Sony Corporation

Kunio Hakamada

Satoshi Inashima

Hideo Wakabayashi

Toshio Amano

Kiyoshi Ogawa

Osamu Oda

Hirofumi Usui

Takashi Otani

Yoshinori Komiya

Satoshi Ishiguro

Sumio Baba

Makoto Hiyamizu

Noriyuki Hitachiya

Kiyoshi Terada

Shizuo Hanamura

Yoshiyuki Idenawa

Hirokatsu Kubota

A device having a display device employing a cathode-ray tube and an electron beam includes an on-screen display memory for storing data used to display white on an entire screen of the cathode-ray tube, a circuit for supplying signals used to display white on the entire screen of the said display device employing the electron beam based on the data stored in the on-screen display memory, and a controller for outputting a signal indicative of a command for displaying white on the entire screen from the on-screen display memory in accordance with a de-energizing operation. The signals used to display white on an entire screen of the cathode-ray tube are output to the display device employing the electron beam after the device having the display device is de-energized. Displayed contents are erased by removing a residual high voltage in the display device employing the electron beam.

Display device using electron beam and method of erasing display screen

A television receiver is adapted for displaying, in superimposition on a master picture of a channel received by a first tuner, a slave picture of a channel received by a second tuner. The television receiver includes a scanner key for scanning the channel received by the second tuner, a return key for terminating the scanning and a controlling circuit responsive to the operation of the scanner key and the return key for selecting the channel to be received by a receiving circuit. The scanner key is operated to scan the channels received by the second tuner and the return key is operated to terminate the channel scanning to select a desired channel to be received.

Channel-scanning picture-in-picture-in-picture television receiver

A television receiver with a remote control function is provided with a novel and unique operational mode to be used during an aging process in a manufacturing line. The operational mode is to be used during the aging process, and is adapted to reproduce a predetermined picture image pattern, such as an entirely white image. Also, the television receiver in the aging mode may disable the remote control function during the aging process.

Television receiver with operational mode for aging

In a television receiver having a channel skip function capable of skipping a channel on the basis of skip flag data stored in a memory, when an automatic add key is depressed, skip flag data of a channel through which a television signal is received is automatically set to a predetermined value so as to enable the user to operate the television receiver more conveniently.

Television receiver having automatically programmable skip channel list

A television receiver incorporating a video cassette recorder and having a display, for example, a picture screen, for showing a main-channel picture within which a sub-channel picture may be superimposed, includes first and second tuners which are independently controllable for each selecting one of a number of broadcast channels, with the video signal broadcast on the channel selected by the first tuner being supplied to the display for forming the main-channel picture while the video signal broadcast on the channel selected by the second tuner is supplied to the display for forming the sub-channel picture in a sub-channel picture display mode of the receiver, and a system controller is programmed so that, when initiating a recording mode of the video cassette recorder, the second tuner is made to select the same broadcast channel as the first tuner.

Television receiver incorporating a video cassette recorder and capable

A picture-in-picture type television receiver in which a sub-picture is displayed inset into a main picture. In the television receiver of this invention the viewer, by operating a single control switch, can cause the receiver to display as the sub-picture either a moving picture or a still picture taken from either the main picture or the sub-picture at a selected point in time, at the viewer's option. When the still picture is taken from the main picture, a new still picture is displayed each time the control switch is operated, whereas when the still picture is taken from the sub-picture, the display of the still picture and the display of a real moving picture are alternately carried out each time the control switch is operated.

Still sub-picture-in-picture television receiver

A television receiver of the type which simultaneously displays a main, live picture and one or more sub-pictures inset therein and which is provided with a step-by-step switch and associated circuitry which allows the user to operate the step-by-step switch and either display the main, live picture and as sub-pictures, a series of still pictures taken at different points in time from the main picture, or the main, live picture and as sub-pictures a series of still pictures taken at different points in time from a second video signal along with a live sub-picture of the second video signal.

Picture-in picture television receiver with step-by-step still picture

A picture-in-picture television receiver is so arranged that the compression ratio of a sub-picture discrimination character displayed on a sub-picture screen relative to a main picture discrimination character is selected to be smaller than that of the sub-picture relative to the main picture, whereby the sub-picture discrimination character is displayed relatively large in an easier-to-see form.

Television receiver

Apparatus for use in a television receiver of the kind controlled by a micro-computer is intended for the situation in which power failures occur and specifically where instantaneous power failures occur and shortly thereafter the power is recovered, in which it is determined whether or not the time display data stored in a memory of the micro-computer is correct and, if so, such data is continued to be refreshed and is used for the time display, whereby a backup circuit is simplified in construction, and even eliminated in some cases. The main television receiver control data are stored in a nonvolatile memory when a power interruption occurs, but are only used to refresh the random access memory of the micro-computer in those instances where the power outage exists for a period of time long enough to erase the time display data retained in the random access memory, a condition that is determined by checking such time display data each time it is necessary to reset the central processing unit of the micro-computer in view of a drop in line voltage.

Apparatus controlled by a micro-computer and including power loss data

A picture-in-picture type television receiver in which a sub-picture screen is inset within a main picture screen to allow the same or different pictures to be simultaneously displayed and which includes a circuit for separately displaying the channel numbers of both the main and sub-picture screens momentarily whenever the picture content of the sub-picture screen is changed and whenever the picture content of the main picture is changed if the sub-picture is display.

Picture-in-picture television receiver with separate channel display

According to the invention, there is provided a so-called picture-in-picture type television receiver in which a sub-picture screen is displayed within a main picture screen in a picture-in-picture fashion. When a picture based on a base band video signal from an external source such as a VTR, for example, is displayed on the sub-picture screen, if the sub-picture channel selecting means is then operated, the picture of a broadcast television channel is then automatically displayed on the sub-picture screen. This feature allows the omission of a video signal source switching means for the sub-picture, thus protecting the viewer from being confused when using the controls of the television receiver.

Picture-in-picture television receiver

A picture-in-picture type television receiver in which a sub-picture screen is provided within a main picture screen and the pictures on the main and sub-picture screens can be exchanged by a viewer operated control. According to this television receiver, when a command for exchanging the pictures is issued, if the picture displayed on the main picture screen is of a PAY channel (CABLE CHANNEL), the main and sub-channels cannot be exchanged with each other, and the exchange of the pictures is inhibited. The viewer is warned of this exchange inhibition for a predetermined time period. Thus, the user can utilize the television receiver more conveniently and is relieved of any anxiety when the pictures are inhibited from being exchanged with each other.

A switched power supply is connected to electronic circuitry the supply of power to which is to be controlled. An automatic switch enables the switched power supply selectively to energize or de-energize the electronic circuitry. A nominally continuous power supply is also provided, and a reset signal generator is connected thereto for generating a reset signal in response to a rising edge of an output voltage of the nominally continuous power supply following an interruption of the output voltage. A power switch is provided, together with a reset device actuated by the reset signal and a switching circuit controller connected to the automatic switch. A memory is connected to the switching circuit controller for memorizing the condition thereof and producing a memory output signal in response thereto. A detector detects the condition of the power switch and produces a detector output signal in response thereto. The switching circuit controller is connected to the reset device, the memory and the detector and generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the automatic switch in joint dependence on the memory output signal and the detector output signal when the reset device is actuated.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Kunio Hakamada