursor while said cursor is moved on said selection screen by said operating means before a program is selected by said operating means, thereby receiving said program designated by said cursor before said program is selected for quickly making the switching to said selected program,

and further wherein said static image output means mutes a sound signal when said static image is output, and said static image output means relieves the mute of said sound signal when said static image output is relieved.

9. A program switching apparatus for use in a digital television receiver, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a signal of a broadcast program;

static image output means for freezing and outputting as a static image an image of said broadcast program;

switching means for selectively switching between the output of said receiving means and said static image output means;

control means for controlling said switching means, said static image output means and said receiving means so as to output said static image for a predetermined duration, after which the output of said static image is switched to said broadcast program signal received by said receiving means;

selection window output means for selecting and displaying a program selection window having icons corresponding to a plurality of programs superimposed on said image of said broadcast program; and

cursor moving means for moving a cursor among said icons on said selection window and for selecting a program designated by said cursor,

wherein said control means controls said receiving means to receive a program designated by said cursor while said cursor is moved on said selection window by said cursor moving means before a program is selected by said cursor moving means, thereby receiving said program designated by said cursor before said program is selected for quickly making the switching to said selected program.

10. A television signal receiver for receiving a television signal for a desired channel program and outputting the received signal on a display as an image, said receiver comprising:

receiving means for receiving said television signal;

selection screen output means for displaying a selection screen on said display by producing a selection screen signal, wherein said selection screen is used to select a desired program out of a plurality of programs by moving a cursor on said selection screen;

cursor moving means for moving said cursor on said selection screen;

selection means for selecting a program designated by said cursor for display on said display; and

control means for controlling said receiving means to receive the program designated by said cursor while said cursor is moved by said cursor moving means before said selection means is operated, thereby receiving said program designated by said cursor before said program is selected by said selection means for quickly making program changing, wherein

said selection screen uses a window superimposed on said image received by said receiving means for displaying said plurality of programs when said selection screen output means is operated.

11. The television signal receiver according to claim 10, further comprising

sound signal output means for muting a sound signal of said program designated by said cursor and received by said receiving means under the control of said control means before said selection means is operated.

12. The television signal receiver according to claim 10, wherein

either one of a horizontal axis or a vertical axis of said selection screen is used a s an axis of a broadcast channel of said program while the other axis is used as a time axis with the result that button icons are arranged in a matrix for selecting said program at a position controlled by both axes.

13. The television signal receiver according to claim 12, wherein

said cursor is displayed by making a predetermined button icon of a different brightness or color from that of other button icons.

14. The television signal receiver according to claim 13, further comprising

memory means for memorizing information as to a display position of said button icon to be displayed on said selection screen broadcast as part of said television signal.

15. The television signal receiver according to claim 14, further comprising

judging means for judging whether a fee is charged when said program designated by said cursor is received.

16. The television signal receiver according to claim 15, further comprising

inhibiting means for inhibiting the receiving of said program when a fee is charged upon receipt of said program designated by said cursor.

17. The television receiver according to claim 16, wherein said receiving means comprises:

demodulating means for demodulating to a carrier wave to which an individual frequency is assigned a broadcast wave and which a digital image and sound information of said channel is demultiplexed; and

extracting means for extracting a signal of said channel instructed by said control means from a signal demodulated by said demodulating means;

wherein said control means instructs an extraction of said predetermined channel by said extracting means when said channel is switched within said carrier wave, said control means instructing a switching of the frequency of said carrier wave to said demodulating means when said channel is switched between different carrier waves while instructing the extraction of said predetermined channel by said extracting means.

18. A television signal receiver comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television signal of a predetermined channel;

display means for displaying an image of a program received by said receiving means;

selection screen output means for displaying a selection screen on said display means, wherein said selection screen is used to select a predetermined program out of a plurality of programs by moving a cursor on said selection screen;

cursor moving means for moving said cursor on said selection screen;

selection means for selecting a program designated by said cursor for display on said display means; and

control means for controlling said receiving means to receive the program designated by said cursor while said cursor is moved by said cursor moving means before said selection means is operated, thereby receiving said program designated by said cursor before said program is selected by said selection means for quickly making a program change, wherein

said selection screen uses a window superimposed on said image received by said receiving means for displaying said plurality of programs when said selection screen output means is operated.

19. The television signal receiver according to claim 18, further comprising

sound signal output means for muting a sound signal of said program designated by said cursor, said program being received by said receiving means in correspondence to the control of said control means before the operation of said selection means.

20. The television signal receiver according to claim 18, wherein

either one of a horizontal axis or a vertical axis of said selection screen constitutes a broadcast channel of said program while the other axis constitutes a time axis and button icons are arranged in matrix for selecting said program at a position controlled by both axes.

21. The television signal receiver according to claim 20, wherein

said cursor is displayed by making said button icons brightness or color different from a predetermined brightness and color.

22. The television signal receiver according to claim 21, further comprising

memory means for memorizing information with respect to the display position of said button icon displayed on said selection screen which is broadcast as part of said television signal.

23. The television signal receiver according to claim 22, further comprising

judging means for judging whether a fee is charged for receiving said program designated by said cursor.

24. The television signal receiver according to claim 23, further comprising

inhibiting means for inhibiting the receiving of said program when a fee is charged for receiving said program designated by said cursor.

25. The television signal receiver according to claim 18, wherein said receiving means comprises:

demodulating means for demodulating to a carrier wave to which an individual frequency is assigned a broadcast wave and which a digital image and sound information of said channel is demultiplexed; and

extracting means for extracting a signal of said channel instructed by said control means from a signal demodulated by said demodulating means;

wherein said control means instructs an extraction of said predetermined channel by said extracting means when said channel is switched in said same carrier wave, said control means instructing a switching of the frequency of said carrier wave to said demodulating means when said channel is switched between different carrier waves while instructing the extraction of said predetermined channel by said extracting means.