JP2937006B2 - Caption detection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a television receiver,
The present invention relates to a device that is effective in detecting caption information included in a video signal and realizing a function using the same in a device that reproduces a video signal such as a video disk player and a video tape recorder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in karaoke, images are often used at the same time for displaying lyrics and enlivening the atmosphere. Further, as a practice function of karaoke, conventionally, a function of comparing a reference singing signal with a comparative singing signal and displaying the comparison result on a screen has been proposed.

The karaoke practice function is described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a configuration conventionally proposed as a karaoke practice function. In FIG. 15, reference numeral 1 denotes a disk on which an audio signal and a video signal are recorded, 2 denotes a signal reading unit for reading a signal from the disk 1, 3 denotes a video signal demodulation unit for demodulating a video signal from an output signal of the signal reading unit 2, 4 Is a video signal time axis correction section for performing time axis correction on the video signal output from the video signal demodulation section 3, 5 is an audio signal demodulation section for demodulating an audio signal from an output signal of the signal reading section 2, and 6 is an audio signal demodulation. A reference singing extraction unit that extracts a reference singing from the unit 5, 7 is a microphone, 8 is a comparative singing information detection unit that detects singing signal information output from the microphone 7, and 9 is a singing output by the reference singing extraction unit 6. A reference singing information detecting section 10 for detecting signal information is a comparing section for comparing the output of the comparative singing information detecting section 8 with the output of the reference singing information detecting section 9, and 11 is a storage section for storing the output of the comparing section 10. Parts, 12 denotes a signal generating unit for converting outputs the stored information of the storage unit 11 into a signal representing an image, 13 the signal generating unit 1 to the output video signal of the video signal time-base corrector 4
A video superimposition processing unit that superimposes two signals, 14 is a first audio signal output terminal, 15 is a second audio signal output terminal, and 16 is a video signal output terminal.

The operation of the above-configured device will be described below. First, a signal recorded on the disk 1 is read by the signal reading unit 2, and this signal is demodulated into a video signal by the video signal demodulation unit 3 and further demodulated into an audio signal by the audio signal demodulation unit 5. The output signal of the video signal demodulation unit 3 is subjected to time axis correction by the video signal time axis correction unit 4, and a normal video signal is output from the video signal time axis correction unit 4. The audio signal output from the audio signal demodulation unit 5 is output from the first audio signal output terminal 14 and the second audio signal output terminal 15 and the reference singing extraction unit 6 extracts the reference singing. The information of the extracted reference singing is detected by the reference singing information detecting unit 9, and the voice signal from the microphone 7 is output by the comparing singing information detecting unit 8.
Detects that information. Next, the output information of the reference singing information detecting section 9 and the output information of the comparative singing information detecting section 8 are compared by the comparing section 10 and stored in the storage section 11. And
The signal generation unit 12 determines a signal so that the time relationship between the output information of the comparison unit 10 and the output information of the storage unit 11 becomes clear, and the signal is converted into a video signal output from the video signal time axis correction unit 4 by the signal superposition processing unit 13. And a video signal is output to the video signal output terminal 16. Therefore, in the screen display by the video signal, the comparison unit 10 and the storage unit 1 whose time relationships are clarified are included.
1 information is included.

[0005] With the apparatus having the above-described configuration, the singer can know the comparison result between the reference singing taken out of the disc and his / her own singing on a screen display after clarifying the time relationship and karaoke. Practice can be carried out.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, even if the past comparison result can be known from the screen display, the comparison result is displayed by focusing on the time relationship. It is difficult to understand which part of the song it corresponds to, and even if the lyrics are displayed, there is a drawback that it cannot be dealt with.

[0007] The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and makes it possible to detect subtitle information included in a video signal, and to realize a function using the information in karaoke practice. It is an object to provide a detection device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a subtitle detecting apparatus according to the present invention comprises a gate generating means for generating a gate signal from a video signal, and a luminance signal extracting means for extracting a luminance signal component from the video signal. Means, a clamp means for clamping a signal output from the luminance signal extraction means to a constant voltage, a comparator for comparing a signal output from the clamp means with a constant voltage, and counting of the output of the comparator by a gate signal output from the gate generation means. At least one
And a determination means for determining data output by the counter based on a gate signal output by the gate generation means, and particularly, a notification means for notifying a determination result output by the determination means. It is.

Further, the judging means has a structure for determining the judging operation based on the video signal selection information output by the video signal selecting means for selecting the video signal to be inputted to the gate generating means.

[0010] In addition, there is provided storage means for storing data output by the counter in accordance with the gate signal output by the gate generation means, and outputting information to the determination means.

A gate generating means for generating a gate signal from a video signal reproduced from the recording medium; a luminance signal extracting means for extracting a luminance signal component from the video signal; , A comparator for comparing a signal output from the clamp unit with a constant voltage, at least one counter for counting the output of the comparator based on a gate signal output from the gate generation unit, and a gate output from the gate generation unit Determining means for determining the data output by the counter based on the signal; reproducing position detecting means for specifying the reproducing position of the recording medium; and reproducing position information storing means for storing information output by the reproducing position detecting means according to the output of the determining means. That is, the recording medium is reproduced according to the information stored in the reproduction position information storage means. It is those with a.

[0012]

With this configuration, a luminance signal component is extracted from a video signal, a counter counts the result of voltage comparison of the luminance signal component by a comparator, and the count result is used as a signal indicating the state of subtitles included in the video signal. Since the determination means can make the determination, it is possible to configure a device capable of detecting the caption information.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a caption detection device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a caption detection device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a disk on which audio and video signals are recorded, 2 is a signal reading unit that reads signals from the disk 1, 3 is a video signal demodulation unit that demodulates a video signal from an output signal of the signal reading unit 2,
Reference numeral 4 denotes a video signal time axis correction unit for performing time axis correction on the video signal output from the video signal demodulation unit 3, reference numeral 5 denotes an audio signal demodulation unit for demodulating an audio signal from an output signal of the signal reading unit 2,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a reference singing extraction unit for extracting a reference singing from the audio signal demodulation unit 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a microphone, and reference numeral 8 denotes a microphone 7.
A reference singing information detecting section for detecting information of a singing signal output by the reference singing extracting section 6; a reference singing information detecting section 9 for detecting information of a singing signal output by the reference singing extracting section 6; A comparing section 11 for comparing the output of the reference singing information detecting section 9; a storage section 11 for storing the output of the comparing section 10;
Is a signal generation unit that converts the output of the comparison unit 10 and the information of the storage unit 11 into a signal representing a video signal and outputs the signal. 14 is a first audio signal output terminal, 15 is a second audio signal output terminal, 16 is a video signal output terminal, and 17 is a gate signal from a video signal output from the video signal time axis correction unit 4. A gate generation unit for generating a luminance signal, a luminance signal extraction unit for extracting a luminance component from the video signal output from the video signal time axis correction unit, and a clamp unit 19 for clamping the luminance component signal output from the luminance signal extraction unit to a constant voltage. A clamp unit, a comparator for comparing an output signal of the clamp unit with a constant voltage, a counter for counting an output signal of the comparator based on a gate signal generated by the gate generation unit; 2 is a determining section that determines a signal counter 21 by the gate signal generated by the gate generating unit 17 outputs.

The subtitle detecting device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, disk 1
Is read by the signal reading unit 2 and input to the video signal demodulation unit 3 and the audio signal demodulation unit 5,
The signal is demodulated into a video signal and an audio signal, respectively. For example, since a video signal and an audio signal are both FM-modulated and recorded on a laser disk, a circuit capable of performing FM demodulation may be used as the video signal demodulation unit 3 and the audio signal demodulation unit 5. Next, since the video signal output from the video signal demodulation unit 3 includes the fluctuation of the time axis due to the deviation of the rotation center of the disk 1, the video signal time axis correction unit 4 removes the fluctuation. To obtain a normal video signal.

The audio signal demodulated by the audio signal demodulation unit 5 is output from the first audio signal output terminal 14 and the second audio signal output terminal 15 to the outside of the device.
It is input to the reference singing extraction unit 6. Next, the microphone 7
The singing of the singer input from the
, The information is detected, and the reference singing information outputted by the reference singing extraction unit 6 is detected by the reference singing information detection unit 9. Further, the comparison unit 10 compares the information output by the comparative singing information detecting unit 8 and the information output by the reference singing information detecting unit 9 and stores the information in the storage unit 11. The output signal of the comparison unit 10 is stored in the signal generation unit 12 together with the information stored in the storage unit 11.
After being input to the video signal, the video signal is converted into a signal as a video signal, superimposed on the video signal output by the video signal time axis correction unit 4, and output from the video signal output terminal 16 to the outside of the device.

The video signal output from the video signal time axis correction unit 4 is input to a luminance signal extraction unit 18 and a gate generation unit 17.

First, a luminance signal extracting unit 18 extracts a signal corresponding to a luminance signal from an input video signal. As described later, since the comparator 20 compares the luminance component level in the video signal, a luminance signal extraction unit 18 that extracts a luminance component from the video signal is required as a component.

As a method of extracting the luminance signal, there is a method of using a circuit for separating a luminance signal and a chrominance signal like a comb filter. This method has an advantage that a highly accurate luminance signal can be obtained. As another method, there is a method of extracting a frequency band corresponding to a luminance signal using a low-pass filter. This method loses high-frequency components as compared with the above-described method using the separation circuit, but has an advantage that it can be realized with a simple circuit configuration.

Next, the output signal of the luminance signal extraction unit 18 is input to the clamp unit 19. The clamp unit 19 clamps the input video signal synchronization signal to a constant voltage. The clamp 19 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the clamp unit 19. In FIG. 2, 24 is a constant voltage source, 25 is an input terminal, 26 is a capacitor, 27 is a resistor, 28 is a transistor, and 29 is an output terminal. After the DC component of the video signal input from the input terminal 25 is cut by the capacitor 26, a constant voltage Ve corresponding to the emitter voltage of the transistor 28 is applied. At this time, the synchronization signal is clamped at a constant voltage. Then, the clamped video signal is output from the output terminal 29.

The output signal of the clamp unit 19 is input to a comparator 20. As will be described later, since the comparator 20 compares the luminance component level in the video signal, the DC component of the signal input to the comparator 20 is kept constant. It is indispensable to keep the clamp portion 19 in such a manner that the clamp portion 19 is arranged in front of the comparator 20.
Further, a configuration including some components between the clamp unit 19 and the comparator 20 is also conceivable. However, by disposing the clamp unit 19 immediately before the comparator 20, the relationship between the voltage to be clamped and the voltage to be compared in the comparator 20 can be considered. Management can be performed with the highest accuracy.

Next, the output video signal of the clamp unit 19 is
It is input to the comparator 20 and compared with a constant voltage. The configuration and operation of the comparator 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram of the comparator 20. FIG.
, 30 is an input terminal, 31 is a first resistor, 32 is a second resistor, 33 is a first transistor, 34 is a second transistor, 35 is a constant current source, 36 is a constant voltage source, and 37 is a Reference numeral 3 denotes a resistor, 38 denotes a fourth resistor, 39 denotes a third transistor, 40 denotes a fifth resistor, and 41 denotes an output terminal. The first resistor 31 to the constant voltage source 36 constitute a differential amplifier, and the first resistor 31, the third resistor 37, and the fourth resistor 3
Assuming that the resistance value of the second resistor 32 and the resistance value of the second resistor 32 are Rc and the current flowing from the constant current source 35 is Ie, Vb1
> Vb2, Vc1 = Vcc-Ie × Rc, Vb1 <V
If b2, Vc1 = Vcc. Note that hFE of the first transistor 33 and the second transistor 34 is infinite.

In consideration of the input voltage to the counter 21 connected to the output terminal 41, the third transistor 39
As a result, the voltage of the output terminal 41 becomes H or L. Here, if the resistance values of the third resistor 37 and the fourth resistor 38 are R3 and R4, respectively,

[0024]

(Equation 1)

However, the resistance values of the third resistor 37 and the fourth resistor 38 are changed so that the third transistor 39 is turned on or off by the change of Vb following the change of Vc1 described above. You have to choose. Further, there is a method in which an operational amplifier is used instead of the transistor 39 to set the voltage of the output terminal 41 to H or L.

As described above, in the comparator 20, the input signal is compared with the constant voltage, and the result is output as a pulse. The voltage appearing at the output terminal 41 is Vb
If 1> Vb2, it becomes L, and if Vb1 <Vb2, it becomes H.

The relationship between the caption in the luminance signal component input to the comparator 20 configured as described above and the output signal of the comparator 20 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character color and an output signal of the comparator 20 corresponding thereto. Normally, characters constituting subtitles are represented on the screen by white characters and black edges, and in the video luminance signal, white is 100 IRE and black is 7.5 I as shown in FIG.
RE. As an example, if attention is paid to a signal corresponding to 1H indicated by a dashed line constituting “i”, a character signal is included in a luminance signal component by a pulse-like voltage change as shown in FIG. 4B. Therefore, this is compared with the comparison voltage Vc set to about 80 IRE as shown in FIG.
Comparing with omp, it can be converted into a pulse as shown in FIG. Also, assuming that the color of this character changes from white and becomes, for example, green as shown in FIG.
Since the luminance changes to 59 IRE as shown in FIG. 4 (e), the character does not exceed Vcomp.
As shown in (f), no pulse is generated. Therefore, the comparator 20 outputs the state of the character based on the presence or absence of the pulse.

Although FIG. 4 does not take into account the video around the characters, generally, a normal subtitle is represented by a fixed number of characters (at least one word) at the bottom of the screen as shown in FIG. Therefore, if the counter 21 described below is operated only for the portion where the presence of subtitles is expected, the effect on the video in other portions can be ignored. The caption is represented by a pulse-like voltage change as shown in FIG. 4B, but such a pulse-like voltage change is not often included in a normal image. Therefore, comparator 2
The output signal of 0 has a large number of pulses representing caption information, and the influence of the background image is very small.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second example of a character color and an output signal of the comparator 20 corresponding to the second example. As shown in FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D, in the subtitle color change, the character may remain white and the edge may change from black to, for example, green. In this case, in order to make the color change clear, the color around the character generally changes.
If the constant voltage source 36 is set so that comp becomes about 30 IRE, the pulse in FIG. 6C changes as shown in FIG. Therefore, even if there is a color change at the edge of the character, the comparator 20 outputs the state of the character as the presence or absence of a pulse as in the case of FIG.

If the comparator 20 has Schmitt characteristics, it is possible to cope with two kinds of color changes as shown in FIGS. In other words, in the case of the examples of FIGS.
The pulse may be set to change when it changes from 0 IRE or more to less than 30 IRE. When two types of subtitle color change are expected as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the configuration of the apparatus can be handled as it is, which is very effective. Also, there are few patterns that exceed the above-mentioned two comparison levels in video signals other than subtitles. Therefore, the effect of the video signal other than the caption is very low, and the content of the pulse indicates the content of the caption more. Therefore, the reliability of the output pulse is greatly improved, which is effective.

Next, the output of the comparator 20 shown in FIG.
1 can be easily realized by using a counter IC such as a logic IC 74ALS161. In this case, the input terminal of the counter 21 becomes the CLK terminal of the IC, and the output terminal changes from the A terminal to the D terminal.

The operation of the counter 21 and the judging unit 22 for judging the result of the counter 21 is performed by the gate signal output from the gate generating unit 17. The gate generation unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the gate generator 17. In FIG. 7, 70 is an input terminal, 71
Is a sync separation circuit, 72 is a counter operation gate generation circuit, 73 is a determination section operation gate generation circuit, 74 is a first output terminal, and 75 is a second output terminal. The video signal input from the input terminal 70 is separated by a sync separation circuit 71 into a vertical sync signal V and a horizontal sync signal H. Then, using the respective synchronizing signals, the counter operation gate generation circuit 72 generates a counter operation gate signal and outputs it from the first output terminal 74. Similarly, the determination section operation gate generation circuit 73 outputs the determination section operation gate signal to the second output terminal 7.
Output from 5

As shown in FIG. 5, the gate signal output from the gate generation unit 17 captures a video signal in which the presence of a subtitle is expected, and manages the processing of the time-series operation of the counter 21 and the determination unit 22. . FIG. 8 shows the time relationship between the content of the gate signal output from the first output terminal 74 and the second output terminal 75 and the vertical synchronization signal of the video signal input from the input terminal 70. 8A shows a vertical synchronizing signal, and FIG. 8B shows the above-described logic IC as the counter 21.
74C shows the counter control gate signals ENP and CLR of the same IC when the 74ALS161 is used, and FIG.
2 shows the required contents. First, after t1 from the falling edge of the vertical synchronizing signal, CLR becomes H,
1 is initialized. In response, ENP is set to H to start the count operation. After t2, ENP is set to L to end the counting operation.
2 latches the count result of the counter 21 and
Upon completion of the latching process, the counter 21 is cleared by setting CLR to L.

As described above, one gate generation process is executed in one vertical synchronization section. The set time of t1 and t2 is as shown in the example shown in FIG. 5, since subtitles are generated on the lower part of the screen, if the video signal is in the NTSC format, one vertical synchronization section is about 16.7 ms. , For example, t1 =
It is sufficient to set 13 ms and t2 = 2 ms. The gate generation for this time management is generated from the vertical synchronization signal and the horizontal synchronization signal. However, the gate generation can be realized by initializing with the vertical synchronization signal and counting the horizontal synchronization signal. According to this method, there is an advantage that the generation of the gate signal can be accurately managed according to the relationship with the horizontal signal, and the gate signal can always be generated for the same horizontal signal. Further, as a method of generating a gate signal, there is a method of performing time management from a vertical synchronization signal. In this case, a gate signal along the horizontal signal cannot be generated, but there is an advantage that the gate generation unit 17 can be easily realized by using a microcomputer timer as it is, such as when a microcomputer is used.

The gate signal shown in FIG. 8 does not need to be generated for every vertical synchronizing signal, and is fixed by fixing the field for generating the gate signal to the first field or the second field. Interlace and the same line can be detected, and the advantage that subtitle detection conditions can be unified is obtained. Furthermore, subtitles are usually displayed on the screen for, for example, a few seconds, and a change such as a color change of the lyrics of karaoke is also one.
Even in seconds, only a small part of the color change appears. Therefore, the gate generation unit 17 does not need to generate a gate for every field, and even if a gate is generated for each fixed field, the detection accuracy is hardly affected. Executing such a process has the effect of reducing the burden on the caption detection process in the operation of the entire apparatus.

In FIG. 8, the gate generation is performed in one cycle. However, considering that subtitles are displayed over a plurality of lines, the gate signal of a plurality of cycles is supplied to the gate generation unit 1.
7, it is also possible to execute caption detection.
By performing such processing, high detection accuracy can be obtained even when a small number of characters are displayed over a plurality of lines, that is, even when the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 is small due to one line of characters. Can be.

Although the gate generation shown in FIG. 8 can only detect the vertical direction of the screen, the detection of the horizontal direction is performed by using a plurality of counters 21 to divide the screen into a plurality of blocks. It is also possible to perform dimensional detection. In this case, since it is necessary to divide and count one horizontal signal, the gate generation unit 17 needs to generate a gate signal so as to allocate a counter for each block and obtain a count result. When a plurality of counters are used for the counter 21 as described above, the correlation between each detection block can be used as a judgment material, so that more accurate detection can be performed.

Next, in FIG. 1, the output of the counter 21 is input to the determination section 22 to determine the contents. Judgment unit 22
Is simple if a microcomputer is used, but the number of pulses output from the comparator 20, that is, the state of the caption detected from the output of the counter 21 is as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the color state of a character with a black border changes to a white character and the white character changes to a color character,
As described with reference to FIG. 4, the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 decreases in proportion to the progress of the color change of the character. If the effect of the background image is ignored, when the color change is completed, the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 is 0.
become. Then, when a new subtitle (a character with a black border on a white character) appears, the comparator 20 outputs a pulse number proportional to the white character portion. At this time, the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 rapidly changes from 0 to a constant number. In other words, the timing at which the caption is updated coincides with the timing at which the difference value of the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 sharply changes. Therefore, by comparing the difference value of the output of the counter 21 with the fixed value, it is possible to detect that the caption has changed.

Further, since the comparator 20 outputs a pulse in response to a white character, if the number of pulses output by the comparator 20 is equal to or more than a certain value, a white character subtitle exists, and the white character subtitle exists. Does not exist, the number of pulses output from the comparator 20 is zero. Therefore, the presence or absence of subtitles can be detected by comparing the output of the counter 21 with a fixed value.

It should be noted that karaoke lyrics and the like are usually displayed so as to precede the recorded voice. Therefore, if the determination unit 22 delays and outputs the result of the determination of the subtitle information, it is possible to obtain an advantage of removing the influence of the subtitle preceding the audio.

Then, the output of the determination section 22 is input to the storage section 11. The handling of the output signal of the determination unit 22 in the storage unit 11 changes depending on the detection content of the determination unit 22 described above.

First, when the determination unit 22 detects a caption change, the storage unit 11 stores the result of the comparison unit 10 stored in the storage unit 11 so that the time relationship of the caption change detection matches. The storage unit 11 stores the output of the determination unit 22 at 11. Then, when these two pieces of stored information are output from the video signal output terminal 16 by the signal superimposition processing unit 13, the signal generation unit 12 may generate a signal so that it can be handled on the screen.

An example of a screen display of a signal generated by the signal generator 12 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which output signals of the comparison unit 10 and the storage unit 11 are displayed on a screen. The determination unit 22 determines a subtitle change and inputs the result to the storage unit 11. In FIG. 9, 90 is a first display showing the comparison result, 91 is a second display showing the comparison result, 92 is a third display showing the comparison result, 93 is a fourth display showing the comparison result, and 94 is a display. Fifth display showing comparison result and caption detection result, 95 is sixth display showing comparison result, 96 is seventh display showing comparison result, 97
Is an eighth display showing the comparison result, and 98 is a ninth display showing the comparison result. First, the latest comparison result output from the comparison unit 10 corresponds to the ninth display 98, and the oldest comparison result output from the storage unit 11 corresponds to the first display. In the subtitle display, since the character in the past in time is on the left side of the screen, the temporal comparison between the comparison result and the subtitle is easily displayed. The comparison result shown in FIG. 9 is an example in which attention is paid to the difference between the pitches of the comparative singing and the reference singing.
The display in the form of a note is displayed in association with the vertical direction on the screen. That is, if the pitch of the comparative singing is higher than the pitch of the reference singing, it is displayed at the position of (b), if it is lower, at the position of (c), and if they match, at the position of (a). Note that, in the first display 90, a display in the form of a rest is made, which indicates a case where the reference singing exists and the comparative singing does not exist. The determination unit 22 is changed to the display format as described above.
In the case where the judgment result is included, if the display is changed according to the judgment result, the recognition of the judgment result can be clarified. For example, the color of the display in the form of a musical note may be changed, and the display indicating that the subtitle has changed to a new one in FIG. 9 corresponds to the fifth display 94. The fifth display 94 has a red color to distinguish it from other displays. Judgment unit 2
2, since the subtitle change is determined, the result of the fifth display 94 corresponds to the comparison result near the head of the subtitle currently displayed on the screen. Are the comparison results corresponding to the subtitles of the currently displayed subtitles that have elapsed for the present time from the sixth display to the ninth display. Also, the first display 90
To the fourth display are the comparison results corresponding to the previous one from the end of the subtitle displayed before the currently displayed subtitle. Note that, besides displaying the judgment content of the judgment unit 22 in color, another display that can understand the temporal correspondence with the display indicating the result of the comparison unit 10 stored in the comparison unit 10 or the storage unit 11 is added. Then, there is a method of displaying the determination result of the determination unit 22 on the screen.

By the above processing, the correspondence between the output of the comparing section 10 and the displayed caption can be confirmed on the screen, and the function can be made more effective as a karaoke practice function.

Next, when the determination unit 22 detects the presence or absence of subtitles, if there is no subtitle,
It can be handled that the reference singing information is not detected in the output of the comparing unit 10. If subtitles are present, it can be handled that reference singing information has been detected in the output of the comparing unit 10. This is because in karaoke, if the lyrics are displayed on the screen in subtitles, it can be considered that the reference singing exists in the voice. By the above processing, the reference singing information detecting unit 9 is temporarily supposed to be affected by noise or the like.
Even if the erroneous information is output, when the lyrics are not displayed, the influence can be removed, and as a result, the reliability of the comparison result of the comparing unit 10 can be improved.

As described above, the subtitle information included in the video signal is pulse-converted by the comparator, counted by the counter, and the count result is determined, whereby the function of determining the state of the subtitle can be realized. , A more effective karaoke practice function can be realized.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the caption detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the determination unit 22
Is that the display unit 100 exists as a notification unit that notifies the determination result. The other components are exactly the same as the components shown in the first embodiment.

The subtitle detecting device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, the output content of the determination unit 22 is displayed on the display unit 100. As described in the first embodiment, the determination unit 22 can determine the subtitle change and the presence / absence of the subtitle. Here, when the lyrics of the karaoke are displayed as captions, the following determination is performed, and if the content is displayed, the relationship between the currently displayed lyrics and the song can be known. First, when the state where the subtitle does not exist for a certain period of time changes to the state where the subtitle exists, it can be determined that the song starts from the prelude or interlude of the song. Also, by counting the number of subtitle changes, it is possible to judge which song lyrics of the song are currently displayed on the screen. Therefore, by combining these two types of determinations, it is possible to determine which song lyrics the song currently displayed on the screen is. The content of this judgment is
This information is very useful for a singer as information that allows the user to understand the content of the lyrics and recognize the location of the song when singing the song. Then, the determination result is displayed on the display unit 100 as information indicating the relationship between the lyrics and the song. Display unit 10
0 indicates that this information may be displayed as characters or symbols on a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, or may be a video signal output by a configuration including the signal generation unit 12 and the signal superimposition processing unit 13 as in the first embodiment. Characters and symbols may be superimposed on the video signal output to the end 16. Although the display unit 100 is shown as an example of the notification means in FIG. 10, for example, a means for generating sound, a means for generating light, or the like may be considered as the notification means. As an example, when a means for generating a sound is used as the notification means, it is effective for a device which cannot be mounted with a display unit due to miniaturization. When the means for generating light is used as the notifying means, the amount and color of the generated light are determined by the determination unit 22.
And the like, it is possible to obtain effects such as enlivening the atmosphere as an environment for enjoying karaoke.

As described above, the determination unit 22 determines the relationship between the song and the lyrics, and displays this information to inform the relationship between the lyrics and the song, thereby providing a very useful karaoke apparatus. Can be.

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the caption detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that a video signal generation unit 110, a video signal selection unit 111, a switch 11
2 exists, and the video signal selection unit 111
The selection of the output signal of the switch 10 and the output signal of the video signal time axis correction unit 4 is determined, and the signal selected by the switch 112 is input to the gate generation unit 17, the luminance signal extraction unit 18, and the signal superimposition processing unit 13, The point is that information on the signal selected by the video signal selection unit 111 is input to the determination unit 22. The other components are exactly the same as the components shown in the first embodiment.

The subtitle detecting device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Video signal generator 110
Generates a video signal to be output from the video signal output terminal 16 when the disc 1 is not being reproduced, and outputs a video signal which normally becomes a blue screen or a black screen. Next, the video signal selection unit 111 determines a video signal to be output from the video signal output terminal 16 according to the state of the device. Then, the switch 112 selects a video signal according to the determination of the video signal selection unit 111. When the video signal output from the video signal generation unit 110 is selected by the video signal selection unit 111, the video signal output from the video signal output terminal 16 is not a target to be determined by the determination unit 22. Stops the determination process in the determination unit 22. In this case, it can be easily realized by invalidating the input data of the counter 21 in the determination unit 22.
When the video signal output from the video signal time axis correction unit 4 is selected by the video signal selection unit 111, the determination unit 22 may execute the determination process. As mentioned above,
By determining the determination processing operation in the determination unit 22 based on the determination of the video signal selection unit 111, erroneous determination in the determination unit 22 can be prevented, and the reliability of the determination result of the determination unit 22 can be ensured.

The configuration and operation other than those described above are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment.

The detection of the subtitle information included in the video is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment, but as described above, the determination unit 2 uses the video signal selected by the video signal selection unit 111.
By determining the operation 2, even if the device includes a process of switching the output video signal to an arbitrary video signal, the subtitle detection process can be accurately performed.

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the caption detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that there is a count data storage unit 121 for storing a signal output from the counter 21 by a gate signal generated by the gate generation unit 120, and a determination unit based on the data stored in the count data storage unit 121. Reference numeral 22 indicates that the determination operation is performed. The other components are exactly the same as the components shown in the first embodiment.

The subtitle detecting device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, the gate generation unit 1
20 is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Gate operation circuit 7 for counter operation in the contents shown in FIG.
2 and a count data storage unit operation gate generation circuit that operates in the same manner as the determination unit operation gate generation circuit 73 and an output terminal thereof. Next, the count data storage unit 121 stores data output by the counter 21 based on the gate signal generated by the gate generation unit 120. A description will be given of a case where the screen is divided into a plurality of blocks and the determination is performed with respect to the content of the gate signal for the storage operation and the operation of the count data storage unit 121 corresponding thereto, with reference to FIG.

FIG. 13 shows the relationship between blocks on the screen and horizontal signal lines. 13, reference numeral 130 denotes a first block obtained by dividing the screen; 131 denotes a second block obtained by dividing the screen; 132 denotes a third block obtained by dividing the screen; 133 denotes a fourth block obtained by dividing the screen;
Is a fifth block obtained by dividing the screen. In order to determine the count data of the first block 130, it is necessary to total the count data of only the portion corresponding to the first block 130 on the horizontal signal lines n to n + N. The same applies to the other blocks from the second block 131 to the fifth block 134. In order to realize the above-described totalization, the gate generation unit 120 includes the counter 21 and the count data storage unit 12.
A gate signal obtained by dividing the horizontal signal line into 1 may be generated, and the count data of the counter 21 may be totaled for each block in the count data storage unit 121 based on the gate signal. With the above processing, the data of the counter 21 can be handled in a time-division manner, and the screen can be divided into a plurality of blocks, and the determination unit 22 can make the determination.

As described in the description of the first embodiment, the first
Even in the configuration similar to that of the embodiment, by using a plurality of counters 21, it is possible to divide the screen into a plurality of blocks and make a determination based on data for each block. However, in this case, a counter proportional to the number of each block is required. However, as in this embodiment, the counter 21
The same effect can be obtained by adding the count data storage unit 121 that stores the output of the above to the configuration.

The configuration and operation other than those described above are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment.

The detection of the subtitle information included in the video is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment. However, with the configuration described in this embodiment, the screen is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each block is Even when data is used for determination, a single counter is sufficient, so that the configuration of the device is simple, and the subtitle detection device has an advantage that the accuracy of subtitle detection determination can be improved by using data of each block for determination. Can be realized.

Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the caption detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that a playback position detection unit 140, a playback position information storage unit 141, and a playback position control unit 142 exist. The playback position detection unit 140 performs playback from the output of the video signal demodulation unit 3. The position is detected, and the reproduction position information storage unit 141 stores the detected information based on the information of the determination unit 22 and, based on the stored information, the reproduction position control unit 14.
Reference numeral 2 is a point having a configuration for controlling the reproduction position of the signal reading unit 2. The other components are exactly the same as the components shown in the first embodiment.

The subtitle detecting device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, the reproduction position detection unit 140 specifies a reproduction position from a signal reproduced from the disk 1. In the case of a laser disc, information called a 24-bit status code is recorded in a video signal, and this information includes information that can specify a reproduction time. The reproduction position detection unit 140 detects such information. Next, the playback position information storage unit 141 stores the playback position information output by the playback position detection unit 140 based on the determination result output by the determination unit 22.
In other words, the playback position information storage unit 141 stores the playback position at which the subtitle change or the presence or absence of the subtitle has changed. Therefore, the reproduction position information storage unit 14
The playback position information stored in 1 indicates the playback position at which the subtitle has changed or the playback position at which the presence or absence of the subtitle has changed. The reproduction position control unit 142 controls the signal reading unit 2 using the reproduction position information, so that reproduction related to the subtitle information can be performed.

When the determination unit 22 determines a subtitle change by the above-described processing, the reproduction at the position where the subtitle change is started at the previously reproduced portion or the previous subtitle is repeatedly reproduced. Function can be realized. In addition, when the determination unit 22 detects the presence of a subtitle, the position where the subtitle does not exist is changed to the presence of the subtitle, which corresponds to the head position of the lyrics, that is, the start position of the first or second song. By repeating this position, the song 1
It is possible to realize a function of reproducing from a start position such as a number or a number.

Therefore, it is possible to realize a function of playing back subtitles repeatedly from the start position of a song by using subtitle information, and to implement a very effective function of repeating karaoke practice. it can.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a luminance signal extracting means, a clamping means, a comparator, a counter, a judging means and a gate generating means, a video signal can be reproduced in a video reproducing apparatus. It is capable of detecting information on included subtitles and realizing excellent functions using the information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a caption detection device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of a clamp unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram of a comparator in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a character, a video signal, a comparison voltage, and the like in the embodiment .
Diagram showing the relationship between output and output signals

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between subtitles and a screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the character color and the comparability in the embodiment.
Diagram showing the output signal of the

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a gate generation unit in the embodiment.

8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a vertical synchronization signal. FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a signal output from a gate generation unit. FIG. 8C is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of a determination unit.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between a comparison result and a caption detection result.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a caption detection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the caption detection device according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram in a fourth embodiment of the caption detection device of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between blocks obtained by dividing a screen and horizontal signal lines.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a subtitle detection device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a conventional display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 disc 2 signal reading unit 3 video signal demodulation unit 4 video signal time axis correction unit 5 audio signal demodulation unit 6 reference singing extraction unit 7 microphone 8 comparative singing information detection unit 9 reference singing information detection unit 10 comparison unit 11 storage unit 12 signal Generation unit 13 Signal superimposition processing unit 14 First audio signal output terminal 15 Second audio signal output terminal 16 Video signal output terminal 17 Gate generation unit 18 Brightness signal extraction unit 19 Clamp unit 20 Comparator 21 Counter 22 Judgment unit 24 Constant voltage Source 25 Input terminal 26 Capacitor 27 Resistance 28 Transistor 29 Output terminal 30 Input terminal 31 First resistance 32 Second resistance 33 First transistor 34 Second transistor 35 Constant current source 36 Constant voltage source 37 Third resistance 38 Fourth resistor 39 Third transistor 40 Fifth resistor 41 Output terminal 70 Input Reference Signs List 71 Synchronization separation circuit 72 Counter operation gate generation circuit 73 Judgment section operation gate generation circuit 74 First output terminal 75 Second output terminal 90 First display showing comparison result 91 Second display showing comparison result 92 Third display showing comparison result 93 Fourth display showing comparison result 94 Fifth display showing comparison result and subtitle detection result 95 Sixth display showing comparison result 96 Seventh display showing comparison result 97 Comparison Eighth display 98 representing the result 98 Ninth display representing the comparison result 100 Display unit 110 Video signal generation unit 111 Video signal selection unit 112 Switch 120 Gate generation unit 121 Count data storage unit 130 First block 131 of divided screen 131 The second block 132 which divided the screen 132 The third block 133 which divided the screen 133 The fourth block which divided the screen 134 The screen Fifth block 140 playback position detection unit 141 playback position information storage unit 142 playback position control unit

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A gate generating means for generating a gate signal from a video signal, a luminance signal extracting means for extracting a luminance signal component from the video signal, and a clamp for clamping a signal output by the luminance signal extracting means to a constant voltage. Means, a comparator for comparing a signal output by the clamp means with a constant voltage, at least one counter for counting the output of the comparator based on a gate signal output by the gate generation means, and a gate output by the gate generation means A caption detection device, comprising: determination means for determining data output by the counter based on a signal. 2. The caption detection device according to claim 1, wherein the gate generation means outputs a gate signal for each fixed field of the input video signal. 3. The caption detection device according to claim 1, wherein the gate generation means generates a gate signal a plurality of times in one field of the input video signal. 4. The caption detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines a result obtained by comparing data output from the counter with a constant value. 5. The caption detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines a result obtained by comparing a difference value of data output from the counter with a constant value. 6. The caption detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means outputs a determination result after a lapse of a predetermined time after the determination is completed. 7. The caption detection device according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies a judgment result output by the judging unit. 8. The caption detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the judging means determines the judging operation based on the video signal selection information output from the video signal selecting means for selecting the video signal to be input to the gate generating means. . 9. The caption detection device according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing data output by the counter in accordance with the gate signal output by the gate generation means, and outputting information to the determination means. 10. A gate generating means for generating a gate signal from a video signal reproduced from a recording medium, a luminance signal extracting means for extracting a luminance signal component from the video signal, and a signal output by the luminance signal extracting means. A clamp unit for clamping to a constant voltage, a comparator for comparing a signal output by the clamp unit with a constant voltage, at least one counter for counting an output of the comparator based on a gate signal output by the gate generation unit, and the gate Determining means for determining data output by the counter based on a gate signal output by a generating means; reproducing position detecting means for specifying a reproducing position of the recording medium; and outputting from the reproducing position detecting means in accordance with an output of the determining means A reproduction position information storage means for storing information, the information being stored in the reproduction position information storage means; A subtitle detection device that reproduces the recording medium in accordance with the received information.