JP2000138924A - Digital device, image pickup device, terminal, communication system and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system which conducts efficient data communication with plurality of digital devices so as to conduct optimum operation control to each digital device individually externally. SOLUTION: The system is configured such that an external terminal (personal computer) 103 individually executes remote control of digital equipment (video cameras) 600a-600c, other operation than a control method above or limit of operation by allowing the external terminal 103 to output an instruction for the operation control to each control means in the digital equipment (video cameras) 600a-600c prepared in advance and to instruct revision of the control method (control condition) of the control means in the digital equipment 600a-600c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for externally controlling the operation of a digital device having an imaging function or the like by performing data communication with the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, hard disks and printers have been widely used as peripheral devices for personal computers (hereinafter simply referred to as "PC" or "PC"). These devices are a digital interface (hereinafter referred to as “digital I / F”) SCSI
With a general-purpose interface for a small computer typified by, for example, a connection is made between PCs and data communication is performed.

In recent years, digital cameras, digital video cameras, and the like have also been listed as one of the peripheral devices as data input means to a PC. For example, digital cameras and digital video cameras have been obtained by photographing with a digital camera or digital video camera. A video such as a still image or a moving image and the accompanying audio
A technical field has been advanced in which data is imported into a C and stored in a hard disk, or edited in a PC and then color-printed by a printer. The number of users is increasing accordingly.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG.
Digital camera 910 and printer 930 are PC 920
Is connected to the system 100. The digital camera 910 includes a memory 911 serving as a recording unit, an image data decoding unit 912, an image processing unit 913, a D / A conversion unit (digital / analog converter) 914, an EVF 915 serving as a display unit, and digital input to / from a PC 920. An output (I / O) unit 916 is provided. Printer 930
Is an SCS connected to PC920 with a SCSI cable.
I interface (I / F) unit 931, memory 93
2, a printer head 933, a printer controller 934 as a printer control unit, and a driver 935. The PC 920 includes a digital I / O unit 929 with the digital camera 910 and an operation unit 9 such as a keyboard and a mouse.
21, image data decoding unit 922, display 92
3, hard disk 924, memory 925 such as RAM,
An MPU 926 of an arithmetic processing unit, an SCS II / F (board) 928 as a digital I / F with the printer 930,
And a PCI bus 927 for connecting them.

In such a system 900, image data obtained by imaging with a digital camera 910 is stored in a P
When the image data is captured by the C920 and output from the PC 920 to the printer 930, first, image data obtained by photographing in the digital camera 910 is stored in the memory 911. This image data is stored in the memory 911.
From the decoder 912 and the digital I / O
916. The image data supplied to the decoding unit 912 is decoded here and the image data is processed by the image processing unit 913.
Image processing for display is performed by the D / A converter 914
, Is displayed on the EVF 915. On the other hand, the image data supplied to the digital I / O unit 916 is externally output to the PC 920 via a cable.

In the PC 920, the digital camera 910
From the digital I / O unit 929
Received at. The received image data is stored in the hard disk 924 via a PCI bus 927 (a bus for mutual transmission). Alternatively, after being decoded by the decoding unit 922, it is stored as display image data in the memory 925, converted into an analog form on the display 923, and displayed. At this time, an operation input at the time of editing or the like is input to the operation unit 921.
In this case, the MPU 926 controls the entire operation of the PC 920 for editing and the like according to the operation. When the image data from the digital camera 910 is printed out, the image data
The data is output to the printer 930 via the CSII / F unit 928. Therefore, the image data is supplied to the printer 930 via the SCSI cable.

In the printer 930, the above image data from the PC 920 is received by the SCSII / F931. The received image data is formed as print image data in the memory 932, and the print image data in the memory 932 is read out and printed out by the operation of the printer head 933 and the driver 935 under the control of the printer controller 934. .

[0008]

However, in the conventional system 900 as described above, for example, the operation control of the digital camera 910 such as the photographing position and photographing angle is controlled by
It could not be performed from the PC 920 side. In particular, similarly, in a surveillance camera system in which monitoring is performed by a plurality of cameras, the operation control of each camera cannot be performed from the outside (PC or the like). , It is necessary to change the control contents set in advance. This is a very inconvenient problem when one user monitors with the present system. Also, since not all cameras have the same specifications, the same control content cannot be set for all cameras. For example, even if one camera can operate without any problem, another camera may cause a problem.

Further, the conventional system 90 as described above is used.
0, when transferring image data obtained by the digital camera 910 from the PC 920 to the printer 930,
Data communication via SCSI or the like is performed. Therefore, even if the target data is a large amount of data such as image data, a versatile digital I / F with a high transfer data rate is required for efficient data communication. It is said.

However, the SCSI used in the system 900 includes those having a low transfer data rate,
Some cables are thick for parallel communication, and some are limited in the types of peripheral devices to be connected and the connection method, and the number of I / F connectors is the same as that of the connection destination. Convenience is pointed out. In addition, many of ordinary home PCs and digital devices have a connector for connecting SCSI or other cables on the back of the device, and the shape of the connector is large, which makes it difficult to connect and disconnect. The inconvenience that there is, is pointed out. In particular, in recent years, devices that are not normally stationary, such as mobile and portable digital cameras and video cameras, are often used by connecting them to a PC. You will feel annoyed with each connection.

Speaking of digital data communication, P
The mutual communication between C and its peripheral devices is typical, and this communication method was sufficient. However, in the future, the types of devices that handle digital data will increase, and furthermore, as described above, due to the improvement of I / F, etc. Not only peripheral devices of PCs, but also communication with many digital devices such as digital recording medium reproducing devices connected to a network becomes very convenient, but on the other hand, communication with a very large amount of data depending on the devices. Since communication is frequently performed, the use of the conventional communication method may congest the network, which may affect communication between other devices in the network.

In view of the above, the present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and performs efficient data communication with a plurality of digital devices to externally perform optimal operation control for each digital device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital device, an imaging device, a terminal device, a communication system, and a storage medium in which processing steps for executing the device can be performed by a computer in a readable manner.

[0013]

For such a purpose,
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided at least one of the plurality of digital devices connected to a control device capable of communicating with the plurality of digital devices, wherein the communication means performs communication with the control device. And control means for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, first storage means for preliminarily storing control conditions for operation control by the control means, and second storage means for preliminarily storing specification information of the apparatus. Storage means,
The communication unit transmits the specification information of the second storage unit to the control device according to a request from the control device, and receives a control condition change command based on the specification information from the control device. The control means controls the operation of the apparatus according to the control condition in which the control condition of the first storage means is changed according to the control condition change command.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect,
A digital device having a photographing function of at least one of the plurality of digital devices connected to a control device capable of communicating with the plurality of digital devices, and communication means for performing communication with the control device; Change means for changing at least one of the shooting position and the shooting angle in the shooting function, control means for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, and control conditions for operation control by the control means are stored in advance. Storage means, wherein the communication means transmits at least one of the photographing position and photographing angle information in the photographing function to the control device according to a request from the control device, and transmits the information from the control device. The control unit receives a control condition change command based on at least one of the photographing position and photographing angle information, and the control unit determines that the control condition of the storage unit is the control condition. The modified control criteria as laid et serial control condition change instruction and performs operation control of the changing means.

In a third aspect based on the first or second aspect, the communication means communicates with the control device via an IEEE1394 standard system bus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus connected to a control device capable of communicating with a plurality of digital devices as at least one of the plurality of digital devices. (3) It has a function of the digital device according to any one of (1) to (3).

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided communication means for mutually communicating with a plurality of digital devices, selecting means for selecting an arbitrary digital device from the plurality of digital devices, A specification obtaining unit that obtains specification information via the communication unit; and a control condition of the digital device selected by the selection unit based on the specification information obtained by the specification obtaining unit, via the communication unit. And a control condition changing means for changing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication means for mutually communicating with a plurality of image pickup apparatuses which can change at least one of a photographing position and a photographing angle; Information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the photographing position and photographing angle of the imaging device selected by the selection means via the communication means, and information obtained by the information acquisition means. ,
A control condition changing means for changing a control condition of the imaging device selected by the selection means via the communication means.

In a seventh aspect based on the fifth or sixth aspect, the communication means communicates with the control device via an IEEE 1394 standard system bus.

An eighth invention is a communication system in which a plurality of digital devices and a terminal device are communicably connected to each other by a system bus conforming to a predetermined standard. At least one of the digital devices includes the digital device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or the imaging device according to claim 4, and the terminal device includes the terminal device according to any one of claims 5 to 7. It is characterized by being.

According to a ninth aspect, at least two or more of the first
A video camera having a data communication node, and a control device having a second data communication node communicably connected to each video camera, wherein the video camera is A control unit that can be controlled externally in accordance with information input from the first data communication node, wherein the control device outputs information for controlling an external video camera from the second data communication node Means, selecting means for selecting an arbitrary video camera from the at least two or more video cameras, specification reading means for reading specification information of the video camera selected by the means, and specification information read by the means. Control condition change command output means for outputting a command for changing the control condition of the selected video camera based on the selected condition. It is characterized in.

In a twelfth aspect based on the ninth aspect, the video camera comprises a specification output means for outputting specification information in accordance with a request from the control device, and a control condition in accordance with a control condition change command from the control device. And a control condition changing means for changing the control condition.

An eleventh invention is directed to a video camera having at least two or more first data communication nodes, and a second camera connected to each video camera so as to be able to communicate with each other.
And a control device having a data communication node, wherein the video camera includes a controlled unit that can be externally controlled according to information input from the first data communication node, and the control device includes: Controlling means for outputting information for controlling an external video camera from the second data communication node, selecting means for selecting an arbitrary video camera from the at least two or more video cameras, and selecting by the means Detecting means for detecting at least one of a shooting position and a shooting angle of the selected video camera, and a control condition for outputting a command for changing a control condition of the selected video camera based on a detection result by the means. And a change command output unit.

In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, the video camera is configured to output at least one of a photographing position and a photographing angle in accordance with a request from the control device; A control condition changing means for changing a control condition according to a condition change command is further provided.

In a thirteenth aspect based on the ninth or eleventh aspect, the control device and each video camera are connected to an IE.
The communication is performed via a system bus of the EE1394 standard.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of digital devices and a terminal device communicate with each other to store processing steps for controlling the operation of each digital device from the terminal device in a computer-readable manner. A storage medium, wherein the processing step is such that the terminal device selects an arbitrary digital device from the plurality of digital devices according to an instruction from a user input to the terminal device; and A request step for issuing a request for specification information of the digital device selected in the selection step to the device; and the selected digital device transmits the specification information of its own device to the terminal in response to the request issued in the request step. A digital device-side transmitting step for transmitting to the device; A terminal device-side transmitting step of transmitting a control condition change command based on the specification information transmitted in the digital device-side transmitting step to the selected digital device; and the selected digital device is transmitted in the terminal device-side transmitting step. And controlling the operation of the own device based on the control condition changed according to the command.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, by mutually communicating between a plurality of imaging devices and a terminal device, processing steps for controlling the operation of each imaging device from the terminal device are stored in a computer readable manner. A storage medium, the processing step, the terminal device, according to an instruction from the user input to the device, a selection step of selecting an arbitrary imaging device from the plurality of imaging devices, the terminal device,
A requesting step of issuing a request for specification information of the imaging device selected by the selection step to the device; and the selected imaging device receives at least an imaging position and an imaging position in its own device by the request issued by the requesting step. An imaging device-side transmission step of transmitting any information of an imaging angle to the terminal device; and a control condition based on an instruction from the user and information transmitted by the imaging device-side transmission step. A terminal device-side transmission step of transmitting a change command to the selected imaging device; and the selected imaging device performs at least the imaging position and the imaging angle according to a control condition changed according to the command transmitted in the terminal device-side transmission step. And a control step of controlling any of the above.

In a sixteenth aspect based on the fourteenth or fifteenth aspect, the processing step comprises the step of:
The method includes a step of performing the step via an EEE1394 standard system bus.

[0029]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, in the present embodiment, as a general-purpose digital I / F for connecting various digital devices, for example, IEEE1394-1995 (High Performance
In order to use a Serial Bus (hereinafter simply referred to as "IEEE 1394" or "1394 serial bus"), "IEEE 1394" will be described in advance.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a network system based on IEEE1394. Here, the present system 100 is referred to as a TV monitor device 101, an AV
Amplifier 102, PC 103, printer 104, two digital video tape recorders (VTR) 105 and 1
06, digital video disk (DVD) player 1
07 and a compact disc (CD) player 108
Are connected by IEEE1394.

The IEEE 1394 eliminates the above-mentioned problems in SCSI and the like as much as possible, and can be unifiedly mounted on each device not only for communication between a PC and its peripheral devices but also for communication between any digital devices. It was done as such. Some of the major features of this IEEE 1394 are that the cable is relatively thin and flexible due to the use of high-speed serial communication, and the connector is also S-type.
It is extremely small as compared with the CSI cable, and furthermore, a large amount of data such as image data can be transferred at a high speed together with the device control data. That is,
According to the data communication using IEEE 1394, when connecting a device that is not normally stationary, such as a mobile or portable digital camera or digital video, to a PC, the annoyance is dramatically greater than that of the SCSI or the like. There is a great advantage that the image data can be reduced and the image data can be smoothly transferred to the PC.

[Overview of 1394 Serial Bus]

With the advent of home digital VTRs and digital video disc (DVD) players, video data and audio data (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "AV data"), etc. There is a need to transfer data. Such an A
In order to transfer the V data to a PC or another digital device in real time and to capture the V data, an interface having a necessary transfer function and capable of high-speed data transfer is required. An interface developed from such a viewpoint is the IEEE 1394 (1394 serial bus).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a network system constituted by using a 1394 serial bus. This system includes devices A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, between A and B, between A and C, between B and D,
The configuration is such that between DE, between CF, between CG, and between CH are connected by twisted pair cables for the 1394 serial bus. Examples of these devices A to H include PCs, digital VTRs, DVD players,
There are digital cameras, hard disks, monitors and the like.

The connection between the devices can be a mixture of the daisy chain method and the node branch method, so that the connection with a high degree of freedom can be performed. Also, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing the ID with each other, one network is configured within a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. For example, only by sequentially connecting (daisy-chain connection) each device with one 1394 serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay, so that one network can be configured as a whole.

The 1394 serial bus is a Plug and
It supports Play function and has a function to automatically recognize the device just by connecting the cable to the device and recognize the connection status. For this reason, in the system shown in FIG. 2, when an arbitrary device is removed from the network or newly added, etc., the bus is automatically reset, that is, the configuration information of the network up to that time is reset. , A new network is rebuilt. With such a function, the configuration of the network at that time can be set and recognized at all times.

The data transfer speed of the 1394 serial bus is defined as 100/200/400 Mbps, and the device having the higher transfer speed supports the lower transfer speed to maintain compatibility. .

The data transfer mode includes asynchronous data such as a control signal (hereinafter referred to as asynchronous data).
Asynchronous to transfer "Async data")
There are a transfer mode and an isochronous transfer mode for transferring synchronous data of real-time AV data (Isochronous data, hereinafter referred to as “iso data”). By these transfer modes, Async data and Iso data are transferred in each cycle (usually 125 μS / cycle).
Cycle start packet (C
Following the transfer of (SP), the transfer is performed in a mixed manner within the cycle while giving priority to the transfer of Iso data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing components of the 1394 serial bus. As shown in FIG. 3, the 1394 serial bus has a layer structure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the most hardware is a 1394 serial bus cable, and a 1394 connector port is connected to a connector at the end of the cable. Above the 1394 connector port,
A hardware section including a physical layer and a link layer 812 is positioned. The hardware unit is substantially composed of an interface chip, of which the physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and cycle time control.

A firmware section (firmware) including a transaction layer and a management layer is positioned above the hardware section. The transaction layer manages data to be transferred (transacted), and performs Read, Write, Loc
Issue an instruction such as k. The management layer is 1
It manages the connection status and ID of each device connected to the 394 serial bus, and manages the network configuration.

The components up to the hardware section and the firmware section are the substantial configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

Above the firmware section, a software section (software) including an application layer is positioned. The application layer differs depending on the software used, and how data is transferred on the interface is defined by a protocol such as an AV protocol.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an address space in the 1394 serial bus. Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus always has a 64-bit address unique to each node as shown in FIG. This address is stored in the memory of the node, whereby it is possible to always recognize the node address of the user or the other party, and perform data communication specifying the communication partner.

Addressing of the 1394 serial bus is performed in accordance with the IEEE 1212 standard. For address setting, the first 10 bits are for specifying a bus number (bus No.), and the next 6 bits are for node ID.
(Node No.). Then, the remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the node. This 48-bit area can be used as a unique address space. Of these, the last 28 bits are an area of data unique to the node (unique data area), and store information such as identification of each node and designation of use conditions.

The above is the outline of the 1394 serial bus. Next, the features of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

[Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus]

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a cross section of a cable for a 1394 serial bus. As shown in FIG.
In the cable for the 94 serial bus, a power supply line is provided in addition to the two twisted pair signal lines. With such a configuration, power can be supplied to a node having no power supply, a node whose voltage has been reduced due to a failure, or the like. The voltage of the DC power supplied by the power line is
8 to 40 V, the current of which is defined as a maximum current of 1.5 A DC. Some simple connection cables do not have a power supply line after limiting the connection destination device.

[DS-Link system]

FIG. 6 shows a DS-Link (Data / S) which is adopted as a data transfer method on a 1394 serial bus.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing a trobe link) encoding method. D
The S-Link coding scheme is suitable for high-speed serial data communication and requires two sets of signal lines. That is, a main data signal (Data) is provided on one of the two pairs of signal lines.
And a strobe signal (Strobe) is sent on the other signal line. Therefore, the receiving side can reproduce the clock by receiving the data signal and the strobe signal and performing an exclusive OR operation. Thus, in the DS-Link encoding method, there is no need to mix a clock signal into a data signal. Therefore, the DS-Link coding scheme has higher transfer efficiency than other serial data transfer schemes. Further, since a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit is not required, the circuit size of the controller LSI can be reduced accordingly. Further, when there is no data to be transferred, there is no need to send information indicating the idle state, so that the transceiver circuit of each node can be in the sleep state, and power consumption can be reduced.

[Sequence of Bus Reset]

Each node connected to the 1394 serial bus is given a node ID, and is recognized as a node constituting a network.

For example, connection and disconnection of network devices,
When a change in the network configuration occurs, such as an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to power ON / OFF, etc., and it is necessary to recognize a new network configuration, each node that has detected the change sends a bus reset signal To enter a mode for recognizing a new network configuration. The change in the network configuration at this time is detected by detecting a change in the bias voltage on a 1394 connector / port (refer to FIG. 3, hereinafter, simply referred to as “connector port”) base.

Therefore, when a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer of each node (see FIG. 3) receives the transmitted bus reset signal and simultaneously transmits a link layer (see FIG. 3). To the other nodes, and transmits the bus reset signal to other nodes. Then, after all the nodes finally receive the bus reset signal, the bus reset sequence is started.

The bus reset sequence is started when a cable is connected or disconnected, or when a hardware error is detected in the network, and when a physical layer such as a host control by a protocol is performed (see FIG. 3).
It is also activated by giving an instruction directly to
When the bus reset sequence is started, the data transfer is temporarily interrupted, and the system is in a standby state during the start of the sequence. After the bus reset is completed, the data transfer is restarted under a new network configuration.

[Node ID Determination Sequence]

As described above, the bus reset sequence is started, and after the bus reset is completed, each node enters an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a series of sequences from the generation of the bus reset signal until the node ID is determined and data transfer can be performed. In FIG. 7, first, each node constantly monitors a bus reset signal (step S101), and when detecting that a bus reset signal is generated, in order to obtain a new network configuration in a state where the network configuration is reset. Then, a parent-child relationship is declared between the nodes directly connected to each other (step S102). This step S
The process of step 102 is repeated until it is determined in step S103 that the parent-child relationship has been determined between all the nodes. When the parent-child relationship is determined between all the nodes, a route is determined (step S10).
4).

When the route is determined in step S104, next, a node ID setting operation for giving an ID to each node is performed (step S105). This step S105
Is a process of setting node IDs in the order of predetermined nodes from the root, and according to the determination in step S106,
This is repeated when it is determined that IDs have been given to all nodes. When the setting of the node IDs for all the nodes is completed, the new network configuration is recognized by all the nodes, and data transfer between the nodes can be performed. In this state, each node starts data transfer (step S107), and at the same time, step S101.
Then, the generation of the bus reset signal is monitored again.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of the processing from the monitoring of the bus reset signal (step S101) to the determination of the route (step S104). FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the above-described ID setting (step S104). S10
5 is a flowchart showing details of the processing of S106).

First, in FIG. 8, each node monitors the occurrence of a bus reset signal (step S201).
It detects that a bus reset signal has been generated. Thereby, the network configuration is reset once.

Next, as the first stage of the operation of re-recognizing the reset network configuration, each node resets the flag FL with data indicating that it is a leaf (node) (step S202). Then each node:
The number of ports, that is, the number of other nodes connected to itself is checked (step S203), and according to the result, an undefined (parent-child relationship is not determined) port to start declaring a parent-child relationship. Check the number (step S
204). Although the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 is equal to the number of ports immediately after the bus reset,
It decreases as the parent-child relationship is determined.

Here, the declaration of the parent-child relationship immediately after the bus reset is limited to the actual leaf. Whether or not the port is a leaf can be known from the result of checking the number of ports in step S203.
If it is 1 ", it is a leaf. Therefore, step S2
If the number of undefined ports detected in step 04 is “1”, the leaf declares a parent-child relationship “I am a child and the other is a parent” to the connection partner node (step S20).
5), end this sequence.

The node, the branch (node) of which the result of the confirmation of the number of ports in step S203 is “2” or more, immediately after the bus reset, returns to step S204.
The number of undefined ports detected in is "number of undefined ports>1"
Therefore, the data indicating the branch is set in the flag FL (step S206), and the process waits for the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node (step S207). Then, a parent-child relationship is declared from another node, and the branch that has received the declaration returns to step S204 and checks the number of undefined ports. At this time, if the number of undefined ports is "1", a parent-child relationship of "I am a child and the other is a parent" is declared in step S205 to other nodes connected to the remaining ports. Can be. Also, the number of undefined ports is still "
The branch having 2 "or more waits for another node to declare the" parent-child relationship "again in step S207.

If the number of undefined ports on any one branch or on a leaf that did not operate quickly despite exceptionally being able to declare a child becomes “0”, the declaration of the parent-child relationship of the entire network is made. Has ended.
Therefore, the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become "0", that is, the node determined to be the parent of all nodes, sets the data indicating the root (node) in the flag FL (step S208). As a result, this node is recognized as a root (step S20).
9) Then, this sequence ends.

As described above, the processing from the bus reset to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between the nodes in the network is completed. Next, a process of giving an ID to each node is performed. Here, it is the leaf that can set the ID first. Therefore, here, leaf →
An ID is set from a smaller number (node number: 0) in the order of branch → route.

That is, in FIG. 9 described above, first, based on the data set in the flag FL, the process branches to processing according to the type of node, that is, leaf, branch, and route (step S301).

If the result of step S301 is "leaf", the number (natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set as a variable N (step S302). Thereafter, the leaf requests a node number for the root (step S303). When there are a plurality of requests, the route receiving the request performs arbitration (step S304), and assigns a node number to a certain node.
The other nodes are notified of the result indicating that the acquisition of the node number has failed (step S305).

The leaves for which the node number could not be obtained by the determination in step S306 are returned to step S303.
Repeats the request for the node number.

On the other hand, the leaf from which the node number has been obtained by the determination in step S306 notifies all the nodes by broadcasting ID information (self ID packet) including the obtained node number (step S30).
7).

Here, the self ID packet includes the ID information of the node, the number of ports of the node, the number of connected ports, whether each port is a parent or a child, and whether the node is a bus manager. Information on the presence / absence of capability to obtain (if there is a capability to become a bus manager, the contender bit in the self ID packet is set to "1", and if there is no capability to become a bus manager, the contender bit is set to "0"), etc. Has been posted. The ability to become a bus manager means, for example, whether or not each device on the network configured as shown in FIG. 2 requires power supply using a power line in a connection cable. , A device that can supply power,
Management of when to supply power, etc. Maintain speed map Maintain communication speed information of each device on the network. Maintenance of Network Structure (Topology Map) Maintenance of Network Tree Structure Information to be described later (FIG. 10)
(See Reference) This means that it is possible to manage the bus based on the information obtained from the topology map, and the node that has become the bus manager by the procedure described later performs the bus management of the entire network. . A node capable of being a bus manager, that is, a node that sets a contender bit of a self-ID packet to "1" and broadcasts the information, communication speed, etc. of the self-ID packet transferred from each node by broadcast And a speed map and a topology map are constructed based on the stored information when the device becomes a bus manager.

When the broadcasting of the ID information is completed in step S307, a variable N representing the number of leaves is set.
Is decremented (step S308). afterwards,
The processes of steps S303 to S308 are repeated until the variable N becomes “0” as determined in step S309. When the ID information of all leaves is broadcast, the ID setting processing of the next branch (step S
It moves to 310-S317).

This branch ID setting processing is also executed when the result of step S301 is a branch. Like the above-described leaf ID setting, first, the branch ID existing in the network is set. Number (natural number)
Is set to the variable M (step S310). afterwards,
The branch requests a node number from the root (step S311). In response to this request, the root performs arbitration (step S312), assigns a certain branch a young number following the leaf, and notifies a branch that could not acquire the node number a result indicating acquisition failure (step S312). S313).

As a result of the determination in step S314, the branch for which the node number could not be obtained returns to step S31.
The request for the node number is repeated at 1.

On the other hand, the branch from which the node number has been obtained is notified to all nodes by broadcasting ID information including the obtained node number (step S31).
5). When the broadcast of the ID information ends, the variable M indicating the number of branches is decremented (step S316). Thereafter, until the variable M becomes “0” by the determination in step S317, steps S311 to S311 are performed.
When the process of step S316 is repeated and the ID information of all the branches is broadcast, the process proceeds to the ID setting process of the next route (steps S318 and S319).

When the processing up to this point is completed, finally I
Since the root node is the only node that has not obtained the D information, in the next route ID setting process, the root sets its own node number to the smallest number that has not been given to another node (step S318). I including the node number
The D information is broadcast (step S319).
The route ID setting process is also performed when the result of step S301 is a route.

After the parent-child relationship is determined by the above-described processing, IDs are determined for all nodes.
It also reveals the ability of each node to be a bus manager. If a plurality of nodes eventually have the ability to become a bus manager, the node with the largest ID number becomes the bus manager. Also, if a route has the ability to be a bus manager, the route's I
If the route is a bus manager because the D number is the largest in the network, but the route does not have the capability to be a bus manager, the next largest I
The node having the D number and the contender bit in the self ID packet set to "1" becomes the bus manager. Further, as to which node has become the bus manager, in the process of FIG.
The self ID packet is broadcast when D is acquired, and the broadcast information can be grasped as common recognition of each node by grasping this broadcast information by each node.

Thus, as an example, a specific procedure in an actual network will be described with reference to FIG.

In the network shown in FIG. 10, a node A and a node C are directly connected below a node B which is a root, and a node D is directly connected below a node C.
Below the node D, there is a hierarchical structure in which the nodes E and F are directly connected. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, root node, and node ID in such a network is as follows.

After the generation of the bus reset signal, in order to recognize the connection status of each node, first, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected ports of each node. The “parent and child” here means that the upper level of the hierarchical structure is “parent” and the lower level is “child”.

In FIG. 10, the node A first declares the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Here, as described above, the declaration of the parent-child relationship can be started from a node (leaf) to which only one port is connected. This is because if the number of ports is "1", it is the end of the network, that is, the leaf. When this is recognized, the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that has performed the earliest operation among those leaves. In this way, the port of the node that has declared the parent-child relationship is set as the “child” of the two nodes connected to each other, and the port of the partner node is set as the “parent”. Therefore, in FIG. 10 described above, the node E-D
And between the nodes FD, “child-parent” is set.

Next, the hierarchy goes up by one, and a node having a plurality of ports, that is, a branch which has received a parent-child relationship declaration from another node among the branches is sequentially assigned a parent-child relationship declaration to an upper node. Done.

In FIG. 10, first, between nodes DE,
After the parent-child relationship between DF is determined, the node D declares a parent-child relationship to the node C, and as a result, the nodes D-C
A "child-parent" relationship is set between them. The node C that has received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from the node D declares a parent-child relationship with respect to the node B connected to another port, whereby the “child-parent” relationship between the nodes C and B is obtained. Is set.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 10 is formed, and the parent node is determined as the root in all finally connected ports (in FIG. 10, the node B is the root). Note that there is only one route in one network configuration. In addition, the node B in which the parent-child relationship is declared from the node A
Declares a parent-child relationship to another node at an early timing, for example, there is a possibility that another node such as the node C may become the root. That is, depending on the timing at which the declaration of the parent-child relationship is transmitted, there is a possibility that any node may become the root, and even if the network configuration is the same, a specific node does not always become the root.

When the route is determined, the process enters a mode for determining each node ID. Here, all the nodes have a broadcast function of notifying the determined own ID information to all the other nodes. The ID information includes a node number, information on a connected position, the number of ports held, the number of connected ports, information on the parent-child relationship of each port, and the like.

The assignment of the node numbers starts from the leaf as described above, and the node numbers = 0, 1,
2,... Are assigned. Then, the node that has obtained the node number transmits ID information including the node number to each node by broadcast. As a result, it is recognized that the node number is “assigned”. When all the leaves have acquired the node numbers, the process moves to the branch, and the node numbers following the leaves are assigned. Like the leaf, the ID information is broadcast in order from the branch to which the node number is assigned, and finally the root broadcasts its own ID information. Therefore, the root always owns the highest node number.

As described above, the ID setting for the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization operation is completed.

[Bus Arbitration]

The 1394 serial bus always arbitrates for the right to use the bus prior to data transfer.
Perform Each node connected to the 1394 serial bus relays data transferred on the network to form a logical bus network that transmits the same data to all devices in the network.
Bus arbitration is necessary to prevent packet collision. As a result, at a certain time, only one device can perform data transfer.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining arbitration, and FIG.
FIG. 11 shows an operation for requesting a bus use right.
(B) shows an operation of permitting use of the bus.

When the bus arbitration starts, one or more nodes request a bus use right from the parent node. In FIG. 11A, the node C is
Node F requests its parent node, Node B, for a bus use right, with respect to its parent node, Node A. The parent node receiving this request further requests the parent node for a bus use right, thereby relaying the bus use right request from the child node. This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route. FIG. 11 (a)
In this example, the node A that has received the request from the node F requests the right to use the bus from the node F that is the parent node. That is, the node A relays the request for the right to use the bus by the node F.

The route that has received the request for the right to use the bus determines to which node the right to use the bus is given. This arbitration work can be performed only by the route, and the node that wins the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG. 11 above
(B) shows a state in which the bus use permission is given to the node C, and the request for the bus use right of the node F is rejected.
At this time, the route sends a DP (data prefix) packet to the node that has lost the bus arbitration,
Notifies that the request for the right to use the bus has been rejected. The request for the right to use the bus of the node that has lost the bus arbitration is kept waiting until the next bus arbitration. On the other hand, the node that has won the bus arbitration and has obtained the bus use permission can start data transfer thereafter.

Here, a flowchart of a series of bus arbitration flows will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in order for a node to be able to start data transfer, the bus needs to be in an idle state. In order to recognize that the bus is in an idle state after the previous data transfer is completed, a gap length of a predetermined idle time individually set in each transfer mode (for example, What is necessary is just to detect the progress of the action gap).

Therefore, first, each node transmits As
It is determined whether or not a predetermined gap length corresponding to the sync data or Iso data has been obtained (step S401).
Unless this predetermined gap length is obtained, each node
The right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be requested. Therefore, each node is in a waiting state until a predetermined gap length is obtained.

When a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401, the node determines whether there is data to be transferred (step S402). If there is data to be transferred, the node issues a signal requesting a bus use right. The data is transmitted to the route (step S403). The signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while being relayed to each node in the network, as shown in FIG. If it is determined in step S402 that there is no transfer data, the node enters a standby state.

The root sends a signal requesting the right to use the bus to 1
If more than one node is received (step S404), the number of nodes requesting the right to use the bus is checked (step S40).
5). If the result of this step S405 is that there is only one node that has requested the right to use the bus, the root gives the immediately subsequent bus use permission to that node (step S408).

On the other hand, if the result of step S405 is that there are a plurality of nodes requesting the right to use the bus, the root performs arbitration work to narrow down the number of nodes to which the right to use the bus immediately after to one (step S406). This arbitration work does not always give the same node the permission to use the bus only, but is an operation for equally giving the right to use the bus (fair arbitration).

As a result, one node that has won the arbitration,
The process branches depending on the other lost nodes (step S407). As a result, a permission signal indicating the immediately following bus use permission is sent to one node that has won the arbitration (step S408). Therefore, the node receiving this permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately thereafter. Then, after the completion of the data transfer, the process returns to step S401. The node that has lost the arbitration has a D indicating that the request for the right to use the bus has been rejected.
A P (data prefix) packet is sent (step S4)
09). Therefore, the node that has received the DP packet performs step S40 to request the bus use right again.
Return to 1.

[Asynchronous: Asynchronous
s) Transfer]

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in asynchronous transfer. In FIG. 13, the first "subaction gap" (subaction gap) indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle state time reaches a predetermined value, it is determined that the node desiring data transfer can request the right to use the bus, so that the bus arbitration as described in FIG. 12 is executed. .

When use of the bus is permitted by bus arbitration, data transfer is packetized. After receiving the data, the node returns a response code "ack" after a short gap of "ask gap" and responds (or sends a response packet) to complete the data transfer. The “ack” is composed of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, includes information indicating a success, a busy state, or a pending state, and is information immediately returned to the data transmission source node.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a packet format for asynchronous transfer. The packet has a header part in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction. In the header part, a destination node ID, a source node ID, a transfer data length, various codes, and the like are written. Here, the asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from the self node to the partner node. Therefore, the packet sent from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but each node ignores the packet other than its own, so that only the node designated as the destination receives the packet.

[Synchronous (Isochronous)]
transfer]

The isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is a transfer mode suitable for transferring data requiring real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as video image data and audio data. is there. In contrast to the one-to-one transfer in the asynchronous transfer, the isochronous transfer can uniformly transfer data from one transfer source node to all other nodes by a broadcast function.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in the isochronous transfer. The isochronous transfer is executed on the bus at regular intervals. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle, and is set to 125 μS. A cycle start packet (CSP) indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. The node that transmits the CSP is a node called a cycle master, which completes the transfer in the previous cycle, and after a predetermined idle period (subaction gap), transmits a CSP indicating the start of this cycle. . That is, the time interval for transmitting the CSP is 125 μS.

As shown in FIG. 15 as “Channel A”, “Channel B”, and “Channel C”, a plurality of types of packets are given channel IDs in one synchronization cycle. Packets can be transferred separately. This enables real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node only needs to receive data of the channel ID desired by itself. The channel ID does not represent the address of the destination node, but merely gives a logical number for the data. Therefore, the transmitted packet is transmitted from one source node to all other nodes, that is, transmitted by broadcast.

In the isochronous transfer, prior to the packet transmission, bus arbitration is performed as in the above-described asynchronous transfer. However, since the isochronous transfer is not one-to-one communication unlike the asynchronous transfer, as shown in FIG. 15, the return code "as
k "(reception confirmation reply code) does not exist. Also," iso gap "(isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 15 is necessary for recognizing that the bus is in an idle state before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free and can perform arbitration before transfer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a packet format for isochronous transfer. The various packets divided into the respective channels each have a header in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part includes the transfer data length and the channel number. , Other various codes, an error correction header CRC, and the like are written and transferred.

[Bus cycle]

Actually, in the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can be mixed. FIG. 17 shows a temporal transition of the transfer state on the bus at that time. The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is CSP
After that, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length ("ack gap" isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length ("subaction gap" subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 17, CSP is transferred from the cycle master to each node at the start of cycle #m. With this CSP,
A node that performs time adjustment at each node and waits for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap) before performing isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 17, “channel e”, “
After the operations from the bus arbitration to the packet transfer are repeated for the given channels, all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m are completed. Transfer can be performed.

That is, when the idle time reaches the subaction gap in which the asynchronous transfer is possible, the node desiring to perform the asynchronous transfer determines that the arbitration can be started. It should be noted that the asynchronous transfer can be performed only when a sub-action gap for starting the asynchronous transfer is obtained from the end of the isochronous transfer to the time (cycle synch) to transfer the next CSP. .

In the cycle #m in FIG. 17, after the isochronous transfer for three channels, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) are transferred by asynchronous transfer (including “ack”). After the transfer of these two packets, it is time to start cycle # (m + 1) (cycle synch), so the transfer in cycle #m ends. At this time, during the asynchronous transfer or the isochronous transfer operation, if the time to transmit the next CSP (cycle synch) has been reached, the transfer is not forcibly interrupted. Send cycle CSP. That is, if one cycle lasts 125 μS or more,
The next cycle is shorter than the standard 125 μS. Thus, the isochronous cycle can be exceeded or shortened on the basis of 125 μS. The isochronous transfer is executed every cycle if necessary in order to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be postponed to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time. Such delay information is also managed by the cycle master.

As described above, IEEE 1394
Have various conveniences to eliminate the trouble of data communication by digital I / F such as SCSI.
In particular, large-capacity data such as image data can be transferred at a high speed together with device control data, and the cable is relatively thin, which is convenient for routing. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to connect cables in series to a plurality of connected devices,
It is sufficient that one cable is connected to a main control device such as a PC.

Accordingly, the IEEE 13 shown in FIG.
The system 100 in which various digital devices are connected by 94 will be specifically described.

In the system 100, the TV monitor device 10
1 and the AV amplifier 102 are connected by an IEEE 1394 (1394 serial bus), and other devices (digital VTR 105, digital VTR 105,
A specific device is selected from among the video and audio devices such as 106, and the video and audio data output from the selected specific device is transferred to the TV monitor device 101. The PC 103 connected to the AV amplifier 102 via the 1394 serial bus is connected to various video devices (digital VTRs 105 and 10) connected via the 1394 serial bus within a range permitted by law or the like.
6 and the like, and the printer 104 can print out the image.

Note that the network system shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a system including a group of devices, and may have a configuration in which other devices are connected before the TV monitor device 101 and the CD player 108. I do not care. Further, the devices constituting the system are not limited to the devices shown in FIG. 1, but may be, for example, an external storage device such as a hard disk, a second CD player, a second DVD player, or the like. That is, any device can be used as long as a network can be configured using a 394 serial bus.

Therefore, in the system 100 as described above, the connection of the printer 104 and the digital VTR 105 via the 1394 serial bus will be described as an example for the sake of simplicity, and the information transmission path and the like in the connection will be described.

FIG. 18 shows the printer 104 and the digital V
3 shows an internal configuration of the TR 105. Note that FIG. 18 shows only the reproduction system of the internal configuration of the digital VTR 105 for simplicity of description.

The printer 104 is a digital VTR 10
1394 I / F section 521 between the PC 5 and the PC 103, an image processing section 52 for forming image data to be printed out, etc.
2. Memory 523 for the forming process, etc., printer head 524, printer head 524, driver 525 for feeding paper, etc., operation unit 526 for the user to input various instructions to printer 104, and overall printer 104 Printer controllers 527 and 13 that control the operation of the printer
A printer information generation unit 528 that generates the status of the printer 104 as printer information via the 94 I / F 521 and a data selector 529 are provided. Digital VT
R105 is a recording / reproducing head 502 for recording and reproducing data on and from the magnetic tape 501, a reproducing processor 503, a video decoder 504, and a D / A converter 50.
5, the external output terminal 506, the user inputs the digital VTR1
Operation unit 50 for inputting various instructions to
7, a system controller 508 for controlling the operation of the entire digital VTR 105, a frame memory 509, a 1394 I / F section 510 between the printer 104 and the PC 103,
And a selector 511 for a plurality of types of data. The data selector 511 of the digital VTR 105 and the data selector 529 of the printer 104 select each data to be input or output, whereby each data is sequentially distinguished for each data type and input to a predetermined block. The output has been made.

The following operation is performed between the printer 104 and the digital VTR 105 as described above.

First, in the digital VTR 105,
The recording / reproducing head 502 reads video data recorded on the magnetic tape 501 and reads the video data.
Supply to 3. It is assumed that the video data at this time is encoded by a predetermined compression method based on DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) and VLC (Variable Length Coding) as a band compression method for home digital video. Reproduction processing unit 50
3 performs processing of a predetermined reproduction format on the video data from the recording / reproduction head 502. The decoding unit 504 performs a predetermined decoding process corresponding to the above-mentioned encoding method on the video data via the reproduction processing unit 503. The D / A converter 505 converts the video data decoded by the decoding unit 504 into analog data, and outputs the analog video data to an external device (not shown) via an external output terminal 506.

At this time, when desired video data or the like is transferred to another device (node) using the 1394 serial bus, the decoding unit 504 temporarily stores the decoded video data in the frame memory 509. To save. afterwards,
The stored video data is supplied to a 13941 / F unit 510 via a data selector 511 described later, and is transferred from the 13941 / F unit 510 to, for example, the printer 104 or the PC 103.

The data selector 511 receives various control data from the system controller 508 in addition to the video data from the frame memory 509, and selectively transfers these to the 1394 I / F unit 510.

When the video data transferred to the printer 104 is, for example, data for direct printing by the printer 104, the printer 104 captures the video data into the printer 104 via the 1394 I / F unit 521. . At this time, if the video data is transferred to a device other than the printer 104 (such as the PC 103), the video data is transferred to the 1394 I / F unit 521.
Is passed to the target device (node).

Here, an instruction to the digital VTR 105, such as a reproduction operation of the digital VTR 105, is given by the operation unit 507.
Therefore, the system controller 508 controls the operation of each unit including the control of the reproduction processing unit 503 of the digital VTR 105 based on the instruction input from the operation unit 507. At this time, depending on the instruction input from the operation unit 507 (for example, when a predetermined instruction input is performed), for example, the printer 104
Is generated, and this is transferred as command data from the 1394 I / F unit 510 to the printer 105 via the data selector 511.

A printer 10 described later, which is input via the 1394 I / F unit 510,
The printer information data such as the operation status of No. 4 is 1394I /
The data can be taken into the system controller 508 from the F unit 510 via the data selector 511. However, if the printer information data is unnecessary for the digital VTR 105, it is transferred to the other digital VTR 106 through the 1394 I / F unit 510. Further, the printer information data can be transferred to the PC 103 via the 1394 I / F unit 510.

On the other hand, in the printer 104, first,
The data input to the 1394 I / F unit 521 is
The data is classified by the data selector 521 for each type of data. Thus, the data to be printed out is supplied to the image processing unit 522. The image processing unit 522 performs image processing suitable for print output on the data supplied by the data selector 529, and stores the processed data in the memory 523.
Is formed as print image data. The print image data formed in the memory 523 is supplied to the printer head 524 in accordance with the writing and reading control from the printer controller 527, where it is printed out. At this time, driving of the printer head 524 and paper feeding are performed by a driver 525, and operation control of the driver 525 and the printer head 524 is performed by a printer controller 527.

The operation unit 526 is for inputting instructions such as paper feed, reset, ink check, and standby / stop of the printer operation. The printer controller 527 operates based on the instruction input. The operation of each unit is controlled.

The data input to the 1394 I / F unit 521 is transmitted to the PC 103 or the digital VTR 10.
5 is transmitted as a control command from the data selector 529 to the printer controller 527, the operation of each part of the printer 104 is controlled by the printer controller 527. Done.

Further, the printer information generation unit 528 outputs an operation status of the printer 104, a message indicating whether the print output is completed or in a ready state, a paper jam, a malfunction, a warning message indicating the presence or absence of ink, and the like. Further, information of image data to be printed out is generated as printer information, and this is supplied to the data selector 529. Thereafter, the data is output to the outside by the data selector 529 via the 1394 I / F unit 521. Therefore, based on the output printer information, the PC 103 and the digital VTR 105 perform display, processing, and the like according to the printer status. For example, PC103
(Or if the digital VTR 105 has a direct print function,
At 105), a message or print image based on the printer information from the printer 104 is displayed. The user checks the displayed message or print image, and takes appropriate action to take appropriate action.
A command is input to the printer 104 from the digital VTR 105 (and the digital VTR 105). This command input is given to the printer 104 via the 1394 serial bus as control command data. Printer 1 receiving this
Reference numeral 04 denotes an operation control of each unit of the printer 104 according to the control command data and an operation control of print image formation in the image processing unit 522 by the printer controller 527.

As described above, the PC 103 and the digital V
Video data, various command data, and the like are appropriately transferred to the 1394 serial bus connecting the TR 105 and the printer 104. Digital VTR 105
The transfer format of each data is based on the above-mentioned specification of the 1394 serial bus. That is, mainly video data (and audio data) are transferred as ISo data by the isochronous transfer method, and command data is transferred as Async data by the azimuth transfer method. At this time, depending on certain data, it may be more convenient to transfer the data by the azimuth transfer method than by the isochronous transfer method. In such a case, the azimuth transfer method is used. Also, the printer 1
04, the printer information data transferred from Asyn
The data is transferred as the c data by the azimuth transfer method. Further, when transferring print image data or the like having a large amount of information, the image data may be transferred as ISO data by an isochronous transfer method.

In FIG. 1, other devices (PCs) other than the printer 104 and the digital VTR 105 described above are used.
103, digital VTR 106, DVD player 10
7, CD player 108, AV amplifier 102, and TV
For data communication between the monitors 101), bidirectional transfer of each data is possible based on the specification of the 1394 serial bus. A TV monitor 101, an AV amplifier 102, a PC 103, a digital VTR 106,
Each of the VD player 107 and the CD player 108 has a function control unit unique to each device.
A part necessary for information communication by the I / F, that is, a data selector for inputting data to be transmitted from each block in the device and appropriately distributing received data to each block in the device, and a 13941 / F portion are described above. The configuration is the same as that of the digital VTR 105 or the printer 104 described above.

The above is the description of the IEEE standard used in this embodiment.
1394 ". Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(First Embodiment) The present invention provides, for example,
It is applied to a digital video camera 600 as shown in FIG. The digital video camera (hereinafter, simply referred to as “video camera”) 600 has an I
Having an IEEE 1394 I / F 267;
The IEEE 1394 I / F 267 is connected to the PC 10 as shown in FIG.
3 is connected. Further, the video camera 600 can be connected to an image memory block described later used for an electronic zoom function and the like.

That is, as shown in FIG. 19, the video camera 600 includes an optical lens (not shown),
03, an image sensor (here, “CCD”) 604,
AGC 605, A / D converter 606, aperture drive unit 60
7, an imaging unit including a CCD driver 608 and a timing generator 609, a digital signal processing unit 601 and a camera system control unit 602. The digital signal processing unit 601 includes a color separation matrix 610, level control circuits 611 and 612, a color difference matrix 613, a signal processing block 614, an aperture control reference signal generation circuit 615, an RY level control reference signal generation circuit 616, and B -Y level control reference signal generation circuit 617, I / F circuit 618 with camera system control unit 602, and AGC gain control reference signal generation circuit 63
0 is provided. The camera system control unit 602 includes a RAM having a standard control data storage area 621 and an adjustment control data storage area 622, a RAM having a control data storage area 623, and an I / F with the digital signal processing unit 601.
A circuit 625, a CPU 626, a ROM 629, an IEEE 1394 I / F unit 627 with the PC 103, and a communication line 631 with the image memory block and the like are provided.

In the video camera 600 as described above, first, the image pickup light formed on the image pickup surface of the CCD 604 via the optical lens unit (not shown) and the stop 603 is applied to the C
After being photoelectrically converted by the CD 604 and gain-controlled by the AGC 605, it is digitized by the A / D converter 606. The digital image signal obtained by this is
It is supplied to the digital signal processing unit 601.

In the digital signal processing unit 601, A
The luminance component Y of the digital image signal from the / D converter 606 is compared in the signal processing block 614 with the reference signal generated by the aperture control reference signal generation circuit 615. The result of the comparison is that the aperture driving unit 61
The automatic aperture control is performed so that an appropriate aperture value is always obtained for the imaging light.

The color signal components of the digital image signal are supplied to a color separation matrix 610, where they are separated into three color components of R, G, and B. In particular, R and B
For each color component,
The level is controlled by 1,612. The other G color components and the R and B color components output from the level control circuits 611 and 612 are converted by the color difference matrix 613 into RY and BY color difference signals. The control of the color component level is similar to the control of the aperture value.
In the signal processing block 614, the RY and BY color difference signal levels, which are the output signals of the color difference matrix 613, are respectively the RY level control reference signal generation circuit 61.
6, and the reference signal generated by the BY level control reference signal generation circuit 617 is compared with the level, and the comparison result is supplied to the level control circuits 611 and 612, so that an appropriate white balance is always obtained. As described above, the level control of the R and B color components is performed automatically.

On the other hand, with respect to the time for accumulating the charge corresponding to the amount of the imaging light focused on the imaging surface of the CCD 604 in the cells in the CCD 604, that is, the shutter speed, the timing generator 609 sends the CCD 604 via the CCD driver 608 via the CCD driver 608. Is controlled by the CCD drive signal supplied to the. Timing generator 609
Is connected to the I / F 625 in the camera system control unit 602, and the CPU in the camera system control unit 602
The storage time of the CCD 604 is controlled in accordance with the control command from 626.

The aperture control reference signal generating circuit 61
5, RY level control reference signal generation circuit 616, B-
Each output level of the Y-level control reference signal generation circuit 617 and the AGC gain control reference signal generation circuit 630 is also
Camera system control unit 602 via I / F circuit 618
It can be changed by a control signal sent from the PC.

The camera system control unit 602 includes a PC 103 provided outside the video camera 600 and an IE.
EE1394 cable 628 and IEEE1394I /
Communication is possible via the F unit 627, and P
CPU 626 according to the camera control command from C103
The output levels of the aperture control reference signal generation circuit 615, the RY level control reference signal generation circuit 616, the BY level control reference signal generation circuit 617, and the AGC gain control reference signal generation circuit 630 are changed. By outputting a signal, the aperture value, RY, BY, and AGC
Change the reference value for gain control. Thereby, the control target of the imaging unit such as the aperture value, the color tone, and the color density of the video camera 600 can be changed to a PC 10 outside the video camera 600.
3 can be controlled.

Aperture control reference signal generation circuit 615, R-
The reference value of the output level of the reference signal generation circuit 616 for Y level control, the reference signal generation circuit 617 for BY level control, and the reference signal generation circuit 630 for AGC gain control is R
The data (reference value) stored in the standard control data storage area 621 of the AM is normally transferred to the control data storage area 623 of the RAM, and the data (reference value) of the control data storage area 623 is normally stored in the RAM. Standard value)
Are, through the CPU 626, an aperture control reference signal generation circuit 615, an RY level control reference signal generation circuit 616,
The control signal is transmitted to the BY level control reference signal generation circuit 617, the AGC gain control reference signal generation circuit 630, and the timing generator 609 as control conditions, whereby appropriate photographing conditions are automatically set. ing.

FIG. 20 shows the video camera 60 of FIG.
The image memory block 660 accompanying 0 is shown. The image memory block 660 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
9 is used for an electronic zoom function or the like that cuts out and enlarges a part of the digital image signal (image data) captured by the digital signal processing unit 601. For this reason,
The image memory block 660 includes the digital signal processing unit 6
01, the digital signal processing circuit 6
19 includes a field controller 62, a field / frame memory (image memory) 663, and a memory controller 665. The memory controller 665 is connected to the camera system control unit 602 in FIG.

In such an image memory block 660, first, the luminance component (luminance signal) Y and the color difference signals RY and BY obtained by the digital 601 are stored in the I / F circuit 6
The digital signal processing circuit 662 performs digital signal processing such as compression. Thereafter, the image memory 66
3 is stored. When the data stored in the image memory 663 is read, the read data is
The digital signal processing circuit 664 performs digital signal processing such as decompression, so that the original luminance signal Y and color difference signal R-
The signals are returned to Y and BY, and these signals are output.

The digital signal processing circuit 662, the image memory 663, and the digital signal processing circuit 664 are controlled by a memory controller (memory control circuit) 665.
Is connected via the communication line 631 to the CPU 626 of the camera system control unit 602 shown in FIG. That is,
The memory controller 665 is controlled by the CPU 626.

The case where the above-described control target of the video camera 600 is controlled from the external PC 103 will be specifically described below.

The PC1 is connected to the IEEE1394 I / F section 627.
The camera control command transmitted from the CPU 03 is appropriately replaced by the CPU 626 with data corresponding to the camera control command, and the digital signal processing unit 60 via the I / F 625.
1 is output. At the same time, the control information corresponding to the data output to the digital signal processing unit 601 via the I / F 625 is also stored in the adjustment control data storage area 622 of the RAM. The data is read by the CPU 626 via the data storage area 623. With this configuration, once the PC 1
03 is transmitted to the video camera 6
00 and can be recalled when needed.

The CPU 626 executes the address for operating each of the above RAMs and the read / write control via the address and R / W designation sections 620 and 624. When the video camera 600 is set to the shooting condition, the data in the adjustment control data storage area 622 is written into the control data storage area 623, and the video camera 6 is set to the standard state.
When setting 00, the standard control data storage area 62
1 data is written to the control data storage area 623.

When the IEEE 1394 cable is connected, the video camera 600 and the PC 103 recognize the connection and determine whether or not to enter the mode setting operation.

Specifically, for example, the PC 103 side is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, first, it is determined whether or not an IEEE 1394 cable is connected by detecting whether or not a bus reset has occurred (step S701). As a result of this determination, if no bus reset has occurred, the process stands by without executing any processing.

If the result of determination in step S701 is that bus reset has occurred, it is determined whether video camera 600 has been connected (step S702). As a determination method at this time, for example, a method of reading a 64-bit address in the address space on the 1394 serial bus as shown in FIG. 4 and identifying whether or not the video camera is a control target is used. If it is determined that the video camera 600 to be controlled is not connected, the process returns to step S701.

If it is determined in step S702 that the video camera 600 to be controlled is connected, it is determined whether or not the video camera 600 is ready to receive a mode setting command from the PC 103. It is determined (step S703). The state in which the mode setting instruction is accepted depends on the state of the video camera 600 itself, such as whether the mode can be changed and whether the apparatus is in the instruction reception standby state. If the result of this determination is that the mode setting command is not to be accepted, the process returns to step S702 to check whether or not the video camera 600 to be controlled is still connected, and then re-executes the next step S703.

As a result of the determination in step S703, when the video camera 600 recognizes that it is in a state of accepting the mode setting command, the mode setting command is transmitted to the video camera 600, and the operation of the video camera 600 is controlled.

As shown in FIG. 22, the video camera 600 first executes a normal camera operation (step S711). The normal camera operation here is shown in FIG.
9 is stored in the control data storage area 623 of the RAM shown in FIG.
This is an operation in a state where data (standard control data) of the M standard control data storage area 621 is written.

While executing such a normal camera operation, the CPU 626 constantly monitors whether or not the IEEE 1394 cable is connected (step S71).
2). As a method of detecting the connection of the IEEE 1394 cable at this time, for example, a method of detecting a change in the bias voltage of the port or the like is used. As a result of this monitoring, IE
If the connection of the EE1394 cable is not confirmed, the process returns to step S711.

If the cable connection is confirmed as a result of the monitoring in step S712, after completion of the bus reset (step S713), it is determined whether or not the PC 103 is connected (step S714). Connection target is PC10
As for the confirmation of whether or not the video camera 600 is the same as the PC 103, for example, the video camera 600 shown in FIG.
A method of reading a 64-bit address in the address space of the 394 serial bus and identifying whether or not the PC 103 is used is used.

As a result of the determination in step S714, when the connection target is the PC 103, it is determined whether or not the PC 103 is executing the mode setting program (the processing program according to the flowchart of FIG. 21) (step S715). For this determination method, for example, a method of reading information of the application layer shown in FIG. 3 or a method of recognizing Async data in mutual communication is used.

As a result of the determination in step S715, the PC 10
If it is confirmed that the PC 3 is executing the mode setting program, the PC 3 transmits to the PC 103 a message indicating that the PC 103 is ready to accept a mode setting command. As described above, the mode setting operation of the video camera 600 is performed by changing the control reference value and the shutter speed and rewriting the contents of the RAM.

It should be noted that the video camera 600 determines in step S
By sequentially performing each of the determinations 712, S713, S714, and S715, it is determined whether or not to execute the mode setting operation in accordance with a command from the PC 103. Therefore, the condition is satisfied in any of the above-described determinations. If not, the operation not following the command from the PC 103, that is, the above-described normal camera operation is repeated.

The processing program of FIG. 22 and other processing programs used for camera control are stored in the ROM 629 shown in FIG. 19, and the CPU 626 sequentially reads out and executes the control commands from the ROM 629 to execute. The above operation is performed.

As described above, the control target of the video camera 600 is controlled from the external PC 103. Also,
As shown in FIG. 23, a plurality of video cameras 600a, 600b, 60 having the same function as the video camera 600.
When the control target 0c is independently controlled from one external PC 103, the following operation is performed.

The configuration shown in FIG. 23 is applied to, for example, a surveillance camera system. That is, in this system, the first surveillance camera 600a, the second surveillance camera 600b, and the third surveillance camera 600c are connected to the PC 103, which is the main control device, by the IEEE.
They are connected in series via 1394 I / F units 627a, 627b, 627c.

The lens of the first surveillance camera 600a has a focal length of 3.3 to 10 mm. Here, the smaller the effective imaging area of the CCD is, the smaller the image on the telephoto side is compared to the effective image circle diameter of the lens on the imaging surface of the camera.
It is taken in. The effective imaging area of the CCD varies depending on the camera. When it is difficult to determine how wide-angle (telephoto) images can be taken from the focal length of the lens alone, the CCD is attached to a 35 mm silver halide film camera. In general, it is converted into a focal length value of a lens, and the image-capable normal angle of view is discussed based on the converted value. Here, in the case of the first surveillance camera 600a, the value converted into the focal length of the lens attached to the 35 mm silver halide film camera is set to 24 to 72 mm.

Each of the second monitoring camera 600b and the third monitoring camera 600c has a focal length of 3.9 to 39 mm.
(44-440 mm in terms of 35 mm silver halide film), and in particular, the second surveillance camera 600b is installed to monitor a high-speed moving object depending on the direction of the camera platform. The camera and the third surveillance camera 600c are also installed to monitor the dark area according to the direction of the camera platform.

For the camera operation control of each of the first to third surveillance cameras 600a to 600c, the PC 103 outputs an item change command as shown in FIG. 24, and receives the first to third monitor commands. Surveillance cameras 600a-6
The 00c side also changes the control condition of the control unit according to the change command. The method of changing the control conditions at this time is as described with reference to FIGS. That is, (1) When the object to be photographed has a dark background and a specific person is illuminated by a spotlight, as typified by a theater stage, the iris tends to open due to the darkness of the background, In order to prevent the face from flying white, the aperture is closed and controlled slightly. (2) When an object at a short distance from the camera is an object to be photographed, the focal length is set to be short, and the optical conditions are set so that macro photography is possible. (3) When an object under high illuminance is an object to be photographed, the iris diaphragm amount is suppressed to a predetermined value in order to prevent light beam diffraction due to excessive iris diaphragm, and the shutter speed is increased. (4) When it is necessary to identify the color of a bright spot in an environment where the illuminance is insufficient, set the aperture, shutter speed, and white balance to appropriate values so that the color of the bright spot can be photographed well. I do. For example, it is possible to set a camera mode suitable for each shooting condition.

Here, in general, the electronic zoom has a mechanism of obtaining an enlarged screen by cutting out and enlarging a part of the screen imaged by the CCD. As shown in FIG. 20, the image signals of the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY output from the digital image processing unit 601 are input to the image memory block 660 via the I / F circuit 661. Is done. In the image memory block 660, the image signal is subjected to digital signal processing such as compression by a digital signal processing circuit 662, and processed into a form that can be stored in an image memory (field or frame memory) 663. The image data stored in the image memory 663 is read out to the digital signal processing circuit 664 as needed, where digital signal processing such as decompression is performed, and the original luminance signal Y and color difference signal RY , BY are formed. At this time, the digital signal processing circuit 662, the image memory 663, and the digital signal processing circuit 664 are each controlled by the memory controller 631, and the memory controller 665
Via the communication line 631, the camera system control unit 60
2 has received an operation command from the CPU 626.

For example, when image information is read from the image memory 663, if the read start position and the end position are set inside the original screen in both the horizontal and vertical directions of the screen,
The image information from the image memory 663 after the reading is completed is
A part of the screen is cut out. If this is expanded in the horizontal and vertical directions by the digital signal processing circuit 664 and appropriate interpolation is applied, the image quality is deteriorated by the reduced amount of information compared to the original image, but the expanded electronic image is reduced. A zoom image (enlarged image) can be obtained. Therefore, by obtaining information regarding the cut-out range from the CPU 626, it is possible to perform electronic zoom at an arbitrary magnification.

As described above, an enlarged image can be obtained by setting the reading start position and the ending position by the memory controller 665 and executing the electronic zoom. The amount has decreased, and the image quality has deteriorated. As the finer subject is imaged on the original imaging screen, the above-described deterioration of the image quality becomes more conspicuous, and the detail of the enlarged image is more difficult to determine. Accordingly, a small subject is more likely to be imaged as the focal length of the lens becomes shorter. Therefore, it is preferable that the electronic zoom is not performed by a camera equipped with a wide-angle lens such as the first monitoring camera 600a.

FIG. 25 shows that the PC 103 selects the first surveillance camera 600a equipped with a lens having a relatively short focal length, and outputs an image obtained by the first surveillance camera 600a to a monitor or the like. FIG. 6 shows the flow of processing in the PC 103 in the case where the processing is performed.

First, the first to third monitoring cameras 600a to 600a to
The process waits until the operator selects the camera type at 600c (step S721). When it is detected that the camera type has been selected, the communication target of the PC 103 is changed to capture the video of the selected monitoring camera (here, the first monitoring camera 600a) (step S722). When the communication target is changed and an operation command is output to the selected monitoring camera, communication is performed using Async data as described above. Also, the video from the selected surveillance camera is P as Iso data.
Since it is supplied to the IEEE13941 / F section of C103, it is displayed on the monitor after identifying whether or not it is an image from the first surveillance camera 600a.

Next, the camera information of the first monitoring camera 600a is read (step S723). The camera information here is, for example, information as shown in FIG. 26. The information stored in the ROM 629 (see FIG. 19) inside the first surveillance camera 600a and the like are stored in the CPU 62.
6 and the IEEE 1394 I / F unit 627,
Take it into 103. Among the camera information described above, the information of “the shortest focal length (35 mm converted shortest focal length)”, “the longest focal length (35 mm converted longest focal length)”, and “the presence or absence of the electronic zoom function” are used in the present embodiment. And the necessary information.

Next, according to the camera information obtained in step S723, the difference between the “shortest focal length” and the “longest focal length” is equal to or less than a first predetermined value and the “shortest focal length”
Is determined to be not more than a second predetermined value to determine whether the lens is a wide lens (step S72).
4).

As a result of the discrimination in step S724, if the first camera 600a is a camera equipped with a wide lens and also equipped with an electronic zoom function, it is assumed that the operator has connected via the PC 103 to the first surveillance camera. Even if a zoom command from wide to tele is issued to 600a, an electronic zoom prohibition command is output so that zooming is stopped at the optical telephoto end and thereafter electronic zoom is not executed (step S726).

On the other hand, as a result of the discrimination in step S724, for example, the operator selects the second surveillance camera 600b or the third surveillance camera 600c, and they have a non-wide zoom and have an electronic zoom function. If the camera is also equipped with an electronic zoom, an electronic zoom permission command for permitting the electronic zoom beyond the optical telephoto end is output (step S725).

By executing the processing as described above,
In a surveillance camera equipped with a wide lens, electronic zoom is not performed, and it is possible to capture a good image.In a surveillance camera equipped with a non-wide lens, an image obtained at an optical tele end is displayed. Furthermore, it is possible to enlarge the image with the electronic zoom to check the monitored object in detail.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment,
The processing in the PC 103 shown in FIG. 25 in the first embodiment described above is, for example, processing in accordance with the flowchart in FIG. Here, for the sake of simplicity, only differences from the first embodiment will be specifically described.

First, in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment, the process stands by until the operator selects a camera type (step S731). Then, when it is detected that the camera type has been selected, the communication target of the PC 103 is changed in order to capture the video of the selected camera (here, the second monitoring camera 600b) (step S732). .

Next, the camera information of the second monitoring camera 600b is read (step S733). This camera information is also information as shown in FIG.

Here, in the present embodiment, of the camera information described above, the “shortest exposure time” and the “pan head position” are necessary information. Further, the fact that the second surveillance camera 600b, that is, the camera that can also capture a high-speed moving object, is stored in a memory in the PC 103 when, for example, the present surveillance camera system is initialized. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the camera (second surveillance camera 600b) selected by the operator is a camera that can also capture a high-speed moving object based on the contents of the memory (step S73).
4).

If the result of determination in step S734 is that the camera can also capture high-speed moving objects, it is determined whether the position of the camera platform of the second monitoring camera 600b is a high-speed moving object capturing position ( Step S735). If the result of this determination is that the object is at the high-speed moving object shooting position, a control change command is output to the second monitoring camera 600b so that the shortest exposure time is obtained. On the other hand, if the position is not the high-speed moving object imaging position (the position of the camera platform is the non-high-speed moving object imaging position), the exposure time is set to the standard value of 1/60 for the second monitoring camera 600b. It outputs a control change command to make it work.

If it is determined in step S734 that the camera cannot capture the high-speed moving object, that is, in step S731, instead of the second monitoring camera 600b, another monitoring camera (a camera that cannot capture the high-speed moving object) is used instead of the second monitoring camera 600b. )
Is selected, the process proceeds to the process from step S724 in FIG. 25, and the process is performed from the determination as to whether or not the camera has a wide lens.

(Third Embodiment) In the present embodiment,
The process in the PC 103 shown in FIG. 25 in the first embodiment described above is, for example, a process according to the flowchart in FIG. Here, for the sake of simplicity, only differences from the first embodiment will be specifically described.

First, in the same manner as in the above-described first embodiment, the process waits until the operator selects a camera type (step S741). When it is detected that the camera type has been selected, the communication target of the PC 103 is changed in order to capture the video of the selected camera (here, the third monitoring camera 600c) (step S742). .

Next, the camera information of the third monitoring camera 600c is read (step S743). This camera information is also information as shown in FIG.

Here, in the present embodiment, the “longest exposure time” and the “pan head position” of the camera information are necessary information. Further, the third surveillance camera 600c, that is, the camera that can also capture dark areas, is, for example, that when the surveillance camera system is initialized, the PC 1
03 is stored in the memory. Then, based on the contents of the memory, it is determined whether or not the camera (third monitoring camera 600c) selected by the operator is a camera that can also capture a dark portion (step S744).

If the result of determination in step S 744 is that the camera is also capable of photographing dark areas, the third surveillance camera 600
It is determined whether or not the position of the camera platform c is the dark area photographing position (step S745). If the result of this determination is that the shooting position is a dark area shooting position, the third monitoring camera 600c
The AGC gain is increased, that is, A shown in FIG.
The output of the GC reference voltage generation circuit 630 is operated in the direction of increasing the AGC gain, and a control change command for further setting the longest exposure time is output (steps S746 and S747).
On the other hand, if the camera is not located at the dark part photographing position (the position of the camera platform is the non-dark part photographing position), the third monitoring camera 600
A, the AGC gain is set to the third monitoring camera 600c.
And a control change command is output to set the exposure time to a standard value of 1/60 (step S74).
8, S749).

If it is determined in step S744 that the camera is not a camera capable of photographing a dark area,
If another surveillance camera (a camera that cannot image a dark area) is selected instead of the third surveillance camera 600c at 741, the processing shifts to the processing from step S734 in FIG. It is determined whether or not there is a camera. If not, the process proceeds to the process from step S724 in FIG. 25, and it is determined whether or not the camera has a wide lens. Subsequent processing is performed.

The above is the description of the first to third embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, in each of the second and third embodiments, the imaging target is identified at the camera platform position. However, while the operator looks at the monitor, the monitoring is sequentially performed so that the imaging screen is optimal. To change the control contents of the camera,
Manual operation may be performed via C103.

An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the host and terminal of each of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer for the system or the apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by a program (or CPU or MPU) reading and executing a program code stored in a storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of each embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, RO
M, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like. The functions of each embodiment are implemented by executing the program code read by the computer, and the OS or the like running on the computer performs actual processing based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above is performed and the function of each embodiment is realized by the processing. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in an extension function board inserted into the computer or a function extension unit connected to the computer, the function extension is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the embodiments.

[0193]

As described above, according to the present invention, an instruction for operation control is output from an external terminal device (such as a personal computer) to a control means in a digital device (such as a video camera) provided in advance. Or changing the control method (control conditions) of the control means in the digital device, the operation different from the remote operation of the digital device or the operation by the above-described control method or the restriction of the operation can be restricted by an external device. The terminal device is configured to be executable.

As a result, for example, the control contents (control conditions) fixedly set in the video camera (digital device) can be changed from the personal computer (terminal device). Even when a plurality of cameras are operated by one personal computer as in a system, control for each camera can be performed. In particular, the specifications are different for each of the plurality of cameras. If the cameras are operated under the same conditions, even if the first camera can be operated without any problem, the second camera will not be able to operate the first camera based on the specifications. Even if a malfunction occurs with the same operation method as described above, it is possible to individually limit the control contents of the second camera or to use another control method. Furthermore, when the characteristics of the subject to be photographed change depending on the position of the camera platform, as represented by a surveillance camera system, the control contents are restricted according to the specifications of each camera, another control method is used, and Depending on the position of the table, it is possible to restrict the control contents or to adopt another control method. Also, if IEEE 1394 is applied as a means of mutual communication, the operation control of the digital device by the above communication can be efficiently performed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the method of controlling a plurality of digital devices having different types and operating environments can be individually changed from the outside, thereby enabling efficient data communication with the plurality of digital devices. By performing the above operation, the optimal operation control for each digital device can be individually performed from the outside. This is particularly effective when used in a surveillance camera system or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustration of IEEE 1394,
FIG. 394 is a diagram for describing an example of a system in which digital devices are connected according to 394.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network system configured using the IEEE 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating components of the IEEE 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an address space in the IEEE 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the IEEE 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link encoding method of a data transfer format in data communication according to the IEEE 1394.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process from a bus reset to a node ID determination in the network system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating details of processing from monitoring of a bus reset to determination of a route.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating details of the node ID determination process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an actual network having the above network system configuration.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a bus use request and a bus use permission in the network.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining bus arbitration with the bus use permission.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a temporal transition state in the asynchronous transfer in the IEEE 1394.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a packet format of the asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a temporal transition state in the isochronous transfer in the IEEE1394.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a packet format of the isochronous transfer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a state of a temporal transition of a transfer state on a bus in which the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are mixed.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an information transmission path in a system in which digital devices are connected by IEEE1394.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video camera to which the present invention has been applied in the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image memory block attached to the video camera.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for describing processing up to the start of mode setting in a PC connected to the video camera via the IEEE 1394.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for describing processing up to the start of a mode setting operation in the video camera PC.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a surveillance camera system including a plurality of the video cameras.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining types of camera control commands from the PC to the video camera.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the PC.

FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining an example of camera specifications stored in the video camera.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating processing in the PC according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating processing in the PC according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional system using SCSI.

[Explanation of symbols]

 103 Personal Computer (PC) 600a-600c Video Camera 627a-627c IEEE1394 I / F Unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/225 H04N 5/232 B 5/232 H04L 11/00 310D F-term (Reference) 5C022 AB17 AB36 AB61 AB62 AB65 AC27 AC75 5C054 AA01 CA04 CC02 CG00 CH08 DA00 DA08 EA01 FC12 FE02 GA01 GA05 GB01 HA00 5D044 AB05 AB07 BC01 CC03 GK08 GK11 HL11 5K033 AA09 BA08 BA15 CB01 DA01 DA11 DB16 EA07

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A communication means for communicating with at least one of the plurality of digital devices, the communication device being connected to a control device capable of communicating with the plurality of digital devices. A control unit that controls the operation of the entire device; a first storage unit in which control conditions for operation control by the control unit are stored in advance; and a second storage unit in which specification information of the device is stored in advance. Storage means, wherein the communication means transmits specification information of the second storage means to the control device in accordance with a request from the control device, and performs control based on the specification information from the control device. Receiving a condition change command, wherein the control means controls the operation of the apparatus according to a control condition in which the control condition of the first storage means is changed according to the control condition change command. Digital equipment. 2. A digital device connected to a control device capable of communicating with a plurality of digital devices and having at least one photographing function among the plurality of digital devices, wherein the digital device communicates with the control device. Communication means for performing; changing means for changing at least one of a photographing position and a photographing angle in the photographing function; control means for controlling operation of the entire apparatus; and control conditions for operation control by the control means. The communication means transmits at least one of the photographing position and photographing angle information in the photographing function to the control device according to a request from the control device, Receiving a control condition change command based on at least one of the photographing position and photographing angle information from the control device; Digital equipment wherein the control condition is controlled by a control condition changed in accordance with the control condition change command from the control device. 3. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit communicates with the control device via an IEEE 1394 standard system bus. 4. An imaging device as at least one of the plurality of digital devices, the imaging device being connected to a control device capable of communicating with the plurality of digital devices. An imaging apparatus having the functions of the digital device according to any one of the above. 5. A communication means for mutually communicating with a plurality of digital devices, a selecting device for selecting an arbitrary digital device from the plurality of digital devices, and the specification information of the digital device selected by the selecting device. Based on specification information obtained by the specification obtaining means obtained through the communication means,
A terminal device comprising: a control condition changing unit that changes a control condition of a digital device selected by the selection unit via the communication unit. 6. A communication unit for mutually communicating with a plurality of imaging devices, at least one of which can be changed in a shooting position and a shooting angle; a selection unit for selecting an arbitrary imaging device from the plurality of imaging devices; Information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the photographing position and the photographing angle of the imaging device selected by the means via the communication means; and the selection means based on the information obtained by the information acquisition means. And a control condition changing means for changing a control condition of the imaging device selected by the control means through the communication means. 7. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the communication unit communicates with the control device via an IEEE 1394 standard system bus. 8. A communication system in which a plurality of digital devices and a terminal device are communicably connected to each other by a system bus according to a predetermined standard, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital devices is The digital device includes the digital device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or the imaging device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is the terminal device according to any one of claims 5 to 7. A communication system characterized by the following. 9. A video camera having at least two or more first data communication nodes, and a control device having a second data communication node communicably connected to each of the video cameras. A communication system, wherein the video camera includes a controlled unit that can be externally controlled in accordance with information input from the first data communication node, and the control device is configured to externally control the second data communication node from the second data communication node. Control means for outputting information for controlling the video camera; selecting means for selecting an arbitrary video camera from the at least two or more video cameras; and specification reading for reading specification information of the video camera selected by the means And a command for changing the control condition of the selected video camera based on the specification information read by the means. Communication system, comprising a control condition change instruction output means for. 10. A specification output means for outputting specification information according to a request from the control device;
10. The communication system according to claim 9, further comprising control condition changing means for changing a control condition according to a control condition change command from said control device. 11. A video camera having at least two or more first data communication nodes, and a control device having a second data communication node communicably connected to each video camera. A communication system, wherein the video camera includes a controlled unit that can be externally controlled in accordance with information input from the first data communication node, and the control device is configured to externally control the second data communication node from the second data communication node. Control means for outputting information for controlling the video camera; selecting means for selecting an arbitrary video camera from the at least two or more video cameras; and at least a shooting position and a shooting angle of the video camera selected by the means Detecting means for detecting any one of the above, and changing the control condition of the selected video camera based on the detection result by the detecting means. Communication system, comprising a control condition change instruction output means for outputting the fit of the instruction. 12. The video camera, comprising: an output unit that outputs at least one of a photographing position and a photographing angle according to a request from the control device; and a control condition that changes a control condition according to a control condition change command from the control device. The communication system according to claim 11, further comprising changing means. 13. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein the control device and each of the video cameras perform communication via an IEEE 1394 standard system bus. 14. A storage medium in which processing steps for controlling the operation of each digital device from the terminal device are readable by a computer by performing mutual communication between the plurality of digital devices and the terminal device. The processing step includes a step in which the terminal device selects an arbitrary digital device from the plurality of digital devices in accordance with an instruction from the user input to the terminal device. A request step of issuing a request for specification information of the selected digital device to the device; and the selected digital device transmits the specification information of its own device to the terminal device according to the request issued in the request step. A transmitting step of transmitting digital equipment; and the terminal device transmits an instruction from the user and the digital A terminal device-side transmitting step of transmitting a control condition change command based on the specification information transmitted by the device-side transmitting step to the selected digital device; and the selected digital device is transmitted by the terminal device-side transmitting step. A control step of controlling operation of the own device according to a control condition changed according to the command. 15. A storage medium in which processing steps for controlling the operation of each imaging device from the terminal device are readable by a computer by performing mutual communication between the plurality of imaging devices and the terminal device. The processing step includes a selecting step in which the terminal device selects an arbitrary imaging device from the plurality of imaging devices in accordance with an instruction from the user input to the own device; A requesting step of issuing a request for specification information of the selected imaging apparatus to the device; and the selected imaging apparatus receives at least one of an imaging position and an imaging angle in the apparatus by the request issued in the requesting step. Transmitting the information to the terminal device; transmitting the information to the terminal device; and transmitting the instruction from the user and the imaging device side to the terminal device. A terminal device-side transmission step of transmitting a control condition change command based on the information transmitted by the step to the selected imaging device; and the selected imaging device is changed according to the command transmitted by the terminal device-side transmission step. A control step of controlling at least one of the imaging position and the imaging angle according to the control condition. 16. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein the processing step includes a step of performing the mutual communication via an IEEE 1394 standard system bus.