JP2789677B2 - Home / bus information display method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in the following order.

A Industrial Fields B Outline of the Invention C Prior Art D Problems to be Solved by the Invention E Means for Solving the Problems F Function G Embodiment G ₁ Overall System Configuration G ₂ Configuration of Television Receiver and Basic operation G ₃ Operation at the time of status change G ₄ Operation at the time of status display mode H Effect of the invention A Industrial application field The present invention uses a so-called home bus such as a coaxial cable connected to an antenna line. And a home bus information display system capable of monitoring control states of a plurality of devices.

B SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control means for inputting a control signal from the outside using a so-called home bus such as a coaxial cable connected to an antenna line, performing control of itself based on the control signal, and controlling the control means. A plurality of electric devices having control state signal output means for outputting a control state signal indicating a control state; connected to the plurality of electric devices via a bus line; and controlling the control state of the electric device based on the control state signal. A television receiver having a superimposing display means for selectively superimposing and displaying information on a video on a screen, and a television receiver having a control signal output means for generating and outputting the control signal. It is possible to grasp the control state of a plurality of electric devices while watching the image on the screen and to control the plurality of electric devices.

C. Related Art In general homes and offices, various kinds of electric devices (hereinafter, referred to as devices) such as home appliances, lighting devices, and security systems have come to be used. Conventionally, each of these devices is set independently, and in order to control the operation of these devices, an attached remote control commander is used, or a control switch or the like provided in these devices is used. Had to be operated directly.

Therefore, even when it is desired to know what kind of control state these devices are set to, it is necessary to move these devices to a position where they can be visually recognized.

In order to solve such inconveniences, a central control panel separately connected to each of the plurality of devices is separately provided, and the central control panel controls the devices in a centralized manner and controls the devices. A system for monitoring the state is conceivable. However, providing such a separate central control panel complicates the system and disadvantageously reduces the space use efficiency. Further, there is an inconvenience that wiring for connecting those devices and the central control panel becomes complicated. In order to eliminate such inconvenience, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-287195 a home bus information display system in which information indicating the control state of other devices is displayed intensively on a television receiver. Suggested.

D Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, in the home bus information display method of the prior application, there is an inconvenience that information indicating the control state is displayed even for a device that does not need to display the control state. That is, for example, when the information indicating the control state of the VTR is to be displayed on a television receiver, a video signal corresponding to a character indicating the control information is generated inside the approximate VTR, and this video signal is generated. There are models that perform RF modulation and transmit it to the television receiver. Such when using the VTR, the VTR on the screen of the television receiver that is generated within the first 18 as shown in FIG., The tube surface transmitted from VTR display information DP ₁ and the television receiver so that the information DP ₂ showing the control status of the from being displayed more than once.

Further, if another person other than the viewer of the television receiver uses the audio device in another room, the control information is transmitted to the television receiver every time the other person operates the audio device. May be very troublesome for the viewer of the television receiver. In this case, for example, it is convenient if only the security information can be displayed on the television receiver and the display of the control information of the audio device can be stopped.
In addition, when watching a TV drama, display of control information of another device may rather hinder viewing.

In such a case, it is conceivable to disconnect devices that do not need to be displayed from the bus system, but this makes it impossible to control the state via the bus.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a general home or office that can centrally monitor the control state of a plurality of devices without separately providing a central control panel, and can stop displaying unnecessary information. The purpose is to propose a display method.

E Means for Solving the Problems The home bus information display method according to the present invention is, for example, a first bus information display method.
As shown in the figure, an external control signal is input, and control means for controlling itself based on the control signal, and control state signal output means (28) for outputting a control state signal indicating its own control state (28), ( 48) a plurality of electrical devices (10),
(13), (16), (23)} and these multiple electrical devices (10), (13), (16), (23)} are connected by bus lines (4), (21). , Based on the control state signal, the electric equipment (10), (13), (16), (23)
Display means (32), (40), (43) for selectively superimposing and displaying information indicating the control state of the image on the screen, and control signal output means (32) for generating and outputting the control signal.
(28) and a television receiver (6).

According to the present invention, the plurality of devices (10) are usually displayed on a video screen of a television receiver (6) which is usually installed in a general home or office and is most suitable as a terminal of a so-called man-machine interface. ), (13), (16), etc. are displayed in a superimposed manner. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a central control panel or the like, and the viewer can watch a plurality of electric devices (10), (13), (16), (23) In addition to being able to grasp the control status of (1), multiple electrical devices (1
0), (13), (16), (23) ‥‥ can be controlled.

Furthermore, since the stop of the superimposed display can be selected for each device, the display of unnecessary information for the viewer can be stopped.

G Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the home bus information display method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this example, the present invention is applied to a system that can centrally control home electric appliances and security devices in a general home, and further, can centrally monitor the control state of those home electric appliances and security devices. It was done.

System Configuration Figure 1 of the entire G ₁ represents an arrangement of such appliances in homes of this example, in the Figure 1, (1) the television broadcast receiving antenna, (2) the antenna line, (3) is a switch, (4) is a coaxial cable connected to the antenna line (2) through the switch (3), and (5) is a coaxial cable (5) through the switch (3). 4) is a branch coaxial cable having one end connected thereto, and the other end of the branch coaxial cable (5) is connected to an input terminal of a television receiver (6). Note that a so-called ribbon feeder or glasses-type feeder may be used instead of the coaxial cables (4) and (5). (7) is the television receiver (6)
Is a commander for the viewer to remotely control. In this example, as described later, the viewer can operate this commander (7) to centrally control all devices such as home appliances and security devices via the television receiver (6). At the same time, the control state of all devices can be superimposedly displayed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver (6).

A video tape recorder (VTR) (10) is connected to the coaxial cable (4) through a branching machine (8) and a branch coaxial cable (9), and a branching device (11) and a branch synchronous shaft cable (12) are connected. ), A so-called video disc reproducing device (13) is connected, and a splitter (14) and an audio device (16) are connected via a split coaxial cable (15), and a splitter (17) and a split coaxial cable ( Connect one input / output terminal of the signal exchange device (19) via 18). Also, (20)
Is a breaker, and the input terminal of this breaker (20) is a commercial power supply E of about 100V AC and 50Hz and 60Hz frequency.
And the output terminal of this breaker (20) is connected to the AC power line (21) in the general home. The other input / output terminal of the signal exchange (19) is connected to this AC power supply line (21) via a branch line (22). This signal exchange device (19)
Transmits the control signal flowing through the coaxial cable (4) so as to be superimposed on the 50 Hz or 60 Hz sine wave power signal of the AC power line (21), and transmits the control signal flowing through the AC power line (21).
It has a function of extracting a control signal or a control state signal superimposed on a sinusoidal power supply signal of Hz and transmitting it to the coaxial cable (4) side.

In the case of a VTR (10) as an example, the "control signal" is a signal corresponding to "VTR ON" which is an instruction for changing the VTR (10) from an off state to an on state, for example. The "control status signal" is, for example, the VTR (10)
Is a signal corresponding to "VTR ON", which is a message output to the outside in response to a request from the outside when is ON.

The AC power line (21) has a door lock device (23), an entrance light (24A), a living room light (24B),
Dishwasher (25), microwave oven (26), bedroom air conditioner (27
A) and the living room air conditioner (27B) are connected in parallel. The door lock device (23) to the living room air conditioner (27B) and the like respectively extract the control signal flowing by superimposing the AC power line (21) on the sine wave power signal and superimposing the control signal on the sine wave power signal. A bus interface (48) capable of outputting a control signal or the like by a built-in controller (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the door lock device (23) to the living room air conditioner (27B) are connected to the television receiver (6) via the AC power line (21), the signal exchange device (19), and the coaxial cable (4), respectively. It is connected. In addition, television receivers (6), VTRs (10), etc.
Although connected to the AC power supply line (21), it is not used for transmitting a control signal in this example, so that its wiring is omitted in the drawing.

In this example, as described above, the so-called home bus of the coaxial cable (4) connected to the antenna line (2) and the AC power supply line (21) is used as the bus line. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to separately perform new wiring. Further, as a home bus, there is a telephone line which is indispensable to ordinary households, and it is a matter of course that this telephone line can be used as a bus line. In this case, it is convenient to have a signal exchange device for connecting the coaxial cable (4) to the telephone line or a signal exchange device for connecting the AC power supply line (21) to the telephone line.

Configuration and basic operation Figure 2 of G ₂ television receiver mainly shows a configuration of a television receiver of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, (28) is a bus interface, the bus interface ( 28) comprises a frequency separation modulation / demodulation circuit (29) in which a branch coaxial cable (5) is connected to an input / output terminal, and a home bus interface circuit (30). In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, a frequency band (50) of 90 MHz or more is used for television broadcasting, so that a frequency band (49) of about 0 to 50 kHz is used for home and home.
Used for transmitting control signals for buses. However, it is better not to use in the vicinity of the power supply frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz and in the vicinity of its harmonics. Therefore, the frequency separation / modulation / demodulation circuit (29) filters a signal (RF signal) in the frequency band (50) and supplies it to the tuner (31), a band-pass filter for filtering the signal in the frequency band (49), It comprises a demodulation circuit for demodulating a signal in the frequency band (49) to obtain a digital signal, a modulation circuit for modulating the digital signal into a signal in the frequency band (49), and the like. The home bus interface circuit (30) is connected to the frequency separation modulation / demodulation circuit (2
9) and send and receive digital signals corresponding to the control signals.

Also, (32) is a music selection microcomputer (music selection) as a central control device of the television receiver (6).
CPU) and (33) are chassis buses such as a two-wire bus line composed of a clock bus and a data bus,
(34) is a sound detection circuit, (35) is a sound amplification circuit, (36)
Is a speaker, (37) is a color demodulation / synchronization separation circuit, (38) is a vertical and horizontal deflection circuit, and (39) is a deflection coil. Reference numeral (40) denotes an RGB switching circuit.
0) switches between the three primary color signals input from the color demodulation / tuning / separation circuit (37) and the three primary color signals input from the tube display circuit (43), and outputs to the video output circuit (41).
In 2), images corresponding to the two sets of three primary color signals are displayed in a superimposed manner or independently of each other.

Also, (44) is a non-volatile memory, (45) is a photodiode that converts infrared rays from the commander (7) into an electric signal, and (46) is an amplifier that amplifies the electric signal to select a song (3).
The amplifier circuit for transmitting to 2), (47) is a bus status display LED, and this bus status display LED (47) is illuminated while a control signal is flowing through the bus lines (4) and (21). Done. In this example, the commander (7) is provided with keys for controlling all the devices (6), (10), (13), etc., and the remote control signal of the commander (7) is the fourth signal.
As shown in the figure, it is composed of a 1-byte device address (51) and a 4-byte function code (52). If the device address (51) of the remote control signal input from the commander (7) is not in the television category, the tuning CPU (32) transmits the device address (51).
And the function code (52) is transmitted to the branch coaxial cable (5) via the bus interface (28).
In addition, the bus interface (28)
When the device address (51) and the function code (52) are supplied to the CPU (32), the channel selection CPU
(32) decodes those codes and performs the corresponding operation.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
(10) and video disc playback device (1
3) and the like have a bus interface (28) like the television receiver (6). And AC power line (21)
The door lock device (23) and the like connected to the bus interface (4) have substantially the same structure as the bus interface (28).
8). Therefore, the VTR (10) and the door lock device (23) can be controlled by the television receiver (6).

The basic functions of the television receiver (6) of this example are summarized below.

Operation when status changes (1) This is when a control signal or a control state signal is transmitted from a device other than the television receiver (6) to the television receiver (6) via the bus lines (21) and (4). If
And television receiver (6) using commander (7)
This is an operation when a control signal for operating each device is supplied to the bus lines (4) and (21) via the interface. Specifically, when the VTR (10) is turned on from the commander (7) via the television receiver (6) and its bus line (4), the television receiver ( In 6), there may be a case where a command "change the receiving channel to the second channel for VTR" is sent. in this case,
After receiving the command code, the television receiver (6) changes the receiving channel to the second channel and, at the same time, displays, for example, the display screen of "2CH".

 Operation when status changes (2) This is an operation when the control state of each device changes.

Specifically, when the VTR (10) is accidentally turned on / off by an infant, etc., when the entrance door is opened → closed or closed → open, or when the light (24A) is turned on / off, etc. Can be considered. In this case, the device whose control state has changed transmits its own device address and the function code corresponding to the control state after the change on the bus lines (21) and (4), so that the television receiver ( 6) can recognize that the control state has changed by the bus interface (28). Therefore, if necessary, the television receiver (6) performs a display on the screen (for example, "VTR ON") corresponding to the changed state.

Operation in status display mode This operation is performed when the viewer wants to know the current state of each device. In this case, the viewer sends a status display command to the television receiver (6) using the commander (7). In response, the television receiver (6) inquires of all devices via the bus lines (4) and (21) about the current control state. Information indicating the current control state is sent from each device to the television receiver (6) via the bus lines (4) and (21) in a format responding to this, so that the television receiver (6) The information is displayed on the display.
In this case, when the bus interface (28) or (48) outputs a signal to the bus line (4) or (21) from one of the bus interfaces (28) or (48), the other bus interface (28) or (48) Since the interfaces (28) and (48) do not output signals, the signals do not interfere.

Operation in Control Mode This is an operation when the viewer controls the state of each device via the television receiver (6) and the bus lines (4) and (21) using the commander (7). Specifically, there is a case where the VTR (10) is turned on using the commander (7), and a case where the light (24A) or the like is turned off. VTR of which (10)
When the viewer turns on the VTR on button of the commander (7), the television receiver (6) sends a control signal corresponding to "VTR ON" to the bus line (4), “VTR ON” is displayed superimposed on the video screen (42a).
However, it is also possible to adopt a handshake-like operation of superimposing the control state signal when the control state signal corresponding to "VTR ON" is returned from the VTR (10). Similarly, when turning off the light (24A) or the like, the viewer can use the commander (7).
When the button for turning off the light is pressed, the light (24A) is turned off and superimposed and displayed, for example, "LIGHT OFF".

The following description focuses on the operation when monitoring the control state of each device using the television receiver (6).

The operation of the VTR (10) status change during this example of the television receiver (6) with reference to FIG. 5-FIG. 7 will be described in detail as an operation example when G ₃ change in status. In this case, a remote control signal (hereinafter, referred to as remote control input) is input to the television receiver (6) from the commander (7), or the control state of each device is input from the bus lines (4) and (21). (Hereinafter, referred to as bus input). In this example, it is assumed that a remote control input for turning on the VTR (10) is issued from the commander (7).

First, the channel selection CPU (3) in the television receiver (6)
As shown in FIG. 5, in step (102), the presence or absence of a remote operation signal input or a bus input is detected in step (102), and if there is any input, the flow proceeds to step (103) and the input signal is detected. It is checked whether the first one byte of the device address is in the television category. Step (104) when the device address is in the TV category
The processing corresponding to the lower 4 bytes of the function code is performed. If the device address is not the television category, the process proceeds to step (105).
Further, it is checked whether or not the device address is in the VTR category.

If the device address is not in the VTR category, the channel selection CPU (32) shifts to step (106) to determine whether or not the device address exists in the device address table in the internal ROM of the channel selection CPU (32). After it is checked, if it exists, display processing of the other existing equipment is performed (step (107)). If the device address does not exist in the device address table, the channel selection CPU (3.
2) 10-bit control signal (1-byte device address and 4-byte function code)
The converted hexadecimal number is displayed in a superimposed manner on the video screen (42a) of the picture tube (42) as shown in FIG. 7B by using the display panel display circuit (43).

The display as shown in FIG. 7B may be caused by noise mixed in the bus line or by an erroneous operation of the commander (7). Therefore, there is an advantage that the viewer can recognize the occurrence of noise or malfunction due to the display, and a service person can decode the displayed code and use it for maintenance or the like. Further, instead of the superimposed display as shown in FIG. 7B,
A message such as “No corresponding function” may be superimposed.

If the device address is in the VTR category in step (105), the channel selection CPU (32) shifts to step (109) to determine whether the remaining 4-byte function code corresponds to "power on". Is checked, and if not applicable, it is checked whether or not the function code exists in the function table in the internal ROM (step (110)). If the function code exists, a process corresponding to the function code is performed (step (111)). If the function code does not exist, the "VTR" message and the function code are converted to an 8-digit hexadecimal number. The converted numerical value is displayed on the tube surface as shown in FIG. 7A (tape (112)).

If the function code corresponds to "power on", the channel selection CPU (32) shifts from step (109) to step (113) to transfer the device address and the function code to the bus line (5). After transferring the message to the VTR (10) via the VTR (10) and inputting the "VTR ON" message to the screen display circuit (43), the display color is selected according to the content of the message and the display color is selected. An instruction is given (step (114)). The display color selection criteria are, for example, "red" when the dishwasher is running, when the VTR is turned on, and when the door lock device is open.
When the dishwasher is stopped, when the power of the VTR is off, and when the door lock device is closed, the color is set to “green”.

Therefore, according to the present example, the safe state is displayed in "green" and the dangerous state is displayed in "red", so that the viewer can see at a glance whether it is safe or dangerous. is there.

Next, the tuning CPU (32) proceeds to step (115) and checks whether or not the display mode is the whole. Specifically, the state of a selection switch provided on the back of the television receiver (6) or the like is checked, or the command is previously written to a flag in the nonvolatile memory (44) by the commander (7). By reading the information, it is possible to identify whether or not the display mode is set. If the display mode is not the entire display mode, the display goes to step (118) and the display on the screen is not performed. You can optionally stop all the benefits that you can. If the display mode as a whole is in the display mode, the process proceeds to step (150) to check whether or not the VTR display flag is on. If the display flag is off (ie, low level "0"), step (118) No display is made after turning to. This step (150) is a step of individually checking the presence or absence of display.

If the VTR display flag is on, go to step (11
Proceed to 6), and the channel selection CPU (32) switches the screen display circuit (43) and
The RGB switching circuit (40) is operated to turn on the superimposed display on the screen, as shown in FIG. After this display on the screen is performed for 3 seconds (step (117)), the display on the screen is turned off. According to this example, the message indicating the control state of the device such as the VTR (10) is superimposed and displayed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver (6).
Viewers have the benefit of easily checking the status of their devices whenever they are watching a television program.

Further, according to the present example, the television receiver (6) which is usually installed in a general home or office and includes a commander (7) and a picture tube (42) and is most suitable as a terminal of a so-called man-machine interface. ) Can be used to monitor the status of each device or bus line (4), (21), so there is no need to provide a separate central control panel, which has advantages in space use efficiency and cost. is there.

Further, in this example, since step (117) in FIG. 5 is provided and the display time of the TV screen is limited to a predetermined time or less, it is difficult for the viewer to watch the television program, and the TV receiver is not affected. There is an advantage that it does not hinder the superimposed display of channel information and the like on the tube surface (42a) of (42). In addition, the viewer is free from the trouble of frequently switching the display mode on / off.

In this example, as shown in FIG.
Since (47) is provided, the television receiver (6) blinks its bus state display LED (47) when control information is flowing through the bus line (4). Therefore, there is an advantage that the viewer can easily visually recognize whether or not the information is distributed to the bus lines (4) and (21).

G ₄ status display key is operated television receiver operation commander, such as when the status display mode (7) (6) of the picture tube (42) to control the state of each device (hereinafter, referred to as status.) Shows the The operation when displaying messages sequentially will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this case, in this example, the "manual display mode" and the "auto display mode" are set to the commander (7).
In the "manual display mode", only one key operation superimposes and displays only the status information of a certain category of devices. In the "auto display mode", all key devices can be selected with one key operation. Are automatically superimposed and displayed in sequence.

In FIG. 8, when there is a remote control input from the commander (7) (step (119)), the tuning CPU (32) proceeds to step (120) to check whether or not the input command is a status display command. If it is not a status display command, a process corresponding to the input command is performed in step (121). When the status display command is input, the process proceeds to steps (122) to (125), and first, the tuning CPU (32) increments the variable n in the built-in RAM by one. This variable n is normally set to 0 when the power is turned on. Next, all status request commands are sequentially output from the television receiver (6) to the devices of the n-th category via the bus lines (4) and (21), and then the n-th devices are output.
Status information is sequentially returned from the category device to the television receiver (6). Tuning CPU (3
2) The built-in RA is organized by dividing the returned status information into the amount that can be displayed on one screen (hereinafter referred to as pages).
Remember in M. Thereafter, the tuning CPU (32) transmits the stored status information to, for example, as shown in FIG.
The page is divided into pages (55A) and pages (56A) and sequentially superimposed and displayed on the video screen.

The channel selection CPU (32) proceeds to step (126) and checks whether or not the variable n is smaller than the maximum value N. If n is smaller than N, whether or not the current display mode is the "auto display mode" Is checked (step (127)). If the mode is the "auto display mode", the flow shifts to step (128), and after 5 seconds have passed since the last page of the n-th category is displayed, the operation of the tuning CPU (32) shifts to step (122). And ninth
As shown in FIG. B, the status display of the devices of the (n + 1) th category is made for each of pages (55B) to (58B). Also,
In step (127), if the mode is not the "auto display mode", that is, if the mode is the "manual display mode", the channel selection CPU (32) waits for remote control input (step (129)). In this state, when the viewer issues a status display command in the "manual display mode" from the command (7), the television receiver (6) displays the (n +
1) The status information of the category is displayed.

When the variable n reaches the maximum value N in step (126), that is, when the display of the status information of all the category devices is completed, the operation of the tuning CPU (32) proceeds to step (130), and the variable n is changed to Initially set to 0. Then, in step (131), a check is made to determine whether or not the camera is in the "auto display mode".
If, the final category display process is performed (step (132)). Specifically, after displaying the last page for 5 seconds, the superimposed display of the status information is turned off.
It would be possible to keep the last page displayed. When the mode is the "manual display mode" in step (131), the operation of the tuning CPU (32) shifts to step (129).

According to this example, the viewer may optionally choose the bus line (4),
There is an advantage that the control state of the device connected to (21) can be known. Further, when the viewer merely operates the status display key of the commander (7), the status information of each device is displayed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver (6) as shown in FIGS. The pages are displayed sequentially by category and by page. Therefore, there is an advantage that the display is easy for the viewer to see.

In this example, status information is displayed for each category as shown in FIG. 9, but only basic status information such as ON / OFF or open / close of each device is displayed as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. May be displayed collectively for each page.

Further, the commander (7) could be provided with a status display key for each category. In this case, there is an advantage that the status information of the category desired by the viewer can be quickly superimposed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver (6).

Next, the operation when the television receiver (6) receives a remote control input or a bus input during status display will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. in this case,
The operation of the tuning CPU (32) shifts from step (133) in FIG. 11 to step (134). Since it is assumed that the status is currently being displayed, the flow directly shifts to step (136). Then, the tuning CPU (32) determines the head 1-byte device address and the 4-byte function code of the input control signal, and then displays the current status display, for example, from FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B. , The display is switched to the display of the category and page corresponding to the determined device and function (step (137)). further,
In step (138), the display portion (for example, the portion surrounded by the broken line (59) in FIG. 12B) of the determined device and function blinks (blinks) or
The display color of the display part is made different from the display color of the other parts. For example, if the display color of the superimposed display in FIG. 12A is green, the display color of the portion surrounded by the broken line (159) in FIG. 12B is yellow.

According to the example of FIG. 11, there is an advantage that the viewer can easily and surely confirm the occurrence of the bus input or the change of the control state of each device even during the status display.

Referring to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the operation when a demonstration of home bus information display is performed using the television receiver (6) of this example will be described.
In this case, the television receiver (6) can receive only the television broadcast signal, and the bus lines (4),
Other devices (10), (13), etc., need not be connected to (21).

To set the television receiver (6) of the present example to the demonstration mode, the power key is pressed while the volume adjustment key on the main body side of the receiver (6) is being pressed when the power is turned on. At this time, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) is the first
3 Step (139) → Step (140) → Step (1
Perform the demonstration operation after shifting to 42). Then, the channel selection CPU (32) initializes the contents of the area for storing the status information of each device in the internal RAM according to the program of the internal ROM, and then stores the status information of each device in, for example, FIGS. As shown in (1), the images are sequentially superimposed and displayed on the video screen (steps (143) and (144)). Next, Fig. 14 Z
As shown in (1), status information of all categories is displayed for each category and each page (steps (145), (14)).
6)). Thereafter, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) proceeds to step (14).
Returning to 0), if the volume adjustment key is still being pressed, the demonstration operation is performed again.

According to the example shown in FIG. 13, the television receiver (6) operates as if a plurality of devices are connected to the bus lines (4) and (21).
There is an advantage that is effective when explaining a bus system.

Further, the television receiver (6) of this example is provided with a home / bus mode switch (60) as shown in FIG. 15A. When the home bus mode switch (60) is operated to set the television receiver (6) to the home bus mode, the picture tube (42) of the television receiver (6) is shown in FIG. As shown in A, only the status information of each device connected to the bus lines (4) and (21) is displayed alone on the entire surface. Specifically, for example, white status information is displayed in a blue background (blue back) (61). And, for example, at the entrance light (24
When A) is turned off, as shown in FIG. 15B, the display of "Genkan Light OFF" surrounded by a broken line (63) is switched to a blinking display (blinking) or a display of a different display color, and at the same time, A warning sound is emitted from the speaker (36) of the television receiver (6).

According to the example shown in FIG. 15, the television receiver (6) can be used exclusively as a monitor for a plurality of devices connected to the bus lines (4) and (21).

Finally, in this example, the state of the display flag of each device is individually switched so that the viewer can select whether or not to display the information on the control state of each device on the television receiver. The operation of the mode in which the state of the display flag of each device is individually switched will be described with reference to FIG. 16 and FIG. At this time, the viewer sets the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) of the television receiver (6) to the display flag setting mode by operating a switch of the television receiver body or a predetermined key of the commander.

In step (151) in FIG. 16, the tuning CPU (32) sets the display screen of the television receiver (6) to the display flag setting mode as shown in FIG. Set cursor DP ₃ to "ALL"
It is set to the "ON" position (step (152)). This "AL
"L ON" means that the display flags of all devices are set to ON (that is, high level "1") collectively. When a viewer who desires this collective setting operates, for example, the "SET" key of a commander, a channel selection is performed. The operation of the CPU (32) shifts from step (153) to step (154), turns on the display flags of all devices, and waits for an input from the commander (step (15)
Five)).

When the viewer operates, for example, a "pass" key of the commander in step (153), the channel selection CPU (32) executes step (1).
Proceed from step 53) to step (156) to select cursor D in FIG.
Setting the P ₃ at the position of the "ALL OFF" of one line down. At this time, when the viewer operates the “SET” key of the commander, the display flags of all devices are turned off collectively (steps (157) to (1)
59)), viewer cursor DP ₃ of FIG. 17 and operates the "pass" key of the commander is further set to position "VTR" down one line (step (157), (160)). Then, in step (161), when the viewer operates the "SET" key of the commander, the display flag for the VTR is inverted (step (162)), and the viewer passes the "pass" of the commander.
Its cursor DP ₃ without displaying flag of the VTR is changed is set further to the position of "VD" down one line by operating the key (step 163).

Subsequently, in step (164), when the viewer operates the "SET" key of the commander, the display flag for the video disc reproducing apparatus is inverted (step (16)
5)), by the viewer operates the "pass" key of the commander, the video disc reproducing apparatus display flag is the cursor DP ₃ without changing further down one line "AUD
It is set to the position of "IO" (step (166)). After switching display flags for other devices in the same manner, the channel selection CPU (32) waits for input from the commander (steps (167) and (168)).

As described above, according to this example, the display flag for each device connected to the television receiver through the bus line is provided, and the state of these display flags can be individually switched, so that it is not necessary for the viewer. There is an advantage that the display of the control information of the device can be stopped at any time and individually.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be modified without changing the gist. For example, in FIG. 11, a warning sound is emitted from the speaker (36) of the television receiver (6) so as to warn the viewer when there is a remote control input or a bus input during the status display. Is also good.

H Effects of the Invention According to the home / bus information display method of the present invention, as described above, it is usually installed in a general home or office and on a video screen of a television receiver which is optimal as a terminal of a so-called man-machine interface. The control states of a plurality of devices are superimposed and displayed according to the viewer's request. Therefore,
There is no need to provide a separate device such as a central control panel, and a viewer can watch a plurality of electric devices (10), (13), (16), and (23) while watching the image on the screen of the television receiver (6). ) ‥
There is an advantage that the control state of ‥ can be grasped and the plurality of electric devices (10), (13), (16), (23) can be controlled.

Further, according to the present invention, since the stop of the superimposed display can be selected for each device, there is an advantage that the display of information on the control state of the device which is not necessary for the viewer can be individually stopped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a system according to an embodiment of the home bus information display system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a television receiver of the embodiment, and FIG. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a remote control signal of the commander of the embodiment, FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the operation when the status changes in the embodiment, and FIG. Figure to No.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the status display mode of the embodiment, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams for explaining the operation when there is a bus input or the like during the status display, respectively. FIGS. 13 to 15 are diagrams for explaining operations in a demonstration mode and the like, respectively, and FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrams for explaining operations in a display flag setting mode, respectively.
FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the prior art. (2) is an antenna line, (4) is a coaxial cable, (6) is a television receiver, (7) is a commander, (19) is a signal exchange device, (21) is an AC power line, (28) and ( 48) is a bus interface, and (42) is a picture tube.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yoshio Kube 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (56) References JP-A-61-1137 (JP, A) JP-A Sho 61-150098 (JP, A) JP-A-63-198443 (JP, A) JP-A-64-72388 (JP, A) JP-A-2-132997 (JP, A) (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04Q 9/00-9/16

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of electric devices, comprising: a control means for receiving a control signal from the outside and controlling itself based on the control signal; and a control state signal output means for outputting a control state signal indicating the control state of the control unit. A device, connected to the plurality of electric devices via a bus line, and based on the control state signal, superimposed display means for selectively superimposing information indicating a control state of the electric device on a video on a screen, and the control And a television receiver having a control signal output means for generating and outputting a signal.