JPH0310596A - Home bus information display system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize concentrated monitoring of a control state of plural apparatuses by connecting plural apparatuses and a television receiver with a bus line, displaying the control state of those plural apparatuses superposed on a TV screen of its television receiver, and also, selectively deleting its superposed display. CONSTITUTION:To a coaxial cable 4, a television receiver 6, a (VCR) 10, a video disk reproducing device 13 and an audio device 16 are connected through branch devices 3, 8, 11 and 14 and branch coaxial cables 5, 9, 12 and 15, respectively, and one terminal of a signal switching device 19 is connected through a branch device 17 and a branch coaxial cable 18. Also, to an AC power source line 21 in a general household, the other terminal of the signal switching device 19 is connected through a branch line 22. The signal switching device 19 superposes a control signal flowing through a coaxial cable 4 to an AC power source line 21, and also, extracts a control signal or a control state signal superposed on the AC power source line 21 and transmits it to the coaxial cable 4 side. In such a way, on a video screen of the receiver 6, information for showing a control state of the apparatuses 10, 13, 16, etc., is superposed and displayed, and also, at every apparatus, a deletion of each superposed display can be selected.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention will be explained in the following order.

A. Field of industrial application B. Overview of the invention C. Prior art D. Problem to be solved by the invention E. Means for solving the problem F. Effect G. Example G1 Overall system configuration G2 Configuration and basics of the television receiver G, Operation when status changes G4 Operation when status display mode, etc. ! The present invention relates to a home bus information display method that can monitor the control status of multiple devices.

B. Summary of the Invention The present invention is a home bus information display method that can monitor the control status of multiple devices using a so-called home bus such as a coaxial cable connected to an antenna line, Connect to the receiver with a bus line,
Information indicating the control status of these multiple devices is sent to the bus line, and information indicating the control status of the multiple devices is displayed in a superimposed manner on the video screen of the television receiver. By making it possible to select whether to stop the superimposed display, it is now possible to centrally monitor the status of other home appliances, security systems, etc. on a television receiver in an ordinary household, and also to stop displaying unnecessary information. This is what I did.

C. Prior Art A wide variety of devices such as home appliances, lighting devices, and security systems have come to be used in homes and offices. Conventionally, each of these devices has been set independently, and in order to control the operation of these devices, you must use the attached remote control commander or use the control switches etc. provided on these devices. had to be operated directly.

Therefore, even when it is desired to know what kind of control state these devices are set to, there is an inconvenience in that the user must move these devices to a position where they can be seen.

In order to eliminate this inconvenience, a separate central control panel is installed that is connected to each of these multiple devices, and this central control panel centrally controls the devices, and also controls the devices. A system for monitoring the status is also possible. However, providing a separate central control panel has the disadvantage of complicating the system and reducing the efficiency of space use. Furthermore, what about the wiring to connect those devices to their central control panel? ! This has the disadvantage of becoming cluttered. In order to eliminate such inconveniences, the present applicant proposed a home/bus information display system in which information indicating the control status of other equipment is displayed centrally on a television receiver in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-287195. proposed.

D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the home bus information display method of the prior application had the disadvantage that information indicating the control status of devices that did not need to display their control status was displayed.

That is, for example, when considering displaying information indicating the control status of a VTR on a television receiver, modern VTRs internally generate a video signal corresponding to characters indicating control information, and this video signal There is a model that RF modulates the signal and transmits it to the television receiver side. VT like this
When using R, the screen of the television receiver displays the screen display information DP transmitted from the VTR and the control status of the VTR generated inside the television receiver, as shown in FIG. The information DP2 indicating the information will be displayed overlappingly with the information DP2.

Furthermore, if a person other than the viewer of the television receiver is using audio equipment in a different room, the control information will be transferred to the television receiver each time the other person operates the audio equipment. It may be very troublesome for the viewer of the television receiver if the image is displayed on the television receiver.

In this case, it would be convenient if, for example, only the security information could be displayed on the television receiver and the display of the control information for the audio equipment could be stopped.

Furthermore, when viewing a television drama, the display of control information for other devices may actually interfere with viewing.

In such a case, it may be possible to disconnect devices that do not require display from the bus system, but this would make it impossible to control the status via the lotus.

In view of these points, the present invention has been developed to allow the control status of multiple devices to be centrally monitored and to stop displaying unnecessary information without having to install a separate central control panel in a general home or office. The purpose is to propose an information display method.

E. Means for Solving the Problems The home bus information display method according to the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG.
(16) etc., is connected to the television receiver (6) through bus lines (4) and (21), and information indicating the control status of these multiple devices (for example, starting a VTR, etc.) is transmitted to the bus line (4). , (21), and superimposed information indicating the control status of the plurality of devices (for example, νTRO)J'' on the video screen of the television receiver (6), and It is possible to select whether to stop the superimposed display.

According to the present invention, a plurality of devices (10 ), (13)(16)
Information indicating the control status, etc., is displayed in a superimposed manner. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide something like a central control panel.

Furthermore, since you can choose to stop the superimposed display for each device,
It is possible to stop displaying information that is unnecessary for the viewer.

G. Embodiment Hereinafter, one embodiment of the home bus information display system of 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 appliances, security devices, etc. in a general household, and centrally monitor the control status of these home appliances, security devices, etc. This is what I did.

System configuration of the entire G1 Figure 1 shows the arrangement of home appliances, etc. in a general household in this example. In Figure 1, (1) is an antenna for receiving television broadcasting, (2) is an antenna line, ( 3) is a branch, (4) is a coaxial cable connected to the antenna line (2) via the branch (3), and (5) is a coaxial cable connected to the antenna line (4) via the branch (3). ), and the other end of this branch coaxial cable (5) is connected to the input terminal of a television receiver (6). Note that a so-called ribbon feeder or a spectacle-shaped feeder may be used instead of the coaxial cables (4) and (5). Also, (7) is this television receiver (6)
This is a commander for viewers to remotely control. In this example, as will be described later, by operating this commander (7), the viewer can centrally control all devices such as home appliances and security devices via the television receiver (6). Along with being able to do so, the television receiver (
The control status of all devices can be displayed in a superimposed manner or individually on the video screen (42a) of 6).

In addition, the coaxial cable (4) is connected to a video tape recorder (
VTR) (10) is connected, a so-called video disc playback device (13) is connected via a branch (11) and a branch synchronous axis cable (12), and a branch (14) and a branch coaxial cable (15) are connected. An audio device (16) is connected thereto, and one input/output terminal of a signal exchange device (19) is connected through a branching device (17) and a branch coaxial cable (18).

Also, (20) is a breaker, and this breaker (20
) is connected to the input terminal at a frequency of 5 at approximately 100 VAC from the outside.
A commercial type RE of 0 Hz or 60 Hz is supplied, and the output terminal of this breaker (20) is connected to the AC power line (21) in the general household. The other input/output terminal of the signal exchange device (18) is connected to this AC power line (21) via a branch line (22). This signal exchange device (18) converts the control signal flowing through the coaxial cable (4) into the AC power line (
21) to be superimposed on the 50 Hz or 60 Hz sine wave power signal, and extract the control signal or control state signal superimposed on the 50 Hz or 60 Hz sine wave power signal flowing through the AC power line (21). It has the function of transmitting the information to the coaxial cable (4) side.

Taking VTR (10) as an example, the "control signal" is, for example, "VTR0)J" which is a command to change the VTR (10) from an off state to an on state.
``Control status signal'' refers to a signal corresponding to ``VTRON'', which is a message output to the outside in response to an external request when the VTR (10) is on, for example. Refers to the corresponding signal.

In addition, the AC power line (21) includes a door lock device (23), an entrance light (24A), and a living room light (
24B), dishwasher (25), microwave oven (26),
Connect the bedroom air conditioner (27A) and the living room air conditioner (27B) in parallel. The door rotator device (23) to the living room air conditioner (27B), etc. are connected to their AC power lines (2
It has a built-in bus interface (48) that can extract a flowing control signal by superimposing 1) on a sine wave power signal and output a control signal etc. by superimposing it on the sine wave power signal (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the door rotor device (23) to the living room air conditioner (27B), etc. are connected to the AC power line (21), respectively.
, is connected to a television receiver (6) via a signal exchange device (19) and a coaxial cable (4).

Additionally, a television receiver (6L VTR (10), etc.) is also connected to the AC power line (21), but in this example it is not used for transmitting control signals.
The wiring is not shown.

In this example, as mentioned above, the coaxial cable (4) and the AC power line (21) connected to the antenna line (2)
A so-called home bus is used as a bus line.

Therefore, there is an advantage that there is no need to separately perform new wiring.

Furthermore, as a home bus, there is a telephone line that is essential in ordinary homes, and it goes without saying that this telephone line can be used as a bus line. In this case, it is convenient to have a signal exchange device that connects the coaxial cable (4) and the telephone line or a signal exchange device that connects the AC power line (21) and the telephone line.

Configuration and basic operation of Gt television receiver FIG. 2 mainly shows the configuration of the television receiver of this example. In this FIG. 2, (28) is a bus interface;
This bus interface (28) is a branch coaxial cable (
5) is connected to the input/output terminal of the frequency separation modulation/demodulation circuit (2
9) and a home bus interface circuit (30). In this example, as shown in Figure 3, the frequency band (50) of 90 MHz or more is used for television broadcasting, so the frequency band of about 0 to 50 kHz49)
is used to transmit control signals for the home bus.

However, it is better not to use the frequency near the power supply frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz and the harmonics thereof. Therefore, the frequency separation modulation/demodulation circuit (29) has a frequency band (50).
a bypass filter that filters the signal (RF multiplied signal and supplies it to the tuner 31), a bandpass filter that filters the signal in the frequency band (49), and a demodulation circuit that demodulates the signal in the frequency band (49) to obtain a digital signal. and a modulation circuit that modulates the digital signal into a signal in the frequency band (49). Its home bus interface circuit (3
0) sends and receives digital signals corresponding to control signals to and from the frequency separation modulation/demodulation circuit (30).

Further, (32) is a channel selection microcomputer (channel selection CPU) as a central control unit of this television receiver (6), and (33) is a two-wire system consisting of, for example, a clock bus and a data bus. In-chassis bus such as a bus line, (34) is an audio detection circuit, (35) is an audio 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. Further, (40) is an RGB switching circuit,
This RGB switching circuit (40) is a color demodulation/tuning separation circuit (
The three primary color signals input from 37) and the screen display circuit (43
) are switched and output to a video output circuit (41), and images corresponding to these two sets of three primary color signals are displayed superimposedly or independently on the picture tube (42).

In addition, (44) is a non-volatile memory, (45) is a photodiode that converts the infrared rays from the commander (7) into an electrical signal, and (46) is a CP for amplifying the electrical signal for channel selection.
The amplification circuit (47) that transmits to U (32) is for displaying the bus status, and this bus status display LED (
47) is turned on while a control signal is flowing through the bus lines (4) and (21). In this example, the commander (power) is all equipment (6), (10), (1
3), etc., and the remote control signal of the commander (7) is transmitted from the 1-byte N unit address (51) and the 4-byte function code (52), as shown in Figure 4. configured. And the CPU for channel selection
(32) transmits the device address (51) and function code (52) to the bus interface (28) when the device address (51) of the remote control signal input from the commander (7) is not in the television category.
) to the branch coaxial cable (5) side. Furthermore, the channel selection C from the bus interface (28)
When a device address (51) and a function code (52) are supplied to the P U (32), the channel selection CPU (32) decodes these codes and performs the corresponding operation.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 1, a VTR (10) and a video disc playback device W connected to the coaxial cable (4) of this example are also included.
(13) etc. have a bus interface (28) like the television receiver (6). The door rotor device (23) and the like connected to the AC power line (21) have a bus interface (48) having substantially the same structure as that bus interface (28). Therefore, their V T
The R (10), the door rotor device (23), etc. can be controlled from 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 control status signal is sent from a device other than the television receiver (6) to the television receiver (6) via the bus lines (21) and (4). If a television receiver (6) is issued and the commander (7) is used
) This is the operation when a control signal for operating each device is sent to the bus lines (4) and (21) via the bus lines (4) and (21).

Specifically, the television receiver (
6) and its bus line (4) to the VTR (1
0), the VTR (10) may send a command to the television receiver (6) to change the reception channel to the second channel for the VTR. .In this case, the television receiver (6)
After receiving the instruction code, it changes the receive channel to the second
At the same time as changing the channel, for example, "2CH" is displayed on the screen.

■ Operation when status changes (2) This is the operation when there is a change in the control status of each device.

Specifically, if the VTR (10) is accidentally turned on/off by an infant or the like, the front door may open → close or close →
(24A) or the like is turned on/off. In this case, the device whose control state has changed is the bus line (21).

(4) Since the device address and the function code corresponding to the control state after the change are sent to the receiver, the television receiver (6) can detect the change in the control state via the bus interface (28). Recognizable. Therefore, if necessary, the television receiver (6) displays a screen display corresponding to the changed state (for example, "'VTR").
ON” etc.).

■ Operation in status display mode This is an operation when the viewer wants to know the current status of each device. In this case, the viewer uses the commander (7) to send a status display command to the television receiver (6). In response, the television receiver (6) inquires of the current control status of all devices via the bus lines (4) and (21). In response to this, information indicating the current control status is sent from each device to the television receiver (6) via the bus lines (4) and (21), so the television receiver (6) Display that information on the screen. In this case, the bus interfaces (28), (48
) is one of the bus interfaces (28),
When the month is output to bus lines (4) and (21) from (48), other bus interfaces (28
) and (48) do not output signals, so there is no signal interference.

■ Operation in control mode The viewer uses the commander (7) to control the television receiver (
6) and bus lines (4) and (21) to control the state of each device. Specifically, when turning on the VTR (10) using commander (force),
There is a case where the light (24A) etc. are erased. To turn on the VTR (10), the viewer presses the VTR on button on the commander (7), and the television receiver (6) connects the bus line (4) to "VTRON". At the same time, the control signal ``VTRON'' is displayed superimposed on the video screen (42a).
It is also possible to adopt a handshake-like operation in which the control state signal corresponding to "VTRON'" is superimposed and displayed at the time when the control state signal corresponding to "VTRON'" is returned from 0). Similarly, the light (
24A), etc., when the viewer presses the illumination off button on the commander (7), the light (24A) is turned off and, for example, "LIGHT OFF" is superimposed on the display.

The following description will focus on the operation when the television receiver (6) is used to monitor the control status of each device.

As an example of the operation when the G3 status changes, the operation of the television receiver (6) of this example when the status of the VTR (10) changes is shown in Figures 5 to 5.
This will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. In this case, the television receiver (6) is equipped with a commander (remote control signal (
A remote control input (hereinafter referred to as remote control input) is input, or a signal indicating the control state of each device (hereinafter referred to as bus input) is input from bus lines (4) and (21). In this example, it is assumed that a remote control input is issued from the commander to turn on the VTR (10).

First, the channel selection CPU in the television receiver (6)
(32), as shown in FIG. 5, detects the presence or absence of remote control signal human input or bus input in step (102), and when either input is received, step (103) is performed.
Then, it is checked whether the device address in the first 1 byte of the input signal is in the television category. If the device address is in the television category, the process moves to step (104) and the process corresponding to the function code in the lower 4 bytes is performed, but if the device address is not in the television category, step (104) is performed.
05), it is checked eight times whether the device address is in the VTR category or not.

If the device address is not in the VTR category, the channel selection CPU (32) switches to step (106) and checks that the device address exists in the device address table in the built-in ROM of the channel selection CPU (32). After checking whether or not the device exists, if it exists, display processing of the other device that exists is performed (step (107)).

Additionally, if the device address does not exist in the device address table, the channel selection CPU (32)
The input 5-byte control signal (1 hide device address and 4-byte function code) is converted into 10-digit 1
The converted hexadecimal number is displayed on the picture tube (42) using the screen display circuit (43) as shown in FIG. 7B.
The image is displayed in a superimposed manner on the video screen (42a).

A display like that shown in FIG. 7B may occur when noise is mixed into the lotus line or due to an erroneous operation of the commander (7). Therefore, the viewer can recognize the presence of noise or the occurrence of a malfunction from the display, and there is an advantage that the service person can decipher the displayed code and use it for maintenance or the like. Furthermore, instead of the superimposed display as shown in FIG. 7B, a message such as "No corresponding function available" may be superimposed.

If the device address is in the VTR category in step (105), the channel selection CPU (32) switches to step (109) and determines whether the remaining 4-byte function code corresponds to "power on". If the function code is not applicable, it is checked whether the function code exists in the function table in the built-in ROM (step (110)).

If that function code exists, the process corresponding to that function code is performed (step (
111)), if the function code does not exist, the message "VTR" and the value obtained by converting the function code to an 8-digit hexadecimal number are displayed on the screen as shown in Figure 7A (tape ( 112)).

If the function code corresponds to "power on", the channel selection CPU (32) moves from step (109) to step (113) and transfers the device address and function code to the bus line (5). via V
At the same time as transmitting the data to the T R (10), the screen display circuit (4)
After inputting the message "VTRON" to 3), the display color is selected according to the contents of the message and is instructed to the screen display circuit (43) (steps (1, 14)).
.

The selection criteria for the display color is, for example, when the dishwasher is running, when the VTR is turned on, when the door lock device is open, etc., the display color is "red", indicating that the dishwasher is stopped. When the VTR power is off and the door lock device is closed, the color is green.

Therefore, according to this example, a safe state is displayed in green, and a dangerous state is displayed in red, allowing the viewer to know at a glance whether it is safe or dangerous. There is profit.

Next, the channel selection CPU (32) proceeds to step (115) and checks whether or not it is in the overall display mode. Specifically, check the status of the selection switch provided on the back of the television receiver (6), or check the status of the selection switch provided on the back of the television receiver (6), or
By reading the information previously written in the flag in the non-volatile memory (44), it is possible to identify whether or not the display mode is on. If it is not the overall display mode, the process goes to step (118) and the screen display is not performed, so if the screen display is obstructed by the program being watched, the viewer can change the screen display. There is an advantage in being able to stop all of this at will. When the entire display mode is selected, the process proceeds to step (150) and the VTR
It is checked whether the display flag for the display is on or not, and if the display flag is off (that is, low level "0"), the process moves to step (118) and no display is performed.
Step 150) is a step of individually checking the presence or absence of display.

When the display flag of the VTR is on, step (1)
16), the channel selection CPU (32) operates the screen display circuit (43) and the RGB switching circuit (40) to turn on the superimposed screen display as shown in FIG. 6A. . After displaying this screen display for 3 seconds (step (1)
17)), its screen display is turned off. According to this example, a message indicating the control status of equipment such as a VTR (to) is displayed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver 1 (6).
), so viewers have the advantage of being able to easily check the status of these devices at any time while watching a TV program.

Furthermore, according to this example, the commander (7) and picture tube (4) are normally installed in general homes and offices.
2), the status of each device or bus line (4), (21) can be monitored using the television receiver (6), which is ideal as a so-called man-machine interface terminal. There is no need to provide such a device, and there are advantages in terms of space usage efficiency and cost.

Further, in this example, step (117) in FIG. 5 is provided and the screen display time is limited to within a predetermined time, so that it is less likely to interfere with the viewer's viewing of the TV program, and the picture tube There is also the advantage that it does not interfere with superimposed display of channel information, etc. on the screen surface (42a) of (42).

Furthermore, the viewer is freed from the trouble of frequently switching the display mode on and off.

In addition, in this example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the bus status display L
Since the television receiver (6) is provided with the LED (47), the television receiver (6) blinks the bus status display LED (41) when control information is flowing on the bus line (4). , viewers can watch Busline (4), (21
) has the benefit of being able to easily check whether information is being distributed or not.

In addition, in this example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a video screen (42a)
A message indicating the control status is superimposed on the top, but
As shown in FIG. 6B, an ED display board (64) made of a dot matrix for displaying channels, etc. is attached, and "VTRON" is attached to this LED display board (64).
” may be displayed.

Operating the status display key of the operation commander (7) during the C4 status display mode, etc., indicates the control status of each device (hereinafter referred to as status) on the picture tube (42) of the television receiver (6). The operation for sequentially displaying messages will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. In this case, in this example, "manual display mode" and "auto display mode" can be further selected using the operation keys of the commander (7), and "manual display mode" can be used to display the status of the equipment in the category with a single key operation. Only the information is displayed in a superimposed manner, and in the "auto display mode", the status information of devices in all categories is automatically superimposed in sequence with a single key operation.

In FIG. 8, when there is a remote control input from the commander (7) (step (119)), the channel selection CP tJ (32
) proceeds to step (120), where it is checked whether the input command is a status display command or not, and if it is not a status display command, processing corresponding to the input command is performed at step (121). Then, when the status display command is input, step (1,
22) to (125), first, the CPU for channel selection (3
2) increments the variable n in the built-in RAM by 1. This variable n is normally set to 0 when the power is turned on. Then, the nth
After all status request commands are sequentially output from the television receiver (6) to the devices in the category via the bus lines (4) and (21), the devices in the nth category output the commands to the television receiver ( 6), the status information is sequentially returned. The channel selection CPU (32) stores the returned status information in its built-in RAM while arranging it into pieces (hereinafter referred to as pages) that can be displayed on one screen. Thereafter, the channel selection CPU (32) divides the stored status information into a page (55^) and a page (56A) as shown in FIG. 9A, and sequentially superimposes and displays them on the video screen. .

The channel selection CPU (32) proceeds to step (126) and checks whether the variable n is smaller than the maximum value N.
If is smaller than N, check whether the current display mode is "°auto display mode°" (step (127))
, If the “auto display mode” is selected, step (
12B), and after 5 seconds have elapsed since the last page of the nth category is displayed, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) shifts to step (122), and as shown in FIG. 9B,
The status display of the device in the (n+1)th category is displayed on page (
55B) to (58B) are done separately. Also, step (
127), if the "auto display mode" is not in effect, that is, if the "manual table display mode" is selected, the channel selection CPU (32) waits for remote control input (step (129)). command (
When a status display command is issued in "manual display mode" from 7), the television receiver (6) displays the
n+1) Category status information 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 category devices is completed, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) moves to step (130), and the variable n Initialize to O. Then, in step (131), a check is made to see if it is in the "auto display mode", and if it is in the "auto display mode", final category display processing is performed (step (132)).

Specifically, after the final page is displayed for 5 seconds, the superimposed display of the status information is turned off, but the final page may be kept displayed. In addition, when the "manual display mode" is selected in step (131), the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) is as shown in step (131).
129).

According to this example, the viewer can optionally watch the bus line (4).

(21) There is an advantage of being able to know the control status of the equipment connected. Furthermore, when the viewer simply 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. 9A to 9F. They are displayed sequentially by category and divided into pages. Therefore, there is an advantage that the display is easy to see for the viewer.

In this example, status information is displayed by category (as shown in the example in Figure 9), but as shown in Figure 10 A and B, basic status information such as on/off or open/close of each device is displayed. It is also possible to display only the information on a page-by-page basis.

Furthermore, the commander (7) could be provided with status display keys 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 and displayed on the video screen (42a) of the television receiver (6).

Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the operation when the television receiver (6) accepts remote control input or bus input while status is being displayed will be described. In this case, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) is increased from step (133) to step (134) in FIG.
Since it is assumed that the status is currently being displayed, the process directly advances to step (136). And the CPU for channel selection
(32) determines the first 1-byte device address and 4-byte function code of the input control signal, and then performs the determination, such as switching the current status display from FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B. The display switches to the category and page corresponding to the selected device and function (step (137)).

Furthermore, in step (138), the display area of the determined device and function (for example, the area surrounded by the broken line (59) in FIG. 12B) is displayed blinking (plinking).
Or, make the display color of that display part different from the display color of 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 in FIG. 11, there is an advantage that the viewer can easily and reliably confirm the occurrence of a bus input or a change in the control state of each A device even while the status is displayed.

Further, with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, the operation when demonstrating home bus information display using the television receiver (6) of this example will be described. Machine (6) can only receive television broadcast signals and is connected to the bus line (4L).
21) does not need to be connected to other devices (10), (13), etc.

To set the television receiver (6) in this example to demonstration mode, set the television receiver (6) to demonstration mode when the power is turned on.
), for example, hold down the volume adjustment key and press the power key. At this time, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) shifts from step (139) to step (140) to step (142) in FIG. 13 to perform a demonstration operation. The channel selection CPU (32) is a built-in RO
After initializing the contents of the area for storing the status information of each device in the built-in RAM according to the program of M, the status information of each device is sequentially superimposed on the video screen as shown in FIGS. 14A to 14C, for example. Display (step (14)
3), (144)). Next, as shown in FIG.
) ). Thereafter, the operation of the channel selection CPU (32) returns to step (140), and if the volume adjustment key is still pressed, the demonstration operation is performed again.

According to the example in FIG. 13, the television receiver (6) operates as if multiple devices were connected to the bus lines (4) and (21), so the viewer is provided with a so-called home bus system. This has the benefit of being useful when explaining things.

Furthermore, the television receiver (6) of this example is provided with a home bus mode switch (60) as shown in FIG. 15A. This home bus mode switch (60
) to home/home this television receiver (6).
When set to bus mode, this television receiver (6
As shown in FIG. 15A, the picture tube (42) of ) displays only the status information of each device connected to the bus lines (4) and (21) on its entire surface.

Specifically, for example, white status information is displayed in a blue background (61).

For example, when the entrance light (24A) is turned off, as shown in Fig. 15B, the display "Genkan light OFF" surrounded by a broken line (63) will blink or display in a different color. At the same time as the display is switched to , a warning sound is emitted from the speaker (36) of the television receiver (6).

According to the example in FIG. 15, this 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 switched individually so that the viewer can select whether or not to display the control status information for each device on the television receiver. The operation of the mode for individually switching the state of the display flag of each of these devices will be explained with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. At this time, the viewer operates the channel selection CPU of the television receiver (6) by operating a switch on the television receiver body or a predetermined key on the commander.
Set the operation in (32) to display flag setting mode.

The channel selection CPU (32) performs the step (
151), the display screen of the television receiver (6) is set to the display flag setting mode as shown in FIG. (step (152)). This rALL ON means to collectively set the display flags of all devices to on (i.e., high level "1"), and if the viewer who desires this collective setting For example, if you operate the commander's [Settings] key, the channel selection CP
The operation of U (32) moves from step (153) to step (154), turns on the display flags of all devices, and then waits for input from the commander (step (155)).
).

When the viewer operates, for example, the "bus" key on the commander in step (153), the channel selection CPU (32) advances from step (153) to step (156), and moves the cursor D P3 in FIG. one line below rALL O
FF” position. At this time, when the viewer operates the "setting" key on the commander, the display flags of all devices are turned off at once (steps (157) to (159)), and when the viewer operates the "bus" key on the commander, the 17th The cursor DP3 in the figure is further set at the position of rVTRJ one line below (steps (157) and (160)).

Then, in step (161), when the viewer operates the "setting" key on the commander, the display flag for that VTR is inverted (step (162)), and when the viewer operates the "bus" key on the commander, the display flag for the VTR is reversed (step (162)). Due to that V
The cursor DP is displayed without changing the display flag of TR.
3 is further set at the position of "VD" one line below (step (163)).

Next, in step (164), the viewer operates the "setting" key on the commander, and the display flag for the video disc playback device is inverted (step (16)).
5)) When the viewer operates the "bus" key on the commander, the display flag of the video disc playback device does not change and the cursor D P 3 is set to the rAUDIOJ position one line below. (Step (16)
6) ). After similarly switching the display flags for other devices, the channel selection CPU (32) enters a state of waiting for input from the commander (step (167),
(168) ).

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

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention. For example, in FIG. 11, when there is a remote control input or bus input while the status is being displayed, a warning sound is emitted from the speaker (36) of the television receiver (6) to warn the viewer. Good too.

Effects of the Invention According to the home/bus information display method of the present invention, as described above, information can be displayed on the video screen of a television receiver that is normally installed in ordinary homes and offices and is ideal as a so-called man-machine interface terminal. , the control states of multiple devices are displayed in a superimposed manner according to the viewer's request. Therefore, there is an advantage that there is no need to separately provide something like a central control panel.

Further, according to the present invention, since it is possible to select whether to stop the superimposed display for each device, there is an advantage that the display of information on the control status of devices that is not necessary for the viewer can be individually stopped.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a system according to an embodiment of the home bus information display method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a television receiver of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a frequency band of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the 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, Figures 1 to 10 are diagrams for explaining the operation in the status display mode of the embodiment, and Figures 11 and 12 are diagrams for explaining the operation when there is a bus input, etc. while the status is being displayed. Figures 13 to 15 are diagrams for explaining the operation in the demonstration mode special mode, Figures 16 and 17 are diagrams for explaining the operation in the display flag setting mode, and Figure 18 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the display flag setting mode. FIG. 2 is a diagram used to explain the conventional technology. (2) is the antenna wire, (4) is the coaxial cable, (6) is the television receiver, (7) is the commander, (19) is the signal exchange device, (21) is the AC power line, (28) and ( 48) are bus interfaces, and (42) is a picture tube.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of devices and a television receiver are connected via a bus line, information indicating the control status of the plurality of devices is sent to the bus line, and the control status of the plurality of devices is displayed on the video screen of the television receiver. 1. A home/bus information display method, characterized in that information indicating information is superimposed on the display, and it is possible to select whether to stop the superimposed display on a device-by-device basis.