WO2002015569A1 - Multimedia frame - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to devices and methods for the display of data, comprising a primary display surface (28). According to the invention, there is a physical separation of the display of so-called primary data and so-called secondary data. The primary data, for example, television films, or PC applications are displayed on the primary display surface (28), whereas the secondary data, for example, advertisements or other PC applications are displayed on a secondary display surface (30, 54, 56, 58). A so-called multimedia frame for, for example, televisions or computer monitors may have the one or several secondary display surface(s), displayed to the user.

Description

Multimedia Framework

STATE OF THE ART

The present invention relates to devices and methods for displaying data containing a display area.

Examples of the data mentioned at the beginning are TV sets with a screen or computer monitors, cell phone displays, etc.

There are often two or sometimes several different data streams or 'data worlds' in the areas of application of the above-mentioned devices due to the economic practice with television stations and the ever increasing performance of computers.

These differ on the one hand in their technical nature, for example in the case of television, where there is a primary data stream with the actual film broadcast and a secondary data stream such as screen text, or on the other hand in their content-related nature, ie semantically, as is the case with a Computer monitor is given by the various applications running on the PC at the same time. The simultaneous running of a word processing program is only an example of this - die Text data world - and an e-mail program - the communication world - called.

Depending on the individual situation, there may also be more than two competing data streams, one of which may also be continuous and the other may be discontinuous, that is to say that the associated representation is only updated at larger intervals. On receiving devices such as television or radio devices there is also a semantic differentiation option in the primary data stream, for example in film blocks and commercial blocks.

The addressee who consumes the data streams or works in the different data worlds is over-stimulated by the multitude of information and stimuli, or the change between film and advertising block. There is overstimulation.

In order to fight against this, the consumer has learned individual defense mechanisms or working techniques, which, however, always require recurring initiative and patience:

In the case of a PC with several applications running at the same time, he often has to switch the screen display between the two or more worlds, which corresponds to closing one window in favor of another window, provided the display area - as is so often the case in daily practice - is not large enough is to be able to look at both at the same time, and the

Problem so avoid.

In the case of TV or radio consumers, it is also necessary to switch between film and screen text so that one of the two can be viewed properly. Many consumers also switch from one channel to the other when an advertising block starts on one.

The disadvantage in such situations for the consumer is that he has to or wants to choose a 'world' or a data stream, to the detriment of the other person, who can then do so due to a manual operation, such as the so-called channel hopping on TV or minimizing windows on the PC disappears from his perception and apparently relieves him.

Especially in relation to a PC user with several applications running at the same time, the multitude of information from the different applications also leads to the fact that the overview is lost. Sometimes there is a risk that time-critical tasks are left behind and are forgotten, since the relevant (software) window, from which, for example, a task results for the user, was kept in the background for too long and was therefore not visible to the user. This overload of stimuli and information leaves the

Boundaries between important and unimportant information for the consumer or PC user blur. The constant attempt to process the multitude of such stimuli and information, ie to arrange them in order to process them consciously and in a planned manner, is difficult to keep up in the long run, since it has to be done manually again and again. It is therefore harmful to health in the long term, since it creates stress to which the consumer / user is constantly exposed. The human / machine interface in this form, as can be seen from the above description, still has serious disadvantages, in particular due to the poor clarity and usability of the display areas.

SUMMARY AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

The inventive principle of the present invention, as defined in the claims, remedies this by intervening in an orderly manner and supporting the consumer / user without an operating action being necessary. Despite the multimedia diversity of the functionality offered by the devices used by the user, user convenience is increased, in particular with regard to better clarity of the display. Reference should now be made to the claims.

A physical separation of the representation between so-called primary data and so-called secondary data is proposed according to the invention. The primary data, e.g. Television films or PC applications are displayed on the primary display area, whereas the secondary data, eg advertising or other PC applications, are displayed on a secondary display area. A so-called multi-media frame for television sets or computer monitors, for example, can contain the one or more secondary display area (s) exposed to the user.

The device according to the invention with the features of claim 1 has a first aspect, based on the application on a computer and its monitor, which has the advantage that data that differ semantically for the user can be better kept in mind by him Human-machine interface in its entirety is improved.

According to a second, inventive aspect, related to the use with a receiving device, such as a television set, there is the advantage for the consumer that the multitude of information that can be called up, such as screen text or Internet content, is displayed more clearly in an Internet-compatible TV set , When information is forcibly received, for example advertising, it no longer disturbs too much.

The advantage for television broadcasters is that even more advertising can be broadcast without the consumer feeling bothered. Advantageous developments and improvements of the respective subject matter of the invention can be found in the subclaims.

According to the invention, a device and a method for displaying data, as well as a transmission method are provided which help to achieve the advantages mentioned above. The present invention is based on the knowledge that it makes sense to distinguish between more important data, the so-called primary data, and less important data, the so-called secondary data. According to the invention, this data is separated. The primary data are displayed on a primary display area, referred to below as PDF, whereas the secondary data are displayed on a secondary display area, hereinafter abbreviated as SDF.

When used in television sets, technical features in the received transmission signal can be used to split the incoming data stream, as is already known in the prior art for the display of screen text. Where the data do not differ technically but semantically, such as with advertising blocks and film, an advertising block recognition device, as is already published in various patent applications, can be used to remove the advertising block on the SDF without sound display. At the same time, you can switch to another channel that the user has previously entered, with which the PDF is then operated. This applies to broadcast signals as they are currently common, i.e. constant changes between film sections and commercial blocks.

However, the method according to the invention is also set up for other transmission methods which could come into play if the present invention has become commercially viable: in such a case, advertising blocks and films could be sent in parallel, the films being shown on the PDF and the advertising on the SDF, preferably without sound.

In accordance with its other aspect for use with computer monitors and several user applications running at the same time, the above-mentioned separation is also carried out. Applications that the user only holds in the background, as can be achieved today by minimizing a window, are preferably displayed on the SDF. The PDF is still used by the PC user as he is used to.

The PDF is therefore the conventional screen area for monitors, whereas the SDF is integrated in an inventive manner, for example, in the front frame of the monitor, so that the user or consumer can easily recognize the content displayed there.

There may also be several differently designed SDFs. For example, a rectangular frame Men should be provided, which in the following as 'multimedia' -

Frame is called. This can have several, preferably four, sections, each of which corresponds to the sides of the rectangle of the screen. The individual sections of the SDF can have different graphical display capabilities. For example, the upper, horizontal SDF can implement high-resolution pixel representations in order to be able to present pictorial representations of advertisements in a reasonable resolution, whereas the two vertical SDFs can, for example, only be alphanumeric displays in order to present certain key information that is important for the user. Such more textual representations can be, for example: the sender line and / or the subject line of e-mails, or keywords that the user can enter using a keyboard or, in the case of a television, using the remote control, a digital note, so to speak. Depending on the design, the lower, horizontal display area can also display high-resolution pixel formats in order to place additional advertising or, alternatively, only have alphanumeric display capabilities that can be used, for example, to record the body of e-mails.

The physical separation between primary data and secondary data thus achieved achieves the advantages mentioned above and the overstimulation of stimuli by the consumer or PC user is reduced. If, according to its first aspect, the transmission signal still has to be separated when using the invention in order to be able to be represented separately, then a signal analysis device is provided according to the invention, which first filters out the technical features by means of a processor-controlled, pre-programmed analysis method, which distinguish between primary data and secondary data serve, and then filters out the semantic differences between primary data and secondary data by means of a second filter device. An interface to advertising block recognition programs can be provided.

According to a further preferred aspect, an SDF can be set up for the complete reproduction of multimedia data and can have the additional coupling of loudspeakers or can have a headphone interface for acoustic reproduction. Such a device then has the advantage that two people experience different 'worlds' when used on a TV: one person sees the main film on the PDF, while the other person follows the multimedia display on the SDF using headphones. This is particularly advantageous when the television is connected for internet surfing.

The inventive implementation of the inventive principle of the separation and parallel, separate representation of primary and secondary data can be implemented in different ways depending on the area of application: When used for a television set, all technical devices, such as, in particular, the analysis device according to the invention, can be present in a set-top box which exists separately from the television set and can be coupled to it. Furthermore, the SDF can be present as a multimedia frame that can be produced in standardized dimensions in terms of size and format and that can be plugged onto conventional television sets.

In another embodiment, the set-top box itself contains the SDF. In this way of implementation, a conventional television set can be easily retrofitted according to the invention. The output of the signal analysis device, which carries the primary data, is then connected to the signal input of the television set. The set-top box receives the cable from the cable network or from the antenna as an input.

In a preferred further development, if the SDF is used to display advertising, it contains a plurality of sensors which react to a deliberate covering, for example by an opaque strip of material or the like. If a TV consumer wants to cover the advertising space, for example, so that he does not have to see the advertising, a control device connected to it can also interrupt the display of the primary data. This ensures that the advertising continues to reach TV consumers 'arrives' and is consumed. Corresponding sensors are already widely known in the prior art.

The inventive principle can also be implemented in any other display devices, such as notebooks, as well as in small devices that receive data of any kind. For example, cell phones, the so-called cell phones, are also possible, a small, separate display being provided in order to show advertising data or important information from the cell phone provider, etc., sent in parallel with the telephone speech received. All types of palm tops can also be expanded in an inventive manner. Even the so-called functional wristwatches, which have a corresponding receiving device, can have an inventive SDF.

The principle according to the invention also includes a transmission method which is characterized by the step of transmitting an information stream which contains identifiers which can be evaluated with the aid of a computer, in order subsequently to be split into a primary data stream and at least one secondary data stream. For example, at least four different information streams or data streams can be separated in a sequential data stream using three different pairs of identifiers. The inventive principle is not limited to representing only a single secondary data stream on a single SDF. Instead, depending on the application and preferred application, several SDFs with different types of secondary data can be operated. According to a preferred development of the inventive transmission method, the secondary data stream itself already contains control signals which are used for display on an SDF. This has the advantage that the driver units which are connected upstream of an SDF and which can keep and use the formats specific to the SDF implementations can be configured more easily.

In principle, information with a lower or higher refresh rate can be displayed on an SDF, depending on how the performance of the analysis device and the associated drivers allow it.

DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and explained in more detail in the following description.

Show it:

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the _r GR sentliehe constituent elements of an implementation of the inventive method in the form of representation illustrating a set-top box or built into a television set; Fig. 2 is a schematic view representation of a

TV set with inventive set-top box and primary and secondary display surfaces;

3 shows a set-top box for a television set according to the prior art in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram, which represents essential elements of the control flow of an exemplary embodiment according to the invention for the display method, and

5 shows a schematic structure diagram which shows the basic structure of a device according to the invention for use in a computer for controlling a monitor as the primary display area and a secondary display area contained in the monitor frame;

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the figures, identical reference symbols designate identical or functionally identical components.

A multitude of input signals, referred to as input signals 10 in FIG. 1, can be used in a multi-input adapter 12 can be read. According to a preferred exemplary embodiment as a multimedia frame, digital or analog television signals, network data, in particular Internet data, telephone signals can be received as input signals. The set-top box, the basic structure of which is shown in FIG. 1, is thus compatible with analog telephone signals, ISDN signals, ADSL signals, and other online connection formats. It is also compatible with broadband cable connections, terrestrial digital or analog signals, satellite reception signals, whether analog or digital, with data from fiber optic cables, and for the future reception of data via the conventional 230 V mains power supply. If the data are in analog form, they are digitized before further processing according to the invention, which is described below.

A signal analysis device as a whole is provided with reference number 14, is connected to the multi-input adapter 12 and is set up to further process the received, possibly digitized, data in the sense of the present invention. In detail, it contains a processor unit 16, referred to as the CPU, a working memory 18, a filter 20 for technical features in the input signal and a semantic filter 22 connected in series with the filter 20.

The filters 20 and 22 shown are so-called software filters. They are implemented in program form and are implemented by the CPU 16 in cooperation with the working memory rather 18, which can possibly contain the usual multi-ach cashes. The functioning of the filter devices is discussed below. Furthermore, a conventional driver 24 for a primary display area (PDF) 28 and a driver 26 for a secondary display area (SDF) 30 are provided.

The output of the filter 20 is connected to the input of the driver 26, the filter 22 being bypassed on the one hand as an option, or being controlled on the other hand. The output of the semantic filter 22 is connected to the input of the driver 26 and the input of the driver 24. The drivers 24 and 26 control the screen display of PDF 28 and SDF 30 respectively. Corresponding connections between the components are provided.

Furthermore, an interface to an advertising block recognition device 32 is provided. This is a software program that can be loaded into the CPU 16 and that is able to recognize the beginning or the end of advertising blocks and to initiate corresponding control signals in order to hide an advertising block, for example from the PDF 28 or onto the SDF 30 redirect.

The following are also provided: a remote control 11 as part of the human / machine interface for operating the set-top box, a keyboard 13 as a further device for entering data into the CPU, for example in order to process e-mails. - Solve, and cover sensors 15, the function of which is explained in connection with FIG. 2.

2 shows a schematic view of a television set with an inventive set-top box and primary and secondary display areas.

The set-top box, the basic structure of which has been described above, is provided with reference number 50. It has an infrared interface for receiving control signals via the remote control 11. As can be seen in FIG. 2, it is placed on the top of a television set which is expanded in multimedia terms with the aid of the present invention.

The primary display area of the television set, as is customary in the prior art, is the large central screen area 28. Furthermore, a first secondary display area 30 is provided, which is arranged horizontally above the PDF 28. The cover sensors 15 are arranged distributed over their surface, which are set up to register a cover by non-light-transparent objects of any kind and to emit a corresponding control signal to the CPU 16, in order to ensure that the representation provided for the SDF 30 is also ensured can really be seen by TV consumers, or must be recognizable. The intention is above all to prevent the surface 30 from being deliberately covered. The cover sensors give appropriate signals to the CPU 16 if at least one of them is covered, these sensor signals being processed by the CPU in terms of program technology such that when one of the sensors is covered, the display on the PDF 28 is also interrupted.

According to the invention, advertising can now be shown on the secondary display area 30, for example. In the present exemplary embodiment, the SDF 30 is provided with a relatively high resolution and can reproduce one or more graphic representations. This means that texts and numbers can also be displayed. A driver 26 suitable for the SDF 30 processes the signals in such a way that the line breaks are in the correct place. Further details on the control and the mode of operation of the drivers can be found in the relevant prior art.

According to this special exemplary embodiment, three further secondary display areas are provided in addition to the SDF 30: a rectangular area 54 running vertically next to the left edge of the PDF 28, a rectangular area 58 running vertically next to the right edge of the PDF 28 and one below the lower edge of the PDF 28 horizontal display area 58.

The entirety of the secondary display surfaces 30, 54, 56 and 58 thus form a frame, the so-called multimedia frame, which is arranged around the primary display surface 28. As can also be seen from the drawing, the secondary display areas 54, 56 and 58 can now be used, for example, for processing e-mails: text is input using a keyboard 13 that functions in a preferably wireless manner, see FIG. 1, with the aid of these an e-mail program loaded in the CPU 16 can process inputs which can then be displayed on corresponding drivers on one or more of the secondary display areas. The division shown in FIG. 2 is only to be understood as an example. There the e-mail body text is in the display area 58 because it is oriented essentially horizontally. The addressees of a new e-mail or a reply e-mail are in the right SDF 56, as is the content of a subject line. Incoming e-mails are also processed with the program. The senders are in the SDF 54, as is their subject line. Depending on the geometry of the SDFs, characters can be arranged one below the other or in short lines next to one another.

For the sake of completeness, it should also be mentioned that, for the sake of clarity, only one driver 26 and only one secondary display area 30 are shown in FIG. 1. The drivers and associated secondary display areas corresponding to FIG. 2 are not shown in FIG. 1, but are present in the corresponding set-top box. Their control takes place in accordingly, as shown and described for drivers 26 and SDF 30.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the 'furniture' parts of the frame are provided with reference number 60. There are now only narrower rectangles that frame the PDF 28 or the multimedia frame, which is designated as a whole by 62.

3 shows a set-top box for a television set according to the prior art in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In this particular embodiment of a set-top box according to the present invention, which is designated as a whole by 50 and also has an infrared sensor 52 for activation by a remote control 11, a secondary display area 30 is now directly provided in a special way. This extends in rectangular form over large parts of the front of the set-top box facing the user. In this embodiment, the set-top box is built with a relatively large spatial extent in its width and an appropriate extent in its height in order to enable a relatively large representation on the secondary display surface 30.

The control flow of the inventive display method according to an arbitrarily selected exemplary embodiment is explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4. It should be understood that these implementations tion and processing is only described as an example.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram, which represents essential elements of the control flow of an exemplary embodiment according to the invention for the display method - in an 'endless loop ^1' , that is to say continuously during signal reception.

In this example, a television signal, as can currently be received via cable or satellite, is to be processed for a display according to the invention on several different display surfaces, as was shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For the purpose of simplification, it is assumed that the television signal is already in digital form.

In a first step 510, the input signal is received by the multi-input adapter shown in FIG. 1. Since the input signal is already available in digital form at the input in the present case, it no longer has to be demodulated. Instead, it is decoded according to the usual methods used in the prior art in order to be able to be represented as an image. If the input signal is in analog form, the usual steps of demodulation, analog / digital conversion and subsequent decoding must be carried out.

For the following description it is assumed that the input signal is actually digitally analyzed. is able in the sense that technical features contained in the signal, such as control bits or control characters for an interlace in the line-oriented screen display, as well as other control characters used in the prior art are recognized by the corresponding filter 20, see FIG. 1. Such a filter thus detects corresponding control characters in a step 520 if, for example, the screen text control signal occurs in the blanking interval.

In this case, the screen text signal is redirected to a secondary display area, such as display area 58 in FIG. 2, step 530.

The vast majority of signal data corresponds to the pure television information and is routed as a signal to the primary display area, step 540. The basic separation and separate processing of television information and screen text is already carried out in the prior art. Therefore, the relevant prior art used there can be used to display screen text on a secondary display surface according to the invention.

What is new over the prior art, however, is that the user can now display the screen text in a targeted manner on the secondary display area, which has the advantage that the primary display area can continue to be used completely for viewing the film. The user can therefore use the remote control 11 of the set Top box display the screen text on the secondary display area and also display the screen text on the primary display area 28 as usual by using the remote control of the television set. In this respect, there is a choice by the user.

However, according to the invention, advertising or alphanumeric advertising information can also be displayed on one or more of the secondary display areas. There are several alternative ways of sending the advertising information and corresponding display options.

Possibility a) the advertising information is contained in the actual television signal.

At this point, the semantic filter 22 is used. Because of its interface with an advertising block recognition device, which can optionally be part of the invention and is shown in FIG. 1 with reference number 32, the beginning and the end of advertising blocks can be recognized. Such advertising block recognition programs from the prior art either work locally only at the TV consumer or together with a control center, where the actual recognition work is carried out, which then in turn transmits signals to the TV consumer or his receiving device, for example by cable to issue a corresponding control signal, which is then processed locally in various ways by the TV consumer and his television set can. For example, the prior art provides that a switch can then be made automatically to another program.

According to the invention, advertising can now be displayed in a preferred manner without sound on a secondary display area. The necessary compression or expansion of the display from a conventional television format, for example 16: 9, is implemented according to the invention in such a way that a corresponding section of the secondary display area is also in the same format 16: 9, or alternatively in a still more tolerable, somewhat more width or height format is displayed, depending on the shape of the secondary display area. This control work is carried out by the driver 26 shown in FIG. 1. Reference can also be made to relevant prior art literature for the distorted display in different formats.

If only partial areas of a secondary display area are used for the advertising information of the channel just received, the remaining display area can also be used, for example, to display advertising of another channel, provided the receiving device can receive several channels at the same time.

Depending on the design and control performance of the secondary display area, moving images, still images images with different refresh rates or only alphanumeric data are displayed on the SDF.

According to the invention, in connection with the separation of advertising information from actual film information, a transmission method is also claimed, which is characterized by the step that an information stream is sent which contains identifiers which can be evaluated with the aid of a computer, in order to convert it into a primary data stream and at least one secondary data stream to be split up. The primary data stream can then contain, for example, the actual film information, while one or more secondary data streams are present, each of which contains advertising information that can be displayed separately. It should now be understood that the possibilities for carrying out such identifications are completely known in the prior art both for analog transmission of a signal and for digital transmission techniques. With the latter, for example, a certain bit sequence can be used as an identifier. In the case of analog transmission technologies, a specific pulse sequence can be used as an identifier. These possibilities are only to be understood as examples.

Possibility b) Advertising information is also sent as additional information in a television signal, similar to what is currently the case with screen text. In such a case, the advertising information, as in connection with the display of screen text, is analogously displayed on the secondary display surface by the effect of the technical file. ters 20 alone (bypass of filter 22), see Fig. 1, completed. In the case of digital television signal transmission, the advertising information can be 'interwoven' in any way with the actual film program using the variously known multiplexing methods. A corresponding demultiplexing process at the recipient can then separate the advertising information from the actual film information and cause the advertising information to be displayed separately on a suitable secondary display area.

It should be clear from the preceding description that the method according to the invention for the separate display of film information and advertising information can be implemented in different embodiment variants, which differ in their performance in the recognition of advertising. In this respect, for example, the interface to a semantic filter 22 can also be dispensed with, in order to bring an embodiment of the invention onto the market that impresses with a low price.

5 shows a schematic structure diagram which shows the basic structure of a device according to the invention for use in a computer for controlling a monitor as the primary display area and a secondary display area contained in the monitor frame. The following description in connection with FIG. 5 is intended to serve in this exemplary implementation of a device according to the invention for expanding functions on a personal computer.

Of the essential components of a PC, only those are shown in FIG. 5 which are directly related to the inventive principle. All other components have not been shown for reasons of clarity. The embodiment variant shown in FIG. 5 has a special, arbitrarily chosen focus, namely the option of displaying data coming from an online connection 71, for example the e-mail correspondence, in a preferred manner on a secondary display area. Therefore, the online connection 71 and the reference for the representation of e-mail data on a first secondary display surface SDFj is made with reference number 88.

It should be understood that other embodiments of the present computer implementation are contemplated and within the scope of the present invention that have a different focus. This different focus can be determined, for example, by the respective area of application and location of the computer.

A processor 72 receives the digital data from the online connection 71 and works, as usual, with a working memory 76 and a hard disk 78 and several Cash stores, not shown, together via a common bus system. The inventive display method, in its embodiment variant, to display certain secondary data on a secondary display surface, is implemented in a program, the code of which is loaded in the CPU 72 and is executed in order to provide the inventive, separate and customized display of primary and Ensure secondary data.

For this purpose, a driver 80 is provided for the primary display area 86, and for example two respective drivers 82 and 84 for two secondary display areas 88 and 90, respectively. The drivers are controlled as usual by the CPU via a bus system from the prior art. The functions of drivers 82 and 84 are also adapted to the respective display areas 88 and 90. In this respect, reference can be made to the relevant prior art for a more detailed description.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, the secondary display areas 88 and 90 can be provided, for example, as areas 30 and 58, that is to say integrated into the frame of the computer monitor above the upper edge of the screen and below the lower edge of the screen, in the manner of FIG , as has already been described above in connection with the television receiver.

In a particularly preferred manner, the content of a software window can now be displayed on one of the secondary areas are outsourced. This leaves the actual primary display area free for the actual, current work of the user, but the success is achieved that the user can see the data that he has outsourced. In comparison to the prior art, he does not see this data because the corresponding window is either behind the window currently being processed or has been minimized. This results in the advantages of increased user comfort, better clarity and the reduction of errors during the workflow.

The window contents are preferably swapped out by agreement with the user, in the program that manages the swapping out and swapping in of the data. The following implementations are given as examples:

a) the transfer of the window contents or parts thereof to an SDF is initiated by pressing the right mouse button, or

b) by pressing a key combination that was also previously agreed, or

c) takes place in some way for minimized windows, for example for those that have been minimized over a long period of time.

According to the present invention, the greatest possible flexibility should be ensured. In particularly a secondary display area can preferably be used, for example, to display the contents of the Windows clipboard. Depending on the field of application, a multifunction window can also be used as a secondary display area, which can be filled, for example, with a text which is to be understood as a so-called sticky note, that is, in order to remind the user of the execution of any activity.

Or a photo can be displayed, or a so-called to-do list can be dynamically managed on a secondary display area, which reminds the user of the special tasks he still has to perform.

Furthermore, the content of advertising banners, which are visible when editing in an Internet browser, can be outsourced to a secondary display area, which means that more space is available for the actual content desired by the user on the computer monitor and its primary display area.

In the case of the representation presented in FIG. 5, two secondary representation surfaces 88 and 90 are provided, one of which can be used for e-mail correspondence and the other for the representation of the Windows clipboard. However, this use should not be understood exclusively. Because the secondary display areas form one of the operating system of the PCs managed resource and are managed as separate devices by this.

Although the present invention has been described above on the basis of two preferred exemplary embodiments, it is not restricted to these but can be modified in a variety of ways.

For example, an additional hardware interface can be present on the PC, with the aid of which a palmtop device can be connected, the display of which can then be used as a secondary display area. In this case, no special hardware expansion is required at all to achieve the inventive advantages. In this case, the corresponding additional driver software is sufficient to enable at least read-only display on the display of a palmtop device. Then, in order to edit the outsourced window content, it can be brought back to the primary display area of the actual PC monitor, for example by pressing the right mouse button.

Furthermore, in order to create inexpensive design variants, one or more secondary display areas with relatively low resolution can be implemented, and the display can nevertheless be represented in a suitable manner by software compression, including a semantic nature, for the user. For example, when displaying the Windows Clipboard the beginning and end of a text or, if an OLE object is saved, a reduced size

Representation of which can be represented.

In principle, depending on the area of application, size and expected regular distance between the secondary display area and the user, the type of display that best suits the intended end product for its specific use can be used, i.e. LCD displays, TFT displays or special forms of tube screens.

For pay-TV consumers, the display surfaces carrying the advertising can remain switched off or used for other purposes such as e-mail processing, internet surfing, digital sticky notes, etc., in order to ensure unclouded film enjoyment free of advertising.

Furthermore, the subject matter of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of both. Any type of computer system or computer devices is suitable for carrying out the method (s) according to the invention in whole or in part. A typical hardware-software combination for the computer monitor function expansion would be a normal computer with expanded hardware functionality and a computer program which, when loaded and executed, controls the computer in such a way that it carries out the method according to the invention in whole or in part. The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product that includes all of the features that enable the methods described herein to be implemented and that, when loaded into a computer system, are capable of performing these methods.

In the present context, computer program devices or computer programs mean any terms in any language or notation, or any code of a set of instructions which are intended to cause a system with an information processing facility to convert from the following functions into another language or notation or one other code,

Reproducing into a different material form, performing a specific one either directly or sequentially, or both.

TV programs previously broadcast in encrypted form from Pay TV, such as Premiere World, could be offered unencrypted or decryptable with a cheaper tariff for consumers who receive such programs on a receiving device according to the invention if advertising is simultaneously sent on the secondary display area.

Claims

Multimedia Framework patent claims 1. A device for displaying data, comprising a primary display area (28, 86) for the display of primary data, the device being characterized by at least one secondary display area (30, 88, 90) for the display that is physically separate from the primary display area of secondary data. 2. Device according to claim 1, wherein a signal analysis device (14) is provided, which is set up for a separate reproduction of the primary data on the primary display compartment (28) and the secondary data on the at least one secondary display surface (30, 54, 56) , 3. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the signal analysis device (14) is a first filter device (20) for filtering (520) technical features and a second filter device (22) for filtering semantic features of the received signal. 4. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the second filter device (22) contains an interface for coupling an advertising block detection device (32). 5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one secondary display area (30, 54,56,88,90) at least partially surrounds the primary display area and is integrated into the side of a frame area of the primary display area (28,86) facing the user , 6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,88,90) is set up for the reproduction of alphanumeric data. 7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,88,90) is set up for the reproduction of graphic pixel data. 8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one secondary display area (30, 54, 56, 58, 88, 90) is set up for the playback of multimedia data by means of a coupling to at least one acoustic playback device. 9. Device according to one of the preceding claims in the form of a set-top box. 10. The device of the preceding claim, further comprising at least one secondary display area (30). 11. Frame for video display devices, in particular television sets and computer monitors, containing at least one secondary display area. 12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one sensor device (15) is provided which responds to a voluntary covering of the secondary display area. 13. TV set containing at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,58). 14. Computer monitor containing at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,58). 15. Notebook containing at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,58). 16. Portable device containing at least one secondary display area (30,54,56,58). 17. Sending method, characterized by the step of sending an information stream which contains identifiers which can be evaluated with the aid of a computer, in order to be converted into a primary data stream and into at least one secondary data stream for display on a secondary display surface (30,54,56,58,88,90). to be split up. 18. Transmission method according to the preceding claim, wherein the secondary data stream contains control signals which are used for display on a secondary display surface (30,54,56,58,88,90) of a device according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 16. 19. Transmission method according to the preceding claim, wherein the secondary data stream encodes alphanumeric characters. 20. The transmission method according to the preceding claim, wherein the secondary data stream encodes pixel information. 21. Representation method for execution in devices according to one of claims 1 to 16 or for information streams of the transmission method according to one of the preceding claims 17 to 20, characterized by the steps of displaying at least part of the received secondary stream data on a secondary display surface (30,54,56 , 58,88,90). 22. Representation method according to the preceding claim, comprising the steps: analyzing the input signal (520), Routing (530) the signal for the secondary display area - to the secondary display area (30.54.56.58.88.90), Directing (540) the signal for the primary display area to the primary display area (28). 23. Computer program for execution in a data processing system, containing code sections for executing corresponding steps of the method according to one of claims 21 to 22 when it is loaded for execution. 24. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium containing computer-readable program devices for causing a computer to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims 21 to 22 when the program device is executed by the computer.