JP3889584B2 - Configuration information generating apparatus, computer program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a configuration information generation device that generates configuration information required between devices connected via a network, a computer program for realizing the function of the configuration information generation device, and a recording medium, In particular, the present invention relates to a configuration information generation apparatus that generates configuration information required between devices connected via a network based on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 standard.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Between devices connected to a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard, configuration information stored in the devices can be referred to each other. As configuration information, for example, a company identifier called Vender_id, a code indicating that the physical communication protocol is IEEE 1394, a bit indicating the bus management capability of the node, a model name, and the like are stored. Also stored is a GUID (Global Unique Identifier) assigned to.
[0003]
The GUID includes a company identification ID indicating a company that manufactured the device, a department ID, a model name ID such as a device model name, and a serial ID, and a unique value is assigned to each device.
[0004]
For example, when a television and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) are connected via a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard, the television reads the configuration information of the DVD and displays the model name of the DVD on the monitor. As described above, in order to accurately display the model name of the device connected to the network, it is important to accurately store the configuration information in each device. Storage information.
[0005]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a conventional configuration information generation process. First, in the software development process, the setting information excluding the GUID and the model name are stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) in the control program (step S101). Then, in the production process, the GUID given to each device is stored in NVRAM (Non Volatile Random Access Memory) (step S102).
[0006]
After the device setting information, model name, and GUID are stored as described above, the device is shipped. After shipment, when connected to another device and the power of this device is turned on (step S103), the setting information and model name from the ROM and the GUID from the NVRAM are expanded on the RAM and generated as configuration information. (Step S104). The generated configuration information is output to other connected devices (step S105). Although it is possible to store all of the setting information, model name, and GUID information in the ROM, it is necessary to rewrite the GUID given to the model in the software development process, and the work burden is large. It is not adopted because it is not appropriate. Similarly, it is possible to store all the setting information, model name, and GUID information in the NVRAM during the production process. However, a large amount of these data (about 120 bytes) is stored in the expensive NVRAM. Is not adopted because it is disadvantageous in terms of cost and further increases the burden of checking in the production process.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, there are various types of devices to be manufactured even if they have the same function, and different model names are given depending on the types. Taking TV as an example, various model names such as C-25DTV (25 type), C-32 DTV (32 type), C-36 DTV (36 type), etc. are given according to the size of the CRT. . There are various types of model names, although the device setting information is the same, for example, the model name varies depending on the exterior color of the television.
[0008]
For this reason, conventionally, when inputting model names in the software development process, a plurality of common model names are stored and included in the configuration information. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional device information display form. As shown in the figure, the connection status of devices is shown, and the device name and model name generated by referring to the configuration information are displayed in correspondence with the device number. As for model names, as shown in the figure, a plurality of model names having common performance are listed and displayed.
[0009]
Therefore, there is a problem that a model name different from the model purchased by the user is displayed at the same time, and when many common model names are stored, many model names are displayed in the same column. There was also a problem that names could not be displayed on the same screen. This problem can be solved by storing the official model name in the ROM or the like for each different model name, but there are a variety of models with the same performance as described above. It is extremely burdensome in the production process to enter the formal model name every time.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to significantly reduce the production process by generating a configuration information by specifying a model name based on the GUID. It is possible to provide a configuration information generation apparatus capable of accurately displaying the model name and a computer program and a recording medium for realizing the functions of the configuration information generation apparatus.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A configuration information generating device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a configuration information generating device that generates configuration information of devices that are transmitted and received between devices connected via a network. A first storage unit, a second storage unit in which a plurality of model names and device setting information are stored in association with a part of the information constituting the identification information, and the identification information from the first storage unit Means for reading out part of the information constituting the information, means for extracting the model name from the second storage unit based on the part of the information constituting the read identification information, and in the second storage part Means for associating the stored device setting information, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name with the means for generating configuration information in the third storage unit It is characterized in.
[0012]
The configuration information generating apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the present invention, the configuration information generating apparatus further comprises output means for outputting the generated configuration information to the outside.
[0013]
A configuration information generating apparatus according to a third invention is characterized in that, in the first or second invention, the output means is configured to output to a device connected via a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard. .
[0014]
A computer program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer program for generating configuration information of devices transmitted / received between devices connected via a network, wherein the computer-specific identification information is stored in the computer. A step of reading a part of the information constituting the identification information from the storage unit, and a computer storing a plurality of model names and device setting information corresponding to the part of the information constituting the identification information A model name is extracted based on a part of the information constituting the read identification information from the second storage unit that has been read out, and the setting of the device stored in the second storage unit in the computer The configuration information is generated in the third storage unit by associating the information, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name. Characterized in that to execute the step of.
[0015]
A recording medium readable by a computer according to a fifth aspect of the invention is a recording medium on which a computer program for generating configuration information of a device transmitted and received between devices connected via a network is recorded. A step of reading a part of the information constituting the identification information from the first storage unit storing the device-specific identification information, and causing the computer to correspond to the part of the information constituting the identification information. A step of extracting a model name from a second storage unit storing a plurality of model names and device setting information based on a part of information constituting the read identification information; The device setting information stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name are associated with each other. Possible to execute the step of generating the configuration information in the storage unit and said.
[0016]
In the present invention, identification information (GUID) given to each device is stored in a first storage unit such as NVRAM. In addition to the device setting information, a second storage unit such as a ROM stores a plurality of model names corresponding to a part of the information constituting the identification information. For example, the model name is stored in association with the model name ID constituting the identification information (01 = C-25DTV, 02 = C-32DTV, etc.).
[0017]
When the power is turned on, part of the information constituting the identification information is read from the first storage unit, and the model name is read from the second storage unit based on the read part of the information (model name ID). To extract. Then, configuration information is generated by associating the device setting information stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name with a third storage unit such as a RAM. And since the generated configuration information is output to other connected devices, the correct model name is displayed on the other device, and the model name purchased by the user is displayed accurately for the user. Therefore, there is no confusion, and it is possible to solve the problem that the model names displayed are too many to be displayed as in the conventional case. Further, in the production process, the process of inputting the model name is deleted, so that the production efficiency can be greatly improved.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the configuration information generating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a GUID management system in NVRAM, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing storage contents in ROM, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the memory content of the model name table in the inside.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 of the configuration information generating apparatus 1 is connected via a bus 13 to a first storage unit 21 (NVRAM 21 in the figure) and a second storage unit 22 (ROM 22 in the figure). The third storage unit 23 (the RAM 23 in the figure) and the communication unit 12 are connected. The communication unit 12 transmits and receives information to and from other devices (not shown) connected via a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard.
[0020]
The first storage unit 21 is configured by, for example, NVRAM, and when the power supply voltage exceeds a predetermined value, the content stored in the built-in flash ROM is copied to the RAM, while the power supply voltage is predetermined. When the value is less than or equal to the value, the content stored in the RAM is copied to the flash ROM. Hereinafter, the first storage unit 21 is referred to as NVRAM 21.
[0021]
The NVRAM 21 stores a GUID uniquely assigned to each device in the production process. In the configuration information, it is defined by the standard that a unique GUID that is different for each device is mounted. The GUID management system will be described below with reference to FIG. The GUID is composed of blocks A to D, A is a company identification ID for specifying the company that manufactured the device, B is a department ID indicating a department, and C is a model name (model number / model name / model name, etc.) ) For identifying the model name, D is a serial ID indicating the serial number of the manufactured device.
[0022]
The second storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile ROM and stores various setting information constituting the configuration information, and further, the model name corresponding to the model name ID of the identification information. Is also stored in the model name table 22a. Hereinafter, the second storage unit 22 is referred to as a ROM 22.
[0023]
Hereinafter, the contents stored in the ROM 22 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the ROM 22 stores setting information related to various setting contents together with an expansion destination address when expanding as configuration information. As the Vender-ID, a company identifier is stored, and information indicating that the physical communication protocol is IEEE 1394 is also stored. In addition, various settings such as a bit (irmc, cmc, isc, bmc) indicating the bus management capability of the node, a clock system at the time of synchronous communication (cyc_clk_acc), and a maximum size at the time of packet reception (max_rec) are set. Information is stored.
[0024]
The setting information is read from the ROM 22 by the CPU 11 and developed on a third storage unit 23 (hereinafter referred to as the RAM 23) configured by a RAM or the like. The expansion destination is performed with reference to the expansion destination address stored in the ROM 22. Note that the GUID stored in the NVRAM 21 is also expanded on the RAM 23 with reference to the expansion destination address stored in the NVRAM 21 in order to form part of the configuration information.
[0025]
Next, the contents stored in the model name table 22a will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a model name and a development destination address are stored in association with a part of the information constituting the identification information, that is, the model name ID. The model name ID is described by an information exchange standard code such as ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). In the present embodiment, the setting information and the model name table 22a are stored in the ROM 22, but the model name table 22a may be stored in a different storage area from the ROM 22.
[0026]
In the above configuration, a configuration information generation process procedure will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a configuration information generation processing procedure. First, in the software development process, various setting information excluding the GUID and model name and information related to the model name table 22a are programmed in the ROM area of the control program, and the programmed contents are stored in the ROM 22 (step S51). Further, in the production process, the GUID uniquely assigned to the device is stored in the NVRAM 21 (step S52).
[0027]
After shipment, when connecting to another device via the IEEE 1394 standard network and turning on the power (step S53), the CPU 11 reads the GUID from the NVRAM 21 (step S54), and further reads some information of the GUID That is, the model name ID is read (step S55). The CPU 11 refers to the model name table 22a of the ROM 22 and extracts the corresponding model name and the expansion destination address based on the read model name ID (step S56).
[0028]
Subsequently, the setting information and the development destination address of each setting information are read from the ROM 22 (step S57). Then, the read setting information, model name, and GUID are expanded on the RAM 23 with reference to the respective expansion destination addresses, and configuration information is generated (step S58). The generated configuration information is output to another device (step S59), and the other device can perform plug-and-play by performing driver recognition.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 1, a computer program for reading identification information, extracting a model name, and generating configuration information is installed in a ROM 22 from a not-shown external storage device using a recording medium 1a, or a communication unit. You may make it provide by downloading from 12. Such a computer program is loaded into the RAM 23 of the configuration information generating apparatus 1 and executed. Thereby, it functions as the configuration information generating apparatus 1 of the present invention as described above. In this embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a device connected to a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to other communication standards.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, in the present invention, identification information given to each device is stored in the first storage unit. In addition to the device setting information, the second storage unit stores a plurality of model names corresponding to some information constituting the identification information.
[0031]
When the power is turned on, some information constituting the identification information is read from the first storage unit, and the model name is extracted from the second storage unit based on the read partial information. Then, configuration information is generated by associating the device setting information stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name with the third storage unit. And since the generated configuration information is output to other connected devices, the correct model name is displayed on the other device, and the model name purchased by the user is displayed accurately for the user. Therefore, there is no confusion, and it is possible to solve the problem that the model names displayed are too many to be displayed as in the conventional case. Further, in the production process, since the process of inputting the model name is deleted, the present invention can have excellent effects such as the production efficiency can be greatly improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a configuration information generating apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a GUID management system in NVRAM;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing stored contents in a ROM.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing contents stored in a model name table in a ROM.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a configuration information generation processing procedure;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of conventional configuration information generation processing.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display form of conventional device information.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Configuration Information Generation Device 1a Recording Medium 21 First Storage Unit (NVRAM)
22 Second storage unit (ROM)
22a Model name table 23 Third storage (RAM)

Claims (5)

In a configuration information generating device that generates configuration information of devices transmitted and received between devices connected via a network,
A first storage unit storing device-specific identification information;
A second storage unit in which a plurality of model names and device setting information are stored in association with a part of the information constituting the identification information;
Means for reading out part of the information constituting the identification information from the first storage unit;
Means for extracting a model name from the second storage unit based on a part of information constituting the read identification information;
Means for generating configuration information in a third storage unit by associating the setting information of the device stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name; A configuration information generation apparatus comprising: The configuration information generating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising output means for outputting the generated configuration information to the outside. The output means includes
3. The configuration information generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information generating apparatus is configured to output to a device connected via a network based on the IEEE 1394 standard. In a computer program for generating configuration information of devices transmitted and received between devices connected via a network,
Causing the computer to read a part of information constituting the identification information from the first storage unit in which identification information unique to the device is stored;
Part of the identification information read out from the second storage unit in which a plurality of model names and device setting information are stored in correspondence with a part of information constituting the identification information in the computer Extracting the model name based on the information of
Configuration information is generated in the third storage unit by associating the setting information of the device stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name with the computer. And a step of causing the computer program to be executed. In a recording medium on which a computer program for generating configuration information of devices transmitted and received between devices connected via a network is recorded,
Causing the computer to read a part of information constituting the identification information from the first storage unit in which identification information unique to the device is stored;
Part of the identification information read out from the second storage unit in which a plurality of model names and device setting information are stored in correspondence with a part of information constituting the identification information in the computer Extracting the model name based on the information of
Configuration information is generated in the third storage unit by associating the setting information of the device stored in the second storage unit, the identification information stored in the first storage unit, and the extracted model name with the computer. A computer-readable recording medium on which a computer program for executing the step is recorded.

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