Television – Basic receiver with additional function – For display of additional information
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-06
2001-05-01
Lee, Michael (Department: 2714)
Television
Basic receiver with additional function
For display of additional information
C348S589000, C348S600000, C345S111000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226047
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an on-screen display method and apparatus therefor; and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing multiple on-screen displays in a signal processing unit capable of processing terrestrial, cable and satellite broadcast signals.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Conventional television receivers (TV's) are equipped with a graphic user interface(GUI) in the form of an on-screen display(OSD) for displaying OSD data on a screen of a picture reproduction device either in place of a picture represented by video signals or together with the picture. The OSD data can take the form of alphanumeric symbols, pictorial graphics, or both; and can be channel numbers, channel information, teletexts, operating instructions, or the like. However, the conventional TV can process only analog signals such as terrestrial and cable broadcast signals which carry a limited amount of OSD data insertable in a vertical blanking interval thereof, thereby providing a simple OSD of, e.g., a limited color resolution.
Recently, a new broadcasting system, utilizing a communication satellite and digitized broadcast signals, has been rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. The satellite broadcasting system, which can provide broadcast signals to a wide area, employs superhigh RF(radio frequency) signals ranging, e.g., from 11.7 GHz to 12.2 GHz, for carrying the digitized broadcast signals. To receive the superhigh RF signals, a satellite broadcast signal receiver is normally equipped with a low noise blockdown converter for converting the superhigh RF signals into RF signals of, e.g., 950 to 2050 MHz. Thereafter, a tuner employed in the satellite broadcast signal receiver is tuned to a channel selected by a user using the converted RF signals.
Owing to the superhigh carrier frequencies, a channel bandwidth of the satellite broadcast signals can be wider than that for the terrestrial and cable broadcast signals, enabling a greater amount of OSD data to be carried in the satellite broadcast signals and resulting in an advanced OSD capability of the satellite broadcasting system.
In order to process all of such broadcast signals as terrestrial, cable and satellite broadcast signals at a single unit, a composite receiver, i.e., the so-called settop box(STB), has been developed. Referring to
FIG. 1
, there is shown a signal processing unit
50
for use in a prior art STB, comprising a tuner
100
, an analog signal processing module
10
, a digital signal processing module
20
, a switch
117
, a microprocessor
105
, a RAM
106
, and a key matrix
107
. The analog signal processing module
10
includes an analog broadcast signal demodulator
101
, a first detector
103
, a composite video signal processing circuit
108
, an OSD generator
109
, and a mixing circuit
110
, whereas the digital signal processing module
20
includes a digital broadcast signal demodulator
102
, a second detector
104
, an OSD buffer
111
, an OSD generator
112
, an MPEG block
115
which has therein a video decoder
113
and a mixing circuit
114
, and an NTSC/PAL encoder
116
.
The key matrix
107
provides the microprocessor
105
with input signals via a line L
18
for executing certain functions by key inputs of a viewer. The key matrix
107
has, e.g., a mode key for generating a mode selection signal for selecting either an analog mode corresponding to the terrestrial and cable broadcast signals or a digital mode corresponding to the satellite broadcast signal; a channel up/down key and numerical keys for generating a channel selection signal for selecting a desired broadcast channel; and an OSD key for generating an OSD request signal for requesting the OSD data, e.g., carried by the selected channel to be displayed on a screen(not shown). Typically, a remote controller(not shown) can be used instead of the key matrix
107
.
In response to the mode and the channel selection signals from the key matrix
107
, the microprocessor
105
generates a tuning control signal representing a mode and a channel to be tuned to the tuner
100
via a line L
16
and also provides the switch
117
with a control signal CS
1
for selecting a video signal on a terminal “0” or “1” thereof.
The tuner
100
tunes a selected channel of the terrestrial, the cable, or the satellite broadcast signals in response to the tuning control signal fed from the microprocessor
105
and outputs the tuned channel signal to the analog broadcast signal demodulator
101
or the digital broadcast signal demodulator
102
depending on whether the selected channel corresponds to either the terrestrial and the cable broadcast signals or the satellite broadcast signal.
When a terrestrial or a cable channel is selected by a viewer through the key matrix
107
, the selected channel is tuned by the tuner
100
and the switch
117
is connected to a terminal “0” in response to the control signal CS
1
issued by the microprocessor
105
. The tuned channel signal is fed to the analog broadcast signal demodulator
101
. The analog broadcast signal demodulator
101
demodulates the tuned channel signal to generate a baseband composite video signal to the first detector
103
and the composite video signal processing circuit
108
via a line L
11
.
The composite video signal includes a synchronization signal, an analog video signal and OSD data carried via a vertical blanking interval thereof. Then, the composite video signal processing circuit
108
processes the composite video signal by performing, e.g., a level amplification, noise elimination, gain control, etc, to thereby provide a video image signal representing, e.g., a video image
303
shown in
FIG. 3A
to be displayed on the screen. The first detector
103
extracts the OSD data included in the baseband composite video signal and provides the extracted OSD data signal to the OSD generator
109
via a line L
19
.
When the viewer instructs to generate an OSD on the screen in order to control the STB or to view information, e.g, teletext, channel information, or the like, carried by the selected channel, an OSD generation signal fed from the microprocessor
105
via a line L
12
is inputted to the OSD generator
109
, wherein the OSD generation signal is generated in response to the OSD request signal or the channel selection signal fed thereto from the key matrix
107
via the line L
18
. Responding to the OSD generation signal, the OSD generator
109
creates, e.g., an OSD
301
shown in
FIG. 3B
corresponding to the OSD data signal fed thereto from the first detector
103
. The OSD data signal includes OSD data to be displayed on the screen
302
and position information thereof within the screen
302
; and can be, e.g., a newly selected channel number generated on a line L
13
from the microprocessor
105
in case the OSD generation signal is generated by the channel selection signal. Thereafter, the OSD generator
109
transmits the OSD signal representing the OSD
301
to the mixing circuit
110
, wherein the OSD signal includes a video signal corresponding to the OSD
301
and position information thereof within the screen
302
.
The mixing circuit
110
mixes the video image signal provided from the composite video signal processing circuit
108
with the OSD signal generated by the OSD generator
109
with reference to the synchronization signal included in the video image signal, to thereby produce a composite video image signal representing a composite video image
304
shown in
FIG. 3C
, wherein the composite video image
304
includes the OSD
301
and a portion of the video image
303
non-overlapping therewith. The composite video image signal is transmitted, as a video output signal of the signal processing unit
50
, through the terminal “0” of the switch
117
to a display unit(not shown) for the display thereof.
When the viewer selects a satellite channel, the selected satellite channel is tuned by the tuner
100
and the switch
117
is connected to a terminal “1” in response to the control signal CS
1
issued by the microproc
Anderson Kill & Olick PC
Daewoo Electronics Co. Ltd.
Lee Michael
LandOfFree
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