US 6,118,442 A · Graphical-interactive-screen display apparatus and peripheral units

Abstract

A program receiver for displaying a graphical interactive picture by receiving a program transmitted from a program transmitter, the program receiver comprising: a storage unit for storing a plurality of basic picture elements in advance, the plurality of basic picture elements being figures composing the graphical interactive picture manipulated by a user; a signal receipt unit for receiving a signal transmitted from the program transmitter, the signal being a multiplex signal including a program and data specifying a structure of the graphical interactive picture; a signal separation unit for separating the signal received by the signal receipt unit into a program signal and a graphical-interactive-picture-structure specification data signal; a first graphical interactive picture generation unit for generating the graphical interactive picture by combining the basic picture elements stored in the storage unit based on the graphical-interactive-picture-structure specification data signal from the signal separation unit; and a display unit for displaying the graphical interactive picture generated by the first graphical interactive picture generation unit.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A synthesis apparatus including a plurality of appliances for synthesizing menu information withheld by each appliance, said menu information being hierarchical information enabling a user to control said appliances interactively,

(1) one of said plurality of appliances including:
first menu storage means for storing first menu information, said first menu information being hierarchical information to be used to control said one appliance;
menu information receipt means for receiving the menu information from the other appliances;
menu information synthesis means for synthesizing the menu information received by said menu information receipt means and first menu information stored in said first menu information storage unit, resulting synthesized menu information being used as a menu-information selection menu at a highest position in a hierarchy;
and
menu display means for displaying the menu-information selection menu generated by said menu information synthesis means,
(2) each of the other appliances including:
menu storage means for storing the menu information unique to each appliance, the menu information being hierarchical information to be used to control each appliance;
and
menu transmission means for transmitting the unique menu information in said menu storage means to said one appliance.

7 more elements

A synthesis method for synthesizing a plurality of pieces of hierarchical menu information used for interactively setting operations, the synthesis method comprising:

a first menu storage step for previously storing first hierarchical menu information used for interactively setting operations in a first storage area;
a second menu storage step for previously storing second hierarchical menu information used for interactively setting operations in a second storage area;
a synthesis rule storage step for previously storing synthesis rules regulating synthesis of the plurality of pieces of hierarchical menu information in a third storage area;
a menu information synthesis step for synthesizing the first hierarchical menu information and the second hierarchical menu information to generate a menu in accordance with the synthesis rules;
and
a menu display step for displaying the menu generated in said menu information synthesis step.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Graphical-interactive-screen display apparatus and peripheral units

Life of this patent

Graphical-interactive-screen display apparatus and peripheral units

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8