JP4802026B2 - Data broadcasting object selection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an object selection device for data broadcasting, and more particularly to an object selection device that allows a viewer to select all objects desired by simply receiving one type of cursor signal from a remote controller.

  With the practical use of digital broadcasting, not only video and audio content, but also a variety of content broadcasting using various texts and graphics, etc. are possible, and a high-performance broadcasting service is provided compared to conventional analog broadcasting. ing. On the other hand, with the diversification of broadcasting services, the operation of a remote controller (referred to as “remote controller” in this specification) becomes complicated, which is a major obstacle for unfamiliar viewers.

  Conventionally, in the remote control operation of data broadcasting, up / down / left / right cursors and five buttons for determination are used. However, viewers who are unfamiliar with digital broadcast remote control operations must operate while looking at their hands, which complicates remote control operations. In order to eliminate this inconvenience, it is assumed that the types of cursor keys on the remote controller are simply reduced. However, when a plurality of objects are two-dimensionally arranged on the data broadcast display screen, simply reducing the types of cursor keys may cause a situation in which a desired data broadcast cannot be selected.

  In addition, as a method of eliminating the complexity when viewers check data broadcasting content, the creator of the data broadcasting content creates a remote control operation procedure, describes the created operation procedure in the content, and the remote control operation procedure A method for transmitting data broadcast content in which is described is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this known method, the remote control operation procedure described in the data broadcast content is decoded on the receiver side, a remote control operation signal is generated in a pseudo manner, and all selection items are sequentially displayed.

JP 2001-358671 A

  The method described in the above-mentioned patent document has an advantage that all selection items are automatically displayed. However, it is necessary to describe the remote control operation procedure by modifying all the data broadcast contents, so that the data broadcast contents can be created. There is a drawback that the work becomes complicated. Further, it is necessary to artificially create a remote control operation signal on the receiver side, and there is a drawback that the structure of the receiver is complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an object selection device that can select all objects of data broadcasting even if the types of cursor keys of a remote controller are reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to realize an object selection device capable of selecting all objects of data broadcasting only by using a single kind of cursor key set on a remote controller.

A data broadcast object selection device according to the present invention is an object selection device that selects an object on a data broadcast display screen by operating a single cursor key provided on a remote control .
Means for obtaining data broadcast content;
Means for extracting object information including coordinate information that defines the arrangement position of the object and object adjacent information that defines the relationship between adjacent objects from the acquired script of the data broadcast content;
From the extracted object information, means for creating an object arrangement information for identifying the location of objects on the display screen,
A means for determining a closed-loop focus transition path in which the focus sequentially transitions on the object based on the created object arrangement information;
Means for creating a remote control command set that defines adjacent focus transitions on a focus transition path based on the focus transition path and the object adjacent information ;
Means for shifting focus along the focus transition path based on focus position information representing a current position of focus and the remote control command set in response to an operation of the single cursor key. To do.

  When a plurality of objects or link buttons are arranged one-dimensionally on the data broadcast display screen, it is possible to select all the objects using only a single type of cursor. However, when a plurality of objects are arranged two-dimensionally, if the types of cursor keys are reduced, all objects cannot be selected. Therefore, in the present invention, the BML of the data broadcast is acquired, the arrangement of the object is specified, and the closed loop focus transition path is determined. Then, a remote control command set corresponding to the focus transition path is determined. As a result, since the focus changes along a closed loop transition path only by pressing one type of cursor on the remote controller, it is possible to select all data broadcasting contents with only one type of cursor. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of cursor keys set on the remote controller to only one cursor key.

Another data broadcast object selection device according to the present invention is an object selection device that selects an object on a data broadcast display screen by operating a single cursor key provided on a remote control ,
Means for obtaining data broadcast content;
Means for extracting object information including coordinate information that defines the arrangement position of the object and object adjacent information that defines the relationship between adjacent objects from the acquired script of the data broadcast content;
From the extracted object information, means for creating an object arrangement information for identifying the location of objects on the display screen,
A means for determining a closed-loop focus transition path in which the focus sequentially transitions on the object based on the created object arrangement information;
Means for creating a remote control command set defining a focus transition between adjacent objects on a focus transition path based on the focus transition path and the object adjacent information ;
Means for generating a timing signal defining a time interval during which the focus transitions between adjacent objects;
In accordance with the operation of the single cursor key , the focus is defined by the timing signal along the focus transition path based on the focus position information indicating the current focus position, the remote control command set, and the timing signal. And a focus transition means for sequentially transitioning on the object at a predetermined time interval.

  In the present invention, a timing signal generating means is provided to define a time interval in which the focus changes between objects, that is, a time period in which the focus exists on the object, and sequentially changes over the object at a predetermined time interval. As a result, the focus is automatically shifted sequentially on the object according to the order determined along the focus path, so that the viewer simply presses the determination button when the focus shifts to the desired object. Data broadcasting can be selected. As a result, the data broadcast selection operation is further simplified.

  In the object selection device, the first cursor signal and the second cursor signal are alternately sent from the remote controller, the focus is sequentially shifted by the first cursor signal, and the focus transition is stopped by the second cursor signal. Can be made. The first cursor signal and the second cursor signal are alternately sent by pressing the same cursor key on the remote controller.

  In the present invention, the arrangement position of the object is specified from the BML of the data broadcast, the shortest closed-loop transition path for transitioning all objects is determined, and a remote control content set corresponding to the determined transition path is created. Therefore, it is possible to select all data broadcasting contents by simply pressing a single kind of cursor key. As a result, remote control operation when viewing data broadcasting can be simplified.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an object selection device according to the present invention. The object selection device according to the present invention can be installed in a digital broadcast receiver or in a remote control device. The object selection device includes a BML acquisition unit 1 that acquires data broadcast content. The acquired data broadcast content has a script and mono media described in BML, and the BML acquisition unit 1 extracts the script from the acquired content. If the object selection device is installed in a device other than a digital broadcast receiver, BML can be acquired via a LAN interface, or acquired via a recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk. Can do.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 2 as an example, it is assumed that five objects A to E are two-dimensionally linked on the data broadcast display screen. The script extracted by the BML acquisition unit 1 includes coordinate information that defines the arrangement positions of five objects, and object adjacency information that defines the relationship between adjacent objects. The interpretation unit 2 extracts object information including coordinate information and object adjacent information from the acquired BML script.

The five pieces of coordinate information of the extracted objects A to E are shown below.
Object A: (X, Y) = (160, 110)
Object B: (X, Y) = (10, 50)
Object C: (X, Y) = (70, 110)
Object D: (X, Y) = (10, 80)
Object E: (X, Y) = (10, 110)

Object adjacency information that defines adjacency relationships of five objects extracted from the script is shown below.
Object A: <p style = ”nav-index: 0; nav-right: 1; nav-left: 2” />
Object B: <p style = ”nav-index: 1; nav-down: 3; nav-up: 4” />
Object C: <p style = “nav-index: 2; nav-right: 0; nav-left: 3” />
Object D: <p style = ”nav-index: 3; nav-down: 4; nav-up: 1; nav-right: 2;
nav-left: 2 ”/>
Object E: <p style = ”nav-index: 4; nav-down: 1; nav-up: 3; nav-right: 0;
nav-left: 0 ”/>

  The object information extracted by the interpretation unit 2 is supplied to the arrangement position specifying unit 3. The arrangement position specifying unit 3 specifies the arrangement positions of the five objects on the display screen and creates object arrangement information. The specified arrangement position is the arrangement position shown in FIG.

The created object arrangement information is supplied to the transition path determination unit 4. The transition path determination unit 4 selects a focus transition path, that is, a closed loop path in which the focus transitions on the five linked objects based on the object arrangement information that defines the arrangement positions of the five specified objects. decide. The focus transition path determines a path from the object located at the upper left on the display screen to the object located at the lower right, taking into account the visual characteristics of the viewer, for example. In determining the transition path, the coordinate information is used to sort the ascending order with the Y axis as the first priority and the X axis as the second priority, and the transition path is determined based on the ascending order result. The transition paths of the five objects on the display screen shown in FIG. 2 are as follows.
Object B → Object D → Object E → Object C → Object A → Object B

  The determined focus transition path information is supplied to the command set creation unit 5. The command set creation unit 5 creates a command set for the remote controller using the object adjacent information for the received transition route information. When creating a command set, the command set creation unit refers to the object adjacency information and determines the command set so that the focus is shifted to the specified object along the shortest path. First, when transitioning from the object B to the object D, it is found that the transition to the object D is made by pressing the “down button” according to the description of “nav-down: 3” included in the script of the object B. Similarly, when transitioning from the object D to the object E, it is found from the description of “nav-down: 4” included in the object D that the transition to the object E is made by pressing the “down button”.

Next, a case where the object E changes to the object C will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a command set determination method when transitioning from the object E to the object C. The object adjacent information included in the script of the object E is as follows.
Object E: <p style = ”nav-index: 4; nav-down: 1; nav-up: 3; nav-right: 0;
nav-left: 0 ”/>
When referring to the object adjacency information, the command set creation unit 5 describes four pieces of adjacency information, and confirms whether or not a transition to the target object C can be made based on the four adjacency information. As a confirmation result, it is found that the transition to the object C cannot be made. Next, the lower adjacent information is sequentially referenced to find a route that can make a transition to the object C. By this processing, it becomes clear that the transition to the object C can be made via the object A. As a result, a path for transition from the object E to the object C via the object A is selected. The command set in this case is “right button” + “left button”.

The command set creation unit 5 creates the following remote control command set as a result of the processing described above.
“Transition from object B to object D”: down button
[Transition from object D to object E]: down button
[Transition from object E to object C]: right button + left button
[Transition from object C to object A]: right button
[Transition from Object A to Object B]: right button

  The remote control command set created by the command set creation unit is supplied to the transition path selection unit 6. The transition path selection unit 6 receives a single type of cursor signal sent from the remote controller and a focus position signal indicating the current focus position. The viewer selects a desired object while pressing the cursor key on the remote controller while viewing the data broadcast display screen. As an example, a case where the focus is placed on the object B on the display screen and the viewer desires to view the object C will be described. When the viewer presses the cursor key once, the transition path selection unit 6 generates a command set corresponding to the down button based on the command set, and the focus shifts from the object B to the object D. When the cursor key is further pressed once, the transition path selection unit 6 generates a command set corresponding to the down button based on the command set, and the focus shifts to the object E. When the cursor key is pressed once more, the focus changes to object C via object A based on the command set. In this way, it is possible to select a desired data broadcast content simply by pressing a single type of cursor key. The focus transition operation described above is summarized in FIG.

  In the present invention, when the focus is continuously located on the object for a predetermined time period after the focus is changed to another object, the data broadcast content of the object can be determined as the selection item. . For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the focus shifts to the object C and is continuously positioned on the object C for a certain period of time, the content of the object C is determined by determining the object C as a selection item without pressing the determination button. Is displayed. By setting in this way, the determination button on the remote controller can be omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modification of the object selection device according to the present invention. The same components as those used in FIG. 1 are described with the same reference numerals. In this example, two types of cursor signals, a first cursor signal and a second cursor signal, are alternately generated as cursor signals (remote control signals) sent from the remote controller. That is, the data broadcast screen of the channel selected by the viewer is displayed, and when the viewer presses a single set cursor key, a first cursor signal is generated and input to the transition path selection unit 6. The transition path selection unit receives the first cursor signal and sequentially transitions on the object along the transition path whose focus has been determined. Next, when the viewer presses the same cursor key, a second cursor signal is generated and input to the transition path selection unit 6. Upon receiving the second cursor signal, the transition path selection unit stops the focus transition and stops the focus on the object at that time.

  Further, in this example, a timing signal generation unit 10 is provided to generate a timing signal that defines a time period during which the focus is positioned on the object. The time interval at which this timing signal is generated is determined in consideration of the operability of the viewer, and can be set to 3 seconds, for example. The timing signal is supplied to the transition path selection unit 6, and the transition path selection unit 6 makes a transition to the next object on the transition path whose focus is determined according to the timing signal. Therefore, when the first cursor signal is input, the focus sequentially changes between objects at a time interval of, for example, 3 seconds. During this time, when the viewer presses the same cursor key when the focus is shifted to the object desired by the viewer, the focus stops on the desired object. Then, by pressing the enter button, the desired data broadcast can be viewed. With this configuration, the viewer simply presses a single cursor key, and the focus shifts on a closed-loop transition path at a predetermined time interval. When the transition is made, a desired object can be viewed simply by pressing the same cursor key, and the operability of data broadcasting is further improved. It is also possible to select an object by pressing the enter button without pressing the cursor key when the focus shifts to the object desired to be viewed.

  The remote controller suitable for the digital broadcast receiver equipped with the object selection device according to the present invention does not need to have four cursor keys for shifting the focus up, down, left and right, and all data broadcast contents with only one cursor key. It is possible to select and view. Accordingly, it should be understood that a remote control having a single cursor is also within the scope of the present invention.

  In addition, when using the current remote controller that shifts the focus up, down, left, and right, it is possible to use only one cursor key of the four cursor keys, for example, only the down key as a selection key for data broadcasting content.

It is a diagram showing an example of an object selection device according to the present invention. It is a diagram which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the object on a display screen. It is a diagram which shows an example of the process which determines a remote control command set. It is a diagram which shows a mode that a focus changes through a closed loop-like transition path | route. It is a diagram which shows the modification of the object selection apparatus by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 BML acquisition part 2 Interpretation part 3 Arrangement position specification part 4 Transition path determination part 5 Command set creation part 6 Transition path selection part 10 Timing signal generation part

Claims (6)

An object selection device that selects an object on a data broadcast display screen by operating a single cursor key provided on a remote control ,
Means for obtaining data broadcast content;
Means for extracting object information including coordinate information that defines the arrangement position of the object and object adjacent information that defines the relationship between adjacent objects from the acquired script of the data broadcast content;
From the extracted object information, means for creating an object arrangement information for identifying the location of objects on the display screen,
A means for determining a closed-loop focus transition path in which the focus sequentially transitions on the object based on the created object arrangement information;
Means for creating a remote control command set defining a focus transition between adjacent objects on a focus transition path based on the focus transition path and the object adjacent information ;
Means for shifting focus along the focus transition path based on focus position information representing a current position of focus and the remote control command set in response to an operation of the single cursor key. Data broadcasting object selection device. 2. The data broadcast object selection device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of objects are two-dimensionally arranged on the display screen of the data broadcast . 3. The data broadcasting object selection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object adjacency information includes parameters of nav-index, nav-up, nav-down, nav-left, and nav-right of a script of data broadcasting content. hints, object selecting device of the data broadcast, wherein the remote control command set is created using these parameters. 4. The data broadcast object selection device according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined time period elapses after the focus is changed to an object, the data broadcast content of the object is determined as a selection item. Data broadcasting object selection device. An object selection device that selects an object on a data broadcast display screen by operating a single cursor key provided on a remote control ,
Means for obtaining data broadcast content;
Means for extracting object information including coordinate information that defines the arrangement position of the object and object adjacent information that defines the relationship between adjacent objects from the acquired script of the data broadcast content;
From the extracted object information, means for creating an object arrangement information for identifying the location of objects on the display screen,
A means for determining a closed-loop focus transition path in which the focus sequentially transitions on the object based on the created object arrangement information;
Means for creating a remote control command set defining a focus transition between adjacent objects on a focus transition path based on the focus transition path and the object adjacent information ;
Means for generating a timing signal defining a time interval during which the focus transitions between adjacent objects;
In accordance with the operation of the single cursor key , the focus is defined by the timing signal along the focus transition path based on the focus position information indicating the current focus position, the remote control command set, and the timing signal. A data broadcasting object selection device comprising focus transition means for sequentially transitioning on an object at a predetermined time interval. 6. The data broadcast object selection device according to claim 5, wherein a first cursor signal and a second cursor signal are alternately transmitted each time a single cursor key provided on the remote controller is operated, and the focus is selected. The data broadcasting object selection device, wherein the transition means sequentially shifts the focus when the first cursor signal is input and stops the focus transition when the second cursor signal is input.