KR950004462B1 - Apparatus for muting sound signal when titles display on the screen for auto caption vcr - Google Patents

Abstract

The circuit mutes the voice signal and provides the caption on the screen during the operation of the voice mute. The circuit comprises a voice signal processing circuit for restraining the output of a speaker according to the mute demand of a viewer, a caption circuit for demodulating the caption signal implied in the video signal and providing the caption on the screen, and a microprocessor for controlling the operation of the voice signal processing circuit and the caption circuit corresponding to the voice mute demand.

Description

Voice mute device

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a voice mute device according to the present invention.

2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the voice muto device according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10 tuner 20 voice processing circuit

30: image processing circuit 40: caption operation circuit

MICOM: Micom SW1: Boot Switch

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to audio mute windows of television receivers, videotape recorders, and the like, and more particularly, to a voice mute device for displaying a dialog substitute for a program as a caption signal on a display device.

In the case of a telephone call while watching a television, the sound of the television may interfere with school. In such a case, a voice muting device is useful.

The voice mute device temporarily restricts the output of the demodulated voice signal from the broadcast signal as necessary, and can be used to easily answer a telephone while watching TV.

However, when the TV receiver is in a voice mute state, the viewer grasps the contents of the program only with the image information displayed on the display device, so that the content grasp is unclear or obscure.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a voice mute device that can easily grasp the contents of a program by displaying a subtitle indicating a dialogue content of a program during a voice mute operation as a display created to solve the above problem. For that purpose.

Voice mute apparatus according to the present invention to achieve the above object is a speech processing circuit for limiting the output of the audio signal contained in the video signal to the speaker in accordance with the user's voice mute, demodulating the caption signal contained in the video signal And a caption operation circuit for converting the caption signal into a caption signal and outputting the caption signal.

The caption means that the caption signal encoding the dialogue content of the program is transmitted by being superimposed on the video signal, and the built-in caption operation circuit demodulates it and displays the dialogue content of the program as captions.

These cam- tion functions were developed for the hearing-impaired, but they are currently being used for illiterate, children, immigrants, international students, and the elderly with hearing loss. In the United States, about 40% of the total population is estimated to be the target consumer.

As a result, television and video tape recorders with built-in caption operation circuits are widely used.

The present invention is characterized in that by using such a caption operation circuit to display the dialogue content of the program in the subtitle during the voice mute operation. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows an example of an audio mute device according to the present invention, showing an example applied to a television receiver. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a tuner 10 for selecting and outputting a broadcast signal of a tuned channel among broadcast signals introduced through an antenna (not shown), and broadcasting of the tuned channel output from the tuner 10. Demodulates the video signal from the broadcast signal of the tuned channel output from the tuner 10 and demodulates the audio signal from the signal and outputs it to a display device such as a cathode ray tube (hereinafter referred to as a CRT). An image processing circuit 30, a caption operation circuit 40 for generating a caption signal from a caption signal superimposed on the image signal, and a MICOM for controlling the operation of the blocks.

The speech processing circuit 20 is known, and is composed of a speech processing section 21 for performing speech quasi-frequency amplification and speech detection, and an amplifier section 22 for amplifying the detected speech signal and outputting it to the speaker SP.

The image processing circuit 30 is known, and the image processing unit 31 which separates the color signal and the luminance signal, demodulates the R / G / B signal, and flows a sawtooth current through the horizontal and vertical deflection coils to produce an electron gun of the CRT. R (Red) / G (Green) / B of the cathode ray tube according to the magnitude of the R / G / B signal output from the deflection unit 32 and the image processing unit 31 for scanning the electron beam emitted from the horizontal and vertical directions (Blue) It consists of the RGB drive part 33 which drives an electron gun.

The caption operation circuit 40 includes a data detector 41 for detecting caption data from the composite video signal of the tuned broadcast channel output from the tuner 10, and a synchronization separator for separating the synchronization signal from the composite video signal ( 42), according to the command provided through the control bus from the MIV and the fly vaccine provided by the clock generator 43 and the deflection unit 32 generating the clock signal synchronized with the separated synchronization signal. A caption decoder 44 for decoding the detected caption data and a character generator 45 connected to the cancel decoder 44 to generate a caption signal corresponding to the conversation contents of the program.

The mute switch SW1 switched according to the mute request of the user is connected to the microcomputer MICOM that controls the voice processing circuit 20 and the caption operation circuit 40. The mute switch SW1 may be a tactswitch operated by a user or internally operated according to a mute command generated by a remote controller (not shown).

The microcomputer MICOM applies a control signal to its output port to control the operations of the voice processing circuit 20 and the caption operation circuit 40. On the other hand, the detailed operation of the caption decoder 44, for example, the horizontal / vertical arrangement of the subtitles, is controlled through the control bus.

The operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail. The mute switch SW1 is turned on or off depending on the user's voice muto request. Here, it is assumed that SW1 is connected to the + VTcc side when there is a voice mute request, and to the ground side when there is no voice mute request.

If there is a voice mute request, the MICOM applies a control signal to the voice processing circuit 20 and the cancel operation circuit 30 connected to its output port to control the voice mute operation and the caption operation. That is, on the one hand, the voice processing circuit 20 is controlled to mute the voice signal, and on the other hand, the caption operation circuit 40 is controlled so that the subtitle corresponding to the dialogue of the program is displayed on the CRT.

2 is a flowchart showing the voice mute operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, it is first checked whether there is a voice mute request from the user (STEP 1).

Voice mute requests are detected by MICOM. The MICOM determines whether there is a voice mute request in accordance with the potential of the mute switch SW1 connected to its input port. If the potential applied to the input port is + Vcc, a mute request is required, and if it is a ground potential (GN), it is not present.

If there is a voice mute request, the voice mute operation is performed as in the conventional voice mute operation. (STEP 2) Here, the MICOM applies a control signal for disabling the voice processor 21 to the output port. Accordingly, the voice processing unit 21 is disabled. Accordingly, the output of the voice signal to the speaker SP is restricted.

Subsequently, a caption operation is performed, and the subtitle corresponding to the dialogue content of the program is displayed on the CRT. (STEP 3) The caption decoder 44 is enabled by a control signal applied to the output port of the MICOM. Accordingly, the character image signal for displaying the caption sound is output through the character generator 45. The character image synch is synthesized with the R / G / B signal provided from the image processing unit 31 in the R / G / B driving unit 33 and provided to the CRT. Accordingly, in the CRT, subtitles corresponding to the college contents of the program are displayed together with the image.

Therefore, the user can grasp the contents of the conversation through the caption displayed through the CRT instead of the voice signal of the teleyevision.

In step 1, if there is no voice mute request, the conventional voice mute device cancels the simple voice mute operation and outputs the voice signal through the snicker (STEP 4). Here, the MICOM outputs the voice processing unit 21 to the output port. Apply a control signal to enable). As a result, the voice processor 21 is enabled. As a result, the demodulated voice signal is output through the speaker SP.

Next, the caption operation is released. (STEP 5) The caption decoder 44 is disabled by the control signal applied from the microcomputer and the desert is not displayed.

As described above, the voice mute apparatus according to the present invention has an effect of allowing a user to recognize a conversation content through a subtitle instead of a voice signal by automatically operating a caption operation circuit during a voice mute operation.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an example of performing a cancellation operation regardless of the currently set caption mode is disclosed, but it is also possible to refer to the set caption mode and control the caption operation accordingly. For example, when the voice mute request is released, the sound may be turned on, but the caption operation may be maintained when the caption mode is set. To this end, a separate output port should be used to control the voice processing circuit and the caption operation circuit in MICOM. Alternatively, a single output port may be used, but the mute switch SW1 may be connected to the voice processing circuit and the microcomputer so that the voice processing circuit operates according to the setting of the mute switch SW1 without passing through the microcomputer.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited by the disclosed embodiments but should be construed as equivalent to the appended claims and claims.

Claims (1)

A speech processing circuit for restricting output of a demodulated audio signal from a video signal to a speaker according to a user's voice muting request, a caption operation circuit for demodulating a caption signal included in the video signal and converting the caption signal into a caption signal and outputting the audio signal; And a microcomputer for controlling the operations of the voice processing circuit and the caption operation circuit in accordance with the mute request, and if there is a voice request, the voice processing circuit is inoperative to prevent the demodulated voice signal from being output. And the caption operation circuit is operated so that the dialogue contents of the broadcast program are displayed on the display apparatus as captions.