Display apparatus and control method thereof

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a display device, the method comprising the steps of: outputting first CP content provided from a content provider (CP); receiving a first control signal while the first CP content is being output; and allocating the first CP content to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display device for providing content to a user. Background Art

[0002] As the information society develops, the demand for display devices in various forms has also increased. In response to this trend, various display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), field emission displays (FEDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electroluminescent devices, etc. have been developed recently.

[0003] The liquid crystal panel of the LCD may include a liquid crystal layer, and may further include a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate and a color filter substrate arranged to face each other with the liquid crystal panel interposed therebetween, and may display an image using light provided from a backlight unit.

[0004] As an example of an electroluminescent device, an active matrix organic light emitting display (OLED) device is commercially available in the market and is widely used all over the world. Since the OLED device is a self-luminous device, the OLED device has no backlight and is advantageous in terms of response speed and viewing angle compared to an LCD, so that the OLED device is attracting attention as a next-generation display.

[0005] In addition, recently, users increasingly view contents provided by content providers (hereinafter, CPs) as well as contents received through broadcast receivers.

[0006] However, in order to watch the content provided by the CP, the user needs to visit the CP platform to search and play the content every time, which is inconvenient. Summary of the invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] The present disclosure is to solve the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a display device which allocates channels to contents provided by a CP and a control method thereof.

[0009] Technical Solution

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling a display device includes the following steps: outputting first CP content provided from a content provider (CP); receiving a first control signal while the first CP content is being output; and allocating the first CP content to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

[0011] Furthermore, the method may include the step of: after allocating the first CP content to the first channel, allocating second CP content related to the first CP content to a second channel among broadcast channels, wherein the second channel is related to the first channel.

[0012] Furthermore, the method may include the step of outputting a modal dialog for assigning the third CP content to a third channel among broadcast channels if there is a third CP content related to the first CP content, wherein the third channel is related to the first channel.

[0013] In addition, the method may include the following steps: receiving the number of automatically recommended channel assignments from a user, and after assigning the first CP content to the first channel, assigning at least one CP content related to the first CP content to a channel related to the first channel among broadcast channels based on the number of automatically recommended channel assignments.

[0014] In addition, the method may include the following steps: after assigning the first CP content to the first channel, receiving a second control signal for selecting the first channel from a remote controller; outputting the first CP content based on the second control signal; and outputting a recommended content list including at least one content related to the first CP content while the first CP content is being output.

[0015] In addition, the method may include the following steps: if the second CP content assigned to the second channel satisfies the first condition, the second CP content is assigned to the first channel or the second channel is deleted, wherein the first condition includes a situation in which the user has not watched the second CP content for a first period of time and a situation in which the second CP content has not been updated for a second period of time.

[0016] In addition, the method may include the following steps: after the first CP content is assigned to the first channel, receiving a third control signal for selecting the first channel from a remote controller; if there is a remaining playback time of the first CP content assigned to the first channel, playing the first CP content in full screen; and when there is no remaining playback time of the first CP content assigned to the first channel, outputting the main screen of the content provider.

[0017] Furthermore, the first control signal may be a first mode received from a remote controller.

[0018] In addition, the first control signal may be a signal for a user to select a first button provided by a content provider.

[0019] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a display device includes: a communication unit configured to communicate with a remote controller; a display module configured to output content; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to: output first CP content provided from a content provider (CP) through the display module, receive a first control signal from the remote controller while the first CP content is being output, and assign the first CP content to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

[0020] Beneficial Effects

[0021] The display device of the present disclosure can more easily play the content provided by the content provider, thereby improving the convenience of the user in using the display device.

[0022] Effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating constituent elements of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of automatically allocating CP contents to broadcast channels in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of automatically allocating CP contents to broadcast channels in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of switching channels in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of outputting a recommended content list in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of deleting or merging channels to which CP contents have been allocated in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of playing CP content in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Fig.10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Now will be described in detail according to the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or equivalent components may be provided with the same reference numerals, and their description will not be repeated. Generally, suffixes such as "module" and "unit" may be used to refer to elements or components. Such suffixes are used herein only to facilitate the description of the specification, and the suffixes themselves are not intended to give any special meaning or function. In the present disclosure, for the sake of brevity, the contents known to ordinary technicians in the relevant field are generally omitted. The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features, and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the present disclosure should be interpreted as extending to any changes, equivalents and substitutes other than those specifically set forth in the accompanying drawings.

[0034] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are generally used only to distinguish one element from another.

[0035] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, the element may be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected to" another element, there are no intervening elements.

[0036] A singular expression may include a plural expression unless it indicates a meaning clearly different from the context.

[0037] Terms such as “including” or “having” are used herein, and it should be understood that they are intended to indicate the presence of several components, functions, or steps disclosed in the specification, and it should also be understood that more or fewer components, functions, or steps may be similarly utilized.

[0038] On the other hand, the image display device described herein is an intelligent image display device realized by, for example, adding a computer support function to a broadcast receiving function, and also includes an Internet function, etc. while fully performing the broadcast receiving function, so that the image display device can have a user-friendly interface such as a handwriting input device, a touch screen, or a space remote controller. In addition, the image display device can support a wired or wireless Internet function by connecting to the Internet and a computer device, thereby performing e-mail, web browsing, banking, or games. In order to realize these functions, the image display device can operate based on a standard general-purpose operating system (OS).

[0039] Therefore, the image display device according to the present disclosure is designed in such a way that various applications can be easily added to or deleted from a general OS kernel, so that the image display device can perform various user-friendly functions. The image display device may be, for example, a network TV, a hybrid broadcast broadband TV (HBBTV), a smart TV, etc. The image display device is applicable to a smartphone as needed.

[0040] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating constituent elements of a display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Reference Figure 1 , the display device 100 may include a broadcast receiving unit 110, an external device interface unit 171, a network interface unit 172, a storage unit 140, a user input interface unit 173, an input unit 130, a controller 180, a display module 150, an audio output unit 160 and / or a power supply unit 190.

[0042] The broadcast receiving unit 110 may include a tuner unit 111 and a demodulator 112 .

[0043] Although not shown in the drawings, the display device 100 may include only the external device interface unit 171 and the network interface unit 172 among the broadcast receiving unit 110, the external device interface unit 171, and the network interface unit 172. That is, the display device 100 may not include the broadcast receiving unit 110.

[0044] The tuner unit 111 may select a broadcast signal corresponding to a user-selected channel or all pre-stored channels from among broadcast signals received through an antenna (not shown) or a cable (not shown). The tuner unit 111 may convert the selected broadcast signal into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal or a baseband image or sound signal.

[0045] For example, when the selected broadcast signal is a digital broadcast signal, the tuner unit 111 may convert the selected broadcast signal into a digital IF (DIF) signal. When the selected broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal, the tuner unit 111 may convert the selected broadcast signal into an analog baseband image or sound signal (CVBS / SIF). That is, the tuner unit 111 may process a digital broadcast signal or an analog broadcast signal. The analog baseband image or sound signal (CVBS / SIF) output from the tuner unit 111 may be directly input to the controller 180.

[0046] The tuner unit 111 may sequentially select broadcast signals of all broadcast channels stored by a channel storage function from among received broadcast signals and may convert the selected broadcast signal into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal or a baseband image or sound signal.

[0047] The tuner unit 111 may include a plurality of tuners to receive broadcast signals of a plurality of channels. Alternatively, a single tuner for simultaneously receiving broadcast signals of a plurality of channels is also possible.

[0048] The demodulator 112 may receive the digital IF signal (DIF) converted by the tuner unit 111, and may thus perform demodulation of the received signal. The demodulator 112 may perform demodulation and channel decoding, and may output a stream signal (TS). The stream signal may be a signal formed by multiplexing an image signal, a sound signal, or a data signal.

[0049] The stream signal (TS) output from the demodulator 112 may be input to the controller 180. The controller 180 may perform demultiplexing, image / audio signal processing, etc., may output an image through the display module 150, and may output a sound through the audio output unit 160.

[0050] The sensing unit 120 may sense a change in the display device 100 or may sense an external change. For example, the sensing unit 120 may include a proximity sensor, an illumination sensor, a touch sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor (e.g., a camera), a sound sensor (e.g., a microphone), a battery gauge, an environmental sensor (e.g., a hygrometer, a thermometer, etc.).

[0051] The controller 180 may check the state of the display apparatus 100 based on the information collected by the sensing unit 120 , may notify a user of a problem, or may control the display apparatus 100 to be maintained in an optimal state.

[0052] In addition, an optimal viewing environment can be provided by differently controlling the content, image quality, size, etc. of the image provided to the display module 180 according to the viewer sensed by the sensing unit, the ambient illumination, etc. With the development of smart TVs, the number of functions installed in the display device has increased, and the number of sensing units 20 has also increased along with the increase in functions.

[0053] The input unit 130 may be provided at one side of the body of the display device 100. For example, the input unit 130 may include a touch pad, a physical button, etc. The input unit 130 may receive various user commands related to the operation of the display device 100, and may transmit a control signal corresponding to the input command to the controller 180.

[0054] Recently, as the size of the frame of the display device 100 is reduced, the number of display devices 100 each including the minimum number of input units 130 formed with physical buttons exposed to the outside is rapidly increasing. In contrast, the minimum number of physical buttons may be provided on the rear surface or the side surface of the display device 100. The display device may receive a user input through the remote controller 200 through a touch panel or a user input interface unit 173 to be described later.

[0055] The storage unit 140 may store a program for processing and controlling each signal used in the controller 180, and may store a signal-processed image, sound, or data signal. For example, the storage unit 140 may store application programs designed for the purpose of performing various tasks that may be processed by the controller 180, and may selectively provide some of the stored application programs according to a request of the controller 180.

[0056] The program stored in the storage unit 140 is not particularly limited to being executed by the controller 180. The storage unit 140 may perform a function for temporarily storing an image, sound, or data signal received from an external device through the external device interface unit 171. The storage unit 140 may store information about a predetermined broadcast channel through a channel memory function such as a channel map.

[0057] although Figure 1 The storage unit 140 is provided separately from the controller 180 , but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the storage unit 140 may also be included in the controller 180 as needed.

[0058] The storage unit 140 may include at least one of a volatile memory (eg, DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.) and a nonvolatile memory (eg, a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), etc.).

[0059] The display module 150 may generate a driving signal by converting an image signal, data signal, OSD signal, control signal processed by the controller 180 or by converting an image signal, data signal, control signal, etc. received from the interface unit 171. The display module 150 may include a display panel 181 having a plurality of pixels.

[0060] The plurality of pixels included in the display panel may include RGB sub-pixels. Alternatively, the plurality of pixels included in the display panel may include RGBW sub-pixels. The display module 150 may convert image signals, data signals, OSD signals, control signals, etc. processed by the controller 180 to generate drive signals for the plurality of pixels.

[0061] The display module 150 may be implemented as a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, etc. In addition, the display module 150 may also be implemented as a three-dimensional (3D) display. The three-dimensional (3D) display module 150 may be classified into a naked eye type 3D display and a glasses type 3D display.

[0062] The display device may include a display module occupying most of a front surface, and a case covering a rear surface and side surfaces of the display module and encapsulating the display module.

[0063] Recently, the display device 100 has evolved from a flat screen display to a curved screen display. To implement a curved screen, the display device 100 may use a display module 150 that can be bent or curved, such as a light emitting diode (LED) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED).

[0064] Conventionally, LCDs have difficulty in self-luminescence, so that conventional LCDs have been designed to receive light through a backlight unit. The backlight unit is a device for uniformly supplying light received from a light source to a liquid crystal located on the front surface of a display device. As the backlight becomes thinner, a thin LCD can be realized. However, the backlight unit is actually difficult to realize as a curved structure formed of a flexible material. Although the backlight unit is realized in a curved shape, it is difficult for light to be uniformly applied to the liquid crystal, thereby changing the brightness of the screen.

[0065] On the other hand, LED or OLED is designed in such a way that each of the constituent elements constituting a pixel can emit light by itself without using a backlight unit, so that LED or OLED can be implemented in a curved shape without any problem. In addition, since each element can perform self-emission of light, the brightness of each element is not affected by changes in the positional relationship between the element and the adjacent elements, so that the curved display module 150 can be implemented as LED or OLED.

[0066] OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panels began to appear in full swing in the mid-2010s and are rapidly replacing LCDs in the small and medium-sized display market. OLED is a display made using the self-luminous property of OLEDs in which OLEDs emit light when current flows in fluorescent organic compounds. Since the response speed of OLEDs is faster than that of LCDs, there is almost no afterimage when realizing moving images.

[0067] OLED can be used as a light-emitting display product. In this case, the light-emitting display device can use three fluorescent organic compounds (such as red, green and blue), each of which has a self-luminous function, and the light-emitting display device can use a self-luminous phenomenon in which positive (+) charged particles and electrons injected from the cathode and the anode are combined with each other in the organic material, so that there is no need to use a backlight unit that causes color deterioration.

[0068] The LED panel is implemented by a technology that uses only one LED element as one pixel and has smaller LED elements than the prior art, making it possible to implement a curved display module 150. Although a conventional device called an LED TV can use LEDs as a light source of a backlight unit to supply light to an LCD, the LEDs of the conventional device cannot constitute a screen.

[0069] The display module may include a display panel, a coupling magnet located on the rear surface of the display panel, a first power supply unit, and a first signal module. The display panel may include a plurality of pixels (R, G, B). A plurality of pixels (R, G, B) may be formed in each region where a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines intersect each other. A plurality of pixels (R, G, B) may be arranged in a matrix.

[0070] For example, the plurality of pixels (R, G, B) may include a red (R) sub-pixel, a green (G) sub-pixel, and a blue (B) sub-pixel. The plurality of pixels (R, G, B) may further include a white (W) sub-pixel.

[0071] In the display module 150, a side where an image is displayed may be referred to as a front side or a front surface. When the display module 150 displays an image, a side where the image is not observed may be referred to as a rear side or a rear surface.

[0072] Furthermore, the display module 150 may be implemented as a touch screen so that the display module 150 can be used as an input device in addition to an output device.

[0073] The audio output unit 160 may receive a sound-processed signal from the controller 180 and may output the received signal as a sound signal.

[0074] The interface unit 170 may serve as a connection path to various external devices connected to the display device 100. The interface unit may include not only a wired method for transmitting / receiving data through a cable but also a wireless method using an antenna.

[0075] The interface unit 170 may include at least one of a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port connected to a device with an identification module, an audio input / output (I / O) port, a video I / O port, and a headphone port.

[0076] As an example of a wireless method, the above-mentioned broadcast receiving unit 110 may be used. The broadcast receiving unit 110 may be configured to use a broadcast signal, a mobile communication short-range communication signal, a wireless Internet signal, or the like.

[0077] The external device interface unit 171 may transmit or receive data to or from a connected external device. To this end, the external device interface unit 171 may include an A / V input / output (I / O) unit (not shown).

[0078] The external device interface unit 171 can be connected to an external device such as a digital versatile disc (DVD) player, a Blu-ray player, a game console, a camera, a camcorder, a computer (laptop), a set-top box, etc. by wire or wirelessly, and can perform input / output (I / O) operations with the external device.

[0079] In addition, the external device interface unit 171 may establish a communication network with various remote controllers 200 , may receive a control signal related to the operation of the display device 100 from the remote controller 200 , or may transmit data related to the operation of the display device 100 to the remote controller 200 .

[0080] The external device interface unit 171 may include a wireless communication unit (not shown) for short-range wireless communication with other electronic devices. Through the wireless communication unit (not shown), the external device interface unit 171 can exchange data with an adjacent mobile terminal. In particular, the external device interface unit 171 can receive device information, application information, application images, etc. from the mobile terminal in the mirroring mode.

[0081] The network interface unit 172 may provide an interface for connecting the display device 100 to a wired / wireless network including an Internet network. For example, the network interface unit 172 may receive content or data provided by the Internet, a content provider, or a network administrator through a network. The network interface unit 172 may include a communication module (not shown) for connecting to a wired / wireless network.

[0082] The external device interface unit 171 and / or the network interface unit 172 may include communication modules for short-range communication such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), and communication modules for cellular communication such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A (Advanced LTE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), WiBro (Wireless Broadband), etc.

[0083] The user input interface unit 173 may transmit a user input signal to the controller 180, or may transmit a signal received from the controller 180 to the user. For example, the user input interface unit 173 may transmit or receive a user input signal (such as a power on / off signal, a channel selection signal, and a screen setting signal) to or from the remote controller 200, may transmit a user input signal received through a local key (not shown) such as a power key, a channel key, a volume key, and a setting key to the controller 180, may transmit a user input signal received by a sensor unit (not shown) for sensing a user gesture to the controller 180, or may transmit a signal received from the controller 180 to the sensor unit.

[0084] The controller 180 may include at least one processor, and may use the processor included therein to control the overall operation of the display device 100. Here, the processor may be a general-purpose processor such as a CPU. Of course, the processor may be a dedicated device such as an ASIC, or other hardware-based processors.

[0085] The controller 180 may demultiplex a stream received through the tuner unit 111 , the demodulator 112 , the external device interface unit 171 , or the network interface unit 172 , and may process the demultiplexed signal to generate and output a signal for image or sound output.

[0086] The image signal processed by the controller 180 may be input to the display module 150 and displayed as an image corresponding to the corresponding image signal. In addition, the image signal processed by the controller 180 may be input to an external output device through the external device interface unit 171.

[0087] The sound (or audio) signal processed by the controller 180 may be audibly output to the audio output unit 160. In addition, the sound signal processed by the controller 180 may be input to an external output device through the external device interface unit 171. Figure 2 , but the controller 180 may include a demultiplexer, an image processor, etc., and will be referred to below. Figure 3 Describe its detailed description.

[0088] In addition, the controller 180 may control the overall operation of the display apparatus 100. For example, the controller 180 may control the tuner unit 111 to select a broadcast program corresponding to a channel selected by a user or a pre-stored channel.

[0089] In addition, the controller 180 may control the display device 100 through a user command or an internal program received via the user input interface unit 173. The controller 180 may control the display module 150 to display an image. In this case, the image displayed on the display module 150 may be a still image or a moving image, and may be a 2D image or a 3D image.

[0090] On the other hand, the controller 180 may display a predetermined 2D object in the image displayed on the display module 150. For example, the object may be at least one of a connected web screen (newspaper, magazine, etc.), an electronic program guide (EPG), various menus, widgets, icons, still images, moving images, and text.

[0091] In addition, the controller 180 may modulate and / or demodulate a signal using an amplitude shift keying (ASK) scheme. Here, the ASK scheme may refer to a method for modulating a signal by differentiating the amplitude of a carrier according to a data value or for restoring an analog signal to a digital data value according to the amplitude of a carrier.

[0092] For example, the controller 180 may modulate the image signal using the ASK scheme, and may transmit the modulated signal through the wireless communication module.

[0093] For example, the controller 180 may demodulate and process an image signal received through the wireless communication module using an ASK scheme.

[0094] Therefore, the display apparatus 100 can simply transmit and receive signals to and from other image display apparatuses arranged adjacent to each other without using unique identifiers such as media access control (MAC) addresses or complex communication protocols such as TCP / IP.

[0095] On the other hand, the display device 100 may further include a shooting unit (not shown). The shooting unit may shoot the user. The shooting unit may be implemented as one camera, but is not limited thereto, and the shooting unit may be implemented by a plurality of cameras. On the other hand, the shooting unit may be embedded in the display device 100 or may be separately arranged on the display module 150. The image information shot by the shooting unit may be input to the controller 180.

[0096] The controller 180 may identify the user's position based on the image captured by the capturing unit. For example, the controller 180 may identify the distance (z-axis coordinate) between the user and the display device 100. In addition, the controller 180 may identify the X-axis coordinate and the Y-axis coordinate corresponding to the user's position within the display module 150.

[0097] The controller 180 may sense a user gesture based on each of an image photographed by the photographing unit, a signal detected by the sensor unit, or a combination thereof.

[0098] The power supply unit 190 may supply corresponding power to the display device 100. In particular, power may be supplied to the controller 180 implemented as a system on chip (SoC), the display module 150 for displaying an image, and the audio output unit 160 for audio output.

[0099] Specifically, the power supply unit 190 may include a converter (not shown) for converting AC power into DC power and a DC / DC converter (not shown) for converting a level of the DC power.

[0100] On the other hand, the power supply unit 190 may receive power from an external power source and may distribute the received power to corresponding components. The power supply unit 190 may be directly connected to an external power source to supply AC power and may include a battery that can be electrically charged.

[0101] In the former case, the power supply unit 190 can be used by connecting to a wired cable, and the power supply unit 190 is difficult to move from one place to another, and the range of movement of the power supply unit 190 is limited. In the latter case, the power supply unit 190 can be moved from one place to another, but the weight and volume of the power supply unit 190 may increase by as much as the weight and volume of the battery. In addition, in order to charge, the power supply unit 190 should be directly connected to the power cable for a predetermined period of time, or should be connected to a charging stand (not shown) for power supply.

[0102] The charging stand may be connected to the display device through a terminal exposed to the outside. Alternatively, if the power supply unit 190 is close to the charging stand using a wireless interface, the built-in battery of the power supply unit 190 may also be charged with electricity.

[0103] The remote controller 200 may send a user input to the user input interface unit 173. To this end, the remote controller 200 may use Bluetooth, radio frequency (RF) communication, infrared (IR) communication, ultra-wideband (UWB), ZigBee, etc. In addition, the remote controller 200 may receive an image, sound, or data signal output from the user input interface unit 173, and may display or audibly output the received image, sound, or data signal.

[0104] On the other hand, the above-mentioned display device 100 may be a fixed or mobile digital broadcast receiver capable of receiving digital broadcast signals.

[0105] also, Figure 1 The block diagram of the display device 100 shown is disclosed for illustrative purposes only with respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 1 The corresponding components of the display device 100 shown may be integrated, added, or omitted according to the specifications of the display device 100 actually implemented.

[0106] That is, if necessary, two or more components may be combined into one component, or one component may be subdivided into two or more components. In addition, the functions performed in each frame are intended to explain the embodiments of the present disclosure, and specific operations or devices do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0107] Broadcast service platforms include IPTV and CATV, and there are program providers (PP) that provide real-time broadcast content. In addition, there are content providers (CPs) that operate platforms such as Netflix and YouTube and provide content. Hereinafter, content provided by content providers such as Netflix and YouTube is referred to as CP content.

[0108] Recently commercialized display devices may output CP contents received from a content provider through a network separately from outputting contents provided from a broadcast service platform through a broadcast receiver.

[0109] However, in the past, a user had to perform the following steps to watch content provided by a content provider (CP) through a TV.

[0110] The user presses a home key, selects a desired CP icon, and searches and plays desired content within the CP platform when the CP platform is executed.

[0111] Since various CPs provide contents recently, a user may need to select contents provided by a CP like selecting a broadcast channel on a TV.

[0112] To this end, the present disclosure proposes a method of allocating contents provided by a CP to a TV channel and allowing a user to directly watch the contents using an up key, a down key, and number keys of the TV channel.

[0113] Will refer to Figures 2 to 9 Embodiments of the present disclosure that solve the above-mentioned problems are described.

[0114] However, for ease of description, not every component of the above display device 100 is illustrated in the drawings, and only a display module of the display device 100 is illustrated. Actual operations performed by the display device 100 are performed by the above controller, but are described as being performed by the display device 100.

[0115] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0116] Reference Figure 2 (a), the display device 100 may output the CP content 201 provided from the content provider through the display module.

[0117] In an embodiment, the display device 100 may receive a control signal from the remote controller 200 while the CP content 201 is being output. Here, the control signal may correspond to a specific mode received from the remote controller 200. For example, the user may select a preset button of the remote controller 200. Additionally, the user may input a gesture of rotating a pointer or cursor of the remote controller 200 once.

[0118] Reference Figure 2 (b), the display apparatus 100 may allocate the CP content 201 to a first channel 202 among broadcast channels of the display apparatus 100 based on the control signal.

[0119] More specifically, the display apparatus 100 has allocated a broadcast channel corresponding to the content received through the broadcast receiver. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the existing broadcast channels, the CP content 201 may be allocated to the first channel 202 which is an empty channel among the broadcast channels.

[0120] That is, when existing broadcast channels are allocated from 1ch to 100ch, the display apparatus 100 may allocate the CP content 201 to 101ch based on the control signal. At this time, the display apparatus 100 may output information on the allocated channel.

[0121] In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, even if the display apparatus 100 does not manually register the CP content 201 based on the control signal, when the user turns off the display apparatus 100 while watching the CP content 201 , the display apparatus 100 may allocate the CP content 201 to the first channel 202 .

[0122] Therefore, when the user turns on the display apparatus 100 again, the CP content 201 allocated to the first channel 202 may be output instead of one of the existing broadcast channels.

[0123] Figure 3is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0124] Reference Figure 3 (a), the display device 100 may output the CP content 301 provided from the content provider through the display module.

[0125] In an embodiment, the display device 100 may receive the first control signal from the remote controller 200 while the CP content 301 is being output. Figure 2 In different embodiments, the first control signal corresponds to a signal for selecting a first button 302a provided by a content provider. Here, the first button 302a provided by the content provider may be variously described as a subscription button, a like button, a follow button, etc., but indicates a user's preference for the CP content 301.

[0126] In addition, in another embodiment, the display device 100 may receive a second control signal from the remote controller 200 while the CP content 301 is being output. Here, the second control signal corresponds to a signal for selecting a second button 302b provided by a content provider. Here, the second button 302b corresponds to a share button for the CP content 301 provided by the content provider. That is, when the user selects the share button for the CP content 301, the display device 100 may determine that the user intends to assign the CP content 301 to a broadcast channel.

[0127] Reference Figure 3 (b), the display apparatus 100 may allocate the CP content 301 to the first channel 303 among the broadcast channels of the display apparatus 100 based on the control signal. At this time, the display apparatus 100 may output the text corresponding to the allocated first channel 303 by overlaying the text on the CP content 301.

[0128] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of automatically allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the display device 100 may allocate a first CP content to a first channel and then allocate a second CP content related to the first CP content to a second channel among broadcast channels. Here, the second channel is related to the first channel.

[0130] More specifically, Figure 4 (a) and (b) with Figure 3That is, the display device 100 may allocate the first CP content 401 to the first channel (eg, IP-174, 402).

[0131] Reference Figure 4 (c), after allocating the first CP content 401 to the first channel 402, the display device 100 may allocate the second CP content 403 related to the first CP content 401 to the second channel 404. Here, if the first CP content 401 is a series content, the second CP content 403 may be naturally determined as the next series of the first CP content 401.

[0132] In addition, the second channel 404 corresponds to a number similar to that of the first channel 402. For example, if the first channel 402 is IP-174, the second channel 404 may be IP-174-1. Here, the channel number of the first channel 402 may be arbitrarily assigned, but if the second CP content 403 is content related to the first CP content 401, the second channel 404 may be assigned a number similar to that of the first channel 402.

[0133] Although not shown in the drawing, the channel number of the first channel 402 may be directly set by the user or set to one of a random or specific digital frequency band, and may be changed by additional setting after being allocated.

[0134] In addition, although not shown in the figure, when there is a third CP content (not shown) related to the first CP content 401, the display device 100 can output a modal dialogue for assigning the third CP content to a third channel among broadcast channels. Here, the third channel is a channel related to the first channel like the second channel. That is, in addition to the implementation method of automatically registering the related CP content to the broadcast channel, the display device 100 can also output a modal dialogue to ask the user whether to assign the channel.

[0135] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of automatically allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the display device 100 may receive the number of automatically recommended channel assignments from the user. For example, the user may set two automatically recommended channel assignments through a setting menu. In this case, since Figure 5 An example of a case where the number of automatically recommended channel assignments is set to 2 is shown, and thus the second CP content 503 and the third CP content 505 are illustrated as content related to the first CP content 501, but the number of automatically recommended channel assignments may be any number.

[0137] In this case, after assigning the first CP content 501 to the first channel 502, the display device 100 can assign at least one CP content 503 and 504 related to the first CP content 501 to the second channel 505 and the third channel 506 related to the first channel 502 based on the number of automatically recommended channel assignments.

[0138] Reference Figure 5 , when the first CP content 501 is Switzerland travel content provided by YouTube, the user may assign the first CP content 501 to the first channel 502 (eg, IP-175).

[0139] In an embodiment, the display device 100 may receive information about other CP contents related to or similar to the first CP content 501 from a content provider. Therefore, the display device 100 may assign the second CP content 503 to the second channel 504 (e.g., IP-176) and assign the third CP content 505 to the third channel 506 (e.g., IP-177). In this case, the display device 100 may randomly assign numbers associated with the first channel 502 to the second channel 504 and the third channel 506, or may provide recommended numbers to the user so that the user directly inputs numbers for the second channel 504 and the third channel 506.

[0140] Referring to the above example, if the first CP content 501 is Switzerland travel content provided by YouTube, the second CP content 503 may be Italy travel content provided by YouTube, and the third CP content 505 may be Japan travel content provided by YouTube.

[0141] In another embodiment, the display device 100 may assign CP contents related to the first CP content 501 from multiple types of content providers instead of a single content provider to a channel. For example, if the first CP content 501 is Swiss travel content provided by YouTube, the second CP content 503 may be other Swiss travel content provided by Netflix, and the third CP content 505 may be other Swiss travel content provided by another content provider.

[0142] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of switching channels in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0143] Reference Figure 6 , after allocating the first CP content 601 to the first channel 602 , the display apparatus 100 may receive a control signal for selecting the first channel 602 from the remote controller 200 .

[0144] Therefore, the display device 100 may output the first CP content 601 through the display module.

[0145] While the first CP content 601 is being output, a control signal requesting a channel change may be received from the remote controller 200. For example, the user may press a channel up key or a channel down key of the remote controller 200 to select another channel. Thus, the display device 100 may output the content being output on other channels.

[0146] For example, when a control signal for selecting a channel down key is received from the remote controller 200 , the display apparatus 100 may output the second content 604 being output on the second channel 603 which is a channel below the first channel 602 .

[0147] In an embodiment, the second content 604 may be CP content related to the first CP content 601 , broadcast content related to the first CP content 601 , or content unrelated to the first CP content 601 .

[0148] More specifically, when the first CP content 601 is assigned to the first channel 602 through the above embodiment, the display device 100 can automatically assign CP content related to the first CP content 601 to a channel related to the first channel 602. In this case, the second CP content 604 can be assigned to the second channel 603.

[0149] However, in another embodiment, when the first CP content 601 is assigned to the first channel 602, if the first CP content 601 is related to general broadcast content other than CP content, the first channel 602 can be set to a channel related to general broadcast content. For example, the second channel 603 can correspond to ch6, which is a historical content channel among existing broadcast content channels. At this time, if the first CP content 601 is a CP content related to history, the display device 100 can set the first channel 602 to which the first CP content 601 is assigned to ch5, which is close to ch6. Therefore, the newly assigned first CP content 601 is assigned to ch5 because it is a CP content related to history, and is assigned to ch6 as a historical content of existing broadcast content, so that the user can watch the CP content and the historical content continuously using the remote controller 200.

[0150] In another embodiment, when the user is watching the first CP content 601, the display device 100 may output the second CP content 604 according to the channel change request signal. At this time, if the user requests a channel change to another channel within a first time (e.g., 3 seconds) while the second CP content 604 is being output, the display device 100 may determine that the user is not interested in the second CP content 604. In this case, the display device 100 may not assign the second CP content 604 to the second channel 603.

[0151] That is, the display apparatus 100 may determine whether to retain or delete the channel allocation according to additional feedback from the user.

[0152] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of outputting a recommended content list in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant description will be omitted.

[0153] As described above, the display apparatus 100 may assign the first CP content 701 to the first channel 702 .

[0154] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the display apparatus 100 may assign the first CP content 701 to the first channel 702 and simultaneously output a recommended content list 703 including at least one piece of content related to the first CP content 701 .

[0155] For example, when the first CP content 701 is history-related content, the recommended content list 703 may include history-related content. In addition, the recommended content list 703 may include not only CP content of the content provider providing the first CP content 701, but also CP content of other content providers and broadcast content received from a broadcast receiver.

[0156] Here, at least one piece of content included in the recommended content list 703 may be determined based on a keyword searched for in order to view the first CP content 701. For example, if a user searches for "Hawaii travel" in order to view the first CP content 701, the content included in the recommended content list 703 may be content related to Hawaii travel in consideration of the number of views, the number of subscriptions, the number of likes, and whether the content has been recently updated.

[0157] Thereafter, although not shown in the drawing, the display apparatus 100 may allocate the content selected from the recommended content list 703 to the second channel based on a control signal from the remote controller 200. Here, the second channel may correspond to content related to the first channel 702. The description thereof is as described above.

[0158] Figure 8is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of deleting or merging channels to which CP contents have been allocated in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0159] Through the above-mentioned embodiment, the display device 100 can allocate CP content to channels. However, if a large amount of CP content is continuously allocated to channels, the number of channels increases excessively, making channel search difficult. In order to compensate for this, an embodiment of deleting channels or merging similar channels when the update frequency is low is proposed.

[0160] Reference Figure 8 (a), the display device 100 may assign the first CP content 801 to the first channel 802 with reference to Figure 8 (b), the display apparatus 100 may allocate the second CP content 803 to the second channel 804. Here, since the first CP content 801 and the second CP content 803 are related to each other, the first channel 802 and the second channel 804 may correspond to consecutive numbers.

[0161] In an embodiment, if the second CP content 803 assigned to the second channel 804 satisfies the first condition, the display device 100 may assign the second CP content 803 to the first channel 802 or delete the second channel 804. Since the case of deleting the second channel 804 is simple, the case of assigning content to the first channel 802 will be described in more detail.

[0162] If the second CP content 803 assigned to the second channel 804 satisfies the first condition, the display device 100 may merge the second CP content 803 into the first channel 802. That is, when the user uses the remote controller to connect to the first channel 802, the first CP content 801 and the second CP content 803 may be sequentially output. For example, the display device 100 may output the first CP content 801 and the second CP content 803 based on the update date.

[0163] Here, the first condition may include a situation in which the user has not watched the second CP content 803 for a first period of time (e.g., one week), a situation in which the second CP content 803 has not been updated for a second period of time (e.g., one month), a situation in which the number of views or likes of the second CP content 803 has not increased, and a situation in which the second CP content 803 is a channel that has been assigned to the second channel 804 for a third period of time (e.g., one year).

[0164] That is, since the CP content is directly uploaded from the content provider platform, the content upload speed may not be constant. In this case, since maintaining all allocated channels may cause waste, the display device 100 may merge or delete channels under certain conditions.

[0165] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of playing CP content on a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0166] Reference Fig. 9 , after allocating the first CP content 901 to the first channel, the display apparatus 100 may receive a control signal for selecting the first channel from the remote controller 200 .

[0167] At this time, the display apparatus 100 may receive a control signal for selecting the first channel from the remote controller 200 in an off state or in a state in which content assigned to another channel is being viewed.

[0168] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if there is a remaining play time of the first CP content 901 allocated to the first channel, the first CP content 901 can be played in full screen. That is, if the user turns off the power of the display device 100 or switches the channel while watching the first CP content 901, the display device 100 can record the play time of the first CP content 901 in the memory. Therefore, if there is a remaining play time of the first CP content 901, the display device 100 can play the first CP content 901 from the remaining time when the power is turned on or the first channel is selected.

[0169] On the other hand, if there is no remaining play time of the first CP content 901 allocated to the first channel, the display device 100 may output the content provider's home screen 902. More specifically, the display device 100 may output the content provider's home screen 902 that provides the first CP content 901. For example, if the first CP content 901 is CP content provided by Netflix and there is no remaining play time of the first CP content 901, the display device 100 may output Netflix's home screen.

[0170] Fig.10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of allocating CP content to a broadcast channel in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0171] In step S1001, the display device may output first CP content provided from a Content Provider (CP).

[0172] In step S1002, the display device may receive a first control signal from the remote controller while the first CP content is being output. Here, the first control signal may correspond to the first mode received from the remote controller. In addition, the first control signal may correspond to a signal for a user to select a first button provided by a content provider.

[0173] In step S1003 , the display device may allocate the first CP content to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

[0174] In addition, in an embodiment, after the first CP content is allocated to the first channel, the second CP content related to the first CP content may be allocated to the second channel among the broadcast channels. Here, the second channel is a channel related to the first channel.

[0175] Furthermore, in an embodiment, if there is a third CP content related to the first CP content, a modal dialog for allocating the third CP content to a third channel among broadcast channels may be output. Here, the third channel is a channel related to the first channel.

[0176] In addition, in an embodiment, the display device may receive the number of automatically recommended channel assignments set by the user. Therefore, after assigning the first CP content to the first channel, the display device may assign at least one CP content related to the first CP content to a channel related to the first channel among broadcast channels based on the number of automatically recommended channel assignments.

[0177] In addition, in an embodiment, after the first CP content is assigned to the first channel, the display device may receive a second control signal for selecting the first channel from the remote controller. Thereafter, the display device may output the first CP content based on the second control signal. At this time, the display device may output a recommended content list including at least one content related to the first CP content while the first CP content is being output.

[0178] In addition, in an embodiment, if the second CP content assigned to the second channel satisfies the first condition, the display device may assign the second CP content to the first channel or delete the second channel. Here, the first condition may include a case where the user has not watched the second CP content for a first period of time and a case where the second CP content has not been updated for a second period of time.

[0179] In addition, in an embodiment, after the first CP content is assigned to the first channel, the display device may receive a third control signal for selecting the first channel from the remote controller. If there is a remaining play time of the first CP content assigned to the first channel, the display device may play the first CP content in full screen according to the third control signal. On the other hand, if there is no remaining play time of the first CP content assigned to the first channel, the display device may output the main screen of the content provider.

[0180] Referenced above Figures 2 to 9 The described embodiments may be used with Fig.10Execute in the same way as in .

[0181] Therefore, it is easy to watch the content provided by the content provider, and it is possible to receive incentives from the content provider by allocating specific CP content to a preferred channel. For example, a broadcaster of a display device can request incentives from Netflix by allocating Netflix to channel 777, one of its broadcast channels.

[0182] The present disclosure may be implemented as a code that can be written to a computer-readable recording medium and can therefore be read by a computer. A computer-readable recording medium may be any type of recording device in which data can be stored in a computer-readable manner. Examples of computer-readable recording media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), ROMs, RAMs, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves (e.g., data transmission over the Internet). In addition, a computer may include a controller. Therefore, the above exemplary embodiments should be interpreted as illustrative and non-restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure shall be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the above description, and all changes falling within the meaning and equivalent scope of the appended claims are intended to be included therein.

[0183] Industrial Applicability

[0184] The present disclosure has industrial applicability because it can be repeatedly performed in a display device.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a display device, the method comprising the following steps: outputting first CP content provided by a content provider CP; receiving a first control signal while the first CP content is being output; as well as The first CP content is allocated to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: After the first CP content is allocated to the first channel, second CP content related to the first CP content is allocated to a second channel among the broadcast channels, wherein the second channel is related to the first channel.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: If third CP content related to the first CP content exists, a modal dialog for assigning the third CP content to a third channel among the broadcast channels is output, wherein the third channel is related to the first channel.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: receiving from the user a number of automatically recommended channel assignments; as well as After allocating the first CP content to the first channel, at least one CP content related to the first CP content is allocated to a channel related to the first channel among the broadcast channels based on the number of the automatically recommended channel allocations.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: After assigning the first CP content to the first channel, receiving a second control signal for selecting the first channel from a remote controller; outputting the first CP content based on the second control signal; as well as A recommended content list including at least one piece of content related to the first CP content is output while the first CP content is being output.

6. The method according to claim 2, comprising the steps of: If the second CP content assigned to the second channel satisfies a first condition, the second CP content is assigned to the first channel or the second channel is deleted, wherein the first condition includes a situation in which the user has not watched the second CP content for a first period of time and a situation in which the second CP content has not been updated for a second period of time.

7. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: After allocating the first CP content to the first channel, receiving a third control signal for selecting the first channel from a remote controller; If there is remaining play time allocated to the first CP content of the first channel, play the first CP content in full screen; as well as When there is no remaining play time allocated to the first CP content of the first channel, a home screen of the content provider is output.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first control signal is a first pattern received from a remote controller.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first control signal is a signal for a user to select a first button provided by the content provider.

10. A display device, comprising: a communication unit configured to communicate with a remote controller; A display module, wherein the display module is configured to output content; as well as Controller, Wherein, the controller is configured as: outputting, through the display module, first CP content provided by a content provider CP; receiving a first control signal from the remote controller while the first CP content is being output; and The first CP content is allocated to a first channel among broadcast channels of the display device based on the first control signal.

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