KR200311043Y1 - A remote controller pointing device related to digital set top box - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote control pointing device associated with a digital set-top box that can control a pointer on a television screen with a remote control that can operate a digital set-top box, and in particular, a pointing mode conversion step of switching from a remote control to a pointing mode, The pointer on the TV screen can be conveniently and accurately manipulated using a remote control pointing device by adjusting a direction key and moving the pointer on the screen, and pressing a confirmation key on the remote controller to click at a predetermined position on the screen. Can be.

Description

Remote control pointing device associated with digital set-top box {A REMOTE CONTROLLER POINTING DEVICE RELATED TO DIGITAL SET TOP BOX}

The present invention relates to a device and a method for using the remote control associated with the digital set-top box, the user can move and manipulate the pointer to the television through the position information processed in the digital set-top box.

Conventional set-top boxes and remote controllers can only switch TV channels or set keystrokes through the set-top box, but a digital set-top box connected to the Internet can provide a web-based web screen to the television. It was not possible to operate it, and it was possible only in the web television that is used as a monitor of the computer, not just a television. However, the web television was inaccessible to the general public because the operation was different from the computer. It was not a remote control, but a mouse.

In addition, there have been some attempts to operate the pointer using a remote control in digital television, but since it is necessary to attach a device such as receiving a remote control signal and manipulating the position using a detection time of an optical sensor, the cost is high and the accuracy is low. There was a downside.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, and implements a pointer using a digital set-top box, displays the implemented pointer on a television screen, and controls the movement of the pointer through a remote controller operating a digital set-top box. An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control pointing device associated with a digital set-top box that can be conveniently operated and that can be easily operated, such as a click and a method using the same.

1 is a preferred embodiment of a digital set-top box according to the present invention.

2 is an embodiment of a pointer image in a digital set top box according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view of a general remote controller.

4 is a block diagram of a remote control pointing device according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

100: mode key 110: horizontal right key

120: horizontal left key 130: vertical up key

140: vertical down key 150: input key

210: pointer image storage means 220: TV output means

230: remote control receiving means 240: remote control signal analysis means

250: coordinate calculation means 260: central processing means

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a preferred embodiment of a digital set-top box according to the present invention.

1,

The configuration diagram of a preferred embodiment of the digital set-top box which is the main device of the present invention,

A / V switching unit for outputting the audio / video signal of the input MPEG content through the audio / video signal output port,

A sub-control unit for outputting MPEG contents input through a VDSL line or a LAN line;

MPEG decoder for decoding MPEG data output from the sub-control unit to the audio / video switching means,

A main control unit which provides a control command necessary for an output operation in the sub control unit to the sub control unit and controls a corresponding operation based on a remote signal from a remote controller;

The digital set-top box is provided with an audio output unit and an image output unit for outputting audio and video of a plurality of channels output from the A / V switching unit according to a user's selection condition under the control of the main controller. have.

The digital set-top box has a smart card control IC means that it has hardware that functions as a smart card reader.

The digital set-top box is a two-way transmission / reception apparatus for receiving a user-selected content by using a VDSL and displaying it on a television in real time, as shown in FIG. 1.

The digital set-top box receives a digital audio / video signal input from various types of audio / video input means (eg, TV tuner, movie camera, VTR, cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, CCD camera, microphone, etc.). A plurality of analog / digital converters (ADCs) for converting them into signals; The audio / video signal of any one channel selected from the audio / video signals of the multiple channels provided from the analog / digital converters is output through the storage signal output port, and the audio / video signals and MPEG of the multiple channels are output. An audio / video switching unit for outputting the decoded audio / video signal through the audio / video signal output port; An MPEG encoder which receives an audio / video signal output through the storage signal output port of the audio / video switching unit and encodes the MPEG; A storage unit in the form of a hard disk drive (HDD) in which audio / video signals encoded by the MPEG encoder are stored, and MPEG contents input through a VDSL line or a LAN line are stored; A sub-control unit which stores the output data from the MPEG encoder and the MPEG contents input through the VDSL line or the LAN line to the storage unit, and outputs the data stored in the storage unit; A main control unit for providing a control command for storing and outputting data to the storage unit to the sub control unit, and controlling a corresponding operation based on a remote signal from the remote control received from the remote control receiving unit; An MPEG decoder which MPEG-decodes the data output from the sub-controller and transmits it to the audio / video switching unit; A screen generator for making a video signal of any one channel among the video signals of the plurality of channels from the audio / video switching unit as a main screen and a video signal of other channels as a sub picture; Compare the contents of the 24-bit overlay memory of RGB 8: 8: 8 to a specific color key value (i.e. the color key value corresponding to the OSD character (or picture) required for the screens to be output). An OSD synthesizing unit that implements an appropriate graphic OSD on the screen from the screen generating unit; A video output section for displaying a video screen from the OSD synthesizing section on a television monitor (not shown); An audio digital / analog converter for analog converting the audio signal of the active channel to the main screen provided by the audio / video switching unit; An audio output unit for outputting audio from the audio digital / analog conversion unit to the outside through a speaker of a television (not shown); RAM that stores the code of the operating program required for the digital set-top box; And a ROM in which all programs related to driving and control of the digital set-top box are stored.

Here, the audio / video switching unit, the sub control unit and the OSD synthesis unit are field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) which are a type of programmable logic chip.

The main control unit and the sub control unit communicate with each other via a local bus. The ROM additionally stores personal information (eg, name, address, social security number, email address, etc.) of the person using the digital set-top box.

In addition, in FIG. 1, the screen generating unit, the OSD synthesizing unit, the image output unit, the audio digital / analog converter, and the audio output unit are collectively referred to as the main control unit for audio and video of multiple channels output from the audio / video switching unit. It is referred to as audio / video output means for outputting according to the user's selection condition under the control of.

The MPEG encoder has a built-in first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer (not shown), and the secondary controller directly accesses the buffer of the MPEG encoder, and the main controller processes only the control command. The main control unit processes only the control command and the address index for the storage unit, and the sub control unit is in charge of the remaining large burst transmission.

In addition, in FIG. 1, the VDSL line is a telephone line, and a VOD is realized through the VDSL line, and the LAN line is composed of two Internet lines as the Internet line. A network interface card (NIC) is installed between the VDSL line and the two LAN lines and the local bus. The network interface card ensures that the digital set-top box and the network are always connected. The network interface card connected to the two internet lines is provided with a network address translation (NAT) function, which is used as a home gateway device. In other words, if the user is not in a VDSL environment, the digital set-top box of the present invention may be used by directly connecting to an Internet line (ie, a LAN line).

In addition, the ROM of FIG. 1 includes VOIP software for enabling a digital set-top box to perform Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) function, and a SLIC (SUBSCRIBER LINE INTERFACE CIRCUITS) on a local bus to perform the VOIP function. One output is connected and the other output of the SLIC is connected to an audio / video switching section.

The SLIC outputs an analog audio signal input as a digital audio signal. The digital audio signal output from the output terminal of the SLIC is input to the audio / video switching unit and also to the main control unit via the local bus.

The main control unit controls the VOIP function based on the VOIP software after storing the VOIP software stored in the ROM when the digital set-top box is powered on. Therefore, the digital set-top box of Figure 1 also serves as a VOIP phone. That is, the digital set-top box of FIG. 1 has a built-in VOIP function for transmitting voice and video using IP.

In FIG. 1, an audio / video signal input from the audio / video input source (ie, a signal input through an analog / digital converter) is composed of an RCA input and a super video (S-video), and the four input sources. Only the audio / video signal of one input source is stored through the MPEG encoder and the sub-controller according to the command of the main controller, and the four input sources are transmitted to the screen generator in real time. While displaying the stored content, it is displayed in a maximum of three channel combinations.

In addition, the digital set-top box of FIG. 1 can be selected and used in a VDSL telephone environment or a LAN environment capable of two-way high-speed communication at tens or hundreds of megabytes per second. The content information is updated and required data is provided at the request of the user. In addition, to facilitate multi-tasking, data input through the network is stored in a hard disk drive (HDD) storage for temporal buffering, and then read from the storage, and the MPEG decoder and audio / video switching unit It is transmitted to the screen generation unit through.

According to the digital set-top box of FIG. 1 configured as described above, various contents can be provided as desired through the VDSL line or the LAN line as well as the normal PVR function, and output is also possible.

2 is an embodiment of a pointer image in a digital set top box according to the present invention.

In the ROM of the digital set-top box of FIG. 1, a pointer as shown in FIG. 2 may be stored as a graphic image of a bitmap or the like.

The pointer image of the type shown in FIG. 2 stored in the ROM in the digital set-top box of FIG. 1 is displayed on a television monitor, that is, a television screen, through the A / V switching unit and the screen generating unit in the main controller of the digital set-top box.

The image as shown in FIG. 2 is later moved and operated on the television screen by adjusting the remote controller.

3 is a perspective view of a general remote controller.

In Figure 3, the mode key 100 can be used as a toggle key between the remote control mode and the pointing mode, press once in the state of the pointing mode is switched to the remote control mode to change the channel by adjusting the TV tuner of the digital set-top box, sound control, etc. Press the remote control again to switch to pointing mode.

As an example illustrated in FIG. 3, there are a horizontal right key 110, a horizontal left key 120, a vertical up key 130, a vertical down key 140, an input key 150, and the like of the general remote controller. This mode can be used as up, down, left, and right keys. For example, the horizontal right key can be used as a right key, the horizontal left key can be used as a left key, the vertical up key can be used as an up key, and the vertical down key can be used as a down key. Can be used in the same way.

Therefore, when the mode key of the remote control is pressed to switch from the remote control mode to the pointing mode as described above, the predetermined keys of the remote control are switched to the direction keys and the click keys to adjust the pointer, and the pointer displayed on the screen can be moved up, down, left, and right at a desired position. You can also click.

If the mode key is pressed to switch to the pointing mode and the pointing key is pressed continuously in the pointing mode, the pointer on the television screen continuously moves upwards.

Of course, if the left key is pressed, the pointer moves to the left.

In this way, the viewer can freely move the pointer displayed on the television screen on the screen, and can stop and click at a desired position of the desired screen.

4 is a block diagram of a remote control pointing device according to the present invention.

Looking at Figure 4,

In the remote control associated with a digital set-top box,

Pointer image storage means 210 for storing the image of the pointer,

Television output means 220 for outputting the pointer image to a television;

Remote control receiver 230 for receiving a signal from the remote control,

Remote control signal analysis means 240 for analyzing the signal received from the remote control,

Coordinate calculation means (250) for determining coordinates to move the pointer to a predetermined position on the television screen according to the result of the remote control signal analysis unit;

A remote control pointing device is shown in conjunction with a digital set-top box that includes a central processing unit 260 for controlling and executing each of the means.

In the above description, the pointer image storing means 210 may correspond to the ROM of FIG. 1.

The image shown in FIG. 2 in the ROM may be stored in the ROM in the form of a bitmap or similar image.

The television output unit 220 may be the image output unit of FIG. 1.

The remote control receiving unit 230 will be the same as the remote control receiving unit of FIG.

The remote control signal analysis means 240 and the coordinate calculation means 250 and the like are executed by the main control unit according to the program stored in the ROM of FIG. 1 or loaded into the RAM.

The central processing means 260 corresponds to the main control part of FIG.

Based on the set value, how many direction keys are pressed according to the remote control signal analysis unit is calculated by the coordinate calculating means, and the pointer is positioned at the corresponding position through the television output means 220.

The remote control pointing device associated with the digital set-top box according to the present invention and the method of using the same according to the present invention having the above-described configuration and operation, by preparing a separate computer to operate the pointer on the television and converting the monitor of the computer into a television screen Not only does it have to be equipped with a converter, but also the inconvenience of having a mouse, keyboard, etc., and the difficulty of using a computer by those who are less familiar with computers. The function enables various interactions between the viewer and the television. This action allows viewers to travel the web with a TV and remote control without any complicated devices.

Claims (6)

In the remote control associated with a digital set-top box, Pointer image storage means for storing an image of the pointer; Television output means for outputting the pointer image to a television; Remote control receiving means for receiving a signal from the remote control; Remote control signal analysis means for analyzing a signal received from the remote control; Coordinate calculating means for determining coordinates to move a pointer to a predetermined position on a television screen according to a result of the remote control signal analyzing unit; A remote control pointing device in association with a digital set-top box including a central processing means for controlling and executing said respective means. The method of claim 1, The digital set top box A / V switching unit for outputting the audio / video signal of the input MPEG content through the audio / video signal output port, A sub-control unit for outputting MPEG contents input through a VDSL line or a LAN line; MPEG decoder for decoding MPEG data output from the sub-control unit to the audio / video switching means, A main control unit which provides a control command necessary for an output operation in the sub control unit to the sub control unit and controls a corresponding operation based on a remote signal from a remote controller; A digital set-top box comprising a voice output unit and an image output unit for outputting audio and video of a plurality of channels output from the A / V switching unit according to a user's selection condition under the control of the main controller. Remote control pointing device in conjunction with the box. The method of claim 1, Activate any one of a plurality of keys of the remote controller as a toggle key, The modes are remote control mode and pointing mode. Remote control pointing device in conjunction with a digital set-top box, characterized in that toggling when the mode key pressed. The method of claim 3, wherein If the mode above is the pointing mode, The vertical direction key and the horizontal direction key of the remote control is a remote control pointing device linked to the digital set-top box, characterized in that the switch to the up, down, left and right keys. The method of claim 3, wherein When the mode is switched to the pointing mode in the above, A remote control pointing device associated with a digital set-top box, characterized in that a key is clicked on any key of the remote control. The method of claim 4, wherein The remote control pointing device associated with the digital set-top box, characterized in that to move the pointer on the television by pressing the up, down, left, and right keys of the pointer one or more times.