JPH1141568A - Network system device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To build up a network for a personal computer and video/audio devices or the like in a home by using an existing cable such as a TV cable. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a computer 1, an analog signal line 3, an image display device 6, an analog source connection unit 4 that modulates a plurality of analog image signals produced by the computer 1 as a television signal, superimposes them on the signal line 3, and receives the signal from the signal line 3 to the computer 1, and an analog connection unit 7 that receives the analog image signal matching a channel from the signal line 3, outputs the signal to an image display device 6 or the like and outputs the signal from an input device 8 to the computer 1 to the signal line 3. The computer 1 generates and outputs a video signal matching the display system and the resolution of each image display device 6 or the like, and a user views a desired image by matching the channel frequency in each image display device 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a network system connecting video and audio equipment such as a computer and a television in a home.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, network systems have been widespread at home, mainly for personal computers (hereinafter abbreviated as PCs), audiovisual equipment, and the like. Various devices such as NTSC television and PC display are mixed, and expensive nodes are used for each node.
Is the main LAN.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional home network system. In FIG. 3, 301, 307,
Reference numeral 312 denotes a display for PC, 302, 308, and 313.
Is a PC, 304, 309, and 314 are connection circuits inside the PC and serving as an interface with the outside;
Reference numeral 315 denotes an image capturing circuit for capturing a video signal for television in a form that can be processed inside the computer;
0,318 is a keyboard which is an input device for a computer, 31
Reference numeral 6 denotes a television signal output circuit; 317, a television device; and 319, a digital signal transmission line for a personal computer such as a LAN cable.

[0004] A processing flow in the conventional network system configured as described above will be described. For example, PC
When the image capturing device 302 captures an image, the image capturing circuit 305 captures a video signal from a video signal source such as an external or built-in tuner or a video tape recorder (not shown) as a digital video signal that can be internally processed by a PC. The user of the PC 302 has the display 301
It is possible to perform processing of an image captured using the keyboard 306 as an input circuit on the PC 302 while watching the image.

The PC 302 is connected to another PC via a digital signal transmission line 319 by a connection circuit 304, and bidirectional data transmission with the other PC is possible. The PC 308 is connected to the digital signal transmission line 319 via the connection circuit 309, and receives the video signal from the PC 302 flowing on the digital signal transmission line 319 via the connection circuit 309.
11 and can be displayed as an image to the user through the PC display 307. Further, P
It is also possible to send a control signal to C302 and control the video signal transmitted from PC 302 to digital signal transmission line 319.

[0006] The PC 313 has a television signal output circuit 316 mounted thereon in addition to the connection circuit 314 and the image capturing circuit. The television signal output circuit 316 outputs the video signal to the television device 317 as a signal that can be projected on a normal television device. That is, when the video signal is captured by the image capturing device 315 in the form of a signal that can be processed inside the PC,
The video signal is converted into a normal television video signal and output. The PC 313 can also take in the digital video signal transmitted on the digital signal transmission line 319 via the connection circuit 314, output the digital video signal from the television signal output circuit 316 to the television device 317, and watch it. It can also be viewed on the display 312. Further, the user of the PC 313 can control the PC 302 via the digital signal transmission line 319 by input from the keyboard 318.

[0007]

However, in the conventional network system configured as described above, when used at home, it is necessary to newly install a digital signal transmission line centered on a personal computer LAN. is there. Furthermore, it is necessary to install a PC for each node, and it is necessary to process a large amount of digital video signals inside the PC, so a high-performance and expensive PC is required. Further, since the digital video signal, the control signal of the PC, and the data are transmitted on the same transmission path, there is a problem that the traffic becomes large and it becomes difficult to transmit the digital video signal without interruption. I was

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a network system apparatus according to the present invention comprises a computer, a signal line, an image display device, and a plurality of analog image signals generated and processed by the computer. A first signal connection device that superimposes and outputs the signal to the signal line and captures a signal from the signal line to the computer, and selectively captures the analog image signal from the signal line and outputs the analog image signal to the image display device. And a second signal connection device for outputting a signal from the input device of the image display device to the computer to the signal line.

[0009] Further, the superimposition processing of the analog image signal by the first signal connection device converts the analog image signal generated and processed by the computer into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal. It is a process of superimposing as a channel, and preferably, the process of capturing the analog image signal by the second signal connection device is a process of selectively capturing the analog image signal in accordance with the corresponding channel.

With this configuration, the analog video signal generated and processed by the computer is modulated and output as a television signal on a transmission line, and a network can be constructed using an existing television cable. Further, input signals to the computer can be transmitted bidirectionally.

Further, the signal output processing to the computer by the second signal connection device converts the signal to the computer into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal and converts the signal between the image channels. It is preferable that the processing is to allocate the unused channel and output the signal to the signal line.

Further, the signal output processing to the computer by the second signal connection device converts the signal to the computer into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal, and converts the signal into a transmission television signal. In this case, it is preferable to superimpose on a high-frequency signal portion where the level of the video signal decreases or a low-frequency signal portion that is not used and output the signal to a signal line.

With this configuration, it is possible to transmit a command relating to video output such as video switching from each device user on the network to the PC.
C can be remotely controlled, and the convenience of the network can be improved.

Next, in order to solve the above problems, a network system according to the present invention comprises a computer, a signal line, an image display device, and a plurality of digital image signals generated and processed by the computer. A first signal connection device that outputs to a signal line and takes in a signal from the signal line to the computer; and a display device that selectively takes in the digital image signal from the signal line and converts the digital image signal into an analog image signal. And a second signal connection device for outputting a signal from the input device of the image display device to the computer to the signal line.

With this configuration, the image signal generated and processed by the computer is superimposed as a digital signal and transmitted to the signal line, and the image signal can be transmitted while suppressing deterioration due to noise or the like on the transmission line.

Furthermore, a compression circuit for compressing the digital image signal generated by the computer is provided, and the first signal connection device is provided with a function of superimposing the compressed digital image signal and outputting it to the signal line. Preferably, the second signal connection device has a function of selectively taking in the compressed digital image signal from the signal line, expanding the compressed digital image signal, converting the compressed digital image signal into an analog image signal, and outputting the analog image signal to the image display device.

With this configuration, the amount of digital image data transmitted can be reduced, and the communication capacity of the transmission path can be reduced.

Further, a pair of wireless transmission devices capable of mutually wirelessly transmitting signals between the signal lines and between the signal lines and the image display device are provided, and wired communication by the signal lines and wireless communication between the wireless transmission devices are provided. Are preferably mixed.

With such a configuration, the place of use can be moved indoors, and the network system can be used more flexibly.

Further, it is preferable that a plurality of the second signal connection circuits, the image display device, and the pair of wireless transmission devices are provided.

[0021] With this configuration, a plurality of use locations are provided,
The scale of the network can be expanded, and a more flexible network configuration can be provided.

[0022]

Embodiment

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a PC, 2 is a display of the PC 1, 3 is an existing analog transmission line for television, 4 is an analog connection unit, 5 is an input device for an analog connection unit which is a first signal connection device, 6 is a television device, 7 and 10 are analog connection units as second signal connection devices, 8, 11, and 15 are input devices of corresponding devices, 9 is a small display, 12 is a display, 1
Reference numerals 3 and 14 are wireless transmission / reception devices.

In the network device configured as described above, the PC 1 transmits video signals fetched from an external video signal source (not shown) or internally generated video signals to other By performing processing on a video signal in a format that can be used by a device such as an image display device and performing DA conversion, a video signal to each device is generated. The video signal is superimposed on the analog transmission line 3 and transmitted by the analog source connection unit 4. The analog transmission line 3 may be an existing television cable. The operation of the PC 1 can be performed with a normal keyboard for PC input, or can be performed with the input device 5. The input circuit 5 may be a wireless input device such as a remote controller or a special input device connected by wire. Although the process of DA conversion of the image generated and processed by PC1 is performed by PC1,
The analog source connection unit 4 may perform this operation.

The plurality of video signals generated by the PC 1 are transmitted by being superimposed on the transmission line 3 by the analog connection unit 4 as described above. The transmitted analog signal may be, for example, a normal television signal, and modulates a screen display signal of the PC 1 as a normal television signal.
Superimpose on a vacant TV channel. By adjusting the channel frequency of the device to the corresponding channel frequency, the television device 6 and the small display 9 can view the video generated and transmitted by the PC 1.

On the other hand, other device users on the network can transmit various commands to the PC 1 via the transmission line 3. The television device 6 is connected to the transmission line 3 together with the analog connection unit 7, and the analog connection units 7 and 10 transfer input signals from the input devices 8 and 11 such as remote controllers to empty channels of the television video signal. It flows with a predetermined modulation and transmission method. For example, a signal can be easily transmitted by allocating an input signal from a specific device to one empty channel. Also,
It is also possible to modulate and superimpose the input signal on a portion of a high-frequency signal in which the level of a video signal decreases or a portion of an unused low-frequency signal in one channel.

The PC 1 performs a predetermined process based on the command transmitted from each device. For example, in the case of screen switching, the switching screen generated in the PC 1 is displayed on the television device 6 via the analog source connection unit 4. The input circuit 8 may be a wireless input device such as a remote controller like the input circuit 5, or may be a special input device connected by wire.

As described above, the PC 1 can be operated by remote control from another device connected to the network without using the input device directly connected to the PC 1. Further, the television device 6 does not need to be a special device and may be a normal television device, and the transmission line 3 may be a line used for a normal television signal, and a special device and wiring are used. No need.

Next, the processing for the small PC display 9 on the network will be described. If the display 1 for PC 1 and the small display 9 for PC have different display methods and resolutions, even if the video signal for the display 2 is transmitted to the small display 9 as it is, normal display cannot be performed. The PC 1 converts the video signal according to the display method and resolution of the small display 9 and outputs the converted video signal to the transmission line 3. The PC small display 9 is connected to the transmission line 3 via the analog connection unit 10, and the analog connection unit 10 and the input device 11 are connected to the analog connection unit 7 and the input device 8 connected to the television device 6, respectively. It works similarly. Since the video signal fetched from the analog connection unit 10 is a signal converted to the display method and resolution of the small display 9, it can be normally displayed on the small display 9.

The wireless transmitting / receiving device A14 wirelessly transmits the signal on the signal transmission line 3, and the wireless transmitting / receiving device B
13 is transmitted and received. The video signal received by the wireless transceiver B13 is displayed on the display 12. The user of the display 12 inputs an operation such as video switching using the input device 15, and is transmitted to the PC 1 via the wireless transmission / reception device A14 and the transmission line 3 by wireless transmission from the wireless transmission / reception device B13. Note that the process of converting the video signal into a display method and resolution that match the display 12 is the same as the process for the small display 9, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the network system apparatus according to the first embodiment can be easily connected to a normal home audiovisual apparatus such as a PC and a television apparatus via a normal television transmission line and an analog connection unit. Can be connected to the PC, and the operation instruction contents can be transmitted from the television device side to the PC side by an input device such as an analog connection unit and a remote controller. Conventionally, by using a PC and a special digital transmission line and a digital connection unit, The configured network system can be easily configured at home.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 shows Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to the embodiment. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that data transmission between networks is performed using digital signals. In FIG. 2, the devices and the like denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are the same as the corresponding devices and the like in FIG. 1, and the description is omitted. 200 is a compression circuit, 201 is a transmission line, 202 is a digital connection unit, 203 and 204 are digital connection units, 20
9 is a wireless transmitting / receiving device C, 205 is a wireless transmitting / receiving device D, 206, 207, and 208 are input devices.

In the network system device configured as described above, a plurality of digital image signals generated by the PC 1 are compressed by the compression circuit 200. Here, a simple differential pulse code modulation (D
PCM) or a standardized compression method such as JPEG or MPEG.

This digital signal is input to the digital connection unit 202, and a plurality of compressed digital signals are further modulated by different carriers and superimposed. As the plurality of carriers, for example, a carrier for television signal transmission may be used, and a compressed digital signal of an image signal generated by the PC 1 may be modulated and transmitted to a vacant channel of a normal television broadcast. This signal is transmitted through transmission line 201
The transmission line 201 may be a television signal line that is usually used at home.

The digital connection units 203 and 204 connected to the transmission line 201 have a function of decompressing the received compressed digital signal and performing a DA conversion. Then, the data is decompressed, converted into an analog image signal, and output as a normal television signal or a component video signal such as RGB used in a PC display.

On the other hand, a user of the television device 6 inputs a control signal or the like to the PC 1 to the digital connection unit 203 using the input device 206, and transmits the control signal to the PC 1 via the transmission line 201 and the digital connection unit 202. You. As a transmission method, there is a method similar to the first embodiment.

The wireless transmission / reception apparatus D205 wirelessly communicates a signal transmitted on the transmission line 201 with the wireless transmission / reception apparatus C209. Note that the signals to be communicated may not be all signals of the transmission line 201 but may be limited signals. Only the image signal selected to capture an image by the input device 208 and the control signal from the input device 208 to the PC 1 may be selectively communicated between the wireless transceiver C209 and the wireless transceiver D205. The wireless transmission / reception device C209 decompresses the image signal selected by the input device 208 from the compressed digital signal to the original image signal, converts the signal into an analog signal, and converts the image signal into an analog television signal or an R signal used in a normal PC display.
It is output as a component video signal such as GB. The signal from the input device 208 is transmitted to the wireless transmitting / receiving device C209.
From the transmission line 20 through the wireless transmission / reception device D205.
1 from the digital connection unit 202 to the PC1
Is transmitted to As this transmission method, there is a method similar to the case of FIG.

Thus, the digital source connection unit 2
02 and the digital connection unit 203,
An image signal of a PC can be transmitted over a conventional television signal line while suppressing deterioration due to noise or the like on a transmission line.

If the original video data processed by the PC 1 is data that has already been compressed by the compression / expansion method used in the present network system, it need not be compressed by the compression circuit 200 and may be transmitted as it is. Expensive elements for high-speed operation required for simplification of the scale and real-time compression processing can be omitted.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, an image generated by a computer can be transmitted as a video signal to a normal television transmission line by using an analog source connection unit and an analog connection unit. Installation of a transmission line is unnecessary. By modulating the video signal as a television signal and allocating it to an empty channel of the television signal, the video signal can be selectively captured by selecting a channel on a display device such as a normal television device. Can be used as an image display device, and only an inexpensive device is sufficient and economical.

Further, by using the digital connection unit and the digital connection unit, transmission can be performed by digital modulation, and deterioration of the PC image signal due to noise or the like on the transmission line can be suppressed.

Further, by using the wireless transmission / reception device, the place of use can be moved indoors, and the network system can be used more flexibly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a network system device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional network system device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 PC 2,12 Display 3 Transmission line 4 Analog source connection unit 5,8,11,15 Input device 6 Television device 7,10 Analog connection unit 9 Small display 13 Wireless transmitting / receiving device B 14 Wireless transmitting / receiving device A 200 Compression circuit 201 Transmission line 202 Digital connection unit 203, 204 Digital connection unit 205 Wireless transmitting / receiving device D 206-208 Input device 209 Wireless transmitting / receiving device C

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A computer, a signal line, an image display device, and a plurality of analog image signals generated and processed by the computer are superimposed and output to the signal line, and a signal from the signal line to the computer is output. A first signal connection device for capturing, selectively capturing the analog image signal from the signal line, outputting the analog image signal to the image display device, and outputting a signal from the input device of the image display device to the computer to the signal line. Network device comprising a second signal connection device 2. A superimposition process of an analog image signal by the first signal connection device, wherein the analog image signal generated and processed by the computer is converted into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal, and a plurality of transmission television signals are converted. The network system device according to claim 1, wherein the process is a process of superimposing as a channel, and the process of capturing the analog image signal by the second signal connection device is a process of selectively capturing the analog image signal by matching to the corresponding channel. 3. A signal output process to the computer by the second signal connection device, wherein the signal to the computer is converted into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal, and 3. The network system device according to claim 2, wherein the process is a process of allocating to an empty channel between them and outputting to a signal line. 4. A signal output process to the computer by the second signal connection device, wherein the signal to the computer is converted into a transmission television signal obtained by modulating a home television signal, and 3. The network system apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the network system apparatus performs a process of superimposing on a high-frequency signal portion in which the level of a video signal is lowered or a low-frequency signal portion that is not used and outputting to a signal line. 5. A computer, a signal line, an image display device, and a plurality of digital image signals generated and processed by the computer are superimposed and output to the signal line, and a signal from the signal line to the computer is output. A first signal connection device for capturing, selectively capturing the digital image signal from the signal line, converting the digital image signal into an analog image signal, outputting the analog image signal to the image display device, and transmitting the digital image signal from the input device of the image display device to the computer. A second signal connection device for outputting a signal to the signal line. 6. A compression circuit for compressing a digital image signal generated by the computer, wherein the first signal connection device superimposes the compressed digital image signal and outputs the superimposed digital image signal to the signal line. The second signal connection device has a function of selectively taking in and expanding the compressed digital image signal from the signal line, converting the compressed digital image signal into an analog image signal, and outputting the analog image signal to the image display device. The network system device according to item 1. 7. A pair of wireless transmission devices capable of mutually wirelessly transmitting signals between the signal lines and between the signal lines and the image display device, wherein a wireless communication between the wired communication by the signal lines and the wireless transmission device is provided. 7. The network system device according to claim 1, wherein communication and communication are mixed. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said second signal connection circuits, said image display device, and said pair of wireless transmission devices.
The network system device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,