JP2001202311A - Method and system for automatically switching tv/web screen and recording medium recording the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for automatically switching screen, with which a desired web site or the like can be automatically and immediately displayed on a TV screen when a user desires web access or the like. SOLUTION: When the system is started by the user, present one frame of a TV broadcasting signal is stored in frame memory storage means 203. A pattern comparing means 205 searches a pattern coincident with designated character string image data for reference out of two-dimensional image data by pattern matching. The characters of an image connected to a coincident image part are recognized and made into character string code by a character code replacing/effective length extracting means 207, and the character string data of an effective length just before a designated terminal character are extracted. URL information is prepared from these character string data by a URL preparing means 208 and transferred by a web browser start/URL transfer means 208 after a starting command is sent to the web browser.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for mutually accommodating video data in different formats and formats of audio-visual equipment such as a TV receiver, a set-top box and a video recorder and a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC). Belongs to.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, URLs used for the Internet, etc.
There was no direct reading of the address from the broadcast video and switching to the web screen. In a TV with a built-in web function, in which a TV receiver and a PC are combined, and a PC with a TV tuner board, a configuration in which a TV receiver screen and a PC output screen are switched and used, or a remote control unit is shared is realized. However, the data to be handled
The function and the PC function are separated, and mutual interchange is not realized.

Further, even in a text broadcast or digital broadcast receiver, the use of image data appearing in a video program other than a specific data program for screen switching has not been realized. For this reason, for example, address information and the like displayed in the broadcast video have been discontinued by the user writing down the address and inputting the address when newly accessing the web.

However, the function of searching for any designated pattern or character from image information read by TV screen information or OCR has already been commercialized, and image search, character recognition, and text coding have been already implemented. Technology is used.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an analog T
For information such as advertisements and shopping broadcasted on V and digital TV broadcasting, we use URLs of companies and stores.
When the b site information is displayed on the screen, when the user desires the web access, the screen automatic switching method and method for automatically displaying the desired web site on the TV screen immediately The task is to provide

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for automatically switching a TV / web screen according to the present invention comprises:
Analog-to-digital conversion of one frame of a video signal screen handled in a V receiver, a set-top box (hereinafter abbreviated as STB), etc., and converting the analog / digital-converted video signal into two-dimensional image data Accumulating in a memory, pattern-matching the accumulated two-dimensional image data with specified character string image data, and extracting an image of a portion adjacent to the image matched by the pattern matching by a specified length; Recognizing and converting the text to a character string code; extracting a valid length character string code from a character string continuous with the recognized character string code to a position before a specified terminal character; and Creating address information from the long character string code; A step of the made address information application software F transferred retrieve and display information from the addressee, characterized in that it has.

Alternatively, storing a digital data signal of a character broadcast or a digital data signal of a data broadcast channel handled in a TV receiver or STB capable of receiving a character broadcast or a data broadcast in a digital memory for a specified time; Searching for a specified character string code from the obtained digital data signal, and extracting an effective length character string from a character string continuous with the searched character string code to a position immediately before a specified terminal character; and Creating address information from the effective length character string code, and transferring the created address information to application software that acquires information from the address and displays the information.

Similarly, the automatic TV / web screen switching system according to the present invention employs an A / D converter for converting one frame of a video signal screen, which is handled by a TV receiver or a set-top box (hereinafter abbreviated as STB), from analog to digital. D
Conversion means, storage means for storing the analog / digital converted video signal as two-dimensional image data in a frame memory, reference data table for designating reference character string image data for pattern matching, and Comparing means for pattern-matching the two-dimensional image data with the specified character string image data; extracting a specified length of an image adjacent to the image matched by the pattern matching; A character recognizing unit as a code, a code extracting unit for extracting an effective length character string code from a character string continuous with the recognized character string code to a position immediately before a specified terminal character, and the extracted effective length character string code Address information creating means for creating address information from the address, and the created address And transfer means for application software f transfer information to retrieve and display information from the addressee, characterized in that it has.

[0009] Alternatively, storage means for storing a digital data signal of a teletext or a digital data signal of a data broadcast channel handled in a TV receiver or STB capable of receiving a teletext or a data broadcast in a digital memory for a specified time; A reference character string code table for designating a reference character string code, a search unit for searching the stored digital data signal for the specified character string code, and a character following the character string code after the search. Code extraction means for extracting a valid length character string from a column to a specified end character, address information generating means for generating address information from the extracted valid length character string code, and Transfer means for transferring information to application software for acquiring and displaying information from the address. And wherein the Rukoto.

Further, a program for causing a computer to execute the steps in the above-described automatic TV / web screen switching method is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

[0011] In the present invention, one frame of the current screen of a normal TV broadcast signal is stored in a frame memory as a still image and started from a two-dimensional image data of the still image. Searches for a pattern that matches the image data of the reference character string by pattern matching, cuts out the image connected to the matched image part by the specified length, recognizes the character as a character string code, and sets the character A series of operations are performed until character string data having an effective length is extracted and the obtained character string data is passed as address information (URL information and the like) to an application program such as a web browser.

A software (program) or an electronic circuit for realizing these is, for example, a TV receiver having a web access function or a set-top box (S
Although it can be embedded and mounted in TB) or the like, it can also be realized as another component such as an adapter.

In the case of receiving a character broadcast or a data broadcast, since address information such as URL information in the screen is initially provided as character string code data in the screen information or in the audio signal, the address information (URL information or the like) is provided. ) Can be applied not as image pattern matching but as simpler character string code matching search processing or means.

When the character strings obtained from the TV screen are an e-mail address and a telephone number, the character strings are realized by e-mail or IP telephone software instead of the web browser software.

According to the above, the user can use T
After writing down the information selected in the V broadcast, there is no need to start up the web browser and set the address again.
It is possible to automatically switch to the desired website screen automatically while watching the broadcast screen. When an e-mail address or telephone number is displayed on the TV screen instead of the Web application, the e-mail address or telephone number is extracted by a similar procedure, and the address data is transmitted to the attached e-mail software or IP telephone software. By transferring, the application can be automatically started.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram and a process flowchart for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of simplicity, this description assumes a TV receiver 100 provided with a web access function, in which a software or electronic circuit (logic LSI, etc.) unit 200 for implementing the processing flow of the present invention is mounted. And The web access function does not necessarily need to be attached to the TV set, and can be realized by another configuration using a PC or the like.

In FIG. 1, a TV receiver 100 includes an antenna 101 or the like, a remote controller or the like 102, a tuner / decoder 103, a display means 104 such as a CRT, an input switching / screen display processing / web browser means (hereinafter referred to as a web browser means). , Control means) 105. On the other hand, the electronic circuit unit 2
Reference numeral 00 denotes a web / TV switching activation unit 201, an A / D conversion unit 202, a frame memory storage unit 203, a reference character string pattern table 204, a pattern comparison unit 205, a coincidence image extraction unit 206, a character code Effective length extracting means 207, URL creating means 208, we
b. It has a browser activation / URL transfer unit 209 and an error display signal output unit 210.

An operation example according to the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described below. Here, a case is considered where the address of a web site is displayed on a screen by an advertisement or the like while the user is watching a TV broadcast, and a connection to the site is instructed.

First, a web switching mode is set by an action such as activation of a switch by a user's remote controller or the like 102, and a video signal from the tuner / decoder 103 on the TV side is displayed on a screen (web address (hereinafter referred to as URL)).
Is expressed as A /
After undergoing A / D conversion processing by the D conversion means 202, the data is stored as still image data in a frame memory storage means 203 such as a video memory.

Usually, the starting character string of the URL is "http
p: // "or" ftp: // ", a character image pattern of" http: // "is stored as a reference character string for pattern comparison in the reference character string pattern table 204 as a default, for example. The pattern comparison unit 205 compares the pattern of the screen data stored in the frame memory storage unit 203 with the reference character string image in the reference character string pattern table 204, and the matching image extraction unit 206 The extraction process extracts an image having a specified length following or similar to the reference character string pattern from the screen data, where the specified length is the length of the image to be extracted. Because it is often displayed without wrapping in, it is good to set it to the maximum line length in the screen . With respect to the method of extracting specific matching patterns will be described later.

Subsequently, the extracted image data is subjected to character code substitution processing by the character code substitution effective length extracting means 207 to perform character encoding. The character encoding method is a technology widely implemented as a character recognition technology, and realizes character recognition and conversion to a text code sequentially one by one by correlating a dot pattern of image data with a character pattern for reference. Is done. If there is a portion in the character replacement process where the corresponding character is not recognized as a character permitted by the URL, such as a space, the character replacement is stopped at that point and the effective length is set. The URL creator 208 creates and stores only the character string portion from the character following the effective length "http: //" to one before the portion such as a space as a URL.

If the extraction of the coincident image and the character code replacement processing are not performed normally, the processing must be interrupted. For example, the error display signal output means 210 outputs a series of processing (for example, starting from web switching to character code processing). If the replacement is not completed within a predetermined time (within a few seconds), an error display signal is output to the control means 105 of the TV receiver, and the control means 105 receives the error display signal.
However, it is possible to generate an error message, display the message superimposed on the broadcast video on a TV screen, for example, interrupt the processing, and return to the state before the web switching.

When the URL character string has been successfully created, w is used to enable web access on the TV receiver side.
web browser activation / URL transfer means 209,
b Transfer the command to start the browser (not necessary if the browser is already running), and at the same time,
L is transferred to the control means 105 on the TV receiver side. In the TV receiver 100, the input is switched to the web browser screen by the control unit 105, and the image of the created URL site is output.

If the address information extracted from the video output of the TV receiver 100 is an e-mail address, for example, "@" is set as a reference character string, and the character strings located on the left and right of "@" are screen images. It is cut out more. In this case, the character code replacement effective length extraction means 207 sequentially recognizes characters in both the left and right directions, and when a part that is not recognized as a character permitted by the URL such as a space appears in either direction, the processing in that direction is performed. Suspend,
The character string up to one character before this is converted into a text code, and the URL creating means 208 concatenates the text code in the left direction with "@" and the code in the right direction, stores it as an e-mail address, and activates the web browser. The URL transfer means 209 sends a command to start the e-mail software and then transfers it as address data to the control means 105 on the TV receiver side.

When the address information extracted from the TV receiver 100 is a telephone number, a toll-free number is assumed in many cases, so that "01" is used as a reference character string.
20 "is registered, character recognition and text coding are performed in the right direction of the reference character string, and an effective length is defined as a range until a portion such as a space that is not recognized as a character permitted in a telephone number appears, as described above. Is extracted and converted into a text code, and then transferred to application software such as IP telephone / fax software built in the control means 105 of the TV receiver.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram and a process flowchart for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. Also in the case of this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, the description assumes a TV receiver 100 with a web access function, and a software or electronic circuit (logical LSI, etc.) for realizing the processing flow of the present invention inside the TV receiver 100. It is intended for a form in which 300 is mounted. The web access function does not necessarily need to be attached to the TV set, and can be realized by another configuration using a PC or the like.

In FIG. 2, the portion of the TV receiver 100 and the input switching / screen display processing / web browser means (control means) 105 attached thereto are the same as those in FIG.
On the other hand, the electronic circuit unit 300 includes a web / TV switching activation unit 301, a digital memory 303, a reference character string pattern table 304, and a character code search effective length extraction unit 30.
7, URL creation means 308, web browser activation
URL transfer means 309 and error display signal output means 31
0.

An operation example according to the configuration of FIG. 2 will be described below. Here, it is assumed that when the user is watching a text broadcast or a data broadcast, an address of a web site is displayed on the screen by an advertisement or the like, and a connection to the corresponding site is instructed.

First, when the user activates the connection to the corresponding site, the tuner / decoder 10 on the TV receiver side
3 are simultaneously read while being stored in the digital memory 307 as a buffer memory.

For the read character signal / data signal, the character string code search effective length extraction means 307 extracts the reference character string "http: //" in the reference character string code table 304 in the same manner as described above. When the code that matches the code is searched in real time and the matching code is detected,
The character code string following the code is stored continuously, and when a character code that is not permitted by the URL such as a space appears, the search processing is terminated at that point, and the character string from the reference character string to the immediately preceding space or the like is terminated. Is output as the effective length.

The URL creating means 308 creates a URL from the effective length character string and stores it. This search processing is continued until a code match is found during a default time designated in advance, but if no code match is found, the error display signal is output by the error display signal output means 310 as described above. The control means 105 outputs the error message to the TV 105, displays the error message on the TV screen, interrupts the processing, and returns to the state before the web switching.

The extracted character string code is transmitted as a URL by the web browser start-up / URL transfer unit 309 and transmitted to the control unit 1 on the TV receiver side as a URL.
The data is transferred to the web browser in the server 05, and the same processing as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is performed thereafter.

When the address information obtained from the TV receiver 100 is an e-mail address or a telephone number, the extracted address data is replaced with e-mail software or IP instead of a web browser, as in the embodiment of FIG. By handing over to phone software,
Is achieved.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the matching image extraction processing and the character recognition / text code conversion in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Here, a method is shown as an example (designated image from image data). Is a market technology that has already been realized in OCR readers and the like, and the present invention can incorporate these general functions).

As reference character string candidates, "http: //", "ftp: ///", etc. are designated in the case of a web address ("@" in the case of an electronic mail, and "@" in the case of a telephone number). 0120 "). The character images are stored as a database in a memory as a function of size and shape for each purpose of access destination such as web, electronic mail, telephone, and the like. The size of the character is within the range of the character size displayed on a usual TV screen, and the shape is a type of frequently used font.

The reference character image is subjected to pattern matching as needed with the image data for one frame stored in the video memory in the order of empirical frequency (the default is arbitrary and the order in the database is changed by the learning effect). When the correlation value exceeds the specified value, the character string extraction is regarded as successful, and the detection process is interrupted. If the value does not exceed the predetermined value even after pattern matching with all reference character images is completed, a detection error signal is generated, and screen switching is prompted in the same manner as described in the embodiment of FIGS.

Subsequently, an image portion continuous with the detected character image is extracted and stored for a certain length, and is simultaneously converted into a text code by the character recognition function. This fixed length is intended to be the maximum range in which URL information is described, and is usually
It is set to be less than the length in the line direction (horizontal direction) on the TV screen (usually within about 20 to 30 characters), and is not recognized as a character such as a space that is permitted by the URL in the text encoding process by successively performing character recognition. When the portion appears, the text encoding process is interrupted, and the text code string corresponding to the character string up to one character before the effective length is transferred as a URL to the web browser.

In the present invention, as described above, the existing algorithm can be applied to the image extraction processing and the character recognition / text code conversion function itself, and the character string to be extracted is limited to a few URL head character strings. And character recognition
Since it is possible to limit to alphabets and symbols that can be used for RL, RO
It can be constructed in a small scale on an M memory or the like and can perform high-speed search.

FIG. 4 is not the inside of the TV receiver or the PC,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the functions of the present invention are implemented in an STB or an external adapter unit. With such an implementation, there is an effect that an existing TV system or PC can be used as it is by connecting through a video or data interface.

The electronic circuit section 2 described with reference to FIGS.
Needless to say, the processing steps of each means of 00 (or 300) can be executed by using a computer, and a program for causing the computer to execute the processing steps is stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as an FD. (Floppy disk), MO, ROM, memory card, CD, DVD,
It can be recorded on a removable disk, provided, and distributed.

[0042]

As described above, if the present invention is implemented or applied to a TV receiver, the user can make an instruction on a screen such as a CM while watching a TV broadcast, a text broadcast, or a data broadcast. It is possible to automatically and immediately switch to a web site or the like and connect. For this reason, it can be used for online shopping on TV broadcasting and the like and inquiries to advertisers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram and a process flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram and a process flow diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention, which is an embodiment of the present invention in the case of teletext / data broadcasting.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of image pattern extraction according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an embodiment when the present invention is implemented as an adapter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... TV receiver 101 ... Antenna etc. 102 ... Remote control etc. 103 ... Tuner / decoder part 104 ... Display means 105 ... Input switching / screen display processing / Web browser means 200 ... Electronic circuit part 201 ... Web / TV switching starting means 202 ... A / D conversion means 203 ... frame memory storage means (video memory) 204 ... reference character string pattern table 205 ... pattern comparison means 206 ... matched image extraction means 207 ... character code effective length extraction means 208 ... URL creation means 209 ... web browser Activation / URL transfer means 210 Error display signal output means 300 Electronic circuit unit 301 Web / TV switching activation means 303 Digital memory 304 Reference character string pattern table 307 Character string code search / effective length extraction means 308 URL Creation means 309 ... eb browser start-up · URL transfer means 310 ... error display signal output means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/035 F term (Reference) 5B064 AA07 5B089 GA21 GB04 JB03 JB05 KA01 KB07 LB14 5C025 BA25 BA27 CA03 CA09 DA05 DA10 5C063 AB03 AB07 AC01 AC10 CA34 CA40 EB03 EB35

Claims (5)

[Claims] An analog-to-digital conversion of one frame of a video signal on a screen; a step of storing the analog-to-digital converted video signal in a frame memory as two-dimensional image data; Pattern matching the image data with specified character string image data; extracting an image of a portion adjacent to the image matched by the pattern matching by a specified length, character-recognizing and converting the text into a character string code; Extracting a valid length character string code from a character string that is continuous with the recognized character string code up to a specified terminal character; andcreating address information from the extracted valid length character string code. The created address information is displayed by acquiring information from the address destination. Transferring to the application software to be displayed.
b Screen automatic switching method. 2. A step of storing a digital data signal in a teletext or a digital data signal of a data broadcast channel in a digital memory for a specified time; and a step of searching a specified character string code from the stored digital data signal; Extracting a valid-length character string from a character string following the character string code after the search up to a specified terminal character; creating address information from the extracted effective-length character string code; Transferring the obtained address information to application software that acquires and displays the information from the address destination.
b Screen automatic switching method. 3. A / D conversion means for converting one frame of a video signal from analog to digital from analog to digital; storage means for storing the analog / digital converted video signal as two-dimensional image data in a frame memory; A reference data table that specifies reference character string image data for matching; a comparison unit that performs pattern matching of the stored two-dimensional image data with the specified character string image data; and an image matched by the pattern matching. Character recognition means for extracting a specified length of an image of an adjacent portion and recognizing characters to convert the text into a character string code; and validity from a character string continuous with the recognized character string code to a position before a specified terminal character. Code extracting means for extracting a long character string code; and the extracted effective length sentence A TV comprising: address information creating means for creating address information from a character string code; and transfer means for transferring the created address information to application software for acquiring and displaying information from the address destination. / We
b-screen automatic switching method. 4. A storage means for storing a digital data signal in teletext or a digital data signal of a data broadcast channel in a digital memory for a specified time, a reference character string code table for specifying a reference character string code for search, Searching means for searching the stored digital data signal for the specified character string code; and a code for extracting an effective length character string from a character string following the searched character string code to a position immediately before a specified terminal character. Extracting means; address information creating means for creating address information from the extracted effective length character string code; transfer means for transferring the created address information to application software for acquiring and displaying information from the address destination TV / we characterized by having
b-screen automatic switching method. 5. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps in the automatic TV / web screen switching method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.
b Recording medium recording the automatic screen switching method.