KR100188943B1 - Automatic switching apparatus & method for non-advertisement channel by means of an advertisement channel of television - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically converting a television advertising channel into a non-advertising channel for detecting a television advertising channel by applying an image pattern detecting apparatus and automatically switching to a non-advertising channel, the image pattern detecting apparatus comprising: a peak detector; A memory unit for storing the detected signal; A correlation detector detecting a correlation between video signals; And a pattern determination unit for determining the presence or absence of an image pattern, wherein the automatic switching device to a non-advertising channel comprises: a first tuner for input image signal; A first subtitle detector for detecting a caption from the first tuner signal; A second tuner; A second subtitle detector for detecting a caption from the second tuner signal and outputting a signal for changing a tuning frequency of the second tuner, if any; And a channel selector for outputting a video signal without subtitles under the control of output signals of the first and second subtitle detectors, the automatic switching method comprising: a video signal tuning step; Splitting the video screen; Caption detection step; Changing the second channel frequency if there is a second channel subtitle; And outputting the first channel among the channels without subtitles first.

According to the present invention, a user's convenience can be attained by automatically switching TV channels to non-advertising channels during commercial broadcasting.

Description

Automatic switching device and method of non-advertising channel of TV advertising channel

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image pattern detection apparatus according to the present invention.

2 illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of a horizontal and vertical correlation detector.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a screen divider.

4 shows a block diagram of an automatic switching device of a television advertising channel to a non-advertising channel.

5 shows the configuration and output of the first and second slice circuit portions.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for automatically switching a television advertising channel to a non-advertising channel.

The present invention relates to a channel switching apparatus and method of a television using image pattern detection. In particular, by applying the image pattern detection apparatus as a subtitle detection device, a television commercial channel is detected in a television receiver having two or more tuners and thus a non-advertising channel. An apparatus and a method for automatically switching a television commercial channel to a non-advertising channel automatically switched to the.

When watching television in your home, you may want to broadcast some commercials on the way, or advertise them for about ten minutes before the broadcast begins. In this case, not only is it annoying, but it is also annoying to switch to another broadcast without advertisement. In view of this problem, while watching TV, it detects the point of time when the advertisement starts, searches for and receives other broadcasts without advertisements at that time, and automatically switches back to the original channel once the advertisement of the first broadcast is finished. This can alleviate the inconvenience of switching channels inconveniently while watching TV.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide an image pattern detection apparatus for detecting the presence or absence of a specific pattern, for example, a subtitle, on a video screen by inputting a video signal such as a television.

The second object of the present invention is to detect a point in time when an advertisement is started while watching a television using the image pattern detection device, and to search for and receive another broadcast having no advertisement at that time. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for automatically switching to a non-advertising channel of a television advertising channel to automatically switch back to the original channel when the end.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for detecting an image pattern, the apparatus including: a peak detector configured to receive an image signal and compare the signal with a predetermined reference value to detect a signal of the image pattern that is greater than or equal to the reference value; A memory unit which stores the image signal detected by the peak detector; A correlation detector for detecting a predetermined correlation between video signals stored in the memory unit; And a pattern determination unit comparing the output of the correlation detection unit with a predetermined threshold to determine the presence or absence of a predetermined image signal pattern among the image input signals.

In order to achieve the second object, an automatic switching device of a television commercial channel to a non-advertising channel for automatically detecting a television commercial channel and automatically switching to a non-advertising channel in a television receiver having two or more tuners is provided. A first tuner tuned to a first frequency; A first subtitle detector detecting a presence or absence of a caption in the output signal of the first tuner; A second tuner for tuning the input image signal to a second frequency; A second subtitle detection unit detecting a presence or absence of a subtitle from the output signal of the second tuner and outputting a signal for changing a tuning frequency of the second tuner to the second tuner when it is detected that there is a subtitle; And a channel selector configured to output an image signal by giving priority to an output signal of the first tuner among channels without subtitles under the control of the output signals of the first and second subtitle detectors.

In addition, in order to achieve the second object, a television commercial channel having two or more tuners, which automatically detects a television advertising channel and automatically switches to a non-advertising channel, automatically switches to a non-advertising channel. Tuning to different predetermined first and second frequencies (channels); Dividing an image screen having a predetermined size for each image signal tuned to the first and second frequencies; Detecting the presence or absence of a subtitle for each of the divided video screens; Changing a frequency of the second channel to another frequency when it is determined that subtitles exist for the divided video screen of the second channel; And outputting a video signal of the second channel if it is determined that there is subtitle in the first channel, and outputting a video signal of the first channel if it is determined that there is no subtitle of the first channel. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image pattern detection apparatus according to the present invention, and includes a peak detector 100, a memory unit 110, a correlation detector 120, and a pattern determiner 130. .

The peak detector 100 receives an input image signal, sets a predetermined reference value in advance, and detects and outputs a signal of an image pattern that is equal to or larger than the reference value. The memory unit 110 stores the image signal detected by the peak detector 100.

The correlation detector 120 is a block for detecting a predetermined correlation between the image signals stored in the memory unit 100. The correlation detector 120 detects a correlation between pixels existing in the horizontal scan line of the image signal and the image signal. It consists of a vertical correlation detector which detects the correlation between the horizontal scanning lines. 2 illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of the horizontal and vertical correlation detector. In FIG. 2, three delay elements 210, 220 and 230 are used, and the signals of the front and rear stages of each delay element are filtered using filters 240, 250, 260 and 270 having predetermined filter coefficients a, b, c and d. The output value is added through the adder 280 and output. The delay elements 210, 220, and 230 each store one pixel in the horizontal direction in the horizontal correlation detector, and one pixel in the vertical direction in the vertical correlation detector. The window for detecting correlation in the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 is 3 × 3 pixels, which may vary depending on the usage environment, and is performed in units of one frame.

The pattern determination unit 130 compares a predetermined level output value output from the correlation detector with a predetermined threshold value, and if the output value is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the pattern determination unit 130 determines that there is a predetermined video signal pattern among the image input signals.

When the frame counter 150 determines that there is a specific image pattern through the pattern determination unit 130, the frame counter 150 counts it, and if the counted number of frames is consecutively more than a predetermined number (which can be arbitrarily determined according to the use environment). It plays a role of judging that there is a specific image pattern to find. By doing so, the presence or absence of the image pattern can be determined more precisely than the image pattern is determined only by the pattern determination unit 130.

The screen splitter 140 divides the video screen composed of the output video signals of the tuner tuned to a predetermined frequency into a predetermined size, cuts the output of the divided screen to a predetermined level, and inputs the input signal of the peak detector 100. To be used. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the screen splitter 140. The buffer 330 stores an output video signal of a tuner tuned to a predetermined frequency, and an output video signal of the tuner. A horizontal synchronous counter 300 for counting the horizontal synchronous signal of the horizontal synchronous counter, a vertical synchronous counter 310 for counting the number of pixels in one horizontal synchronous, and a predetermined horizontal and The buffer output controller 320 allows only the video signal corresponding to the vertical synchronization signal range to pass through the buffer. By using the screen splitter 140, a specific image pattern may be found for only a specific region for a whole frame. Therefore, the image pattern can be efficiently found.

On the other hand, while watching TV using the above-described image pattern detection apparatus, the time point at which the advertisement starts is detected, and other broadcasts without advertisements are searched and received at that time. An apparatus and a method for automatically switching a television advertising channel to a non-advertising channel for automatically switching back to an original channel will be described.

4 shows a block diagram of the automatic switching device of the television advertising channel to the non-advertising channel.

The first tuner 400 and the second tuner 420 serve to tune the input image signal to different tuning frequencies.

The first subtitle detector 410 detects whether there is a caption in the output signal of the first tuner 400, and the second subtitle detector 430 detects whether there is a caption in the output signal of the second tuner 420. Detects a subtitle and outputs a signal for changing the tuning frequency of the second tuner 420 to the second tuner 420 so that the second tuner outputs another channel signal.

The channel selector 440 is controlled by the output signals of the first subtitle detector 410 and the second subtitle detector 430, and prioritizes the output signal of the first tuner among the channels without subtitles to provide an image signal. Output That is, when both the first tuner and the second tuner output a signal without subtitles, the first tuner signal is output. When the first tuner output signal has a subtitle and the second tuner output signal does not have a subtitle, the second tuner signal is output.

On the other hand, since the first subtitle detector 410 and the second subtitle detector 430 use the above-described image pattern detection apparatus, they have similar configurations. The first subtitle detector 410 may include a first analog / digital (A / D) converter 411 for converting the analog signal tuned by the first tuner 400 into a digital signal, and the first analog / digital converter ( A first screen splitter 412 for dividing a screen having a predetermined size from an image screen made up of a signal converted through 411, and outputs only a signal having a predetermined reference level or higher among the output signals of the first screen splitter 412. The first slice circuit unit 413 and the first subtitle determination unit 414 for receiving the output of the first slice circuit unit 413 to determine the existence of the subtitle stored in the receiving program.

The second subtitle detector 430 converts an analog signal tuned by the second tuner 420 into a digital signal, and a second analog / digital converter 421 and the second analog / digital converter. A second screen splitter 422 for dividing a screen having a predetermined size from a video screen including signals converted through 421, and a second slice for outputting only a signal having a predetermined reference level or higher among the output signals of the second screen splitter; The circuit unit 423 receives the output of the second slice circuit unit 423 to determine whether there is a subtitle stored in the receiving program, and if there is a subtitle, outputs a channel switching signal requesting a change in the tuning frequency of the second tuner. It includes a second subtitle determination portion 424.

The configuration and output of the first and second slice circuits 413 and 423 are shown in FIG. 5.

If the size of the subtitle is different depending on the channel, the user may arbitrarily adjust the screen division size using the microcomputers 415 and 425. That is, the size of the screen division may be determined by setting the number of horizontal synchronization signals and the number of pixels in one horizontal synchronization signal of the screen division unit by the user's selection.

Meanwhile, the operation description and the automatic switching method of the automatic switching device of the television advertising channel to the non-advertising channel will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6.

The input video signal is input to two tuners, a main tuner corresponding to the first tuner 400 and a sub tuner corresponding to the second tuner 420, and are tuned to different tuning frequencies. do. The present invention is applied to a television receiver having two or more tuners. The video signal input through each tuner is converted into digital through the A / D converters 411 and 421 for digital processing of the rear stage.

The digitally converted video signal is input to the screen splitters 412 and 422. The configuration of the screen splitter is the same as in FIG. 3 described above. The screen splitters 412 and 422 input the frame pulse extracted from the vertical synchronization signal and the horizontal reset signal extracted from the horizontal synchronization signal to count the number of scan lines in one frame, and divide the image screen into a predetermined size. The subtitles in the advertisement sent from the television station are generally located in the upper right part of the screen. In addition, this closed caption signal is usually processed in white so that it can be identified on any screen, so the signal is almost white peak.

Therefore, this subtitle can be detected by a very simple slice circuit as shown in FIG. In addition, since the size of the subtitle is different for each broadcaster, in the present invention, the user can arbitrarily adjust the caption detection region. When requested by the user, the size of the detection area is input to the television receiver by a remote controller or other means, and when this is input, the microcomputer 415 and 425 transforms the data into a form of data that can be recognized by the screen splitters 412 and 422. In this case, the screen splitters 412 and 422 allow the screen size of the caption detection to be automatically adjusted based on this value. The buffer 330 of the screen splitter receives the signals generated through the horizontal synchronous counter 300 and the vertical synchronous counter 310 to control the buffer output from the buffer output controller 320. The slice circuits 413 and 423 configure a comparator with reference values for the input video signal of the caption portion to generate a sliced output as shown in FIG. The first subtitle determination unit 414 and the second subtitle determination unit 424 detect peaks of the sliced output signal, write them to the memory unit, and detect horizontal and vertical correlations. Horizontal and vertical correlation detection can be easily configured by digitally configuring a low pass filter. And the coefficient of the filter can be easily obtained according to the characteristics. 2 shows the configuration of the circuit block for this. The detected correlation is input to the comparator and then compared with a predetermined threshold to determine whether there is a subtitle. The signal thus determined is sent to the frame counter to determine how many consecutive frames with subtitles are present. Subtitles must be entered for a certain number of frames or more to be considered subtitles.

If the caption is detected in a frame equal to or less than the reference value, the caption detection signal is turned off. The subtitle on / off signal generated by the subtitle detector of the main tuner 400 goes to the channel selector 440 and operates as a reference signal for switching the currently received broadcast channel. If the subtitle on / off signal of the main tuner 400 becomes high, that is, the subtitle is received by the channel selector 440 because the subtitle is included in the broadcast program of the main tuner 400 currently being received. A broadcast program will be exported. If the subtitle tuner transmits a subtitle on / off signal, the broadcast program received by the subtuner transmits a signal to the subtuner 420 so as to be switched to a channel other than the current channel. This signal is a channel switching signal.

In this way, until the subtitle on / off signal indicating that the subtitle of the main tuner 400 signal is released becomes low, the sub tuner 420 continues to export a program without subtitles, and then the subtitle of the main tuner disappears. The main tuner's broadcast is sent back to the output through the channel selector. (Step 650)

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the user's convenience by automatically switching the television channel during commercial broadcasting to a non-advertising channel.

Claims (13)

A peak detector which receives an image signal and compares the signal with a predetermined reference value and detects a signal of an image pattern that is equal to or greater than the reference value; A memory unit which stores the image signal detected by the peak detector; A correlation detector for detecting a predetermined correlation between video signals stored in the memory unit; And a pattern determination unit comparing the output of the correlation detection unit with a predetermined threshold to determine the presence or absence of a predetermined image signal pattern among the image input signals. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the correlation detector comprises: a horizontal correlation detector configured to detect a correlation between pixels existing in a horizontal scan line of an image signal; And a vertical correlation detector for detecting a correlation between the horizontal scan lines. The display device of claim 2, wherein the horizontal correlation detector comprises: at least one delay element configured to delay an input signal by one pixel unit in a horizontal direction; At least one filter having a predetermined filter coefficient, the output signal of each of the delay elements being input to filter the output signal of each of the delay elements; And an adder for adding the one or more filter outputs. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the vertical correlation detector comprises: at least one delay element configured to delay an input signal by one pixel unit in one vertical direction; At least one filter coupled to an output of each of the delay elements, the filter having predetermined filter coefficients for filtering an output signal of each of the delay elements; And an adder for adding the one or more filter outputs. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: counting a specific image pattern if it is determined by the image pattern determination unit, and additionally, a frame counter determining that there is a predetermined image pattern when the counted frame is equal to or more than a predetermined predetermined frame count. Image pattern detection apparatus characterized in that. 2. The screen divider according to claim 1, wherein in the video screen composed of the video signal output of the tuner tuned to a predetermined frequency, the screen splitting unit divides a screen having a predetermined size and uses the output of the divided screen as an input of the peak detector. And an image pattern detection device, characterized in that the device is additionally provided. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the screen splitter comprises: a buffer configured to store an output signal of the tuner; A horizontal synchronous counter for counting a horizontal synchronous signal of the output signal of the tuner; A vertical synchronization counter by counting a vertical synchronization signal of the output signal of the tuner; And a buffer output control unit for passing only the image signal corresponding to a predetermined number of horizontal and vertical synchronous signals in the horizontal synchronous counter and the vertical synchronous counter. A first tuner for tuning the input image signal to a first frequency; A first subtitle detector detecting a presence or absence of a caption in the output signal of the first tuner; A second tuner for tuning the input image signal to a second frequency; A second subtitle detection unit detecting a presence or absence of a subtitle from the output signal of the second tuner and outputting a signal for changing a tuning frequency of the second tuner to the second tuner when it is detected that there is a subtitle; And a channel selector configured to output an image signal by giving priority to an output signal of the first tuner among channels without subtitles under the control of the output signals of the first and second subtitle detectors. An automatic switching device of a television advertising channel to a non-advertising channel for automatically detecting the television advertising channel in the television receiver having the above tuner and switching to the non-advertising channel. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first subtitle detection unit comprises: a first analog / digital converter for converting an analog signal tuned by the first tuner into a digital signal; A first screen splitter for dividing a screen having a predetermined size from a video screen formed of a signal converted through the first analog / digital converter; A first slice circuit unit for outputting only a signal equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value level among the output signals of the first screen splitter; And a first subtitle judging unit which receives the output of the first slice circuit unit and determines whether there is a subtitle stored in a received program. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second subtitle detection unit comprises: a second analog / digital converter for converting an analog signal tuned by the second tuner into a digital signal; A second screen splitter which divides a screen having a predetermined size from a video screen formed of a signal converted by the second analog / digital converter; A second slice circuit unit for outputting only a signal having a predetermined reference value level or higher among the output signals of the second screen splitter; A second subtitle judging unit which receives the output of the second slice circuit unit and determines whether there is a subtitle stored in a reception program, and outputs a channel switching signal for changing the tuning frequency of the second tuner if the subtitle exists. Automatic switching device for non-advertising channel of the TV advertising channel, characterized in that. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first and second screen splitters comprise: a buffer configured to store an output signal of the tuner; A horizontal synchronous counter for counting a horizontal synchronous signal of the output signal of the tuner; A vertical synchronous counter for counting a vertical synchronous signal of the output signal of the tuner; And a buffer output control unit for passing only the video signal corresponding to a predetermined number of horizontal and vertical synchronous signals in the horizontal synchronous counter and the vertical synchronous counter. Switching device. 12. The non-advertising channel of claim 11, wherein the screen divider determines the size of the screen division by setting the number of horizontal sync signals and the number of vertical sync signals by the user's selection. Automatic switch to the furnace. A method for automatically switching a television advertising channel to a non-advertising channel, wherein the television receiver having two or more tuners detects a television advertising channel and automatically switches to the non-advertising channel. Tuning to two frequencies (channels); Dividing an image screen having a predetermined size for each image signal tuned to the first and second frequencies; Detecting the presence or absence of a subtitle for each of the divided video screens; Changing the frequency of the second channel to another frequency when it is determined that subtitles exist for the divided video screen of the second channel; Outputting a video signal of the second channel if it is determined that there is subtitle in the first channel, and outputting a video signal of the first channel if it is determined that there is no subtitle of the first channel. Automatic switching of advertising channels to non-advertising channels.