KR100433178B1 - Internet television with PIP function and Method for controlling screen of that - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an Internet television having a PIP function and a screen control method thereof, comprising: a key input unit (10A); A microcomputer 20A for controlling the overall operation of the television according to the key signal; Tuner 30A; IF detector 40A; An image detector 50A; A / D converter 110; Memory 120; An image compression unit 130 for compressing a digital image signal of one frame output from the memory to a user-specified or predetermined size; Modem 80A; Modem control unit 90A; A web browser 100A; A / D converter 140; An image synthesizing unit 150 for synthesizing a part of a video signal of a television broadcast output from the image compression unit and an internet video signal output from the A / D converter 140 and outputting a video signal of one frame; D / A converter 160; In the normal mode according to the control signal of the microcomputer 20 receives the broadcast signal received through the tuner 30 and processes the video signal to output the color (R, G, B) signal and the luminance signal, the Internet In the mode, the video signal processing unit 60A for processing and outputting the analog video signal of the D / A converter; And a video signal amplifier 70A, wherein the main screen is a part of the Internet search screen by the PIP function when a particular broadcast is broadcast on a television and the Internet search is executed through the web browser of the television. By synthesizing the display on a broadcast screen, the user can easily perform an internet search while watching a broadcast.

Description

Internet television with PIP function and method for controlling screen of that}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an Internet television having a PIP function and a screen control method thereof, and more particularly, to display a main screen by a PIP function when performing a specific broadcast on a television and executing an Internet search through a web browser of the television. The present invention relates to a screen control method of an Internet television having a PIP function that allows a user to easily perform an internet search while watching a broadcast by displaying a sub-screen as a part of an internet search screen and displaying the broadcast screen.

In general, the Internet-enabled television is an Internet search function added to the configuration of the conventional television, it is not just to watch the broadcast signal received through the antenna, it is possible to perform the Internet search by connecting to the Internet through a modem Speaks television.

As shown in FIG. 1, the Internet television includes a key input unit 10, a microcomputer 20, a tuner 30, an IF detector 40, an image detector 50, an image signal processor 60, and an image signal. The amplifier 70 includes a modem 80, a modem controller 90, and a web browser 100.

The key input unit 10 includes a plurality of keys to output a key signal corresponding to a user's key operation, and typically uses a remote controller that can be input from a remote location to transmit / receive a key signal carried on a predetermined infrared carrier to be described later. Is applied. The microcomputer 20 controls the overall operation of the television according to the key signal from the key input unit.

The tuner 30 receives and tunes a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcast station, and the IF detector 40 detects an intermediate frequency of a frequency band signal of a channel selected through the tuner according to a local oscillation signal. The image detector 50 separately detects the image signal from the signal output from the IF detector.

The video signal processor 60 normally receives the broadcast signal received through the tuner 30 and processes the video signal according to the control signal of the microcomputer 20 to process the color (R, G, B) signal and the luminance signal. On the other hand, in the Internet mode, a color screen and a luminance signal are output by processing an Internet screen output from a web browser, which will be described later, using OSD characters. The video signal amplifier 70 amplifies the video signal of the video signal processor 60 to a predetermined level and outputs the amplified video signal to the monitor.

The modem 80 connects the public communication network and the trunk line or connects the television to the Internet through a dedicated line of the Internet, thereby enabling the television to search the Internet. The modem controller 90 controls the modem according to the control of the microcomputer to access the Internet.

The web browser 100 typically stores an Internet access unit for operating the modem under a specific condition so that the system can be connected to the Internet, a search condition for data to be searched at the user's request, and the Internet access unit. A connection reservation control unit for controlling the search, the search unit for searching whether the data selected by the user in the Internet connected via the modem as the Internet access unit operates and downloads the data, the search data output from the search unit The data storage unit for storing the data and the data conversion unit for outputting to the CVBS to access the data stored in the data storage unit for display on the monitor to control the data retrieval and storage through the modem.

When the user selects the broadcast signal reception mode, the Internet television functions as a normal television that receives and outputs audio and video signals. However, when the Internet search mode is selected, the modem is stopped while receiving the broadcast signal. Access to the Internet through the monitor of the television to provide various services of the Internet.

However, when a user searches and downloads data on the Internet by using an Internet television, as described above, the user cannot view a broadcast, which is a daily function of the television, causing inconvenience to others other than the Internet user. In addition, since the Internet search screen is displayed in accordance with a TV screen having a low resolution, the characters of the search screen cannot be clearly identified, and thus problems such as inability to properly function as Internet television have occurred.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention for solving the problems of the prior art as described above is to display the main screen by the PIP function when the Internet is searched through the web browser of the television while simultaneously broadcasting a specific broadcast on the television. The present invention provides an Internet television having a PIP function that allows a user to easily perform an Internet search while watching a broadcast by synthesizing and displaying a sub-screen into a broadcast screen as a part of a search screen.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a typical Internet television;

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an Internet television with a PIP function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a screen control method of an internet television with a PIP function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10, 10A: key input 20, 20A: microcomputer

30, 30A: Tuner 40, 40A: IF detector

50, 50A: image detector 60, 60A: image signal processor

70, 70A: video signal amplifier 80, 80A: modem

90, 90A: Modem control unit 100, 100A: Web browser

110, 140: A / D converter 120: memory

130: image compression unit 150: image synthesis unit

160: D / A Converter

The present invention for achieving the above object is provided with a plurality of keys to output a key signal corresponding to the user's key operation to apply to the microcomputer key input unit (10A); A microcomputer 20A for controlling the overall operation of the television according to the key signal; A tuner 30A that receives and tunes a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcast station; An IF detector 40A for detecting an intermediate frequency of a frequency band signal of a channel tuned through the tuner according to a local oscillation signal; An image detector (50A) for separating and detecting an image signal from a signal output from the IF detector; An A / D converter 110 for converting an analog image signal output from the image detector into a digital signal; A memory 120 which receives the digital signal converted by the A / D converter and stores one frame; An image compression unit 130 for compressing a digital image signal of one frame output from the memory to a user-specified or predetermined size;

A modem 80A for connecting the television to the Internet via a public line or a trunk line or connecting the television to the Internet through a dedicated line of the Internet to enable the television to search the Internet; A modem controller 90A controlling the modem according to the control of the microcomputer for access to the Internet;

A web browser 100A for controlling data retrieval and storage via a modem;

An A / D converter 140 for converting an Internet video signal output from the web browser into a digital signal; An image synthesizer 150 for synthesizing a part of the video signal of the television broadcast output from the image compression unit and the Internet video signal output from the A / D converter 140 and outputting a video signal of one frame; A D / A converter (160) for converting an image signal of the one frame into an analog signal; In the normal mode according to the control signal of the microcomputer 20 receives the broadcast signal received through the tuner 30 and processes the video signal to output the color (R, G, B) signal and the luminance signal, the Internet In the mode, the video signal processing unit 60A for processing and outputting the analog video signal of the D / A converter 160; And a video signal amplifier 70A for amplifying the processed video signal to a predetermined level and outputting the amplified video signal to a monitor.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a key input unit, a microcomputer, a tuner, an IF detector, an image detector, an image signal processor, an image signal amplifier, a modem, a modem controller, a web browser, a memory, an image compressor, and an image synthesizer. In the method of controlling a screen of an internet television including a monitor, the microcomputer 20A determines whether the television is turned on, and if the television is turned on, displays whether the Internet search function is turned on while displaying a broadcast of a channel requested by the user. Determining; If the Internet search function is not turned on, the microcomputer 20A continuously performs only a function of displaying the broadcast on the monitor, and when the internet function is turned on, determining whether the user selects a size designation mode of the broadcast screen; When the user selects the size designation mode of the broadcast screen, the size designation value of the broadcast screen designated by the user is stored in the microcomputer 20A, and the received broadcast signal is converted into a digital signal. Converting a broadcast signal received without storing the digital signal into a digital signal; Storing the digitally converted broadcast signal in the memory (120) until one frame is stored; Compressing the digitally converted broadcast signal to a size designated by a user or a predetermined size when one frame is stored in the memory 120; Synthesizing a part of the compressed broadcast signal and an internet signal to generate an image signal of one frame; Converting the synthesized video signal into an analog signal; Processing and outputting the synthesized analog signal; Amplifying the processed video signal to a predetermined level and outputting the same to a monitor; The present invention provides a method of controlling a screen of an Internet television having a PIP function, comprising: searching the Internet by changing the remaining part of the Internet screen while displaying the Internet screen and a broadcast screen as a main / sub screen.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an Internet television with a PIP function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The Internet television according to the present invention includes a key input unit 10A, a microcomputer 20A, a tuner 30A, an IF detector 40A, an image detector 50A, an image signal processor 60A, and an image signal amplifier 70A. ), Modem 80A, modem controller 90A, web browser 100A, A / D converter 110, memory 120, image compression unit 130, A / D converter 140, image synthesis unit 150 and D / A converter 160.

Key input unit 10A, microcomputer 20A, tuner 30A, IF detector 40A, image detector 50A, image signal processor 60A, and image signal amplifier 70A), modem 80A, modem controller 90A and web browser 100A refer to the description of the prior art.

The A / D converter 110 converts an analog image signal output from the image detector into a digital signal. The memory 120 receives the digital signal converted by the A / D converter and stores and outputs one frame. The image compressor 130 compresses the digital video signal of one frame output from the memory to a size designated or specified by a user.

The A / D converter 140 converts the Internet video signal through the trunk line output from the web browser into a digital signal. The image synthesizing unit 150 outputs a video signal of one frame by combining a video signal of a television broadcast output from the image compression unit and a part of an internet video signal output from the A / D converter 140.

The D / A converter 160 converts an image signal of one frame output from the image synthesizer into an analog signal and outputs it to the image signal processor to generate a displayable signal.

Now, the operation of the Internet television having the above-described configuration with reference to FIG. 3 will be described in detail.

First, the microcomputer determines whether the television is on, and if so, proceeds to the next step, otherwise it will perform only other processing without proceeding with the process related to the present invention (step S10).

When the television is turned on in this step, the microcomputer determines whether the Internet search function is turned on while displaying the normal broadcast of the channel requested by the user (step S20). Here, if the Internet search function is not turned on, the microcomputer will continue to perform only the function of displaying the broadcast.

On the other hand, when the Internet function is turned on, the microcomputer determines whether the user selects the size designation mode of the broadcast screen (step S40). At this time, when the user selects the size setting mode of the broadcast screen, the size of the broadcast screen designated by the user is received and stored (step S50), and the received broadcast signal is converted into a digital signal. The broadcast signal received without storage is converted into a digital signal (step S60).

Thereafter, the memory stores the digitally converted signal until one frame is stored (step S70). When one frame is stored in the step S70, the signal is input to the image compression unit, compressed to a user-specified or predetermined size, and the internet signal is digitally converted (step S80). The Internet signal is converted into a digital signal in this way because the Internet signal transmitted via a telephone line or the like is an analog signal.

Thereafter, a part of the compressed broadcast signal and the Internet signal are synthesized by the image synthesizing unit to generate an image signal of one frame (step S90), and then converted into an analog signal and output to the image signal processing unit to be displayed through a monitor. To be ready (steps S100 and S110).

Through this process, the Internet screen and the broadcast screen are displayed as the main / sub screen, and the rest of the Internet screen is variably searched (step S120). That is, since the composite screen forms the main screen using only a part of the Internet screen, the user can move the Internet screen while leaving the broadcast screen in order for the user to see the remaining screens hidden by the user.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be embodied in various forms by adding various limitations or additions without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It is apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

An Internet television having a PIP function according to the present invention operating as described above performs a Internet search for the main screen by the PIP function when the Internet is searched through a web browser of the television while simultaneously broadcasting a specific broadcast on the television. By displaying the sub-picture as a part of the screen and combining the sub-screen into the broadcast screen, the user can easily perform an internet search while watching the broadcast.

Claims (2)

A key input unit (10A) having a plurality of keys for outputting a key signal corresponding to a user's key operation and applying it to a microcomputer; A microcomputer 20A for controlling the overall operation of the television according to the key signal; A tuner 30A that receives and tunes a broadcast signal transmitted from a broadcast station; An IF detector 40A for detecting an intermediate frequency of a frequency band signal of a channel tuned through the tuner according to a local oscillation signal; An image detector (50A) for separating and detecting an image signal from a signal output from the IF detector; An A / D converter 110 for converting an analog image signal output from the image detector into a digital signal; A memory 120 which receives the digital signal converted by the A / D converter and stores one frame; An image compression unit 130 for compressing a digital image signal of one frame output from the memory to a user-specified or predetermined size; A modem 80A for connecting the television to the Internet via a public line or a trunk line or connecting the television to the Internet through a dedicated line of the Internet to enable the television to search the Internet; A modem control unit 90A for controlling the modem according to the control of the microcomputer for access to the Internet; A web browser 100A for controlling data retrieval and storage via a modem; An A / D converter 140 for converting an Internet video signal output from the web browser into a digital signal; An image synthesizing unit 150 for synthesizing a part of a video signal of a television broadcast output from the image compression unit and an internet video signal output from the A / D converter 140 and outputting a video signal of one frame; A D / A converter (160) for converting an image signal of the one frame into an analog signal; In the normal mode according to the control signal of the microcomputer 20 receives the broadcast signal received through the tuner 30 and processes the video signal to output the color (R, G, B) signal and the luminance signal, the Internet In the mode, the video signal processing unit 60A for processing and outputting the analog video signal of the D / A converter 160; And a video signal amplifier (70A) for amplifying the processed video signal to a predetermined level and outputting the amplified video signal to a monitor. Screen control of Internet television including key input unit, microcomputer, tuner, IF detector, image detector, image signal processor, image signal amplifier, modem, modem controller, web browser, memory, image compressor, image synthesizer, monitor In the method, The microcomputer 20A determines whether the television is turned on, and if the television is on, determining whether the Internet search function is turned on while displaying a broadcast of a channel requested by the user; If the Internet search function is not turned on, the microcomputer 20A continuously performs only a function of displaying the broadcast on the monitor, and when the internet function is turned on, determining whether the user selects a size designation mode of the broadcast screen; When the user selects the size setting mode of the broadcast screen, the size storage value of the broadcast screen designated by the user is stored in the microcomputer 20A, and the received broadcast signal is converted into a digital signal. Converting a broadcast signal received without storing the digital signal into a digital signal; Storing the digitally converted broadcast signal in the memory (120) until one frame is stored; Compressing the digitally converted broadcast signal to a size designated by a user or a predetermined size when one frame is stored in the memory 120; Synthesizing a part of the compressed broadcast signal and an internet signal to generate an image signal of one frame; Converting the synthesized video signal into an analog signal; Processing and outputting the synthesized analog signal; Amplifying the processed video signal to a predetermined level and outputting the same to a monitor; Searching the Internet by changing the remaining portion of the Internet screen while displaying the Internet screen and the broadcast screen as the main / sub-screen, the screen control method of the Internet television with a PIP function characterized in that it comprises a.