JP2010056960A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an image processing apparatus and method capable of easily performing a user operation when displaying a video of a broadcast channel of a specific affiliated station corresponding to split screen display.
An image processing apparatus changes a display size of an image related to each input signal from tuners 1 to 4 and a browser 5 and synthesizes a plurality of video signals when displaying a divided screen on a panel 11. Output. The image processing apparatus selects and outputs one video signal when the split screen display is not performed. The screen mode control unit 9 determines the display state of the divided screen based on the screen operation information by the user. Then, the split screen control unit 8 sets each channel related to the split screen other than the split screen in accordance with the channel selection operation of the split screen specified at the start of the split screen display or after the display of the split screen. The display state of the divided screen is controlled by switching to the same affiliated station channel as the channel selected by the selection operation.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for controlling channel switching of each divided screen constituting a display screen in divided screen display control.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus for storing in a memory a channel related to an image displayed on each divided screen in a divided screen display state. In this device, when switching from single screen display to split screen display, the channel (hereinafter referred to as the last channel) displayed on each split screen in the previous split screen display is stored, and the last channel is stored. Is read out, the channel displayed on each divided screen is designated (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  If the user wants to specify the channel initially displayed on each divided screen across different types of tuners, such as terrestrial digital and BS digital, when the user displays the divided screen, the channel is set in advance using the last channel function. It was necessary to specify. In other words, the channel setting at the start of the split screen display desired by the user is realized by the user performing channel switching work for each split screen after displaying the previous split screen and storing the state in the memory.

  When the user performs a zapping operation using the split screen display, one of the split screens selected after the split screen display is selected as the main screen, and the channel switching operation is performed on the main screen. A zapping operation is realized. Here, the “zapping operation” is an operation using a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) or the like so that a user can watch a program while frequently switching channels.

The “main screen” is one of the split screens explicitly shown in the active state in the split screen display state. The divided screen selected as the main screen is selected so as to output the sound corresponding to this, and the channel switching operation becomes possible. A divided screen other than the main screen is referred to as a sub-screen. This “sub-screen” is one of the divided screens in which only video display is performed in the display state of the divided screen. For the sub screen, channel switching cannot be performed when channel operation is possible on the main screen. In other words, when the user performs a zapping operation using the split screen display and wants to display the affiliated station channel intended by the user all at once on the split screen, each split screen is selected as the main screen in order, and one screen is displayed. It was necessary to perform channel switching operation one by one.
The “affiliated station channel” is a channel for broadcasting information such as news gathering information and production programs on broadcasting stations that are mutually related.
Japanese Patent No. 2642925

  By the way, in the apparatus adopting the conventional split screen display described above, the channel that was previously displayed on the split screen is stored in advance for the channel displayed on each split screen at the start of the split screen display. Is used to read the channel and display the channel.

  Therefore, when the user starts the split screen display after designating each affiliated station channel to each split screen by, for example, the BS digital tuner or the terrestrial digital tuner, the user performs the split screen display in advance. There has been a problem that an operation for storing the channel of the screen in the memory of the apparatus is required.

  In addition, after displaying the split screen, if it is desired to display the broadcast channel of the affiliated station arbitrarily designated by the user on all the split screens, it is necessary to reset each split screen to the broadcast channel of the affiliated station one screen at a time. Therefore, there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to set a channel selected on each divided screen as an affiliated station channel according to a channel button selection operation designated by the user at the start of the divided screen display and after the divided screen display, It is an object to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of performing display.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention receives a plurality of input signals, changes the display size of an image related to each input signal, and displays a plurality of divided screens. An image processing apparatus that synthesizes and outputs a plurality of video signals and selects and outputs a single video signal when split screen display is not performed. Split screens other than the split screen according to the discriminating information indicating the display status and the display status of the screen and the channel selection operation of the split screen specified at the start of the split screen display or after the split screen display Control means for controlling the display state of the divided screen by switching each of the channels to the same affiliated station channel as the channel selected by the channel selection operation. It is.

  The image processing method according to the present invention receives a plurality of input signals, changes the display size of an image related to each input signal, and combines a plurality of video signals when displaying a plurality of divided screens. An image processing method for selecting and outputting one video signal when outputting and not displaying a divided screen, the step of determining whether or not the screen is displayed based on screen operation information, and a screen Each channel related to a divided screen other than the divided screen is determined in accordance with the discriminating information indicating the display state of the divided screen and the channel selection operation of the divided screen specified at the start of the divided screen display or after the divided screen is displayed. And a step of controlling the display state of the divided screen by switching to the broadcast channel of the same affiliated station as the channel selected by the selection operation.

  According to the present invention, a user can easily perform an operation of displaying a video of a channel of a specific affiliated station on a plurality of divided screens. For example, by detecting the affiliated channel of the channel (broadcasting station) selected by the user and displaying the divided screens together with the affiliated channel, the user can select the desired tuning operation without any troublesome operations. It can be realized easily.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a configuration is shown in which video signals output from four tuners and one Internet browser are displayed on a panel (image display means) by split screen display.

  As shown in the figure, the image processing apparatus is based on video signal processing means that receives video input signals from the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 and processes various information such as operation information and channel information. Control means for controlling the display state is provided. The image processing apparatus shown in this example includes an image processing unit 6, an image output signal synthesis unit 7, a divided screen control unit 8, a screen mode control unit 9, and a main screen selection unit 10. A video signal processing means is configured using the image processing unit 6 and the screen output combining unit 7, and the output is sent to the panel 11 for image display. Further, the divided screen control unit 8, the screen mode control unit 9, and the main screen selection unit 10 constitute a control means.

  First, the tuners 1 to 4 decode the received video signal and audio signal and output them to the image processing unit 6. Based on information from the divided screen control unit 8 for channel selection at each tuner. To be controlled.

  Information for controlling each tuner includes information for selecting a broadcast type and a channel number for selecting a channel by the broadcast type selected by each tuner. Here, the “broadcast type” is a type indicating a difference in broadcast form, such as terrestrial digital, BS digital, CS digital, or the like. Each tuner is composed of tuners capable of switching broadcast types.

  The browser 5 outputs the video downloaded through the Internet to the image processing unit 6 and is controlled based on information for accessing the Internet from the divided screen control unit 8. Information for controlling the browser 5 is an Internet address.

  The video and audio signals respectively decoded by the tuners 1 to 4 and the video downloaded by the browser 5 are output to the image processing unit 6. The image processing unit 6 has a function as a display size control unit that changes the display size of an image related to a plurality of video input signals and outputs a video signal.

  The screen mode control unit 9 detects screen operation information that is button operation information of the remote controller. That is, the screen mode control unit 9 determines whether to perform split screen display or non-split screen display based on screen operation information by the user, and outputs determination information indicating the display state of the screen. For example, it is determined whether a split screen display mode or a single screen display mode is entered by a user operation. Information output from the screen mode control unit 9, that is, information having a binary state for distinguishing whether or not to allow divided display (hereinafter referred to as divided display ON / OFF information) is information representing the determined screen display mode. For example, when the information is “0”, it indicates a single screen display mode, that is, a non-divided display mode, and when it is “1”, it indicates a split screen display mode. This divided display ON / OFF information is output to the image processing unit 6, the screen output signal synthesis unit 7, and the divided screen control unit 8.

  In the image processing unit 6, based on the split display ON / OFF information from the screen mode control unit 9, the video signal input from the tuners 1 to 4 and the image related to the video signal from the browser 5 are split display ON / OFF. Enlargement processing or reduction processing is performed so as to obtain an appropriate size according to the information. That is, at the time of split screen display, the image processing unit 6 performs enlargement and reduction processing so that the images related to the video signals input from the tuners 1 to 4 have an appropriate size according to the information indicating the number of split screens. . For example, when performing quadrant screen display, the reduction process is performed so that the size of the display image related to the video signal from each tuner is ¼ or less of the panel display size.

  Further, at the time of one-screen display, enlargement processing is performed so that each of the video signals of the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 has the same size as the display resolution of the panel 11. The video signal thus enlarged or reduced is output to the screen output signal synthesis unit 7.

  The panel 11 is a display device capable of displaying an image, such as a CRT, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL device, a plasma display, a field emission display, or the like. This panel 11 displays the video signal output from the screen output signal synthesis unit 7 on the screen.

  The main screen selection unit 10 sets the main screen selected at the time of split screen display and single screen display based on the screen operation information and the split display ON / OFF information from the screen mode control unit 9. Information on the screen set as the main screen (hereinafter referred to as main screen selection information) is output to the divided screen control unit 8 and the screen output signal synthesis unit 7.

  The screen output signal synthesizing unit 7 receives the information output from the screen mode control unit 9, synthesizes a plurality of video signals output from the image processing unit 6 in the case of split screen display, and outputs an image. In the case of one-screen display, it has a function as an image composition processing unit that selects one video signal and outputs an image. For example, the screen output signal synthesis unit 7 performs image processing based on the split display ON / OFF information from the screen mode control unit 9 and information indicating the number of screens divided when the split screen is displayed (hereinafter referred to as split screen number information). A screen output signal is generated by selecting whether to perform one-screen display of the video signal from the unit 6 or composite display of a divided screen. Further, the screen output signal synthesis unit 7 performs screen display after processing the main screen selected based on the main screen selection information from the main screen selection unit 10 so that the user can explicitly visually recognize it.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a screen state in which the main screen is explicitly displayed when the screen output signal synthesizing unit 7 performs the quad screen display. In FIG. 2, a main screen 411, a sub screen 412, a sub screen 413, and a sub screen 414 are shown. For the main screen 411, the display frame is distinguished by a thicker line than the sub screen, and the main screen is clearly displayed to the user.

  Further, in this example, for convenience of explanation, the display screen is divided into four, and regarding the screen division number, the divided screen 411 located at the upper left in FIG. 2 is “screen 1”, and the upper right divided screen 412 is “screen 2”. ”, The lower left split screen 413 is“ screen 3 ”, and the lower right split screen 414 is“ screen 4 ”.

  In this example, the difference between the main screen and the sub screen is clearly shown due to the difference in the line width surrounding the display area. However, any other display method can be adopted as long as the difference between the main screen and the sub screen can be easily identified. It doesn't matter.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart in a case where the main screen selection unit 10 switches the main screen when receiving a signal by a user's remote control operation and performing split display on four screens. Here, an example in which the remote control operation related to the main screen switching is performed by the up / down / left / right operation of the cursor button is shown. Information corresponding to the operation of four cursor buttons provided on a remote controller (not shown) is transmitted from the remote controller to the image processing apparatus.

  First, in step S101, the main screen selection unit 10 determines whether or not the split display ON / OFF information has been switched from OFF to ON, and if it is determined that the single screen display state has been switched to the split screen display state. Screen 1 is selected as the initial main screen (step S102).

Next, the main screen selection unit 10 determines whether or not the cursor button “right” has been pressed, and if it is determined that the button has been pressed (step S103), the division currently selected as the main screen The main screen is switched from the screen to the split screen located in the right direction. (Step S104).
Further, the main screen selection unit 10 determines whether or not the cursor button “left” has been pressed, and if it is determined that the button has been pressed (step S105), the divided screen currently selected as the main screen. The main screen is switched to the divided screen located in the left direction (step S106).

Further, the main screen selection unit 10 determines whether or not the cursor button “UP” has been pressed, and if it is determined that the button has been pressed (step S107), the divided screen currently selected as the main screen. The main screen is switched to the split screen positioned in the upward direction (step S108).
Also, the main screen selection unit 10 determines whether or not the cursor button “down” has been pressed, and if it is determined that the button has been pressed (step S109), the divided screen currently selected as the main screen. The main screen is switched to the divided screen located in the lower direction (step S110). Note that, as in this example, the remote control operation for switching the main screen does not have to be limited to only the up / down / left / right operation of the cursor button, and various operation modes can be adopted.

  The divided screen control unit 8 performs channel setting for each tuner using various information such as divided screen number information, basic channel information, and divided display ON / OFF information of the screen. The “basic channel information” indicates the tuner type and channel number of the channel currently selected and displayed on the main screen.

FIG. 4 shows an internal block diagram of the divided screen control unit 8.
When the split screen control unit 8 receives information indicating the split screen display state from the screen mode control unit 9, the split screen control unit 8 sets the channel related to each split screen to the same series as the channel selected based on the channel selection operation by the user. Switch to the station channel. That is, the divided screen control unit 8 has a function as a switching control unit. The divided screen control unit 8 includes a divided screen channel selection unit 81 and a channel matrix table 82 in this example.

  In the divided screen channel selection unit 81, main screen selection information output from the main screen selection unit 10, divided display ON / OFF information from the screen mode control unit 9, divided screen number information, basic channel information, and channel matrix table 82. The channel control information for performing reception control on the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 is output to the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 respectively. “Sequence channel information” is information composed of a tuner type and a channel number. Here, “tuner type” represents the difference between tuners such as terrestrial digital, BS digital, CS digital, and browser, and “channel number” is the channel number to be displayed when the tuner type is other than browser. When the tuner type is a browser, this is information indicating an Internet address. When the channel type is a browser, the channel number specifies an Internet address. In other words, the tuner and the browser are conceptually comprehensively described as differences in tuner types.

  The channel matrix table 82 is a storage unit for a table (affiliation station table) including the affiliated channel information illustrated in FIG. The channel matrix table 82 receives information for selecting the type of affiliated station table (hereinafter referred to as affiliated station table selection information), selects a table for acquiring a tuner type and channel number, receives basic channel information, and receives affiliated stations. And the channel type and channel number of the affiliated station corresponding to the divided screen number are calculated based on the divided screen number information.

  5A and 5B show data examples of the sequence channel information stored in the channel matrix table 82. FIG. For affiliated channel information, for example, one of three table rows is selected according to affiliated station table selection information, and the corresponding information is output from the selected table rows.

  FIG. 5A shows table data when one tuner type is assigned to one divided screen. That is, the divided screen number corresponds to the difference in the tuner type. In this example, the affiliated channel information corresponding to each of the affiliated station “AAAA”, affiliated station “CCCC”, affiliated station “TTTT” is assigned to each of the divided screen numbers. The line data to include is shown.

  FIG. 5B illustrates table data when the same broadcast series is designated in the same tuner type over a plurality of divided screens. For example, divided screen numbers 1 and 2 are assigned to terrestrial digital broadcasting, and divided screen numbers 3 and 4 are assigned to BS digital broadcasting, respectively. One of the affiliated station tables is preferably stored and used in advance according to the broadcasting area. However, a table that can be arbitrarily set by the user may be prepared and used.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the screen display state when affiliated station display is performed. FIG. 6A shows a screen display state 501 when the table of FIG. 5A is selected (see affiliated station CCCC) and the number of screen divisions is four. This screen display state 501 is a screen display state when the tuner type is terrestrial digital and the channel number is 81 as basic channel information. In the screen display state 501 related to the divided display, a screen 511 in which 81Ch (channel) of terrestrial digital broadcasting is selected is displayed on the screen 1, and a screen 512 in which 181Ch of BS digital broadcasting is selected is displayed on the screen 2. Is displayed, screen 513 in which CS digital broadcasting 281Ch is selected is displayed on screen 3, and screen 514 in which the address “www.cccc.or.jp” is designated by the browser is displayed on screen 4. Indicates the state.

  6B shows a screen display state 502 when the table of FIG. 5B is selected (see affiliated station CCCC) and the number of screen divisions is four. This screen display state 502 is a screen display state when the tuner type is terrestrial digital and the channel number is 81 as basic channel information. In the screen display state 502 relating to the divided display, a screen 521 in which 81Ch of digital terrestrial broadcasting is selected is displayed on the screen 1, and a screen 522 in which 83Ch of digital terrestrial broadcasting is selected is displayed on the screen 2. A screen 523 in which BS digital broadcasting 181Ch is selected is displayed on the screen 3, and a screen 524 in which BS digital broadcasting 281Ch is selected is displayed on the screen 4.

  Thus, by freely changing the affiliated station according to the affiliated station table selection information for the channel matrix table 82, the table desired by the user can be selected.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart when the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 are controlled by the divided screen control unit 8.
In step S121, the divided screen control unit 8 acquires the divided display ON / OFF information from the screen mode control unit 9, and determines whether or not the information is ON. When the information is OFF, in order to determine whether or not the display state of the split screen is switched to the display state of one screen, it is divided whether or not the split display ON / OFF information is switched from ON to OFF. The screen controller 8 determines (step S122). If the divided screen control unit 8 determines that the information has been switched from ON to OFF, the process proceeds to step S123, and the tuner type and channel number of the divided screen selected as the main screen in the divided screen display state. And set the value to tuner 1. If the split screen control unit 8 determines that the split display ON / OFF information remains OFF in step S122, the split screen control unit 8 determines that the single screen display state remains, The tuner control process is terminated.

  If the split screen control unit 8 determines that the split display ON / OFF information is ON in step S121, the process proceeds to step S124, and a counter for counting the number of repetitions for setting the tuner type and channel number of each screen. A counter M for counting the number of times N and N are set is initialized to 1.

  In step S125, the divided screen number N corresponding to the basic channel information, that is, the tuner type and the set channel corresponding to the divided screen number N are read based on the channel matrix table 82.

  In step S126, the divided screen channel selection unit 81 determines whether or not the tuner type of the sequence channel information read from the channel matrix table 82 is a browser, and when the tuner type of the read sequence channel information is a browser. Then, an address is set for the browser 5 (step S127).

  If the tuner type of the sequence channel information read in step S126 is not a browser, the divided screen channel selection unit 81 sets the tuner type and channel number of the sequence channel read for tuner M (Mth tuner). (Step S128). After this setting, the number of the counter M is incremented by 1 in step S129 (increment).

  In step S130, the divided screen channel selection unit 81 determines whether or not the divided screen channel type and channel number have been set by the number of divided screens. That is, the divided screen channel selection unit 81 determines whether the value of the counter N is larger than the number of divided screens by comparing the value of the counter N for counting the number of times of setting the divided screens with the number of divided screens. Determine. If the value of N is larger than the number of divided screens, it is determined that the channel type and channel number setting for the number of divided screens has been completed, and the process ends.

  If the value of N is equal to or less than the number of divided screens in step S130, the divided screen channel selection unit 81 determines that the setting of the divided screen has not been completed, and proceeds to step S131 to increment the value of N by one ( Increment), the process returns to step S125. In this way, the number of divided screens, the tuner type and channel setting for each divided screen are repeated.

  The split screen channel selection unit 81 sets the tuner type and channel number as described above, so that the tuner type and channel number of the affiliated channel are directed to the tuner or browser corresponding to the tuner or browser as control information, respectively. Sent.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of transition of split screen display. FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram showing a transition example of the conventional split screen display when the all split display screen is displayed by the channel of the affiliated station CCCC. FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram showing a transition example of the split screen display when the present invention is applied. As for the affiliated station table, the information of the divided screen number 4 in the row relating to the affiliated station CCCC in FIG. 5A includes “CS digital” and “283”.

  Conventionally, when split screen display is performed as shown in FIG. 8A, the screen 711 that the user was viewing in the single screen display state 811 includes the state 712 selected as the main screen after the split screen display. Transition to the split screen display state 812 is made.

  At this time, as the tuner type and the channel number selected on each of the remaining divided display screen 713, divided display screen 714, and divided display screen 715, the last channel when the user has instructed the previous divided screen display is used. Applied.

  Next, when the user performs a screen operation to switch the channel of the screen 2, the state 717 in which the screen 2 is selected as the main screen is changed from the split screen display state 812 in which the screen 712 is selected as the main screen. Including the split screen display state 813.

  Next, in order to switch the channel of the screen 2, the user performs a channel switching operation to switch the tuner type and the channel number of the main screen 717 to the BS digital and CCCC channel Ch181. As a result, the main screen 720 shifts to a state 814 in which an image of a CCCC series channel in BS digital is displayed.

  Similarly, in the remaining divided screens (screens 2 to 4), the user can finally shift to the divided screen display state 815 shown in the figure by switching the main screen sequentially and then repeating the channel operation. . However, the split screen state 815 in which all the split screens are displayed with CCCC series channels can be obtained only by repeating many complicated operations by the user, that is, the main screen switching operation and the channel switching operation. There was no.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, when the split screen display is performed by the user operation as shown in FIG. 8B, the affiliated station of the screen 711 that the user was viewing in the single screen display state 811 is detected. In the state 712 in which the screen 1 is selected as the main screen, it is possible to immediately shift to the divided screen state 815 in which all the divided screens display the CCCC channel. That is, by applying the present invention, it is possible to directly switch from the single-screen display state 811 to the split-screen display state 815 in which the screen 1 is selected as the main screen, and the user operation can be easily performed, so that convenience is greatly improved.

  FIGS. 9A and 9B schematically show an example in which channels of all divided screens are set to affiliated stations different from the affiliated stations currently displayed after the divided screens are displayed. FIG. 9A shows a conventional screen transition state. In the split screen display state 851 in which the split screens are all CCCC series broadcast channels, a case where the user screen is changed to the state 855 in which all the split screens are changed to the broadcast channels of the TTTT affiliated stations will be described. For the affiliated station table, the information of the divided screen number 4 of the row relating to the affiliated station CCCC in FIG. 5B includes “CS digital” and “283”, and the divided screen number 4 of the row relating to the affiliated station TTTT is shown. It is assumed that the information includes “CS digital” and “283”.

  In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 9A, first, the user performs an operation from the split screen display state 851 in which all the split screens are displayed in CCCC series channels, and the screen is shifted to the split screen state 852. That is, the user switches the screen 1 selected as the main screen to the channel 61 that is a terrestrial digital TTTT sequence.

  Next, in order to switch the channel of the screen 2, the user shifts to a split screen display state 853 indicating a state 757 in which the main screen is changed to the screen 2. Then, as shown in the split screen state 854, the user switches the channel of the screen 2 to the channel 161 that is a TTTT sequence.

  Similarly, the user repeatedly performs a main screen switching operation and a channel switching operation on the remaining divided screens, thereby shifting to a divided screen display state 855 in which all the divided screens are broadcast channels of TTTT affiliated stations. Although it is possible, the procedure is complicated.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9B, from the split screen display state 851, the user presses the channel button of the remote controller for channel switching operation (that is, switching operation from channel 81 to channel 61). As a result, it is possible to immediately display the split screen display state 855 in which the TTTT series channel is selected on all the split screens, thereby greatly improving the convenience.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the zapping operation can be realized by the image processing apparatus by a more comfortable and simple operation by selecting the method for selecting and displaying the series and detecting the screen operation information.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The difference from the apparatus shown in the first embodiment is that a split screen selection control unit 12 is used in place of the split screen control unit 8, and a screen mode operation control unit 13 is used in place of the screen mode control unit 9. Is to use. In this configuration, the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment are given to the portions that perform the same functions as the components shown in FIG. 1, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The split screen selection control unit 12 has a function as the switching control unit, and as its input signal information indicating whether or not the last channel is used (hereinafter referred to as last channel ON / OFF information) and screen operation. More information has been added. The screen mode operation control unit 13 has a function as a display state control unit. For the last channel ON / OFF information, ON means use of the last channel, and OFF means nonuse.

  The selection control unit 12 performs channel setting for each tuner using the divided screen number information, basic channel information, affiliated station table selection information, screen operation information, and last channel ON / OFF information.

FIG. 11 shows a detailed block diagram of a configuration example of the selection control unit 12.
The selection control unit 12 includes a divided screen channel selection control unit 121, a last channel memory 122, and a channel matrix table 123.

  Based on the input screen operation information, split display ON / OFF information, split screen number information, basic channel information, last channel ON / OFF information, and channel channel information from the channel matrix table 123, the channel selection control unit 121. Channel control information for performing reception control on the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5 is output to each.

FIG. 12 shows a control flowchart when the last channel ON / OFF information is switched for the processing of the channel selection control unit 121.
In step S151, the channel selection control unit 121 determines whether or not the last channel ON / OFF information is OFF. If the information is ON, the tuner type and channel information currently displayed for each divided screen are displayed. The data is stored in the last channel memory 122 (step 152).

  When the last channel ON / OFF information is OFF in step S151, the channel selection control unit 121 performs a divided screen channel selection process (step S153). That is, the channel selection control unit 121 reads the data of the affiliated station table stored in the channel matrix table 123 according to the same processing procedure as the divided screen channel selection unit 81 described in the first embodiment, and based on the data A channel for each divided screen is set (see FIG. 7).

  In this case, when the channel selection control unit 121 switches from the display state of one screen to the display state of the divided screen, the tuner type and channel information (last channel) stored in the last channel memory 122 for each divided screen are displayed. Information) is used to define the image displayed on each split screen.

  In this way, when switching from one screen to split screen display by control using the last channel ON / OFF information, a method of performing channel control of a split screen from data stored in a conventional last channel memory, and the present invention The user can appropriately switch the control display method for the affiliated station channel.

That is, by allowing the user to arbitrarily switch between the conventional control and the affiliated station channel control of the present invention, the channel operation desired by the user can be freely switched.
In the operation controller 13 in the screen mode, the user detects screen operation information that is button operation information of the remote controller. That is, the operation control unit 13 detects whether the screen mode is changed to the split screen display mode or the single screen display mode by the user operation. In addition, the operation control unit 13 detects whether or not the tuner type switching button has been pressed during split screen display. The “tuner type switching button” is a button provided for directly switching a tuner such as terrestrial digital, BS digital, and CS digital.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart when the operation control unit 13 changes the setting value of the split display ON / OFF information.
In step S191, the screen mode operation control unit 13 determines whether or not the divided display ON / OFF information is “1”.
If the split display ON / OFF information is “1” in step S192, the operation control unit 13 determines whether the tuner type switching button has been pressed.

If the tuner type switching button has been pressed in step S193, the split display ON / OFF information is set to “0”.
In step S194, the operation control unit 13 determines whether or not the screen operation information is in the single screen display mode. When the screen operation information enters the single screen display mode by the user operation, the divided display ON / OFF information is set to “0” (step S195).

In step S196, the operation control unit 13 determines whether the screen operation information is in the split screen display mode. This divided display ON / OFF information is output to the image processing unit 6, the screen output signal synthesis unit 7, the divided screen selection control unit 12, and the main screen control unit 10.
Note that the setting process ends after the end of steps S193, S195, and S197.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart when the channel selection control unit 121 sets the tuners 1 to 4 and the browser 5. In FIG. 14, a case where the tuner type switching button is pressed in the 4-division display state will be described.
In step S171, the channel selection control unit 121 determines whether or not the tuner type switching button has been pressed. If the tuner type switching button has not been pressed, the process ends.

  When the tuner type switching button is pressed, the channel selection control unit 121 determines whether or not the pressed button is the same as the tuner displayed on the screen 1 (step S172). If the type indicated by the pressed tuner type switching button is the same as the tuner type of screen 1, predetermined setting information (hereinafter referred to as “one screen return information”) is set as the tuner type and channel number of screen 1. (Step S173).

This “one-screen return information” is information for storing the tuner type and channel number selected when returning from the split screen display state to the single screen display state.
In step S174, if the type indicated by the pressed tuner type switching button is the same as the tuner type on screen 2, the process proceeds to step S175, and channel selection control unit 121 sends the one-screen return information to the tuner type and channel on screen 2. Set to a number.

In step S176, if the type indicated by the pressed tuner type switching button is the same as the tuner type on screen 3, the process proceeds to step S177, and the channel selection control unit 121 sends the one-screen return information to the tuner type and channel on screen 3. Set as a number.
In step S178, if the type indicated by the pressed tuner type switching button is the same as the tuner type on screen 4, the process proceeds to step S179, and the channel selection control unit 121 sends the one-screen return information to the tuner type and channel on screen 4. Set as a number.

  In addition, after completion | finish of step S173, S175, S177, S179, it progresses to below-mentioned step S181.

  When the type indicated by the pressed tuner type switching button is different from the tuner type displayed on any divided screen, the process proceeds to step S180, and the channel selection control unit 121 performs the pressed tuner on the one-screen return information. The information indicated by the type switching button and the channel number are set to the information of the affiliated station currently being displayed.

In step S181, the channel selection control unit 121 determines whether or not the tuner type of the one-screen return information is a browser. If it is determined in step 182 that the tuner type is a browser, the channel number of the browser 5 is set to the channel number of the one-screen return information.
If the tuner type of the one-screen return information is not the browser in step S183, the tuner type and channel number of the tuner 1 are set as the tuner type and channel number of the one-screen return information.

  By making such a determination, the user can return to the one-screen display state when the user presses the tuner type switching button when the divided screen is displayed.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating screen display transition when the user selects a channel displayed on an arbitrary divided screen and returns from the divided screen display to the single screen display.
FIGS. 15A and 15B exemplify a case where the user performs one-screen display from the screen of the state 1011 in which the screen 2 is displayed as a sub-screen in the split screen display state 1001. In this figure, FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram showing the transition of the conventional split screen display. FIG. 15B is a schematic diagram when the user switches from the split screen display to the single screen display when the present invention is applied. As for the affiliated station table, the information of the divided screen number 4 in the row relating to the affiliated station CCCC in FIG. 5A includes “CS digital” and “283”.

  In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 15A, the user first performs a screen operation, and the divided screen in which the main screen is changed to the screen 2 from the divided screen display state 1001 in which the main screen is set to the screen 1 is displayed. The display state is changed to 1002. Next, when the user performs a screen operation so as to return to the single screen display state, the channel displayed on the screen 2 in the split screen display state 1001 is changed to the state 1003 displayed as the channel selected state in the single screen display. Switch.

  As described above, in the conventional technique, when a screen that is not selected as the main screen in the split screen display state is selected as a channel that is displayed in the single screen display state, the user repeatedly performs the main screen switching operation, and finally It is necessary to perform a screen operation for returning to the one-screen display state, and thus it is necessary to perform a user operation a plurality of times.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 15B, in the split screen display state 1001 in which the main screen is set to the screen 1, the user presses the BS digital tuner type switching button, so that the split screen is displayed. The channel displayed on the screen 2 in the display state 1001 can be immediately switched to the state 1003 displayed as the channel selected state in the single screen display.

Therefore, in the present invention, even if the user performs a screen operation based on the split screen display, the split screen on which the image of the channel intended by the user is displayed as the channel selected in the single screen display, and the screen operation is easily performed. Can do.
As described above, in the present invention, by performing case division using the last channel ON / OFF information, when performing divided screen display, the channel of each divided screen is set based on the storage information of the last channel memory; The user can freely switch between the case where the channel of the divided screen is set in the affiliated station channel. In addition, the user can easily perform the user operation because the channel can be freely designated and returned from the split screen display state to the single screen display state by pressing the tuner type selection button.

It is a block diagram which comprises the image control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the schematic diagram of the screen state by which the main screen was explicitly displayed when performing the screen display of 4 divisions. It is a flowchart which performs main screen selection in the main screen selection part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is an internal block diagram of the split screen control part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the data matrix of the sequence channel information preserve | saved at the channel matrix table. It is a schematic diagram which shows the screen display at the time of performing affiliated station display for every channel matrix table. It is a flowchart which controls a tuner and a browser by the split screen control part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which compares the case where the image control process which concerns on 1st Embodiment is not applied, and the transition of the image displayed when this process is applied. It is a schematic diagram which compares and shows the image displayed when not applying the image control process which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and this process. It is a schematic diagram which compares the case where the image control process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is not applied, and the transition of the image displayed when this process is applied. It is an internal block diagram of the division | segmentation screen selection control part which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart concerning control using last channel ON / OFF information. It is a flowchart which concerns on a division | segmentation display ON / OFF information setting. It is a flowchart when the tuner type switching button is pressed in a situation where the quadrant display is performed. It is a schematic diagram which compares and shows the transition of the image displayed when the image control process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is not applied, and when it applies.

Explanation of symbols

1 Tuner 1
2 Tuner 2
3 Tuner 3
4 Tuner 4
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Browser 6 Image processing part 7 Image output signal synthetic | combination part 8 Split screen control part 9 Screen mode control part 10 Main screen selection part 11 Panel 12 Split screen selection control part 13 Screen mode operation control part 81 Split screen channel selection part 82 Channel matrix Table 121 Split screen channel selection control unit 122 Last channel memory 123 Channel matrix table 401, 501, 502 Screen 1 is a split screen display state of a main screen 411, 511, 521 Main screens 412-414, 512-514, 522-524 Sub Screen 711 Screen that was viewed in single screen display state 712, 717, 720, 751, 755, 757, 758 Main screen 713-716, 718, 719, 721-723, 752-754, 756, 759, 760, 761 Subscreen 8 11 Single screen display state 812, 815, 851, 852, 855 Screen 1 is split screen display state of main screen 813, 814, 853, 854 Screen 2 is split screen display state of main screen 1003 Single screen display state 1010, 1015 Main Screen 1011 to 1014 Subscreen 1016 Screen that is viewed in the single screen display state

Claims (7)

Receiving multiple input signals, changing the display size of the image related to each input signal, and when displaying multiple split screens, combine and output multiple video signals and do not display split screens In some cases, an image processing apparatus that selects and outputs one video signal,
Based on the screen operation information by the user, it is determined whether the display state of the screen, the determination information indicating the display state of the screen, and the channel selection operation of the split screen specified at the start of the split screen display or after the display of the split screen Accordingly, an image provided with control means for controlling the display state of the divided screen by switching each channel related to the divided screen other than the divided screen to the same affiliated station channel as the channel selected by the channel selection operation. Processing equipment. The control means includes
A display state control unit that selects whether to perform split screen display or non-split screen display based on screen operation information indicating a user's screen operation state, and outputs information indicating the selected screen display state;
When receiving information indicating the status of the split screen display from the display status control unit, a switching control unit that switches the channel related to each split screen to the same affiliated station channel as the channel selected by the channel selection operation;
A display size control unit for changing the display size of an image related to a plurality of input signals and outputting a video signal;
When the information output from the display state control unit indicates the display state of the split screen, a plurality of video signals output from the display size control unit are combined to output an image, and the information is displayed in a non-split manner In this case, an image composition processing unit that selects one video signal and outputs an image,
The main screen selection unit that selects one of the divided screens as a main screen in the display state of the divided screens and outputs information indicating the selected main screen to the switching control unit. The image processing apparatus described.   The switching control unit selects channel information related to a video input signal to be displayed when displaying one screen, and relates to a video input signal displayed on the main screen selected by the main screen selecting unit when displaying a split screen. Based on the basic channel information from which the channel information is selected, the information indicating the display state of the divided screen from the display state control unit, and the information defining the number of divisions of the screen, the basic channel information from each divided screen, respectively. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein channel numbers of the plurality of input signals are switched by obtaining the affiliated station channels to be displayed by the number of divisions of the screen.   The switching control unit includes a last channel memory for storing last channel information indicating a channel related to a display state of a previous divided screen, and performs channel switching based on the information when the last channel information is used. 4. When the last channel information is not used, the affiliated station channels to be displayed on each divided screen are obtained by the number of divisions of the screen, and the channels of the plurality of input signals are switched. An image processing apparatus according to 1.   The display state control unit displays the display state on a single screen when the screen operation information is the same as any one of the channel information related to the plurality of input signals being displayed for each divided screen in the divided screen display state. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus is shifted to a state.   6. The channel according to claim 1, wherein the affiliated station channel is a channel that broadcasts broadcast information including news gathering information or a production program through mutually related broadcasting stations. Image processing device. Receiving multiple input signals, changing the display size of the image related to each input signal, and when displaying multiple split screens, combine and output multiple video signals and do not display split screens In some cases, an image processing method for selecting and outputting one video signal,
Determining whether the display state of the screen based on the screen operation information;
According to the discrimination information indicating the display state of the screen and the channel selection operation of the split screen specified at the start of the split screen display or after the display of the split screen, the respective channels related to the split screen other than the split screen are An image processing method comprising a step of controlling a display state of a divided screen by switching to a broadcast channel of the same affiliated station as a channel selected by a channel selection operation.

Images