KR100201447B1 - Signal transmission system for a home network - Google Patents

Abstract

The signal transmission apparatus in which various electronic devices that can transmit audio and / or video information (AV information) and the like are intensively disposed is provided so that the main control means for controlling the various electronic devices and the AV information can be viewed through the main control means. It consists of sub-control means installed in a plurality of subrooms via a cable. In order to transmit more information in a narrow frequency band, AV information is allocated to a predetermined channel, and channel content information indicating AV information assigned to each channel and owner information indicating an owner's subroom exclusively using electronic devices It is frequency-multiplexed and transmitted along with AV information. Therefore, data of various sources can be transmitted in a narrow frequency band, and a plurality of users can grasp the current state of the restricted source as a whole and select information, thereby preventing the system from being interrupted.

Description

Signal transmission device

1 (consisting of Figures 1a and 1b) is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a signal transmission apparatus according to the present invention.

2A to 2C show the formats of the first and second remote control signals used in the present invention, respectively.

3 is an explanatory diagram of a format of a remote control signal of the infrared digital code system of the present invention.

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of frequency allocation and frequency allocation of the present invention, respectively, of a multilink system.

5 is an explanatory diagram of frequency allocation of a conventional multilink system.

6A to 6G are schematic diagrams respectively defining byte data of the first remote control signal of the present invention.

7 is a schematic diagram defining byte data of a second remote control signal of the present invention.

8 (consisting of Figures 8a and 8b) is a system block diagram showing the configuration of the master room according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart of the operation of one embodiment of the signal transmission apparatus according to the present invention.

10 is a flowchart of the operation of one embodiment of the signal transmission apparatus according to the present invention when the power switch is turned off.

Figure 11 is a system block diagram showing the configuration of a subroom according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 (consisting of FIGS. 12A and 12B) is a system block diagram showing the configuration of a television receiver to which the present invention can be applied.

The present invention relates to a control device for controlling a plurality of electronic devices, such as a home bus system, and more particularly, to a signal transmission device.

Recently, home bus systems have been used in real homes, which connect various electronic devices such as personal computers, first-rate control terminals, gas leak sensors, etc. with transmission cables. Various controls are performed. In addition, the applicant of the present application has already proposed a mulik-link system (hereinafter referred to as MLS) that distributes audio and video information from one room to another in the home by wire to selectively view the information. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-226,890, such MLS is disclosed, which will be described later.

Among the plurality of rooms in a house, for example, a basement or a reception room is used as a master room, and in this master room, for example, a plurality of electronic devices such as a compact disc (CD) player, a tape cassette deck, a video tape ercorder (VTR), and the like. Multilink centers, such as multiplexing amplifiers that are connected to electronic devices and control the equipment, are concentrated. On the other hand, a multilink receiver is arranged in another room via a cable so that audio information and video information from the plurality of electronic devices can be viewed by a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller). Therefore, by operating the remote control disposed in each multilink receiver, the user can selectively view the necessary information in each room from various electronic devices connected to the multilink center of the master room.

In the above-described MLS, audio information and video information (AV information) from a predetermined electronic device in the master room are allocated to independent channels in various electronic devices, and these information are frequency-multiplexed to each room via a single cable. Is sent to. However, the increase in the number of electronic devices connected to the multilink center requires many independent channels and many frequency bands for transmitting AV information, which are currently used for television broadcasting, AM and FM radio broadcasting. It should be chosen so that it does not overlap with the bands for police radiocommunication systems available in the country. Therefore, as much information as possible needs to be transmitted in a narrow frequency band by a few channels.

However, since the type of AV information transmitted is limited, for example, as the number of channels is reduced, in order to eliminate this drawback, the MLS must be able to view the same AV information in a plurality of rooms. However, if the user operates the remote control in one room at this time, there is a risk that the supply of the same AV information to the other room is interrupted and thus the entire MLS system is interrupted.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved signal transmission apparatus which can substantially eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a signal transmission apparatus in which audio and / or video information from a plurality of electronic devices connected to a multilink center can be efficiently transmitted using a limited number of channels regardless of an increase in the number of electronic devices. To provide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a signal transmission apparatus capable of knowing the type of electronic equipment currently operating in a subroom.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a signal transmission apparatus capable of knowing an owner and a room number of an owner associated with various electronic devices in a subroom, and thus preventing the interruption of the entire system.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a signal transmission apparatus applicable to various home bus systems.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a signal transmission device in which various electronic devices capable of transmitting audio and / or video information (AV information) and the like are concentrated is connected to the plurality of electronic devices, and the plurality of electronic devices Means for outputting a control signal to the plurality of electronic devices to control the; and the audio and / or video information on a channel having respective carriers by modulating the audio and / or video information and the control signal in a frequency multiplex manner. Main control means having means for allocating said control signal, and means for selectively receiving audio and / or video information from said various electronic devices via said main control means. Input means for inputting a command for requesting transmission, and the control signal modulated with a predetermined carrier to the main signal; A plurality of receiving means having means for transmitting to a control means, cable means for transmitting audio and / or video information and control signals modulated by the frequency multiplexing method between the main control means and the plurality of receiving means and the plurality of receiving means Means for giving priority to at least one receiving means of a plurality of receiving means which initially transmits a control signal to said main control means so as to operate one of the electronic devices for the first time, starting counting when said receiving means stops said operation; And count means for canceling the priority after the count means counts a predetermined time.

According to another feature of the present invention, the main control means may include operation state information indicating an operation state of each of the electronic devices and priity information indicating whether the priority is assigned to the reception means. And means for transmitting, the receiving means being coupled to display means for displaying the operation state information and the priority information.

According to still another feature of the present invention, the main control means has means for generating a reference clock and mixing the reference clock with the control signal and audio and / or video information to synchronize with each of the receiving means.

According to another feature of the invention, the main control means further comprises means for generating time information and calendar information in accordance with a reference clock that transmits the receiving means together with the audio and / or video information. Is controlled based on the time information and calendar information.

In order to transmit more information in the narrow frequency band, the AV information is allocated to a predetermined channel, and the channel content information indicating the AV information assigned to each channel and the owner information indicating the subroom of the owner exclusively using the electronic device are AV. It is transmitted with frequency multiplexing with information. Accordingly, data of various sources can be transmitted in a narrow frequency band, and a plurality of users can grasp the current state of the restricted source and select information, thereby preventing the system from being interrupted.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like or equivalent parts are denoted by like reference numerals and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Next, the MLS of the present invention will first be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B to show suitable scales for ease of viewing.

As shown in FIG. 1, among the plurality of rooms in the house 1, for example, a basement or a reception room is used as the master room 2, and in this master room 2, a multi-link center such as a multi-preamp 3 is provided. A plurality of devices driven by the multi-link center 3, for example, a CD player 4, a tape cassette deck 5, a DAT (digital audio tape) deck 6, and an AM / FM tuner. (7), the main amplifier 10 including the VTR (8), the laser disk player (9), the left and right speakers (12L, 12R), and the TV receivers (13) are concentrated, and the remote control in the master room (2) (14) and the like enable viewing of desired audio information 15 and video information 16. Cable TV (CATV) information and the like are supplied to the multi-link center 3 in the master room 2 via the mixer 17a and the cable 18, and audio information concentrated in the master room 2 ( 15 or video information 16 is mounted on the remote controllers 14a to 14c and the walls of the respective subrooms 20 to 22 as appropriate in the plurality of subrooms 20 to 22 through the mixer 17a and the divider 17b. It is distributed by the wiring of the cable 19 so that it can be viewed by the operation of the operation parts 50-52. Multi-link receivers 25 and 26 are installed in each of the subrooms 20 and 21, and left and right speakers 28L and 28R are arranged in the multi-link receiver 25 of the sub-room 20, so that the sub-room 20 is provided. Audio information 15 from the CD player 4 or the like can be heard. In the subroom 21, for example, the multi-link receiver 26, the left and right speakers 29L and 29R, and the TV receiver 30 are disposed. For example, the video information 16 can be viewed from the VTR 8 or the like by the operation of the remote controller 14b or the operation unit 51. In the subroom 22, the audio information 15 from the DAT deck 6 or the like, for example, is operated by the operation of the remote controller 14c or the operation unit 52, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 54 may be supplied to the antenna terminal 53 of the TV receiver 17 to listen to speakers (not shown) in the TV receiver or to the left and right speakers 31L and 31R connected to the TV receiver 27. . In the subroom 23, the TV receiver 31 is disposed so that the CATV can be viewed.

The RF signal of the CATV distributed by the divider 32 in the master room 2 is supplied to the divider 33, whereby the RF signal for the TV of the TV receiver 13 for CATV, the VTR (8). Is distributed to the RF signal. The first and second remote control signals 41 and 42 (second second) transmitted between each of the subrooms 20 to 22 and the master room 2 are shown in the multilink center 3 shown by the broken line block of FIG. A transmission line is shown. The second remote control signal 42 has a carrier wave of 17.5 MHz from the remote controllers 14a to 14c distributed by the divider 32 in the master room 2, and is RF-processed in the RF circuit 43. In the first decoder 44 in the step, data of a predetermined bit among the data of the second remote controller (see also the second b) of 100 ms is decoded and output. When this decoded data is supplied to the next second decoder 45, data of one room unit of 64 bits as shown in Fig. 2C is output. The output of this second decoder 45 is supplied to a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 47. The CUP 47 can simultaneously process a remote control signal for 16 rooms in a 100ms interval, and has a memory 46 and a counter 48 (ie, a timer) with a clock function, and this CPU 47 has 64 per room. The data corresponding to the CD player 4 or the DAT 6 when the data read out from the remote controller path of the bits are arranged and the CD player 4 or the DAT 6 is played back from the command state of the remote controllers 14a to 14c. The flag is displayed in the table, and control data in which the flag is displayed is sent from the output terminal 49 of the CPU 47 to the CD player 4 and the DAT 6.

In the MLS configured as described above, a remote control control signal transmitted and received from the remote controllers 14a to 14c between the multilink center 3, the multilink receivers 25 and 26 and the TV receiver 27 of each subroom 20 to 22. Is a control signal of the Sony Infrared Remote Control System (SIRCS) currently created and used by the applicant for the remote control of the audio bio device. This SIRCS remote control signal is an infrared digital code format, and FIG. 3 shows a code format.

As shown in FIG. 3, this format is usually composed of 15 bits (or 12 bits), and the guide pulse 36 as the identification signal ID defining the start, and 2 ° following the guide pulse 36. It has a data code that indicates the control function in 7 bits using the 15-bit (or 12-bit) binary code that starts, and displays the product category in the 8-bit (or 5-bit) following this data code 37. The commodity code 38 constitutes one frame (45 ms). When viewing audio and video information in each subroom 20 to 22 from the audio and video information source in the master room 2 using such a control signal for SIRCS, the remote controller of each subroom 20 to 22 is used. Supposing AV information from the CD player 4, the laser disc player 9, the DAT deck 6, and the VTR 8, for example, to the multilink center 3 at approximately the same time from 14a to 14c. In the multi link center 3, the SIRCS control signals from these remote controllers 14a to 14c are collectively transferred to the requested electronic devices. As shown in FIG. 3, the SIRCS control signal is 45 ms in one frame, and the two SIRCS control signals are matched two or more times (i.e., two frames) to increase certainty.

In this way, the audio information 15 or the video information 16 requested by the multilink center 3 side is transmitted to each room approximately simultaneously in accordance with the commands of the SIRCS control signals from the plurality of subrooms 20 to 22. Can be. Audio information 15 and video information 16 are frequency-multiplexed via signal cable 18.

The frequency allocation of such frequency-multiplexed data will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

In Fig. 4A, reference numeral 40 denotes an example of frequency-modulated (FM) CATV, which is a band of 45 MHz to 370 HMz in 2 to 50 channels. AV (audio video) information used for MLS of this embodiment is arranged above and below this CATV band. That is, the video information 16 is an analog signal, AM + FM modulated and assigned to the high side of the CATV band, the audio information 15 is digitalized, two-phase phase modulation (ie, 2PSK: phase shift keying), It is assigned to the low end of the CATV band. Both the audio information 15 and the video information 16 are modulated in a frequency multiplexed form. In this case, the audio information 15 of three channels and the video information 16 of one channel are prepared, and the first remote control is performed. The remote control signal 41 is digital frequency shift keyed (FSK), and as shown in FIG. 4A, the carrier of the first remote control signal 41 is 16.5 HMz, for example, and the second remote control signal ( The carrier of 42) is selected to be 17.5 MHz, for example. These first and second remote control signals 41 and 42 are time-base multimodulated. The first remote control signal 41 is used for control from the master room 2 side to the respective subrooms 20 to 22, and the second remote control signal 42 is used to control each subroom 20 to 22. It is used for control from the remote controllers 14a to 14c to the multilink center 3 side of the master room 2.

Next, the audio information channel and the video information channel will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4B.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the audio information channel includes a first audio information channel (hereinafter referred to as CH ₁ ) having a carrier frequency of 22.5 MHz, which is 6 MHz away from the first remote control signal 41, and the first audio information. A second audio information channel (hereinafter referred to as CH ₂ ) having a carrier frequency of 25.5 MHz 3 MHz away from the carrier frequency of the channel and a carrier frequency of 31.5 MHz away from the carrier frequency of the second audio information channel (CH ₂ ). And a third audio information channel (hereinafter referred to as CH ₃ ). In this case, the audio information is converted into digital data and transmitted through the first to third audio channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ .

The video information channel (hereinafter referred to as CH ₄ ) is allocated above the band of the CATV channel 40 and has a carrier frequency of 415.25 MHz. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, the luminance signal Y and the chroma signal C, which form a video signal through the video information channel CH ₄ , are transmitted in frequency multiplex form and simultaneously reproduced together with the video signal. The audio signal A is frequency modulated together with the analog audio signal and transmitted in a frequency multiplex form.

5 shows frequency allocation in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 5, the video information 16 is the sixth channel CH ₆ and the seventh channel CH ₇ on the high side of the CATV band 40, 415.25 MHz, 12 MHz away from the mutual center frequency. And 427.25 MHz are allocated. In addition, the audio information 15 has the CATV band 40 at the low end, for example, the first channel to the fifth channel, 22.5 MHz, 25.5 MHz, 28.5 MHz, 31.5 MHz, and 34.5, where the mutual center frequencies are 3 MHz apart. The band of MHz is selected and assigned to the independent data information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₅ of the various electronic devices 4 to 9 as shown in FIG. Therefore, many independent channels are needed as the number of devices increases, which inevitably requires a lot of bands for transmitting the audio information 15 and the video information 16.

2A and 2B show the formats of the first and second remote control signals shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, respectively.

FIG. 2A shows the first remote control signal 41, and there are 128 bytes of data every 100 ms. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6F, the synchronization (SYNG) data 41a signal between the first 0 to 7 bytes is shown. The data transmission room number, the video transmission room number, and the transmission / reception code of each subroom and the like, time between 8 to 14 bytes, and calendar information 41b and 41c, and channel content information 41d between 16 to 21 bytes, that is, information. Data indicative of the type of electronic device for transmitting the data, owner room number 41e data between 24 and 31 bytes representing the owner subroom number, and owners in each of the subrooms 20 to 22 and the master room 2. Of the owner flag 41f between 32 and 35 bytes in response to various electronic devices disposed as a source indicating whether or not there is a power source, and various electronic devices such as power-on, stop, playback, pause, fast-forward and rewind. Obtained by operation state information (14g) between 36 and 42 bytes representing the operation state. It is made. The first remote control signal 41 including this information is transmitted to the multilink receivers 25 and 26 and the TV receiver 27 of each subroutine 20 to 22.

2B shows the format of the second remote control signal 42, in which 1024 bits of data are transmitted as control data 42a to 42p from the 0th room to the 15th room between 100ms. As shown in FIG. 2C, the data for each room is 64-bit data. First, the SYNC data 42a 'signal, the priority (priority right) data 42b', and the 12 to 15-bit SIRCS information 42c. '), Security status data 42d' as other information, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) data 42e ', which are time-base compressed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram defined by 8-byte (64-bit) data shown in FIG. 2C. As shown in FIG. 7, the priity bits are allocated to the first bits of the second byte and used as the priity bits. This prioity flag is 1 for a subroom having a priity and 0 for a subroom without a priity, and is sent to the master room 2 from each of the subrooms 20 to 22.

FIG. 8 (consisting of FIGS. 8A and 8B) shows the configuration in the multi-link center 3 on the master room 2 side of the MLS described in FIG. The duplicate explanation is omitted.

In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the input terminals T _{1 to} T _{9 in the} multi-link center 3 output signals from various electronic devices 4 to ₉ concentrated in the master room 2. Is entered. That is, these various electronic devices, for example, a tape deck such as a CD player 4, a tape recorder, etc., in which the digital output of the CD player 4 is an analog signal through the digital analog (D / A) conversion circuit 55. (5), tuner (7), analog player (PS) (56), CD auto changer (CD ₁ ) (57), DAT deck (6), VTR (8), laser disc player (LD) (9) Analog or digital audio information 15 from the back and the like is supplied to the input terminals T _{1 to} T ₉ . The video signal V is also supplied to the input terminals T _{10 and} T ₁₁ from the VTR 8 and the LD 9. Digital data from the CD player 4 supplied to the input terminal T ₁ is modulated in an EFM / PSK (eight-to-fourteem modulating / phase shift keying) circuit 58 to be mixed with the mixer 59 and the mixer distributor 60. Is output to terminal T ₁₂ ). The output of the terminal T ₁₂ is distributed to the subrooms 20 to 23 through the distributor 17b shown in FIG. Output signals from the deck 5, tuner 7, PS 56, and CD auto changer CD ₁ 57 supplied to the input terminals T ₃ -T ₆ are provided by the switching means 61. It is supplied to the fixed contact a _1- d 1 of the switch S ₁ of ₁ . The output of the PS 56 is supplied to the fixed contact C ₁ of the _first switch S ₁ via the preamplifier 62 or the like. The signal supplied through the movable contact of the first switch S ₁ is digitalized in the analog digital (A / D) conversion circuit 63 and modulated through the EFM / PSK circuit 65, the mixer 59 and the mixing. Predetermined data transfer is performed to the subrooms 20 to 23 through the distributor 60. Similarly, the fixed contacts a _{2 to} d ₂ of the second switch S ₂ of the switching means 61 are output signals from the tuner 7, the PS 56, the CD ₁ 57, and the DAT 6. Is supplied, and the signal supplied through the movable contact of the _second switch S ₂ is converted into digital data by the A / D conversion circuit 64 and modulated by the EFM / PSK circuit 66, and the mixer 59 Audio information is distributed from the terminal T ₁₂ to each of the subrooms 20 to 23 through the < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The fixed contacts a to h of the third switch S ₃ of the switching means 61 are analog signals and decks obtained by analogizing the output data of the CD 4 by the D / A conversion circuit 55, for example. 5), audio information 15 from the tuner 7, PS 56, CD ₁ 57, DAT 6, VTR 8 and LD 9 is supplied, and the third switch S ₃ ) is output to the output terminal (T ₁₅ ) through the variable contact of, and is output to listen to the audio information 15 of the three various electronic devices in the master room (2). The fixed contacts a _{1 to} h ₁ of the fifth switch S ₅ of the switching means 61 are likewise connected to the record terminals of the devices 5, 6, 8, etc., and thus within the master room 2. It is used to record audio information 15 from each of these devices. The fourth switch S ₄ of the switching means 61 is a switch for switching and selecting the video signals of the VTR 8 and the LD 9, and the movable contact of the _fourth switch S ₄ is the terminal T _16. Is used to monitor the video signal in the master room (2). The video signal V and the audio signal A from the VTR 8 and the LD 9 are supplied to the input terminals T _{8 to} T ₁₁ of the multilink center 3 to supply the third and fourth switches ( S _{3 and} S ₄ are simultaneously branched to AM + FM modulation circuits 67 and 68 and modulated, and output to terminal T ₁₂ through mixer 69 and mixer distributor 60, respectively. The video and audio signals are distributed to 20 to 23. The switching means 61 is controlled by the remote control signal decoder 45. The second remote control signal 42 from each subroom 20 to 23 is supplied to the remote control signal decoder 45 through the terminal T ₁₂ and the mixing distributor 60. The terminal T ₁₃ is supplied as an SIRCS signal to various electronic devices such as the CD 4, the deck 5, and the like in the master room 2 via the control line 34 (see FIG. 1). The terminal T ₁₄ is a terminal that receives a command SIRCS transmitted by the remote controller 14 in the master room 2, and the decoder output of the remote controller signal decoder 45 is a decoder 45 and a CPU 47. Is supplied to the CPU 47 to transmit and receive a control signal between the < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The first remote control signal 41 transmitted from the master room 2 side to each of the subrooms 20 to 23, that is, the owner room number 41e, the owner flag 41f, and the like, is transferred by the CPU 47. It is supplied from the controlled owner flag / owner room number generation circuit 121, and a predetermined clock is generated by the reference clock generator 122, and is supplied to each subroom 20 through 23 through the mixing distributor 60. In the multi-link center 3, the time / calendar generating circuit 70 is connected to the CPU 47 via a bus line or the like, and the operation unit 71 having an input keypad for setting the calendar and the time is the CPU 47. ) Is connected. The time information 41b and the calendar information 41c from the time / calendar generation circuit 70 are multiplied on the subroom 20 to 22 side together with other signals such as the owner room number 41e and the owner flag 41f. It is transmitted to the link receivers 25 and 26 as the first remote control signal 41, and is used to control timers such as the multi link receivers 25 and 26, or to display time and the like.

Next, an example of the operation of the above-described signal transmission system will be described.

From each subroom 20, 21, playback request commands such as playback of the CD player 4 and playback of the deck 5, etc., are provided to the remote control signal decoder 45 through the terminal T ₁₂ and the mixing distributor 60. If it has been sent through the remote controllers 14a and 14b, the remote controller decoder 45 sends this command to the CPU 47. The CPU 47 controls the respective switches S _{1 to} S ₄ of the switching means 61 through the remote control decoder 45 to allocate the information transmission channel so that the audio information 15 and the video information 16 from the selected source. Outputs The audio information 15 is digitized and modulated in the form of EFM / PSK, and then supplied to the mixer 69 to obtain the owner room number 41e, the owner flag 41f, the time information 41b, the calendar information 41c, and the like. The first remote control signal 41 is included and then transmitted to the subrooms 20 and 21 together with the audio information 15 of the CD 4 and the deck 5 through the terminal T ₁₂ . It goes without saying that the audio information 15 can also be listened to in other subrooms 22 and the like. Under such a reproduction state, the multilink center 3 of the master room 2 sets 1 in the subroom owner flags of the CD 4 and the deck 5 (see also FIG. 6A), and the multilink receiver of each subroom. 25, and to the TV receiver 27.

In the above playback state, the listener of the subroom 22 presses the stop key 14e of the remote control 14c to stop the CD player (CD) 4 in order to listen to other audio information (other music). Even when the stop code is transmitted, the CPU 47 of the multi-link center 3 on the master room 2 side has the right to use the CD 4 by the owner of the subroom 20, so that the subroom 22 Ignore the request to stop the CD player from. At the same time, if the audio information 15 from the tuner 7 is recorded by the DAT 6 via the switch S ₅ and the terminal T ₁₇ , the PS 56 or the like is recorded in the master room 2. When played back by using the remote controller 14c, the CPU 47 sets the 34th and 35th byte tuner, DAT and PS flags to 1 as shown in FIG. 25, and to the TV receiver 27. Further, information indicating that the owner room number of the deck 5 is the subroom 20 and that the owner room number of the CD 4 is the subroom 21 is shown in Figs. 6D to 25th and 26th. By using the data of the first byte, it is transmitted to the subrooms 20 to 22. In addition, information indicating that the owner room number of the tuner 7, the owner room number of the DAT 6, and the owner room number of the PS 56 are all master rooms 2 is also shown in FIG. Is transmitted to the respective subrooms 20 to 22 by using the data of the 27th and 28th bytes.

The multi-link receivers 25 and 26 of the subrooms 20 and 21 are provided with display means composed of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and the like and the presence of owners in other subrooms or master rooms corresponding to various electronic devices. And the owner room number. To this end, the multi-link receivers 25 and 26 are configured to display the owner and owner room number on the display means by receiving the owner flag 1, thereby preventing the interruption of audio information or video information played in other subrooms. . If the data in the subroom is displayed on the TV receivers 27 and 30 without using the LED light, of course, the data can be displayed in more detail.

Since the owner flag and the owner room number are transmitted from the master room 2 side to the subrooms 20 to 23 together with the audio and video information, the user of the remote control on the subroom side can know the overall operation state of the MLS. In addition, when the audio information 15 and the video information 16 viewed on the subroom side are turned off, or when another source is selected on the subroom side, the owner flag 1 of the corresponding subroom is changed to 0, and the owner room number is changed. As it is erased, the right to select audio or video information is terminated. However, for example, when the owner of the subroom 22 shown in FIG. 1 transmits the stop code of the tape deck 5 by pressing the stop key 14e of the remote controller 14c, the master room 2 side. If the CPU 47 of 1C checks 1H of the stop state in the operation state information 41g shown in Fig. 6F and immediately sets the deck 5 to the stop mode, the deck 5 is actually set to the stop mode. Alternatively, it becomes impossible to determine whether the deck 5 is set to the stop mode during the fast forward (FF) mode or the rewind (REW) mode. That is, it is often observed that the user intends to use the deck 5 continuously even after the deck 5 is set to the stop mode for fast forward or rewind operation or after the deck 5 has been in the stop mode for a few minutes. do. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the count of the counter 48 (see FIG. 1) in the CPU 47 is started while the stop code is input. If the playback code is not supplied from the subroom 22 after the counter 48 has counted the predetermined time or e.g. after 10 minutes has elapsed, the CPU 47 causes the owner of the subroom 22 to become the owner of the current deck. The counter is incremented by determining that it is not intended to use 5) continuously. The owner of the subroom 22 can maintain the right to select the deck 5 for the predetermined time, that is, 10 minutes, and the owner flag 1 is continuously increased. However, if the regeneration command is not supplied for 10 minutes, owner flag 1 is changed to 0 and the owner loses the right to use. In addition, either one of the remote controllers 14a to 14c of the subrooms 20 to 22 and the remote controller 14 of the master room 2 is provided with a privacy (not shown), so that the privacy data 42b is provided. Raises to the privacy bit in ').

9 shows a flowchart of the above-mentioned priority processing. In FIG. 9, in the first step ST1, the CPU 47 generates a command of the first subroom 0, that is, N = 0, among the control data 42a to 42p of each subroom 0 to 15 shown in FIG. The second step ST2 refers to the flag in the command table in the memory 46 of the CPU 47, and determines whether the same command exists in the third step ST3. If NO in the third step ST3, the flow advances to the fifth step ST5 and writes for displaying a predetermined command flag in the command table in the memory 46 (see FIG. 1). If the third step ST3 is YES, the process proceeds to the fourth step ST4 to determine whether there is a priority (priority right). If the priority data 42b 'shown in FIG. 7 is 1, priority is given. Therefore, the process proceeds to the fifth step ST5 and the command table is written. If the priority data 42b 'is 0 in the fourth step ST4, a busy signal is generated in the sixth step ST6, and the busy signal is transmitted to a predetermined subroom in each of the subrooms 20 to 23. Then, the process returns to the first step ST1. When the writing of the command table is finished in the fifth step ST5, the command is executed in the seventh step ST7, and the predetermined audio or video information is transmitted to the predetermined subroom. Next, in the eighth step ST8, it is determined that N = 1, and whether it is N15 in the ninth step ST9, and if NO, the process returns to the first step and reading of the N + 1 command is performed. This is repeated. When the state is YES in ninth step ST9, the process returns to the start and N = 0.

In the present embodiment, for example, the priority key 14d is provided only in the remote controller 14b of the remote controllers 14a to 14c shown in FIG. 1, and another subroom having a vested right by operation of the priority key 14d ( Audio information 15 and video information 16 of 20 and 23 can be preferentially selected.

In this embodiment, the CD player 4, the tape cassette deck 5, the DAT deck 6, the AM / FM tuner 7, the VTR 8, and the laser disk connected to the multilink center 3 in this embodiment. The power supply circuit 72 disposed in the multi-link center 3 performs power supply to the player 9 and the main amplifier 10 as shown in FIG. That is, the commercial voltage supplied to the multi-link center 3 is supplied to various electronic devices 4 to 10 through opening and closing means such as a relay disposed in the power supply circuit 72, and the power supply circuit 72. The power supply to the electronic devices 4 to 10 from the control is controlled by the CPU 47, and this control is based on the owner flag 41f (see also FIG. 2A) included in the first remote control signal 41. Is performed.

In more detail, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, the start of the operation determines whether the owner flag is all zero at the next step ST10, and if the owner flag is not all zero (i.e., which electronic device is used). When the owner flag becomes 1), the opening and closing means in the power supply circuit 72 are set in the connected state, and the power is supplied to the various electronic devices 4 to 10. If the owner flag is all zeros as indicated by YES in step ST10, it is determined that no device of the electronic devices 4-10 is used, and the flow proceeds to the next step ST11. In this step ST11, it is determined whether or not one minute has elapsed in this state (that is, whether one minute has elapsed after the owner flag 1 has been removed). If YES in step ST11, the flow advances to step ST12, the switching means in the power supply circuit 72 are disconnected, and the power supply is stopped. If NO in step ST11, the process returns to step ST10 and the above steps are repeated.

In addition, if the owner flag 1 is set, the opening and closing means in the power supply circuit 72 are immediately connected and power is supplied to the various electronic devices 4 to 10.

Therefore, in the above configuration, waste of power can be prevented, and stability of the signal transmission device can be ensured. In addition, the power switch is turned off after one minute in the state that the electronic device is not used, and the power switch can be prevented from being turned off when the electronic device is not used temporarily. Failure caused by frequent repetition of the same operation can be prevented.

When the power supplies of the various electronic devices 4 to 10 connected to the multi-link center 3 are simultaneously controlled as described above, a bit whose owner flag is 1 is detected so that only the power source is supplied to the electronic device corresponding to the owner flag 1. Can be turned on. In this case, however, the switching means for turning on / off the power supply should be arranged so as to match the number of electronic devices connected to the multi-link center 3. In addition, although the owner flag 41f included in the first remote control signal 41 is detected to control the power supply as described above, the present state of various electronic devices is detected from other information to control the power supply. Modifications are also possible.

Next, the reception state of each subroom 20, 21 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as the part of FIG. 1, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. In this case, reception is performed in the subroom 21 in which the multilink receiver 26 is coupled to the left and right speakers 29L and 29R and the television receiver 30.

In FIG. 11, information of each channel transmitted from the multilink center 3 via the cable 19 (see FIG. 1) is transferred from the input terminal 73 of the multilink receiver 26 to the decoder 74. This decoder 74 decodes the necessary channel from the carrier and extracts the information contained in this decoded channel. The information extracted from the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ is demodulated to the EFM demodulation data and supplied to the EFM demodulation circuit 75. The digital data thus displayed is supplied to the D / A conversion circuit 76 to provide analog. It is converted into an audio signal, and the left and right analog audio signals are supplied to a fixed contact of one of the switching switches 77L and 77R.

The first remote control signal 41 demodulated by the decoder 74 is supplied to the CPU 78, and the CPU 78 is provided in the multilink receiver 26 based on the first remote control signal 41. Control each circuit that is excreted. In this case, the changeover switches 77L and 77R are also controlled by the CPU 78.

In addition, the signal of the video information channel CH ₄ and the CATV channel passing through the decoder 74 are supplied from the output terminal 79 to the TV receiver 30, in which case these signals are supplied to the TV receiver 30. It is supplied to the input terminal, which is an antenna. Next, the signals of the video information channel CH ₄ and the CATV channel are received by a tuner coupled in the TV receiver 30 and the received image is displayed on the screen of the TV receiver 30. The frequency-multiplexed audio signal of the channel received by the tuner of the TV receiver 30 is output as a baseband audio signal from the audio monitor output terminal of the TV receiver 30. In principle, no sound is generated from the speakers of this TV receiver 30.

The left and right audio signals output from the audio monitor output terminal are supplied to the other fixed contact points of the changeover switches 77L and 77R through the audio signal output terminals 80L and 80R of the multilink receiver 26.

Next, the left and right audio signals generated at the movable contacts of the changeover switches 77L and 77R are supplied to the audio signal processing circuit 81, and the audio signal processing circuit 81 is a preamplifier. And similar processing to the main amplifier, and the left and right audio signals processed in this manner are supplied to the left and right speakers 29L and 29R through the output terminals 82L and 82R.

In this embodiment, the changeover switches 77L and 77R are changed in position in response to the current state in the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ under the control of the CPU 78. That is, an audio device (CD player 4, tape cassette deck 5, DAT deck 6, and AM / FM connected to the multi-link center 3 of the master room 2 by the user of the subroom 21). If it is desired to receive the audio information transmitted from the tuner 7 to the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ , the changeover switches 77L and 77R are connected to the output audio signal from the D / A conversion circuit 76. It is switched through the changeover switches 77L and 77R and supplied to the audio signal processing circuit 81, and the changeover switches 77L and 77R are changed in position as described above, so that the multilink center 3 of the master room 2 is provided. The digital audio signal transmitted from the Rx) is received by the multilink receiver 26 and reproduced by the stereo audio speakers 29L and 29R in accordance with the received digital audio signal.

In addition, when a CATV channel is received and an audio signal is received from the audio monitor output terminal of the TV receiver 30, the changeover switches 77L and 77R perform audio signal processing through the changeover switches 77L and 77R. Since the position is changed so as to be supplied to the circuit 81 and the changeover switches 77L and 77R are changed as described above, the audio signal associated with the received video image transmitted to the CATV channel in the form of frequency multiplex is stored in the TV receiver 30. Received by the combined tuner, the received audio signal is supplied to the left and right speakers 29L and 29R for reproduction.

When the video information transmitted to the video information channel CH ₄ is received from the video equipment (VTR 8 and laser disc player (CD) 9) connected to the multi-link center of the master room 2, switching is performed. The switches 77L and 77R are switched in response to the current state of the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ . That is, when video information is transmitted from the multi-tilt link center 3, if any one of the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ is empty, the audio information accompanying the received video information is the audio information channel CH _{1 to} CH _3. Is transmitted through either. In this case, in the multi-link receiver 26, the CPU 78 can identify the transmission channel by detecting the content information 41d (see also FIG. 2A) of the channel included in the first remote control signal 41. FIG. When the CPU 78 determines that the audio information accompanying the received video signal is transmitted through one of the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ , this transport channel is decoded by the decoder 74, The changeover switches 77L and 77R are outputted from the D / A conversion circuit 76 to the audio signal processing circuit 81 by being switched through the changeover switches 77L and 77R, and the changeover switches 77L and 77R. Is switched under the control of the CPU 78, the audio signal combined with the video image received by the TV receiver 30 is supplied to the left and right speakers 29L and 29R for reproduction. At this time, since the audio signal is transmitted from the multilink center 3 as digital data, a high quality audio signal can be reproduced by the left and right speakers 29L and 29R.

When video information is received, if all audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ are used to transmit audio information transmitted from the audio devices 4 to 7 in response to requests from other subrooms 20 to 22. Audio information accompanying the video information cannot be transmitted by the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ . In this case, the changeover switches 77L and 77R are repositioned so that the audio signal from the audio monitor output terminal of the TV receiver 30 is supplied to the audio signal processing circuit 81 through the changeover switches 77L and 77R. Further, in this case, the CPU 78 causes the audio information from the video device to be transmitted via the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ based on the detected content information 41d of the channel included in the first remote control signal 41. It can be determined that it cannot be sent.

Since the changeover switches 77L and 77R are changed in position as described above, the audio signal combined with the received video image transmitted to the video information channel CH _{4 in the} form of frequency multiplex is received by the tuner installed in the TV receiver 30. The audio signal thus received is supplied to the left and right speakers 29L and 29R for reproduction. In this case, since the FM modulated analog audio signal transmitted from the multilink center 3 side is used, the sound quality of the reproduced audio signal is slightly degraded as compared with the case where the digital audio signal transmitted through the audio information channel is reproduced.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present application, when a video signal transmitted from the multilink center 3 is received in each subroom 20 to 22, one of the audio information channels CH _{1 to} CH ₃ is empty. If any of the audio signal in the combined video image and the reproduced high-quality audio information channel (CH ₁ ~CH ₃₎ is reproduced in accordance with the digital audio signal transmitted on any of the audio information channel (CH ₁ ~CH ₃₎ If none is empty, the audio signal combined with the reproduced video image is reproduced according to the audio signal combined with the received video image transmitted on the video information channel CH ₄ in frequency multiplex form. That is, the audio and video signals are played through only the video information channel (CH ₄₎ to the transmission channel (CH ₁ ~CH ₄₎ can be used effectively.

FIG. 12 is a block circuit diagram showing the configuration of a TV receiver 27 having a receiver coupled therein as shown in FIG. 1, which is shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12b is shown.

In FIG. 12, the antenna terminal 53 is connected to a coaxial cable 19 (see FIG. 1), and the antenna terminal 53 is supplied from a CATV, a broadcast TV signal or a VTR 8 supplied with the antenna terminal 53. In FIG. The video signal is distributed to the distributor 101 and supplied to the TV receiver circuit 102 having a configuration similar to that of a conventional TV receiver. The video signal is displayed on a CRT or the like, and the audio signal is a switch (SW) and a power source. It is generated from the left and right speakers 31L and 31R through the amplifier 103. In addition, audio information 15 from the CD player 4 or the like in the master room 2 is distributed from the coaxial cable 19 via the antenna terminal 53 to the distributor 101, the distributor 104, and the PSK demodulation circuit ( 105), the EFM decoder 106, and the digital filter 107 are sequentially demodulated. The PSK demodulation circuit 105, the EFM decoder 106, and the digital filter 107 are controlled by various signals as shown in FIG. The audio information 15 after passing through the digital filter 107 is converted into an analog signal through the digital analog (D / A) conversion circuits 108L and 108R, and is connected to the TV receiver 17 through the electronic volume 109. It is supplied to the separately installed power amplifier 103 and is generated through the left and right speakers 31L and 31R. Further, the master room 2 from the first remote control signal 41 and the subrooms 20 to 22 that are transmitted from the subrooms 20 to 22 from the master room 2 side distributed to the distributor 104. The second remote control signal 42 transmitted to the < RTI ID = 0.0 >) is decoded and encoded by the SIRCS decoder 110 and the SIRCS encoder 111 < / RTI > These decoders 110 and encoders 111 are controlled by the microcomputer 112 to transmit and receive the first and second remote control signals 41 and 42 between the master room 2 and the subroom 22. . Manipulators 50 to 52, which consist of panels embedded in the walls of each of the subrooms 20 to 22, installed as necessary, have microcomputers 113, and drive circuits 114 and SIRCS of LEDs for displaying the volume amount. It has a sensor 115 for receiving a traffic light, an operation keypad 116 such as a CD or a tape for operating various devices in the master room 2, and a MIDI through the line drivers 117 and 118 with the TV receiver 27. (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Cables 119 are connected to each other. According to such a configuration, a PCM (pulse code modulation) tuner (SPK, EFM decoders 105 and 106) for the TV receiver 27, the SIRCS decoder and encoders 110 and 111, the audio information 15, and the like are used. Since it is integrally mounted, the TV receiver 27 as described above is disposed in the subroom 22 without having to arrange a multilink receiver or the like in the subroom, so that the subroom 22 and the master room 2 are separated. It is possible to transmit a remote control signal and audio and video information, and also to display a display signal for displaying the use status of various electronic devices such as the master room (2) on the CRT of the TV receiver 27.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described MLS, and of course, it can be applied to various home bus systems and the like that perform similar control operations.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in accordance with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and is defined by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or gist of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Various changes and modifications are possible by.

Claims (4)

A plurality of electronic devices for transmitting audio and / or video information are intensively disposed in a room, and audio and / or video information from the plurality of electronic devices is demodulated in frequency multiplexing manner by each carrier. And a signal transmission device transmitted to a plurality of rooms via a single cable, the signal transmission device being connected to the plurality of electronic devices and outputting a control signal for controlling the plurality of electronic devices to the plurality of electronic devices; And / or main control means having means for modulating the video information and the control signal in a frequency multiplex scheme and assigning the audio and / or video information and the control signal to channels having respective carriers; Means for selectively receiving audio and / or video information from the various electronic devices through the main control means, input means for inputting a command for requesting transmission of audio and / or video information from the electronic device, and a predetermined carrier wave A plurality of receiving means having means for transmitting the control signal modulated to the main control means; Cable means for transmitting audio and / or video information and control signals modulated in the frequency multiplexing mode between the main control means and the plurality of receiving means; And means for giving priority to at least one receiving means of the plurality of receiving means that initially transmits a control signal to the main control means so as to operate one of the plurality of electronic devices for the first time. And counting means for starting counting and erasing means for canceling said priority after said counting means counts a predetermined time. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main control means transmits operation state information indicating an operation state of each of the electronic devices and priity information indicating whether the priority means is assigned to the reception means. Means for receiving, said receiving means being coupled to display means for displaying said operation status information and priity information. 2. The signal transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main control means has a means for generating a reference clock to mix the reference clock with the control signal and audio and / or video information to synchronize with each of the receiving means. . 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the main control means further comprises means for generating time information and calendar information according to a reference clock in which the receiving means is transmitted together with the audio and / or video information, wherein the receiving means A signal transmission device characterized in that the control based on the information and calendar information.