JPH04368078A - Character inserting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the device to freely insert a character area devised to be surely read on a screen in independently of a background or a pattern of a picture or the like to any part of the picture of nature even in the case of use of a small character and to freely move the position of the picture of nature in lateral and longitudinal directions in the case of insertion of the character area. CONSTITUTION:A synchronizing separator circuit 1 and a burst signal separator circuit 2 separate respectively a synchronizing signal and a burst signal from a video signal. A chrominance subcarrier is formed from the burst signal and the phase shift is adjustable. Moreover, A range of the character area to be inserted is varied and the video signal is converted into an NTSC signal representing the character area. A switch 9 selects either the video signal being the original signal or the NTSC signal to insert the character area to the picture of nature.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character insertion device for inserting characters into a video signal, and more particularly to a character insertion device for switching between a natural image and a character area suitable for expanding the use of still video.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art When inserting characters into a video signal, a method is used to insert characters such as outlines into an image using a character generator and a character inserter. FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing the general circuit configuration. The synchronization signal of the video signal is separated by a synchronization signal separation circuit 16. The character generator 17 switches and controls the character inserter 18 based on the synchronization signal. The character inserter 18 is switched from the video signal side to the power supply side at the timing of inserting a character. As a result, white characters are inserted into the video signal.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] By the way, natural images (
Video signals obtained from imaging systems, etc. generally have many detailed patterns. Therefore, in conventional character insertion circuits, small characters cannot be used in order to distinguish them from fine patterns, and characters larger than a predetermined size must be used. In addition, natural images often include images that contain something close to white against a wide area such as the sky, a wall, or a Y-shirt as a background. In such cases, it is difficult to distinguish the characters on the screen even if the characters to be inserted are outlined in white. The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the purpose of the present invention is to create a character area that can be freely read in any part of a natural image, so that even small characters can be reliably read on the screen regardless of the background, pattern, etc. of the natural image. An object of the present invention is to provide a character insertion device that can be inserted into a character. Another object of the present invention is to provide a character insertion device that can freely change the position of the natural image when inserting the character area.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a character insertion device according to the present invention includes a separation circuit that separates a video signal into a synchronization signal and a burst signal, and a color subcarrier based on the burst signal. a color subcarrier generator, a color specifying means for specifying a color by adjusting the phase of the color carrier, a character information device for outputting character information, a character area specifying means for specifying a range in which characters are to be inserted; In the range specified by the character area specifying means, a character generating device that generates a character pattern of character information from the character information device based on the synchronization signal, and outputs of the color specifying means and the character generating device are input. and a switching means for switching between the output of the NTSC signal generating means and the video signal in accordance with the output of the character area specifying means. Further, in the above configuration, a delay circuit that delays a synchronization signal and a burst flag separated from the video signal, and an image horizontal position adjustment means that can adjust the amount of delay of the synchronization signal delayed by the delay circuit within a range of 1H; an image vertical position adjusting means capable of adjusting the delay amount of the synchronization signal delayed by the delay circuit by an integral multiple of 1H; and a burst flag delayed by the delay circuit to adjust the video signal to the character pattern signal generated by the character generator. The configuration is provided with means for adding a burst with the same phase.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings and the like. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a character insertion device according to the present invention. The present embodiment comprises a synchronization separation circuit 1, a burst signal separation circuit 2, a character insertion circuit, a CPU 5, a switch 9 serving as a switching means, and a keyboard 10. The character insertion circuit includes a color subcarrier generator 3 and a phase shifter 4
, volume VR1, volume VR2, timing generator 6, character generator 7 which is a character generating device, and NTSC which is NTSC signal generating means.
It is composed of an encoder 8. The phase shifter 4 and the volume VR1 have the functions of color specifying means, and the timing generator 6 and the volume VR2 have the functions of character area specifying means. The character generator 7 has a built-in kanji ROM which is a character information device.

A sync separation circuit 1 separates horizontal and vertical sync signals from a video signal. The CPU 5 and the timing generator 6 obtain the synchronization signal of the video signal and control the operation of inserting characters in the character area.The keyboard 10 determines which character to insert in which position in the character area.
Specified by The CPU 5 sends a control signal to the timing generator 6 in order to insert each character into each position of the character area according to the designation from the keyboard 10. The timing generator 6 receives the horizontal and vertical synchronization signals sent from the synchronization separation circuit 1 and sends a switching signal to the switch 9. A volume 2 connected to the timing generator 6 changes the generation position of the switching signal generated based on the horizontal and vertical synchronization signals sent from the synchronization separation circuit 1, and the operator operates this volume 2. By changing the switching signal sent to the switch 9, the range into which the character area is inserted can be freely selected. In addition, the timing generator 6 sends to the character generator 7 a timing signal for inserting character information output from the kanji ROM built into the character generator 7 at a predetermined position based on a control signal from the CPU 5. character generator 7
generates a character pattern signal based on character information at a predetermined position in the character area in response to a timing signal from the timing generator 6.

On the other hand, the burst signal separation circuit 2 separates a burst signal for determining a color standard from a video signal using a burst flag. The color subcarrier generator 3 generates a continuous color carrier from the burst signal separated by the burst signal separation circuit 2. The color carrier wave passes through phase shifter 4 and converts to NTSC.
It is sent to encoder 8. A volume VR1 connected to the phase shifter 4 changes the phase of the color carrier wave input to the phase shifter 4, and the operator can freely select the background color of the character area by adjusting this volume VR1. Can be done. The NTSC encoder 8 with a built-in character inserter receives a burst signal from the burst signal separation circuit 2, a color carrier wave with a specified color from the phase shifter 4, a synchronization signal from the synchronization separation circuit, and a character pattern signal from the character generator 7. These signals are used to create an NTSC signal for the character area. The NTSC signal of the character area portion created by this character insertion circuit and the video signal which is the original signal are input to the switch 9, and are switched by the switching signal from the timing generator 6.
Output to the video terminal.

FIG. 2 shows an example of inserting a character area in the vertical direction. FIG. 2(A) shows the display screen, and FIG. 2(B) shows each circuit section during the horizontal synchronization period shown by solid lines on the display screen. The input and output waveforms are shown respectively. A natural image (a) is input to the video signal input terminal of the switch 9. On the other hand, the NTS
A character area image (b) is input to the C encoder signal input terminal. In the figure, 20 is a horizontal synchronization signal, 21 is a burst signal, 22 is a person's brightness signal, 23 is a character part, 24
is the color carrier wave. The switching signal shown in (c) is the switch 9
A signal in which the natural image and the character area are combined as shown in (d) is output from the video terminal.

FIG. 3 shows an example of inserting a character area in the horizontal direction. FIG. 3 (A) shows the display screen, and FIG. 3 (B) shows the input and output waveforms of each circuit section during the vertical synchronization period. ing. In the figure, 25 is a horizontal synchronization signal, 26 is a vertical synchronization signal,
27 is a luminance signal portion corresponding to a person, 28 is a character portion,
29 is a color carrier wave. By the switching signal shown in (c) (
A composite signal of the natural image and character area portion as shown in d) is output from the video terminal.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged waveform diagram of the portion surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. In the figure, 30 is a luminance signal of a person, and 31 is a horizontal synchronization signal. If you enlarge the waveform shown by whiskers in the rectangular wave of the switching signal (c) in Figure 3, you will see a pulse like that shown in Figure 4 (c). During the period in which the synchronization signal is generated, it is switched to the horizontal synchronization signal of the natural image. The above circuit operation allows a character area to be inserted at any position in a natural image.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. As a result of inserting the character area according to the first embodiment,
The position of the subject, which is the center of a natural image, may be left and right unbalanced in relation to the character area. In such a case, it becomes necessary to move the position of the subject of the natural image. In the second embodiment, in such a case, the position of the subject of the natural image can be moved arbitrarily in both the vertical and horizontal directions. In FIG. 5, the synchronous separation circuit 1,
The configurations of the burst signal separation circuit 2, color subcarrier generator 3, phase shifter 4, timing generator 6, character generator 7, and switch 9 are the same as the circuit shown in FIG.

The image horizontal position adjusting means is realized by the delay circuit 13 and the volume VR3, and the image vertical position adjusting means is realized by the delay circuit 13, the volume VR4 and the gate circuit 14. The delay circuit 13 delays the burst flag and the horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals from the synchronization separation circuit 1. The delayed burst flag is sent to the NTSC encoder 16, and the delayed horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals are sent to the gate circuit 14. The mode switch 15 connected to the CPU 12 specifies the moving direction of the image, and when the horizontal position mode is selected, the mode switch 15 is connected to the CPU 12.
2 sets the delay circuit 13 to a mode in which the amount of delay of the horizontal synchronization signal can be adjusted. If you operate the volume VR3,
The amount of delay of the horizontal synchronization signal can be changed arbitrarily. Furthermore, when the vertical position mode is selected, the CPU 12 sets the delay circuit 13 to a mode in which the delay amount of the vertical synchronization signal can be adjusted. By operating the volume VR4, the amount of delay of the vertical synchronization signal can be changed arbitrarily. The gate circuit 14 is a circuit that operates according to a control signal from the CPU 12 when the mode switch 15 is selected to the vertical position mode, and is a circuit that operates according to a control signal from the CPU 12 and outputs the delayed synchronization signal from the delay circuit 13 and the undelayed synchronization signal output from the separate synchronization circuit 1. The signals are ANDed. Therefore, the vertical sync signal is 1 of the horizontal sync signal.
When given a delay amount that is an integer multiple of H, the gate circuit 14
A delayed synchronization signal is output from. Furthermore, when the mode switch 15 is selected to the horizontal position mode, the gate circuit 1
4 does not operate, and the delayed synchronization signal from the delay circuit 13 passes through as is.

FIG. 6A is a waveform diagram showing an example of the delay amount of the horizontal synchronizing signal when the vertical position is adjusted and output from the gate circuit. (a) is a signal without delay, and (a
)', the horizontal synchronizing signal is delayed by 1H, as is clear from the image signals of ■■. Similarly, (a)'' is delayed by 2H, and when delayed by an integer multiple of the horizontal synchronization signal, the delayed synchronization signal is output from the gate circuit 14. Figure 6 (B) shows the adjustment of the horizontal position. FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram showing an example of the amount of delay of the horizontal synchronization signal when The delayed synchronization signal that has passed through the gate circuit 14 is input to the timing generator 6 and character generator 7, respectively, and the timing generator 6 and character generator 7 perform the same processing as in FIG. 1 based on the delayed synchronization signal. 6 determines the insertion position of the character area by adjusting the volume VR2, and sends a switching signal for controlling this to the switch 9. Also, the character generator 7 generates a character pattern based on the character information from the CPU 12, and the character generator 7 generates a character pattern based on character information from the CPU 12. Send the pattern to the NTSC encoder 16.

The NTSC encoder 16 receives the designated color subcarrier from the phase shifter 4 and the character generator 7.
In addition to the character pattern signal from and the synchronization signal passed through the delay circuit 13, the color carrier wave of the color subcarrier generator 3 is directly inputted, and furthermore, the delayed burst flag is inputted. The NTSC encoder 16 uses these signals to encode the NTSC encoder in the character area.
Create a C signal. Here, the reason why the color carrier wave of the color subcarrier generator 3 is directly input is to add the burst signal of the video signal, which is the original signal, to the NTSC signal of the character area using the delayed burst flag. As a result, the color reproducibility of the original signal is maintained. The NTSC encoder 16 also serves as means for adding bursts as described above. The above-mentioned switching signal is input to the switch 9, and the switching operation of the switch 9 inserts a character area at an arbitrary position of the video signal, which is the original signal.

FIG. 7 is an example of inserting a character area vertically and moving the subject, a person, to the left.
) shows the state of change on the display screen, and (B) in the same figure shows the input/output waveforms of each circuit section during the horizontal synchronization period, which is indicated by solid lines on the display screen. A natural image (a) is input to the video signal input terminal of the switch 9. On the other hand, the character area image (b) in which the horizontal synchronizing signal is delayed by d1 and the burst signal is replaced with the original burst signal is input to the NTSC encoder signal input terminal. In the diagram, 3
5 is the luminance signal of the person, 36 is the delayed horizontal synchronization signal, 3
7 is a character pattern signal, 38 is a color carrier wave, and 39 is a replaced burst signal. A switching signal shown in (c) is applied to the switch 9, and a signal in which the natural image and character area portion are synthesized as shown in (d) is outputted from the video terminal. The luminance signal corresponding to the person in the image is located closer to the horizontal synchronization signal 36 than the original signal, and has moved that much to the left on the screen.

FIG. 8 is an example of inserting a character area horizontally and moving the subject, a person, upward.
) shows the state of change in the display screen, and (B) in the same figure shows the input/output waveforms of each circuit section during the vertical synchronization period. In the figure, 40 is a luminance signal representing a person, 41 is a delayed vertical synchronization signal, 42 is a character pattern signal, and 43 is a color carrier wave. In response to the switching signal shown in (c), a composite signal of the natural image and character area portion as shown in (d) is outputted from the video terminal. The luminance signal corresponding to the person in the image is located closer to the vertical synchronization signal 41 than the original signal, and has moved upward on the screen by that amount.

In both the first and second embodiments, an example in which characters are displayed in the character area has been described above, but a scale and its dimensions may also be displayed to indicate the size of the subject.

[0018]

As described above, the character insertion device according to the present invention separates a synchronization signal and a burst signal from a video signal of a natural image, creates a color subcarrier from the burst signal, and adjusts the phase of the color carrier. Specify the color, specify the range where characters are to be inserted, specify the character area insertion position using the character area specifying means, convert the character area containing the character pattern to an NTSC signal, and convert the natural image video signal and this NTSC signal. is configured to be switched and output by a switching signal from the character area specifying means. Therefore, the character area can be designated with a blue background, etc., making the characters easier to see. Furthermore, since it is possible to distinguish smaller characters than by placing white characters overlaid on a natural image as in a general character insert, the number of characters to be displayed can be increased. You can select the background color of the character area to match the image, and you can also select the range of the character area, so you can insert characters that are suitable for the image. The character area can be entered either horizontally or vertically. Furthermore, a character area can be inserted only during playback without processing the original video signal. By dubbing the character synthesis output of the present invention, a general playback device (VT
It has various effects such as being able to playback with R, still video, etc.). In addition to the above configuration, the character insertion device according to the present invention is configured to be able to move the position of the subject of the natural image in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Therefore, the layout of the subject on the screen into which the character area has been inserted can be freely arranged, and an image with good compositional balance can be obtained. Furthermore, it is also possible to delete unnecessary screen parts, and as a result, the character area can be used more widely, and the effect is that the characters can be made larger and the number of characters can be increased.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of a character insertion device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of inserting a character area in the vertical direction.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of inserting a character area in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged waveform diagram of the portion surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram for explaining the amount of delay of a horizontal synchronization signal.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a subject is moved in the horizontal direction of an image into which a character area has been inserted.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a subject is moved in the vertical direction of an image into which a character area has been inserted.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a conventional character insertion circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Synchronization separation circuit 2...Burst signal separation circuit 3...Color subcarrier generator 4...Phase shifter 5...CPU 6...Timing generator 7...Character generator 8...NTSC encoder 9...Switch 10...Keyboard 13...Delay circuit 14...Gate circuit 15...Mode switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A separation circuit that separates a video signal into a synchronization signal and a burst signal, a color subcarrier generator that generates a color subcarrier based on the burst signal, and a color subcarrier generator that generates a color subcarrier by adjusting the phase of the color carrier. a color specifying means for specifying;
a character information device that outputs character information; a character area designation device that designates a range in which characters are to be inserted; and a character information device that outputs character information from the character information device in the range specified by the character area designation device based on the synchronization signal. a character generator that generates a character pattern; and an NTSC system that generates an NTSC signal by inputting the outputs of the color specifying means and the character generator.
A character insertion device comprising a signal generating means and a switching means for switching between the output of the NTSC signal generating means and the video signal in accordance with the output of the character area specifying means. 2. A delay circuit that delays a synchronization signal and a burst flag separated from the video signal; and image horizontal position adjustment means that can adjust the delay amount of the synchronization signal delayed by the delay circuit within a range of 1H; an image vertical position adjusting means capable of adjusting the delay amount of the synchronization signal delayed by the delay circuit by an integral multiple of 1H; and a character pattern signal generated by the character generator by the burst flag delayed by the delay circuit and the video signal The character insertion device according to claim 1, further comprising means for adding bursts of the same phase.