KR20040024407A - Television receiver having function for video-muting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A television set having a video mute function is provided to set brightness of a video signal supplied on a display device to a video mute state, and to control an operation of a video signal mute unit, thereby muting the video signal and outputting a voice signal only. CONSTITUTION: A video mute unit(218) mutes a video signal supplied on a display under control of a controller(214). When a video mute key is inputted from a key input unit(216), the controller(214) controls the video signal to be muted by controlling the video mute unit(218). The controller(214) monitors whether a channel up/down key or the video mute key is inputted through the key input unit(216). If so, the controller(214) restores brightness of the video signal to a previous level before inputting the video mute key. If the channel up/down key or the video mute key is not inputted, the controller(214) cuts off operational power supplied to the display. If the channel up/down key or the video mute key is inputted after cutting off the operational power, the controller(214) supplies the operational power to the display and restores the brightness of the video signal to the previous level.

Description

Television receiver having function for video muting {Television receiver having function for video-muting}

The present invention relates to a television receiver, and more particularly to a television receiver capable of muting video signals.

The television receiver demodulates the video signal and the audio signal from the broadcast signal received through the antenna and outputs them through the display device and the speaker, respectively. Accordingly, the user can watch the video and the audio.

The television receiver has a voice mute function. For example, if you receive a call while watching a television receiver, the voice mute feature allows you to answer the call without turning off the television receiver or taking time to decrease the volume. After the phone call, simply restore the original volume. You can.

But instead of muting the audio, you might want to mute the video. For example, a user who uses a television receiver to study a language is likely to watch a foreign language broadcast during the late night hours that no one else is watching. In this case, the audio signal can be made inaudible to others by using headphones, but the current television receiver has a problem that it can disturb another person's sleep because there is no function to mute the image.

An object of the present invention is to provide a television receiver which has been designed to meet the above requirements and has a function of muting a video signal.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional television receiver.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a television receiver according to the present invention.

A television receiver according to the present invention for achieving the above object

A tuner for tuning a broadcast signal, a video signal demodulator and an audio signal demodulator for demodulating a video signal and an audio signal from the broadcast signal tuned through the tuner, a display unit and a speaker for outputting the demodulated video signal and an audio signal. In the television receiver having a,

A video signal muting unit configured to set a brightness of an image signal provided to the display device to an image mute state that the user cannot substantially watch; And

And a control unit for controlling the operation of the image signal muting unit.

Preferably, the television receiver further comprises a switch for shutting off the operation power provided to the display apparatus, and the control unit monitors whether the video mute state lasts for a predetermined time, and if the video mute state lasts for a predetermined time, The switch controls the operation power provided to the display device.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional television receiver. The conventional television receiver shown in FIG. 1 includes an antenna 102, a tuner 104, a video signal demodulator 106, an audio signal demodulator 108, a display 110, a speaker 112, and a controller 114. And a key input unit 116.

The tuner 104 tunes a broadcast signal of a specific broadcasting station from a broadcast signal received through the antenna 102, and the video signal demodulator 106 and the audio signal demodulator 108 respectively output video and audio from the tuned broadcast signal. Demodulate the signal. The demodulated video and audio signals are output through the display 110 and the speaker 112, respectively.

The control unit 114 controls the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in response to the key input input through the key input unit 116. The key input unit 116 includes a channel up / down key, a ballroom up / down key, a voice mute key, and the like.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, when the voice mute key is input through the key input unit 116, the controller 112 reduces the volume of the voice signal provided to the speaker 112 to a minimum so that the voice is not substantially output. The voice mute key has a toggle function, and when it is pressed again, the control unit 112 recognizes that the voice mute function is released, and the volume of the voice signal provided to the speaker 112 before the voice mute key is input. Restore to state

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a television receiver having a video signal muting function according to the present invention.

In the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2, the same reference numerals are added to perform the same functions as those illustrated in FIG. 1, and descriptions of detailed operations thereof will be omitted.

The key input unit 216 includes a channel up / down key, a volume up / down key, an audio mute key, an image mute key, and the like.

The image muting unit 218 mutes the image signal provided to the display unit 110 under the control of the controller 212. Muting the video signal is achieved by minimizing brightness, contrast, and the like.

When the image mute key is input from the key input unit 216, the controller 212 controls the image muting unit 218 so that the image signal displayed on the display 110 is muted, that is, the minimum brightness.

Thereafter, the controller 212 monitors whether the channel up / down key or the video mute key is input through the key input unit 216 for a predetermined time. If the channel up / down key or the image mute key is input through the key input unit 216 for a predetermined time, the image muting unit 218 is controlled to restore the brightness of the image signal to the level before the image mute key is input. That is, the controller 212 releases the video mute state when the channel up / down key and the video mute key are input.

If the channel up / down key or the image mute key is not input through the key input unit 216 for a predetermined time, the controller 212 controls the switch 220 to cut off the operating power B + provided to the display 110. do. That is, the controller 212 may achieve the power saving effect by cutting off the operation power provided to the display 110 when the image mute state lasts for a predetermined time or more.

The controller 212 controls the switch 220 when the channel up / down key or the image mute key is input through the key input unit 216 even after the operation power of the display 110 is shut off. The power is supplied and the image muting unit 218 is controlled to restore the brightness of the image signal to the level before the image mute key is input.

The image mute operation by the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 may be usefully applied to the missed crime prevention function and the wake-up function as well as the case where the image mute key is input through the key input unit 216.

Missed security means that the television receiver automatically turns on or off for a period of time, or changes the channel and volume, pretending to be a person in the house to achieve security. In the case of the missed monitoring function, the image muting function of the present invention may be applied to mute the video signal or to cut off the operation power of the display unit.

On the other hand, the wake-up function means to perform a morning call function by operating the television receiver when a certain time, such as alarm clock. This wake-up function requires only an audio signal substantially and can be efficiently achieved by appropriately utilizing the video mute function of the television receiver of the present invention.

As described above, the television receiver according to the present invention has an effect of muting a video signal and outputting only an audio signal.

In addition, the television receiver according to the present invention has an advantage in that a power saving function can be achieved by shutting down the operating power applied to the display device when the image mute state lasts for a predetermined time.

Claims (5)

A tuner for tuning a broadcast signal, a video signal demodulator and an audio signal demodulator for demodulating a video signal and an audio signal from the broadcast signal tuned through the tuner, and a display unit and a speaker for outputting the demodulated video and audio signals. In the television receiver having a, A video signal muting unit configured to set a brightness of an image signal provided to the display device to an image mute state that the user cannot substantially watch; And And a control unit for controlling the operation of the video signal muting unit. The method of claim 1, And a key input unit having a video mute key for instructing to set the video mute state. And the control unit toggles the video mute operation whenever the video mute key is input. The method of claim 2, And the control unit releases the video mute state by controlling the video muting unit when a channel up / down key is input through the key input unit. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a switch to cut off the operating power provided to the display device, The control unit monitors whether the image mute state lasts for a predetermined time, and when the image mute state lasts for a predetermined time, controls the switch to cut off the operation power provided to the display device. The method of claim 4, wherein The control unit controls the switch to supply operating power to the display apparatus when the channel up / down key or the image mute key is input through the key input unit even after the operation power provided to the display apparatus is cut off. A television receiver, characterized in that to release the image mute state by controlling the mute unit.