JP2009065584A - Video signal communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption of a video signal communication apparatus on standby or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A video signal receiving device 1 includes an input signal change detecting section 3, a circuit control section 4, an instruction signal transmitting/receiving section 5, a main circuit section 6, a low-speed data communication section 7, and a high-speed data communication section 8. A power supply voltage is supplied to the input signal change detecting section 3 at all the time and in a case where it is detected that an instruction signal (s) becomes a predetermined level, the input signal change detecting section 3 outputs a level detecting signal. When the level detecting signal is inputted, a power supply voltage is supplied to the instruction signal transmitting/receiving section 5 to bring it into an active state, and the instruction signal transmitting/receiving section 5 discriminates a command indicated by an instruction signal (a) inputted thereafter or continuously, and outputs an operation control signal for bringing the respective sections into the active state in accordance with contents of the command. When the operation control signal outputted from the instruction signal transmitting/receiving section 5 is input, a power supply voltage is supplied to the main circuit section 6, the low-speed data communication section 7 and the high-speed data communication section 8 to bring them into the active state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player, a digital television receiver, AV (Audio Amplifier), AV data, etc. to which, for example, CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) of HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is applied. The present invention relates to a video signal communication apparatus that performs signal input / output and processing.

  Some video signal communication devices have HDMI and can control the operation of each device centrally by transmitting and receiving control signals for controlling the device in addition to video data signals (for example, (See Patent Documents 1 and 2.)

Specifically, in CEC in HDMI, command signals are transmitted / received using a low-speed dedicated signal line separately from high-speed signals for images and the like. Since the dedicated signal line is included in the HDMI cable, for example, if a TV (television receiver) and a DVD player are connected by a single HDMI cable, the power of the DVD player is connected from the TV side. Operations such as on / off and playback / stop can be controlled in an integrated manner.
International Publication No. 2005/015901 Pamphlet JP 2006-203725 A

  However, when the power is turned on or the operation state is changed from the standby state by the transmission / reception of the command signal as described above, the circuit for receiving and decoding the command signal must always be operated. For this reason, it has been difficult to significantly reduce the standby power consumption of the video signal communication apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to easily reduce standby power consumption of a video signal communication apparatus.

To solve the above problem,
The first invention is a video signal communication apparatus,
A command signal receiving unit that outputs an operation control signal for controlling the operation of the device based on the input command signal;
A level detector for detecting the level of the command signal and outputting a level detection signal;
A video processing unit that performs predetermined processing on at least one of the input data signal or the output data signal;
The command signal receiving unit returns from the standby state to the operating state in response to the level detection signal,
At least a part of the video processing unit is configured to return from the standby state to the operating state in response to the operation control signal output from the command signal receiving unit.

  As a result, the level detection unit detects the level of the command signal and outputs a level detection signal. In response to this, the command signal reception unit returns from the standby state to the operating state. Therefore, the power consumed by the command signal receiving unit until the level detection signal is output is suppressed or reduced. On the other hand, when the command signal receiving unit returns to the operating state, the operation of the apparatus can be controlled flexibly and in various ways based on the input command signal, for example, only the necessary part is set to the operating state, etc. Therefore, power consumption is also suppressed or reduced.

  According to the present invention, standby power consumption of the video signal communication apparatus can be easily reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, components having functions similar to those of the other embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

Embodiment 1 of the Invention
In the video signal communication system, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the video signal receiving device 1 and the video signal transmitting device 9 (video signal communication device) are connected by, for example, HDMI in which a plurality of signals are combined into one. It is configured. Between these video signal transmission / reception devices 1 and 9, control of turning on / off the power, recording, reproduction, etc. is mutually performed by sending and receiving a command by a command signal a (CEC). In addition, the transmission and reception of data using the low-speed data signal b (DDC) enables mutual exchange of information such as the type of image format supported by each device and the encryption key. Further, high-speed data communication such as video and audio using the high-speed data signal c (TMDS) is performed only in one direction, for example. That is, in the example of this embodiment, with respect to high-speed data communication, the video signal receiving device 1 is dedicated to reception and the video signal transmitting device 9 is dedicated to transmission. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and high-speed data communication may be performed in both directions.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the video signal receiving apparatus 1 includes an input signal change detection unit 3 (level detection unit), a circuit control unit 4, a command signal transmission / reception unit 5 (command signal reception unit), and a main circuit unit 6 (video). A processing unit, a data signal processing unit), a low-speed data communication unit 7 (a video processing unit, a low-speed communication unit), and a high-speed data communication unit 8 (a video processing unit, a high-speed communication unit). Configured.

  The input signal change detection unit 3 (and the circuit control unit 4) is supplied with the power supply voltage even when at least the other units are in a standby state and the supply of the power supply voltage is stopped, and the command signal a is at a predetermined level. A level detection signal is output when it has been detected that More specifically, it is configured using, for example, a flip-flop circuit with low power consumption that is reset when other units are set in a standby state and set when the instruction signal a reaches a predetermined level. ing.

  Here, the change in the level of the command signal a may be detected by detecting a change due to the start of a command to be described later, or by detecting a change that occurs prior to the command. In the former case, for example, if the signal level is changed from a high level to a low level and maintained at a low level for a predetermined period (for example, 50 msec), the start of the command is recognized within 50 msec. If the input signal change detection unit 3 detects the level and enables the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 to be in an operating state as will be described later, it can respond to the command without causing a loss of command or requiring a special command. It is also possible to easily perform operations such as receiving the same command as that transmitted to a conventional apparatus.

  When the level detection signal is input (via the circuit control unit 4), the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 is supplied with the power supply voltage and is in an operating state, and is indicated by the command signal a input thereafter or subsequently. A command is discriminated, and an operation control signal for operating each unit according to the contents of the command is output.

  The main circuit unit 6, the low-speed data communication unit 7, and the high-speed data communication unit 8 each receive an operation control signal output from the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 (directly or via the main circuit unit 6 and the circuit control unit 4. ) When input, the power supply voltage is supplied to enter the operating state.

  Further, the video signal transmission device 9 operates in accordance with the communication direction of the high-speed data signal c instead of the main circuit unit 6 and the high-speed data communication unit 8 of the video signal reception device 1 as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Are different from each other in that a main circuit section 6 'and a high-speed data communication section 8' are provided.

  In the video signal communication system configured as described above, for example, an operation example when the video signal receiving device 1 is turned on when the video signal transmitting device 9 is turned off will be described.

  When the video signal transmission device 9 is in a power-off state (or a standby state, a power saving state, a minimum power consumption state, etc.), the command signal transmission / reception unit 5, main circuit unit 6 ′ of the video signal transmission device 9, low-speed data communication The unit 7 and the high-speed data communication unit 8 ′ are in a standby state (stop state) in which the supply of power supply voltage is stopped, while the input signal change detection unit 3 (and circuit control unit 4) is supplied with the power supply voltage. To maintain the operating state.

  Then, when the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 of the video signal reception device 1 transmits a command signal a indicating a command to turn on the video signal transmission device 9, the video signal transmission device 9 first detects the input signal change detection unit 3. Detects a change in the level of the command signal a and outputs a level detection signal. In response to the level detection signal, the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 enters an operating state, determines the command transmitted from the video signal receiving device 1, and determines the main circuit unit 6 ', the low-speed data communication unit 7, and the high-speed data communication unit. An operation control signal for setting 8 'to the operation state is output.

  Therefore, the main circuit unit 6 ′, the low-speed data communication unit 7, and the high-speed data communication unit 8 ′ are supplied with a power supply voltage according to the operation control signal and are in an operating state. That is, for example, the entire video signal transmission device 9 is turned on, and operations such as video display and recording become possible.

  As described above, when the video signal transmission device 9 is in the power-off state, the power consumption is reduced by placing the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 in the standby state, while the command signal a is detected by the input signal change detection unit 3. When a change in level is detected, it is possible to easily perform flexible and diverse control in accordance with a command transmitted from the video signal receiving apparatus 1 by setting the operation state. More specifically, for example, only a part of the main circuit unit 6 ′, the low-speed data communication unit 7 and the high-speed data communication unit 8 ′ can be independently activated by a command. After putting the communication unit 7 into the operating state, the high-speed data communication unit 8 ′ with relatively large power consumption keeps the power consumption to the minimum necessary by maintaining the standby state until communication by the high-speed data signal c is started. Can be easily done.

  2 and 3, the example in which the operation state of each unit is controlled by the presence or absence of power supply voltage supply is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and power that stops the clock signal or lowers the frequency is shown. You may make it a down state. Further, power control and clock control may be combined.

  In the above example, the level detection signal and the operation control signal are transmitted to the command signal transmission / reception unit 5, the low-speed data communication unit 7, and the high-speed data communication unit 8 ′ via the circuit control unit 4 and the main circuit unit 6 ′. Although an example of input is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and each may be directly input from the input signal change detection unit 3 or the command signal transmission / reception unit 5. On the other hand, when the circuit control unit 4 and the main circuit unit 6 ′ are passed through as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a command signal transmission / reception unit 5 and a low-speed data communication unit 7 are combined with other control signals and status signals. It is also possible to easily perform more various controls by inputting the information into the.

  The video signal transmitting apparatus 9 is not limited to being powered on by the video signal receiving apparatus 1, but the same operation is performed when the video signal receiving apparatus 1 is powered on by the video signal transmitting apparatus 9. You may be made to be.

<< Embodiment 2 of the Invention >>
Instead of the configuration of the first embodiment, the operation control signal is sent through the main circuit units 6 and 6 ′, the low-speed data communication unit 7, and the high-speed data communication units 8 and 8 ′ through the paths illustrated in FIGS. May be input. Even in this case, the mechanism that can easily reduce the power consumption to the necessary minimum is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same effect can be obtained.

<< Embodiment 3 of the Invention >>
For example, in the circuit configuration of the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a data communication unit including main circuit units 6 and 6 ′, a low-speed data communication unit 7, and a high-speed data communication unit 8 and 8 ′ related to HDMI communication. 10 may be formed as one semiconductor element so that versatility can be improved by separate design.

<< Embodiment 4 of the Invention >>
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the data communication unit 10 may include the command signal transmission / reception unit 5 to form a single semiconductor device with higher functionality.

<< Embodiment 5 of the Invention >>
10 and 11, the data communication unit 10 is provided with an input / output terminal for a command signal a, and the command signal a is directly input to the data communication unit 10, while the input signal change detection unit 3 is provided. May be input via the data communication unit 10.

Embodiment 6 of the Invention
Further, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the data communication unit 10 may include the input signal change detection unit 3 to form one more highly functional semiconductor element.

  In each of the above embodiments, the example in which the video signal transmission / reception apparatuses 1 and 9 having the corresponding configurations are connected is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the video signal reception apparatus 1 and the video signal transmission of each embodiment are not limited thereto. Even if the devices 9 are connected in any combination, the operation performed, the reduction of power consumption, and the like are the same.

  In the above example, one low-speed data communication unit 7 and one high-speed data communication unit 8 and 8 ′ are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or more various communication units are provided. You may be made to do. Further, a combination of a command signal and a data signal (for example, a low-speed data signal and a high-speed data signal) may be input / output, that is, a plurality of HDMI ports may be provided.

  The video signal communication device according to the present invention has an effect that power consumption during standby of the video signal communication device can be easily reduced. For example, CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) of HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), etc. It is useful as a video signal communication apparatus for inputting / outputting and processing video data signals, such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player, a digital television receiver, and an AV (Audio Visual) amplifier.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal communication system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal transmission device 9 according to the first embodiment. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal transmission device 9 according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal transmission device 9 according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal transmission device 9 according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal transmission device 9 according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video signal receiving device 1 according to a sixth embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the video signal transmission apparatus 9 of Embodiment 6. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Video signal receiver
2 Command signal communication section
3 Input signal change detector
4 Circuit controller
5 Command signal transmitter / receiver
6 Main circuit part
6 'Main circuit
7 Low-speed data communication section
8 High-speed data communication department
8 'High-speed data communication department
9 Video signal transmitter
10 Data communication department

Claims (8)

A command signal receiving unit that outputs an operation control signal for controlling the operation of the device based on the input command signal;
A level detector for detecting the level of the command signal and outputting a level detection signal;
A video processing unit that performs predetermined processing on at least one of the input data signal or the output data signal;
The command signal receiving unit returns from the standby state to the operating state in response to the level detection signal,
At least a part of the video processing unit is configured to return from a standby state to an operating state in response to an operation control signal output from the command signal receiving unit. The video signal communication device according to claim 1,
The video processing unit
A high-speed communication unit that inputs and outputs data signals at a predetermined communication speed;
A low-speed communication unit that inputs and outputs data signals at a communication speed slower than the high-speed communication unit;
A data signal processing unit that performs predetermined processing on the input / output data signal;
At least one of the high-speed communication unit, the low-speed communication unit, and the data signal processing unit is configured to be able to independently return to an operation state. The video signal communication device according to claim 2,
The high-speed communication unit, the low-speed communication unit, and the data signal processing unit are formed in one semiconductor element,
A video signal communication apparatus, wherein an operation control signal is input to the semiconductor element from the command signal receiver. The video signal communication device according to claim 2,
The command signal receiving unit, the high-speed communication unit, the low-speed communication unit, and the data signal processing unit are formed in one semiconductor element,
A video signal communication apparatus, wherein the command signal and the level detection signal are input to the semiconductor element. The video signal communication device according to claim 4,
The video signal communication apparatus, wherein the command signal is input to the level detection unit via the semiconductor element. The video signal communication device according to claim 2,
The command signal receiving unit, the level detecting unit, the high-speed communication unit, the low-speed communication unit, and the data signal processing unit are formed in one semiconductor element,
Furthermore, an operation control unit that outputs the second level detection signal using the operation control signal as the first level detection signal,
The first level detection signal is input from the semiconductor element to the operation control unit, while the second level detection signal is input from the operation control unit to the semiconductor element. A video signal communication device. The video signal communication device according to claim 1,
A video signal communication apparatus configured to be controlled to the standby state or the operation state by controlling a power supply to be supplied. The video signal communication device according to claim 1,
A video signal communication apparatus configured to be capable of inputting / outputting a plurality of sets of the command signal and the data signal.

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