Interactive video distribution systems – Operator interface
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-14
2001-05-08
Miller, John W. (Department: 2711)
Interactive video distribution systems
Operator interface
C345S215000, C345S215000, C348S564000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230321
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a simultaneous display of two pictures for an Internet-functional television receiver (TV), and more particularly to a method for simultaneously displaying two pictures on the screen of an Internet-functional TV which can simultaneously display two divided pictures on the screen if input picture information to be displayed exceeds the number of lines constituting one picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, Internet services provide a variety of information such as information on scientific technology, stock exchange, etc. Thus, any person who may not be an information search specialist can easily access to such information services in-house if he or she has an Internet searching system providing Internet searching functions. The information searching system providing Internet searching functions includes a personal computer (PC) or an Internet TV having a modem.
According to
FIG. 1
, an Internet TV
70
comprises a modem
73
built in the Internet TV for transmitting and receiving information to and from an Internet service system
72
through an external communication line
71
, a microcomputer
74
for controlling searches on Internet information inputted and outputted through the modem
73
, a video signal processing section
75
for converting the inputted Internet information into a video signal in accordance with a search control signal from the microcomputer
74
, a display section
76
for displaying the Internet information processed by the video signal processing section
75
.
The operation of the conventional Internet TV as constructed above will now be described with reference to FIG.
1
.
If the user wants to use the Internet information, the user sets up an Internet function through a keypad mounted on one part of the TV
70
or a remote controller (not illustrated in the drawing). Then, the microcomputer
74
perceives the Internet function setting signal and outputs an Internet control signal to the modem
73
. The modem
73
polls a communication connecting signal to the Internet service system of the Internet service server connected to the external communication line
71
.
At this time, if the inputted password or user-name accords with that promised between the modem
73
and the Internet service system
72
, and if any one service has been chosen from the service initial menu served from the Internet service system
72
, the Internet service system
72
provides information on the chosen service to the modem
73
through the external communication line
71
. Then, the modem
73
converts the inputted Internet service information into a digital signal to be inputted to the microcomputer
74
. The microcomputer
74
subsequently transfers the inputted Internet service information, e.g., information of WEB pages, to the video signal processing section
75
. Accordingly, the video signal processing section
75
video-processes the inputted information on the Internet WEB page information, so that the WEB page information is displayed on the screen of the display section
76
.
At this time, the Internet WEB page information provided from the Internet service system
72
is not suitable for being viewed on a TV screen because it is designed to be viewed on a PC monitor. Whereas the distance between the user and the PC monitor is within about 1 meter, the distance between the user and the TV
70
is about 2-3 meters. Thus, the letters appearing on the Internet WEB page designed to be viewed on the PC monitor is too small to be viewed on the screen of the TV
70
. Further, the TV
70
is not suitable for viewing letters because the resolution of the TV is lower than that of monitor.
Therefore, the display section
76
magnifies letters before display so that the user can see the magnified Internet WEB page information on the TV screen.
However, such a conventional Internet TV has a disadvantage in that it fails to display an entire information of the Internet WEB page on its screen since the number of letters that can be displayed as one picture becomes fewer when the letters are magnified. Also, only a portion of the WEB page information can be displayed on the TV screen if the amount of data contained in one WEB page exceeds the capacity of data display on the TV screen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems involved in the related art and, to provide a method of simultaneously displaying two divided pictures on the screen of an Internet-functional TV which can notably improve the information utility of the Internet-functional TV by simultaneously displaying two divided pictures on the screen if input information to be displayed on the screen of the Internet-functional TV exceeds the number of lines predetermined to constitute one picture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of simultaneously displaying two divided pictures on the screen of an Internet-functional TV which can facilitate information searches by the user by simultaneously displaying previous and present WEB pages on the screen of the Internet-functional TV.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of simultaneously displaying two pictures on a screen of an Internet-functional TV, comprising the steps of determining whether or not the number of total lines of home-page data inputted from Internet to the TV exceeds a predetermined number of lines, displaying the home-page data as a single picture on the screen if the number of total lines of the home-page data is less than the predetermined number of lines as a result of determination, and dividing the home-page data into two pictures if the number of total lines of the home-page data exceeds the predetermined number of lines as a result of determination, and simultaneously displaying the two divided pictures on the screen.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of simultaneously displaying two pictures on a screen of an Internet-functional TV, comprising the steps of determining whether or not a specific item is selected from home-page data inputted from Internet to the TV, and displaying a present page on one side of the screen by identifying it as a previous page, while displaying a page of a selected item on the other side of the screen by identifying it as the present page, if the specific item has been selected from inputted home-page data.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4425581 (1984-01-01), Schweppe et al.
patent: 5502503 (1996-03-01), Koz
patent: 5610664 (1997-03-01), Bobert
patent: 5623589 (1997-04-01), Needham et al.
patent: 5635987 (1997-06-01), Park et al.
patent: 5673086 (1997-09-01), Fukuoka et al.
patent: 5715013 (1998-02-01), Kang
patent: 5717860 (1998-02-01), Graber et al.
patent: 5737558 (1998-04-01), Knight et al.
patent: 5774123 (1998-06-01), Matson
patent: 5784058 (1998-07-01), LaStrange et al.
patent: 5867227 (1999-02-01), Yamaguchi
patent: 5870770 (1999-02-01), Wolfe
patent: 5903816 (1999-05-01), Broadwin et al.
patent: 5923379 (1999-07-01), Patterson
patent: 5945991 (1999-08-01), Britt et al.
patent: 5987509 (1999-11-01), Portuesi
Brown Reuben M.
LG Electronics Inc.
Miller John W.
LandOfFree
Method of simultaneous display of two pictures for... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method of simultaneous display of two pictures for..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method of simultaneous display of two pictures for... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2568370