Abstract:
A system and apparatus that allows the user or an application to turn off the display screen on a television when said application does not display images while it is active or the viewer is only interested in listening to the audio of a program. An example of this would be playing music received over a cable or satellite set top box or through a plurality of other means through the television speakers. Blanking or turning off the television display screen during this time results in a substantial energy savings. Another example is the viewer only being interested in the audio for a sports program such as basketball or baseball.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to plasma and LCD digital televisions. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The price of digital flat screen television has decreased; while the size of the screens has continued to increase for the same or less cost. LCD and Plasma screen devices are two of the most common technologies. The amount of power these devices consume is considerable. 
         [0003]    These devices consume more power as the size of the screen increases. A family with three children may have a LCD screen television in the living room, a plasma screen television in the master bedroom and a LCD television in each of the children&#39;s bedrooms and the kitchen, there are a total of 6 televisions which is not inconsistent in today&#39;s household. Households typically put newer larger screen televisions in a common area of a home such as the living room with ever decreasing size televisions in the parent&#39;s bedroom, oldest child, middle child, and finally the youngest child. Kitchen televisions tend to be the smallest in the house and typically range in the 20 inch size. 
         [0004]      FIGS. 1 and 2  use the terms “HDTV” and “FHDTV”. These terms refer to the vertical resolution of the televisions. HDTV is an acronym for “High Definition TV” which has a vertical resolution of 720 lines that are progressively scanned. This is the quality of video typically received through over the air broadcasts. FHDTV is an acronym for “Full High Definition TV” which has a vertical resolution of 1080 lines that are progressively scanned. This type of resolution video is typically available through BluRay players, X-Box and PS-3 game consoles, and some up coding DVD players. 
         [0005]    Consider the table shown in  FIG. 1 . This table shows the typical power consumption of plasma screen televisions. Keeping in mind that older display screens of the same size typically consume more power than newer screens of the same size.  FIG. 2  shows the power consumption of LCD screen televisions. These tables show that a typical 32 inch plasma screen television consumes 250 watts when active and a 50 inch plasma screen television as much as 550 watts when active. LCD screen televisions typically consume less power than plasma screen television but given that they are generally less expensive consumers typically purchase more of them and in larger screen sizes. 
         [0006]    For the example family with 3 children, the energy budget for all 6 televisions, would typically look like the table in  FIG. 3 . 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Embodiments addresses excessive and needless consumption of power by a digital television set when the current running application or the viewer does not require or does not desire to have video presented. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation. The following figures and the descriptions both brief and the detailed descriptions of the invention refer to similar elements and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing the power consumption of various size plasma screen digital televisions. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing the power consumption of various size LCD screen digital televisions. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a diagram showing the power budget for 6 televisions in a household with three children. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a diagram depicting an embodiment where the display electronics circuitry manages the power state of the display screen power supply. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a diagram depicting the invention where the computing engine in the digital television manages the power state of the display screen power supply. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The inventors recognize that the large power consumer in any flat panel television is the panel. The electronics that receive and process the incoming television signals and that drive the signals to the panel consume somewhere around 30 to 50 watts; with the rest of the power budget being consumed by the display. 
         [0015]    In current televisions and more certainly in televisions that will be released to the marketplace over the next several years, the televisions will be providing services that do not require that the screen be active. Current televisions that are connected to cable and satellite set top boxes usually have the ability to play music from at least one satellite service such as XM Radio or Sirius. Many people use these services through their television. The music service typically displays the name of the song currently playing but few if any people sit and watch the screen while the music is playing. Using the television as a radio receiver is a gross waste of energy considering the differences in power consumption between the electronics and the screen panel. Televisions of the future will be used for everything from home security to medical monitoring. For many of these services the screen will not be needed. 
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows an energy budget for the electronics for all 6 televisions in the example household. This may be approximately 5 to 6 cents per hour for the electronics and approximately 20 cents per hour for the screen panels. These costs were computed from a table located at: 
         [0017]    http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5 — 6_a.html 
         [0018]    This web site is a department of energy web site. The table shows the average cost of energy for all states during the period 2006 through 2007. 
         [0019]    One can quickly surmise that in California where the average cost for power during 2007 was 0.1435 cents per kilowatt hour, the cost of operating all of the televisions in the example family amounts to $578.23 per year. The cost of power for the electronics for these televisions is $131.04 and the cost of operating the display screens for the same televisions is $447.19. Thus the power for the screens costs 3.4 times what it costs to run the electronics. If the master bedroom television provides music services and/or other services for 2 hours per day where the display screen is not needed for video display then the cost savings per year just for that television amounts to $49.10 per year for power priced at 2007 costs. If one looks at all of the televisions in the household where each television realizes a 2 hour per day period where the display screen is not needed then the savings become more dramatic at $152.00 savings per year. This amounts to about 26% savings per year. 
         [0020]    Embodiments directly address the problem with televisions needlessly consuming power when there is no demonstrated need for usage of the power. Embodiments describe either an application to turn-off the television display when it adds no value to the application or the viewer when the viewer is not interested in the video portion of a program and he simply wants to listen to the audio. 
         [0021]    A first embodiment  10  is shown in  FIG. 4 , where a digital display screen is either a plasma display screen or a LCD display screen shown as  11 . Display Screen Power Supply  12  provides Operating Power  30  to Display Screen  11 . 
         [0022]    Video Decoder  14  receives Digital Video Signal  24  from Video Source  15 . Digital Video Signal  24  may be of a plurality of signal types such as MPEG video streams, H.264 video streams or any other digital video stream that contains video and audio together or only video or only audio. 
         [0023]    Video Source  15  may be the output from an ATSC radio frequency digital tuner or a DVD player or from a plurality of other sources such as video game consoles, videocassette recorders, cable and satellite set top boxes, cable cards, portable music and video players or other such sources. The term DVD is mean to be “Digital Versatile Disc” or “Digital Video Disc” as commonly known. Video Decoder  14  decodes Digital Video Signal  24  and sends Decoded Video  27  to Display Electronics  13 . 
         [0024]    Display Electronics  13  converts Decoded Video  27  into Video Display Signals  28  that are compatible for the particular Display Screen  11  which may be either plasma or LCD or some other display technology that requires electrical power to operate. 
         [0025]    Computer  16  is controlled by Operating System Software  17 . Computer  16  also executes a plurality of Software Application Programs  18 . One or more of these application programs can determine if Display Screen  11  is required to present video images to User  20  for the current television application that is being executed. For example, this can be done based on preferences (such as turn off the video during sound-only programs, or during sports-only programs) 
         [0026]    If one of Software Application Programs  18  determines that video is not necessary for the current program, Computer  16  sends Control Signal  26  to Display Electronics  13  commanding Display Electronics  13  to turn off Display Screen Power Supply  12 . Display Electronics  13  sends On/Off Signal  29  indicating an OFF condition to Display Screen Power Supply  12  which turns off the electrical power to Display Screen  11 . When Display Screen Power Supply  12  is turned off, Display Screen  11  will no longer display Display Signals  28  sent to it by Display Electronics  13 . 
         [0027]    If Display Screen Power Supply  12  is currently off and one of Software Application Programs  18  decides that video should be displayed on Display Screen  11  Computer  16  will send Control Signal  26  to Display Electronics  13  commanding Display Electronics  13  to turn on Display Screen Power Supply  12 .Display Electronics  13  will send On/Off Signal  29  indicating ON to Display Screen Power Supply  12  which turns on the electrical power to Display Screen  11 . When Display Screen Power Supply  12  is turned on, Display Screen will display Display Signals  28  sent to it by Display Electronics  13 . 
         [0028]    Viewer  20  may decide that they do not want to view video. Viewer  20  will send a Command  23  to Computer  16  via Remote Control Hand Set  21 . 
         [0029]    Remote Control handset  21  may send Command  23  to Computer  16  by any of a plurality of transmission means such as Infrared, laser beam, radio frequency, or other transmission means. Remote Control Receiver  22  receives Transmissions  23  from Remote Control Hand Set  21  and presents said transmissions to Computer  16 . 
         [0030]    If video is currently being displayed on Display Screen  11  and Viewer  20  sends Command  23  indicating VIDEO OFF to Computer  16  via Remote Control Hand Set  21 , Computer  16  will send Control Signal  26  to Display Electronics  13  commanding Display Electronics  13  to turn off Display Screen Power Supply  12 . Display Electronics  13  will send On/Off Signal  29  indicating OFF to Display Screen Power Supply  12  which turns off the electrical power to Display Screen  11 . When Display Screen Power Supply  12  is turned off, Display Screen will no longer display Display Signals  28  sent to it by Display Electronics  13 . 
         [0031]    If video is not currently being displayed on Display Screen  11  and Viewer  20  wants to view whatever video is available for the current program, Command  23  indicating VIDEO ON is sent to Computer  16  via Remote Control Hand Set  21 . Computer  16  then sends Control Signal  26  to Display Electronics  13  commanding Display Electronics  13  to turn on Display Screen Power Supply  12 . 
         [0032]    Display Electronics  13  sends On/Off Signal  29  indicating ON to Display Screen Power Supply  12  which turns on the electrical power to Display Screen  11 . 
         [0033]    When Display Screen Power Supply  12  is turned on, Display Screen  11  will display Display Signals  28  sent to it by Display Electronics  13 . 
         [0034]    Computer  16  may also receive video, audio, and data streams via Network Source  19 . 
         [0035]    These video and audio streams can contain the same types of streams received from Video Source  15 . 
         [0036]    When video, audio, or data is received by Computer  16  from Network Source  19 , Computer  16  will direct Video Audio Streams  25  to Video Decoder  14 . Video Decoder  14  will decode these streams the same as if the stream had been presented from Video Source  15 . 
         [0037]    Software Application Programs  18  and Viewer  20  via Remote Control Hand Set  21  may disable and enable the display of video on Display Screen  11  for video and data presentation the same as if the video had been received from Video Source  15 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows another embodiment in which Display Screen Power Supply  42  is controlled by Computer  46  via Control Signal  58 . Computer  46  is controlled by Operating System Software  47 . 
         [0039]    Computer  46  also executes a plurality of Software Application Programs  48 . These application programs can determine if Display Screen  41  is required to present video images to Viewer  50  for the current television application that is being executed. 
         [0040]    If one of Software Application Programs  48  determines that video is not necessary for the current program, Computer  46  will send Control Signal  58  indicating OFF to Display Screen Power Supply  42  which turns off the electrical power to Display Screen  41 . 
         [0041]    When Display Screen Power Supply  42  is turned off, Display Screen  41  will no longer display Display Signals  57  sent to it by Display Electronics  43 . 
         [0042]    If Display Screen Power Supply  42  is currently off and one of Software Application Programs  48  decides that video should be displayed on Display Screen  41  Computer  46  sends Control Signal  59  indicating ON to Display Screen Power Supply  42  which turns on the electrical power to Display Screen  41 . 
         [0043]    When Display Screen Power Supply  42  is turned on, Display Screen will display Display Signals  28  sent to it by Display Electronics  43 . 
         [0044]    Viewer  50  may decide that they do not want to view video. Viewer  50  will send Command  53  to Computer  46  via Remote Control Hand Set  51 . 
         [0045]    Remote Control Handset  51  may send Command  53  to Computer  46  by any of a plurality of transmission means such as Infrared, laser beam, radio frequency, or other transmission means. Remote Control Receiver  52  receives Transmissions  53  from Remote Control Hand Set  51  and presents said transmissions to Computer  46 . 
         [0046]    If video is currently being displayed on Display Screen  41  and user sends Transmissions  53  indicating VIDEO OFF to Computer  46  via Remote Control Hand Set  51 , Computer  46  will send Control Signal  58  indicating OFF to Display Screen Power Supply  42  which turns off the electrical power to Display Screen  41 . 
         [0047]    When Display Screen Power Supply  42  is turned off, Display Screen  42  will no longer display Display Signals  57  sent to it by Display Electronics  43 . 
         [0048]    If video is not currently being displayed on Display Screen  41  and Viewer  50  wants to view whatever video is available for the current program, he will send Transmissions  53  indicating VIDEO ON to Computer  46  via Remote Control Hand Set  51 . Computer  46  will then send Control Signal  58  indicating ON to Display Screen Power Supply  12  which turns on the electrical power to Display Screen  41 . 
         [0049]    When Display Screen Power Supply  42  is turned on, Display Screen  41  will display Display Signals  57  sent to it by Display Electronics  43 . 
         [0050]    Computer  46  may also receive video, audio, and data streams via Network Source  49 . These video and audio streams can contain the same types of streams received from Video Source  45 . 
         [0051]    When video, audio, or data is received by Computer  46  from Network Source  49 , Computer  46  will direct Video Audio Streams  55  to Video Decoder  44 . Video Decoder  44  will decode these streams the same as if the stream had been presented from Video Source  45 . 
         [0052]    Software Application Programs  48  and Viewer  50  via Remote Control Hand Set  51  may disable and enable the display of video on Display Screen  41  for video and data presentation the same as if the video had been received from Video Source  45 . 
         [0053]    Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above, other embodiments are possible and the inventors intend these to be encompassed within this specification. The specification describes specific examples to accomplish a more general goal that may be accomplished in another way. This disclosure is intended to be exemplary, and the claims are intended to cover any modification or alternative which might be predictable to a person having ordinary skill in the art. For example, other ways of turning off the video can be used. 
         [0054]    Also, the inventors intend that only those claims which use the words “means for” are intended to be interpreted under 35 USC 112, sixth paragraph. Moreover, no limitations from the specification are intended to be read into any claims, unless those limitations are expressly included in the claims. The computers described herein may be any kind of computer, either general purpose, or some specific purpose computer such as a workstation. The computer may be a Pentium class computer, running Windows XP or Linux, or may be a Macintosh computer. The computer may also be a handheld computer, such as a PDA, cellphone, or laptop. 
         [0055]    The programs may be written in C, or Java, Brew or any other programming language. The programs may be resident on a storage medium, e.g., magnetic or optical, e.g. the computer hard drive, a removable disk or media such as a memory stick or SD media, or other removable medium. The programs may also be run over a network, for example, with a server or other machine sending signals to the local machine, which allows the local machine to carry out the operations described herein.