Apparatus for detecting and displaying supplementary program

• US 5,880,789 A
• Filed: 09/19/1996
• Issued: 03/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Inaba, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): HSIA, SHERRIE Y
• Application Number:
  US08/718,164
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 348/563, 348/564, 348/569, 348/589, 348/600, 348/473, 348/468
• US Class Current: 725/137
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4888 for displaying teletext characters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0884 for the transmission of additional display-information, e.g. menu for programme or channel selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A teletext/data transmission decoder decodes information on characters and graphics and produces a supplementary program video signal. A proper program video signal arriving by way of a video processing circuit and a display image processing section and the supplementary program video signal coming from the decoder are synthetically combined by a synthesizing section and fed to a display unit. A system controller sets the decoder in a waiting state. If the proper program video signal contains data information, the system controller automatically starts a decoding operation and controls the synthesizing section to display the restored signal on the display unit. When an automatic display select switch is set to an automatic display mode, a supplementary program processing mode is automatically selected when a supplementary program is started.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program comprising:

a receiving means for receiving a television signal;

a video processing means for processing the signal received by said receiving means and producing a video signal;

a decoding means for detecting data information contained in the video signal and decoding the data information to obtain a supplementary program signal;

a synthesizing means for synthetically combining the video signal and the supplementary program signal into a display signal and producing the display signal to a display unit; and

a system control means for usually maintaining said decoding means in a standby state, initiating a decoding operation once the data information is detected in said video signal, notifying on a screen that a supplementary program is available when said decoding means detects the data information, and adding the supplementary program signal to the display signal.

2. An apparatus for detecting and displaying according to claim 1, wherein said system control means is provided with a standby status display means for controlling said display unit so as to display a message or a sign indicating a standby status by way of said synthesizing means when the standby state is selected by said decoding means.

3. An apparatus for detecting and displaying according to claim 1, wherein said system control means controls said display unit so as to display a supplementary program mark for a predetermined period of time and subsequently, after erasing the supplementary program mark, the supplementary program signal by way of said synthesizing means when said decoding means detects that the video signal contains the data information.

4. An apparatus for detecting and displaying according to claim 1, wherein said system control means automatically initiates the decoding operation when the data information is detected.

5. An apparatus for detecting and displaying according to claim 1, wherein said system control means is provided with an automatic/manual display select means that automatically initiates the decoding operation in response to an external select action when the data information is detected.

6. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program comprising:

a receiving means for receiving a television signal;

a video processing means for processing the signal received by said receiving means and producing a video signal;

a decoding means for detecting data information contained in the video signal produced by said video processing means and decoding the data information to obtain a supplementary program signal;

a synthesizing means for combining the video signal and the supplementary program signal into a display signal and producing the display signal to a display unit; and

a system control means for usually maintaining said decoding means in a standby state, initiating a decoding operation and a viewer notification when said decoding means detects the data information, and enabling said synthesizing means.

8. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program according to claim 6, wherein said system control means is provided with a standby status display means for initiating an indication to the viewer via said display unit when said decoding means is in the standby state.

9. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program according to claim 6, wherein, when said decoding means detects the data information, said system control means initiates the display of a supplementary program mark for a predetermined period of time and subsequently enables said synthesizing means.

10. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program according to claim 6, wherein said system control means automatically initiates the decoding operation when the data information is detected.

11. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program according to claim 6, wherein said system control means is provided with an automatic/manual display select means that automatically initiates the decoding operation in response to an external select action when the data information is detected.

7. An apparatus for detecting and displaying a supplementary program comprising:

a receiving means for receiving a television signal;

a video processing means for processing the signal received by said receiving means and producing a video signal;

a decoding means for detecting data information contained in the video signal produced by said video processing means and decoding the data information to obtain a supplementary program signal;

a synthesizing means for combining the video signal and the supplementary program signal into a display signal and producing the display signal to a display unit; and

a system control means for initiating a decoding operation and a viewer notification when said decoding means detects the data information and enabling said synthesizing means.