BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a television and a method for displaying video images in conjunction with a television program.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many televisions have a picture-in-picture function. That is, there is a main window for displaying content such as a TV show; and overlaid on the main window is a smaller secondary window showing different content from another TV signal or from the Internet. However, the displayed area of the second window is typically opaque and entirely obscures the overlaid portion of the main window.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a television, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the television of FIG. 1 showing a television program and video images simultaneously, with portions of the video images made transparent, and the video images overlaid on the program in a full displaying mode.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the television of FIG. 1 showing a television program and video images simultaneously, with portions of the video images made semitransparent, and the video images overlaid on the program in the full displaying mode.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the television of FIG. 1 showing a television program and video images simultaneously, with both displayed in a partial displaying mode separate from each other.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for displaying video images, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram block of a television (TV) 10 according to an exemplary embodiment. The TV 10 includes a switching module 20, a display 30, a TV program signal processing module 11, a TV program display control module 13, a display module 14, a video signal processing module 15, a face recognizing module 17, and a video image display control module 18.

The TV 10 has a full displaying mode and a partial displaying mode. The switching module 20 is configured to switch the TV 10 between the full displaying mode and the partial displaying mode in response to a user's operation. The switching module 20 is further configured to generate a full displaying signal in the full displaying mode and a partial displaying signal in the partial displaying mode.

Referring also to FIGS. 2-4, the TV program display control module 13 is configured to control the display 30 to provide a full displaying window 40 which covers the whole area of the display 30 in response to the full displaying signal, and control the display 14 to provide a partial displaying window 60 which partly covers the area of the display 30 in response to the partial displaying signal.

The TV program signal processing module 11 is configured to process TV program signals corresponding to a TV program received by the TV 10.

The displaying module 13 is configured to display the TV program on the full displaying window 40 or on the partial displaying window 60.

The video signal processing module 15 is configured to process video signals corresponding to video images received by the TV 10. The video signals are transmitted from an electronic device 50 having a video capturing function and communicating with the TV 10. The electronic device 50 may be a computer or a mobile phone, for example.

The video image displaying control module 18 is configured to control the display 30 to provide a first video image displaying window 70 which overlays the full displaying window 40 in response to the full displaying signal, or control the display 30 to provide a second video image displaying window 80 spaced from the partial displaying window 60 in response to the partial displaying signal. The area of the first video image displaying window 70 is less than that of the full displaying window 40. The display module 14 is further configured to display the video images in the first video image displaying window 70 or in the second video image displaying window 80.

The face recognizing module 17 is configured to recognize the presence of one or more human faces in the video images and make all parts of the video images, except for the faces, transparent in response to the full displaying signal. In the following description, the phrase â€œthe video images except for the facesâ€ is abbreviated and referred to as simply â€œthe other video images.â€

Referring to FIG. 2, in the exemplary embodiment, the other video images are made to be completely transparent except for the faces. In the illustration provided in FIG. 2, the face recognizing module 17 also recognizes the presence of human bodies associated with the faces, and the presence of background furniture associated with the faces and the human bodies. Accordingly, the other video images made completely transparent do not include the human bodies and background furniture. Referring to FIG. 3, in an alternative exemplary embodiment, the other video images are made to be semitransparent. In the illustration provided in FIG. 3, the face recognizing module 17 also recognizes the presence of human bodies associated with the faces, and the presence of background furniture associated with the faces and the human bodies. Accordingly, the other video images made semitransparent do not include the human bodies and background furniture. Thus, the TV program underlying the other video images is either completely visible through the transparent other video images, or semi-visible under the semitransparent other video images.

In another alternative exemplary embodiment, the face recognizing module 17 is further configured to reduce distances between human faces when the face recognizing module 17 recognizes the presence of more than one face. In such case, the video images are displayed in a smaller second video image displaying window 80.

Referring to FIG. 5, this is a flowchart of a method for displaying video images, according to an exemplary embodiment. The method for displaying video images is employed in the TV 10 including the display 30.

In step S501, the video signal processing module 15 receives and processes video signals corresponding to video images transmitted from the electronic device 50 communicating with the TV 10 and having a video capturing function. The electronic device 50 may be a computer or a mobile phone, for example. The video signal processing module 15 receives and processes the video signals in order to display the corresponding video images on the display 30.

In step S502, the video image displaying control module 18 determines whether a TV program is displayed on a full displaying window 40 which covers the whole area of the display 30 or on a partial displaying window 60 which partly covers the area of the display 30. If the TV program is displayed on a full displaying window 40, the procedure goes to step S503. If the TV program is displayed on a partial displaying window 60, the procedure goes to step S504.

In step S503, the video image displaying control module 18 controls the display 30 to provide a first video image displaying window 70 which overlays the full displaying window 40. The area of the first video image displaying window 70 is less than that of the full displaying window 40.

In step S504, the video image displaying control module 18 controls the display 30 to provide a second video image displaying window 80 spaced from the partial displaying window 60.

In step S505, the display module 14 displays the video images in the first video image displaying window 70.

In step S506, the display module 14 displays the video images in the second video image displaying window 80.

In step S507, the face recognizing module 17 recognizes the presence of one or more human faces in the video image displayed in the first video image displaying window 70, and makes the video images, except for the faces, transparent. In the exemplary embodiment, the other video images are made to be completely transparent except for the faces. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the other video images are made to be semi-transparent. Therefore, the TV program underlying the other video images is completely visible through the transparent other video images or semi-visible under the semitransparent other video images. In another exemplary embodiment, the face recognizing module 17 is further configured to reduce the distance(s) between two or more human faces when the face recognizing module 17 recognizes the presence of more than one face. In such case, the video images are displayed in a smaller second video image displaying window 80.

It is understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the disclosure is not to be limited to the details given herein.