JPH09149329A - Picture information signal receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of operating buttons by the remote controller of a picture information signal receiving device and also to improve operability. SOLUTION: In a picture information signal receiving system, a dicision button 2 and selection buttons 3a-3d are provided in the remote controller 1 and control signals corresponding to respective operations are transmitted to the picture information signal receiving device. The selection buttons 3a-3d are arranged around the decision button 2. When a control item menu is hierarchically set and the menu is not displayed on a monitor screen, the decision button 2 is operated so that a main menu is displayed in the monitor screen. The selection buttons 3a-3d are used for selecting the required control items of the menu, which are displayed in the monitor screen, and the selected control item is decided by the operation of the decision button 2. A control signal by the operation of the decision button 2 is equal in any operation but a control function is made to be different as mentioned above in accordance with the state of the picture information signal receiving device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating device such as a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller), and an image information signal receiving device which is controlled and adjusted according to a control signal from the operating device. In particular, the present invention relates to an image signal receiving system for displaying control items and states of the image information signal receiving device on a screen according to an operation of the operating device.

The image information signals mentioned here include not only moving image signals such as television signals, but also still image signals and character signals, and their signal forms are also as follows.
It does not matter whether it is analog or digital.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as shown in FIG.
The CS digital broadcasting, which is transmitted to the subscriber side via the (communication satellite) 101 and enables the subscriber side to select and receive a desired channel among these channels, is receiving attention. Therefore, the subscriber side is provided with a receiving antenna 102, an image information signal receiving device 103 having a tuner function, and an image monitor 104 such as a television receiver, and the image information signal receiving device 103 receives the signal at the receiving antenna 102. Of the selected channels, the desired channel desired by the subscriber is selected, frequency-converted into a predetermined band, and supplied to the image monitor 104 to display the selected image. .

In such CS digital broadcasting, there is known an image information signal receiving apparatus 103 provided with a remote controller for controlling and adjusting the image information signal receiving apparatus 103 (that is, an image information signal receiving system). In the system, recently, a menu display in which the control items of the image information signal receiving device 103 are arranged vertically and horizontally is displayed on the monitor screen by operating a remote control button, and the image information is selected by selecting and deciding the control item. A device having a function of controlling the signal receiving device 103 has become common.

In the image information signal receiving apparatus 103, the control items to be selected can be changed up, down, left and right in accordance with the operation of the remote control button, and when one control item is selected by this, further other control items are selected. By operating the remote control button, it is decided to control the selected control item.

In the image information signal receiving device 103, not only the control items of the image information signal receiving device 103 but also information indicating the state of the image information signal receiving device 103 itself is displayed on the monitor screen. There is also. The display of these control items and states is called screen display or OSD display, and includes channel selection, image quality adjustment items, and their state level.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the above.
On the monitor screen 105, for example, a channel selection channel number 106 indicating “channel 4” is displayed in the upper right corner, and a volume level 107 is displayed in the lower corner.

Further, when there are many adjustment items such as image quality adjustment, the items are often hierarchically structured. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, first, the main menu screen of the highest hierarchy, which is the center of item selection, is displayed, and when one item, for example, control item 5 is selected and decided, the second item is displayed. The hierarchical menu screen of, that is, the menu screen of each item in the control item 5 is displayed.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the main menu screen is first displayed, one of the control items, for example, "image quality adjustment" of the control item 5 is displayed.
When is selected and selected, a menu screen for image quality adjustment, which is a lower level menu, is displayed, and one adjustment item on this menu screen, for example, the item of “brightness adjustment” is selected and determined. Then, the brightness control state 5, which is a lower level menu screen, is displayed.

[0010]

As described above, in the conventional image information signal receiving apparatus, various controls and status display of the apparatus can be performed by operating the remote controller. It was necessary to provide an operation button. For example, a dedicated operation button for displaying a main menu as shown in FIG. 11 is provided, and in order to select a desired control item in the main menu, a dedicated selection operation button is provided,
A decision button for deciding the selected control item and displaying the second hierarchical menu is provided.

As described above, an operation button is provided for each operation, so that the space occupied by the operation button is increased in the remote controller, and a different operation button must be operated for each operation.

Further, recently, as the image information signal receiving apparatus has become more sophisticated, the number of operation buttons provided on the remote controller tends to increase. Therefore, the remote controller becomes large and its operation becomes very complicated. There was a problem of becoming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image information signal receiving system which solves such a problem, reduces the number of operating members provided in the operating device, and improves operability.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, image information comprising an operation device for controlling an image information signal receiving device for receiving and outputting an image information signal. The signal receiving system has means for changing the control of the image information signal receiving device according to the state of the image information signal receiving device with respect to the same control signal from the operating device.

With this configuration, even if the same control signal is sent to the image information signal receiving device by the operation of the same operating portion of the operating device, the image information signal receiving device receives the image information signal according to the state of the image information signal receiving device at that time. The control status of the device is different.
In this way, since one operating means can have a plurality of functions, the number of operating means in the operating device can be reduced, and the number of operating means is reduced, which facilitates the operation.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an operating device in a first embodiment of an image information signal receiving system according to the present invention, in which 1 is an operating device (in the following description, a remote controller) and 2 is a decision. Buttons 3a to 3d are selection buttons.

In the figure, the remote control 1 has a decision button 2 for determining the display of control items and displaying the status.
And selection buttons 3a to 3d are provided, and the selection buttons 3a to 3d are marked with an arrow indicating the selection direction.

As shown in FIG. 9, when this embodiment (that is, corresponding to the image information signal receiving device 103 having an operating device such as a remote controller) is connected to the image monitor 104, FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the menu of control items or information indicating the state of the image information signal receiving device is not displayed on the monitor screen 4, the enter button 2 is pressed.
When is operated, a main menu is displayed as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, when the enter button 2 is operated when a menu such as the main menu is displayed on the monitor screen 4, the control item selected in the menu is determined. , Fig. 2
As shown in (d), lower information such as the second hierarchical menu of the determined control item is displayed.

As described above, the enter button 2 is for displaying the main menu and for determining the control item selected in the menu. In any of these operations, the enter button 2 is operated. The control signals sent from the remote controller 1 to the image information signal receiving device are the same. For this reason, the image information signal receiving device constantly monitors the control signal from the remote controller 1 and also stores the state of the image information signal receiving device itself. When receiving, the state of oneself is judged, and as described above, the main menu is displayed when the menu display or the state display is not performed on the monitor screen 4, and when the menu display is being displayed, the main menu is displayed. The selected control item is determined.

As described above, the image information signal receiving device performs different control operations in response to the same control signal depending on its state, so that the enter button 2 for determining the selected control item is displayed on the main menu. It can also be used as an operation button for, and the number of operation buttons provided on the remote controller 1 can be reduced accordingly.

The selection buttons 3a to 3d in FIG. 1 are for selecting a desired control item from the displayed menu, and it is assumed that the main menu as shown in FIG. 3 (a) is displayed now. . In the state of this main menu display, a specific control item is initially selected,
The selected control item is highlighted in order to distinguish it from other control items. For example, if the display part of a control item that is not selected is displayed in black against a white background, the display part of the selected control item is displayed in white against a black background. To be done. Hereinafter, such display of the selected control item portion is referred to as “reverse display of selected item”.

When the selection button 3a is operated in the state where the control item 5 of the main menu is selected, the highlighted display of the selection item is moved up by one, and as shown in FIG. The next higher control item 2 is selected. When the decision button 2 is subsequently operated, the control item 2 is decided, and the display of the menu of the next lower hierarchy to the control item 2 or the state of the image information signal receiving apparatus is started.

Similarly, when the selection button 3b is operated in the main menu display state of FIG. 3 (a), the control item 4 is selected as shown in FIG. 3 (c), and the main menu of FIG. 3 (a) is selected. When the selection button 3c is operated in the display state, the control item 8 is selected as shown in FIG.
When the selection button 3d is operated in the main menu display state of (a), the control item 6 is selected as shown in FIG. 3 (e).

Of course, selection operations other than these are also possible, and the selection can be changed from any control item to any other control item. For example, if you want to select control item 3 in the main menu display state of FIG.
It is sufficient to operate the selection button 3a and then the selection button 3d, or the same selection button 3 in the reverse order.
You may operate a and 3d. Further, when it is desired to select the control item 4 in the display state of FIG. 3B, the selection button 3c
It is sufficient to operate the selection button 3b after operating, or the same selection buttons 3b and 3c can be operated in the reverse order.

Each time the selection button is operated, 1 is added.
The reverse display of the selection items may be moved one by one, or may be continuously moved in the same direction during the operation.

In FIG. 1, four selection buttons 3a to 3 are provided.
The d's are arranged around the decision button 2 and in the direction of the arrows respectively marked for this decision button 2. Here, when the remote controller 1 is sized so that it can be operated with one hand, if the selection buttons 3a to 3d are within a range that can be operated with one finger (thumb), the decision buttons 2 and the selection buttons 3a to 3d are arranged. , The decision button 2 can also be operated with the same finger, and different fingers are used for the operation of the selection buttons 3a to 3d and the operation of the decision button 2,
It is not necessary to change hands, and it is very easy to operate, and quick operation is also possible.

The control switching for the operation of the enter button 2 as described above can be easily performed by using a microcomputer or the like.

For example, using flag information indicating that the menu is being displayed, as shown in FIG. 4, until a control signal is received from the remote controller 1 (step 401), a control signal reception waiting state is set ( In step 400), at this time, when the menu or state is in the display state, the flag information is set to "ON", and when not in the display state, the flag information is set to "OFF". When a control signal is received from the remote controller 1 (step 40
1) Looking at this flag information (step 402), when this flag information is "on", the decision button 2 is given the function of deciding the control item selected in the menu, and when this flag information is "off" , Add the function to display the main menu.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operating method when one control item in the main menu is a channel selection item and the control item is selected and decided to perform channel selection.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which a channel number menu, which is a subordinate menu, is displayed by selecting and deciding the control item for channel selection. In this display state, selection is made. Button 3a
3d are appropriately operated to select a desired channel number, and the decision button 2 is operated to determine the selected channel number, which is displayed on the monitor screen 4 as shown in FIG. 5 (b). This channel (here,
The image of channel 5) is displayed, and, for example, the channel number selected and determined as “CH5” is displayed in the upper right corner of the monitor screen.

As described above, even when selecting a channel, by using the selection buttons 3a to 3d and the decision button 2, the decision of the selected channel becomes clear to the user, and the channel is decided. Even if it is selected, switching to this channel is not performed unless the decision button 2 is operated. Therefore, even if the wrong channel is selected, the selection can be corrected only by operating the selection buttons 3a to 3d. The operation button for deselection and its operation are not required. From this point as well, the number of operation buttons on the remote controller 1 can be reduced.

Further, in the first embodiment, four selection buttons are arranged vertically and horizontally, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, eight selection buttons may be used, and the selection items may be moved in a diagonal direction ( That is, it is also possible to take the reverse direction of the selection item).

Next, a second embodiment of the image information signal receiving system according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a remote controller which is an operating device in the second embodiment of the image information signal receiving system according to the present invention, and 5 is an operating lever.

In the first embodiment, a total of five operation buttons including four selection buttons 3a to 3d with arrows and one decision button 2 on the remote controller 1 are independently operated as shown in FIG. It was arranged. In contrast, this second
In the remote controller 1 of the above embodiment, the functions of these five operation buttons are made possible by an operation lever called a joystick that can be configured as one module.

By tilting the operating lever 5 forward in the direction of arrow A, the selection button 3 in the first embodiment is selected.
It functions similarly to a and tilts rearward in the direction of arrow A ′ to function similarly to the selection button 3c in the first embodiment, and tilts leftward in the direction of arrow B to determine the first embodiment. The selection button 3b functions in the same manner as described above, and by tilting to the right in the direction of the arrow B ′, the same function as the selection button 3d in the first embodiment. The operation lever 5 is also pressed in the direction perpendicular to the arrow C direction to move the first lever.
The same function as the decision button 2 in the above embodiment.

Therefore, also in this second embodiment,
The same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and when the main menu, which is the highest level of the hierarchical menu structure, is displayed, the operation lever 5 is displayed while the main menu is not displayed. Need only be pressed once in the direction of arrow C. When selecting and deciding a desired control item in the menu display, the operation lever 5 is tilted, and when the desired control item is selected by this, the operation lever is selected. 5 to arrow C
Press in the direction.

Also in this second embodiment, the tiltable directions of the operating lever 5 are not limited to the four directions, but the directions in which the selected control item moves (that is,
The number of tiltable directions and the directions thereof can be set according to the agreement of (the moving direction of the highlighted display of the selection item).

Next, a third embodiment of the image information signal receiving system according to the present invention will be described.

In the first and second embodiments described above,
The control signal transmitted from the remote controller is the same for the display of the main menu and the determination of the selected control item, and which operation is to be discriminated from this control signal and the flag information. In the third embodiment, different control signals are transmitted for each.

That is, in the third embodiment, for example,
The control signal from the remote controller for determining the selection item is "0", and the control signal from the remote controller for displaying the main menu is "1". Needless to say, an information signal indicating that the control signal is associated with the operation of the enter button 2 or the operation lever 5 is added before the control signal.

In the image information signal receiving apparatus, the microcomputer determines whether the received control signal is "0" or "1", and the control item selected or the main menu is selected according to the determination result. Display.

Here, since the display of the main menu and the determination of the selected control item are carried out by one operating means such as the enter button 2 or the operation lever 5, the display of the main menu and the selection of the selected control item are performed. In order to distinguish it from the determination, the operating method of the operating means is changed. For example, the control signal to be transmitted can be changed as described above depending on how many times the operating means is pressed within a certain period of time. As one specific example, when the operating means is operated only once per second, the remote controller 1 transmits a control signal of "0" for determining the selected control item,
When it is operated twice, the control signal of "1" for displaying the main menu is transmitted. in this case,
The above-mentioned fixed time does not necessarily have to be 1 second and can be set arbitrarily. Further, the number of times the operating means should be operated within a fixed time is not limited to the above, and the combination of the content of the control signal and the number of operations can be appropriately determined.

Next explained is the fourth embodiment of the image information signal receiving system according to the invention.

As one of the television systems, there is one called a child lock, which has a mechanism such that a television broadcast cannot be normally viewed without inputting a personal identification number. In such a system,
Numerical keys 0 to 9 called ten keys are arranged on the remote controller, and it is general to input the personal identification number by operating the ten keys.

On the other hand, the fourth embodiment is also applicable to such a television system and utilizes the hierarchical control items, that is, the main menu as shown in FIG. 2C, for example. One of the control items in step 1 is used as a password input item, and by selecting and deciding this control item, the numeric keypad for password input is displayed on the monitor screen, and each numeric key is pressed in order. By selecting and deciding, the personal identification number can be entered. As the remote controller, the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 can be used. Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that the remote controller 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used.

Now, when the control item for inputting the above-mentioned personal identification number is selected and decided as in the above embodiment with the main menu displayed as shown in FIG. 2 (c), as shown in FIG. As shown, a screen prompting the input of the personal identification number is displayed on the monitor screen 4. Here, if the personal identification number is a four-digit numerical value, a personal identification number input area 7 in which a frame 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d is provided for each digit and a numeric keypad 8 is provided below the personal identification number input area 8 along with a message prompting for input. And are displayed respectively.

In such a display state before inputting the personal identification number, for example, a symbol "?" Is written in each of the frames 6a to 6d, and in the ten-key pad 8, a specific number (here, The number "5" located at the center is selected and the selected item is highlighted.

Therefore, when the personal identification number is set to "1234" and the selection buttons 3a to 3d are operated to select the desired number "1" as described above, and the determination button 2 is used to determine it, first, As shown in FIG. 8, the selected number "1" is displayed in the frame 6a for the numerical value of the most significant digit. Similarly, by selecting and deciding the numeral with the ten-key 8 in the order of the frames 6b, 6c and 6d, as shown in FIG. 8, the secret code "12" is displayed in the frames 6a to 6d.
34 ”is displayed. This operation is the same when the above-mentioned operation lever is used.

In this way, the personal identification number is displayed as shown in FIG. 8. If the personal identification number is correct, in the case of the child lock television system, the received program is immediately displayed on the monitor screen, and if it is incorrect. , The main menu display shown in FIG. 2 or the display shown in FIG. 7 is returned. In this case, a display indicating that the error is made may be displayed at the same time.

In the fourth embodiment, the numeric keypad is displayed below the personal identification number entry area 7,
It is also possible to display a message or a personal identification number input area on the right or left side of the monitor screen 4 and display a ten-key on the opposite side.

Thus, in this fourth embodiment,
A numeric string such as a personal identification number can be input without providing a numeric keypad on the remote controller. Moreover, when inputting each number, the selection and determination are performed, so that each user must select it. It is possible to easily confirm that the number has been input.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

That is, for example, in each of the above embodiments, the operating device is a remote controller, but the operating device may be provided integrally with the image information signal receiving device.

In the above embodiment, the image information signal receiving device is separate from the monitor as shown in FIG.
It may be built in the monitor.

Further, in FIG. 5, when selecting a channel, the channel number and the control item are made to correspond one-to-one, but a ten-key is displayed and one digit is entered as described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Then, the channel may be selected.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the operating member of the operating device has a plurality of functions and different control is performed for the same control signal by operating the operating member, depending on the state of the image information signal receiving device, It is possible to reduce the number of operating members, and this facilitates desired operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first image information signal receiving system according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the operating device in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen display associated with an operation of a decision button in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display accompanying operation of a selection button in FIG.

4 is a diagram showing a flowchart showing an operation of the screen display shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a first image information signal receiving system according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation for channel selection in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a second image information signal receiving system according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the operating device in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a fourth image information signal receiving system according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen prompting the user to input a personal identification number in the embodiment.

8 is a diagram showing a screen when a personal identification number is input on the screen shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a satellite communication system using an image information signal receiving system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a status display in a conventional image information signal receiving system.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of selecting a control item on a menu screen of a conventional image information signal receiving system.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining another method of selecting a control item on the menu screen of the conventional image information signal receiving system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Operating device (remote control) 2 Enter button 3a to 3d Select button 4 Monitor screen 5 Operating lever 6a to 6d Frame 7 Security code entry area 8 Numeric keypad

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Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image information signal receiving system including an operating device for controlling an image information signal receiving device for receiving and outputting an image information signal, wherein the same control signal from the operating device is received, An image information signal receiving system comprising means for changing control of the image information signal receiving apparatus according to a state of the image information signal receiving apparatus. 2. The image information signal receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the image information signal receiving device generates a menu image signal for displaying a hierarchical menu showing a plurality of control items on a display screen according to an operation of the operating device. The operation device has a plurality of selection buttons with arrows for selecting and instructing one of a plurality of control items arranged and displayed in the menu display, and a selection instruction by operating the selection button. An image information signal receiving system, comprising: a determination operation means for determining the control item that has been set, and the plurality of selection buttons are arranged around the determination button. 3. The determination button according to claim 2, wherein the determination button is also used as a button for displaying a main menu, and the determination button for instructing the main menu display by the determination button and determining the control item. The same control signal is sent from the operating device to the image information signal receiving device in accordance with the operation of, when the menu button is operated by the control signal when the menu is not displayed on the display screen, A main menu is displayed on the display screen, and when the determination button is operated while the menu is displayed on the display screen, the control item selected and designated by operating the selection button is determined. An image information signal receiving system characterized by: 4. The control item according to claim 2, wherein one of the control items in the menu display is a control item for displaying a menu of channel numbers of receivable channels on the display screen, and operation of the selection button. The image information signal receiving system is characterized in that an arbitrary channel number is selected from the menu and the selected channel number is determined by operating the decision button. 5. The control item according to claim 2, wherein one of the control items in the menu display is a control item for displaying a ten-key on the display screen, and any one of the ten-key on the ten-key is operated by operating the selection button. By instructing the selection of numbers, by operating the decision button,
An image information signal receiving system, characterized in that the number selected and instructed is determined. 6. The image information signal receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the image information signal receiving device generates a menu image signal for displaying a hierarchical menu showing a plurality of control items on a display screen according to an operation of the operating device. The operating device includes an operating lever that can be tilted in any direction and can be pushed in the longitudinal direction. By tilting the operating lever in any direction, the operating device is arranged and displayed in the menu display. Image information signal reception, characterized in that it is possible to determine the control item for which selection has been instructed by selecting and instructing one of the plurality of control items system. 7. The operation lever according to claim 6, wherein the operation lever is also used for displaying a main menu, and the operation lever is used for instructing the main menu display and determining the control item. When the control signal sent from the operating device to the image information signal receiving device is the same, and when the operation signal is pushed in the longitudinal direction when the menu is not displayed on the display screen, , The main menu is displayed on the display screen, and when the operation lever is pushed in the longitudinal direction while the menu is displayed on the display screen, the control item selected and designated is determined. An image information signal receiving system characterized by performing. 8. The control item according to claim 6 or 7, wherein one of the control items in the menu display is a control item for displaying a menu of channel numbers of receivable channels on the display screen. An image information signal receiving system, characterized in that an instruction is made to select an arbitrary channel number in the menu by operation, and the channel number instructed to be selected is determined by depressing the operation lever. 9. The control item according to claim 6 or 7, wherein one of the control items in the menu display is a control item for displaying a ten-key on the display screen, and the ten-key is operated by tilting the operation lever in a desired direction. The image information signal receiving system is characterized in that an arbitrary number is instructed to be selected, and the number instructed is selected by depressing the operation lever.