JP2002091767A - Contents storage device and portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a center tool capable of flexibly dealing with various kinds of portable equipment and operating various kinds of contents by a simple operation. SOLUTION: A terminal such as MP3 player 21, PDA 22 or digital camera 23 stores an operation menu information peculiar for the terminal itself required for the input/output of data with a contents storage device 11 or data editing on the contents storage device 11. The operation menu information is transferred from the terminal connected to the contents storage device 11 to the contents storage device 11 and that information is displayed on the screen of a TV 12. When a required operation item is selected out of the operation menu displayed on the screen by operating a remote controller 13, that selected operation item is reported to the terminal and a file operating command or program required for executing that operation item is transmitted from the side of the terminal to the contents storage device 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a content storage device used for storing various contents and a portable electronic device for inputting and outputting contents to and from the content storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of compression coding technology for audio / video data, MP3 players, M
Various portable A / V devices such as PEG cameras have been developed. In addition, portable information terminals such as PDAs have been widely used, and there is a demand for development of a data backup system that can be used in common with these different types of portable devices.

[0003] That is, at present, the mainstream operation mode is to use a personal computer for backing up and editing data of each portable device.
It is necessary to install and use dedicated software corresponding to each portable device on a personal computer. Further, the user must perform an operation of starting up the personal computer every time data is input / output to / from the portable device, and selecting and starting software corresponding to the type of the portable device.

[0004] Therefore, recently, similar to so-called consumer devices such as TVs and audio devices, a system capable of backing up and editing data of each portable device by a simple operation (hereinafter referred to as a center tool). The realization of is desired.

[0005]

However, when the center tool is realized as a dedicated device, it is necessary to prepare a program corresponding to the type of each portable device in the center tool in advance. For this reason, there is a problem that a center tool must be newly developed at the same time in order to correspond to a newly developed portable device. In addition, a user who already has an old center tool needs to purchase a center tool compatible with the new mobile device in order to use the newly developed mobile device.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can flexibly cope with various portable devices, and can operate various contents including audio, video, and other data by a simple operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a possible content storage device and a portable electronic device that inputs and outputs content to and from the content storage device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a content storage device capable of storing and inputting / outputting various types of content, comprising: a storage device for storing content; Means for receiving an operation menu from a portable electronic device to be input / output operated, means for displaying the received operation menu on a display device, and operation items selected on the operation menu displayed on the display device Means for notifying the portable electronic device of the contents of the above, and means for receiving and executing a program required to execute the notified operation item from the portable electronic device.

This content storage device is used as the above-mentioned center tool. The content storage device receives and executes a program transferred from a portable electronic device as an input / output operation target of the content, thereby executing the portable electronic device. And various content operations including input / output of content between the server and the server. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly cope with various portable electronic devices. In particular, since it has a function of receiving an operation menu from a portable electronic device, displaying the operation menu on a display device, and allowing a user to select a desired operation item, the user can perform only a simple operation of menu selection. Necessary content operations can be performed. Furthermore, since the contents of the selected operation item are notified to the portable electronic device and a program necessary for executing the notified operation item is received from the portable electronic device, the execution of the selected operation item is performed. Only the necessary program transfer is required, and the time required for the program transfer can be minimized.

The present invention also relates to a content storage device capable of storing and inputting and outputting various types of content, comprising a storage device for storing content and a portable electronic device to be input / output operated for content. Means for receiving an operation menu, means for displaying the received operation menu on a display device, and means for notifying the portable electronic device of the content of an operation item selected on the operation menu displayed on the display device And a means for receiving a file operation command required to execute the notified operation item from the portable electronic device, and controlling the operation of the storage device in accordance with the received file operation command. I do.

In this configuration, a file operation command required to execute the selected operation item is transmitted from the portable electronic device, and the content storage device executes the file operation command to control the operation of the storage device. And the configuration of the content storage device can be simplified. Further, since the storage device of the content storage device is directly operated by a file operation command from the portable electronic device, processing such as program transfer is not required.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a content storage device according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a portable electronic device corresponding thereto. This content storage device 11
Is used as a central tool for data backup and data editing operations common to various portable electronic devices such as the MP3 player 21, the PDA 22, the digital camera (digital movie / still) 23, and the like. Large-capacity hard disk drive (HDD) for storing contents exchanged with electronic devices
111 is built in.

In the present embodiment, the content storage device 11 uses the CS
/ BS tuner function for receiving digital broadcasting and CD-R
It is realized as a set-top box having a player function for playing back media such as OM and DVD, and further has a function as a center tool. The hard disk device (HDD) 111 is an MP3
In addition to various contents transmitted from the player 21, the PDA 22, and the digital camera (digital movie / still) 23, a digital broadcast program received via the antenna 14, and further distributed from a distributor via a telephone line / CATV or the like. It is also used for storing various contents.

The operation control of the content storage device 11 is executed by operating the remote control unit 13.
The operation is performed. The TV 12 is used as a display monitor of the content storage device 11, and a video signal from the content storage device 11 is
2 are provided. The TV 12 is used not only for reproducing content but also for displaying various menus necessary for user operation.

Each of the MP3 player 21, the PDA 22, and the digital camera (digital movie / still) 23 is connected to a cable such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like.
Content storage device 11 by wireless such as BlueTooth
Connected to. Each of the MP3 player 21, the PDA 22, and the digital camera (digital movie / still) 23 performs an operation specific to itself required for inputting / outputting data with the content storage device 11 and editing data on the content storage device 11. Menu information is stored, and operation menu information is transferred from the portable electronic device (hereinafter, referred to as a terminal) connected to the content storage device 11 to the content storage device 11, and is displayed on the TV 12 on a screen.
When a necessary operation item is selected from the operation menu displayed on the screen by operating the remote controller 13, a file operation command necessary for executing a content operation corresponding to the selected operation item is transmitted from the terminal. The content storage device 11 controls the operation of the hard disk device (HDD) 111 in accordance with the file operation command.
D) It is possible to perform content operations such as writing data to the 111, reading data from the hard disk device (HDD) 111 to the terminal, and editing data on the hard disk device (HDD) 111.

Each terminal has a function necessary for using the content storage device 11 as a center tool, in addition to a function unit for realizing a function unique to the terminal.
FIG. 1 schematically shows the functional configuration of the MP3 player 21 as an example.

That is, as shown in the figure, the MP3 player 21 includes a communication interface 101, a menu storage unit 102, a program execution unit 103, a main unit 1
05, a flash memory 105 and the like. The communication interface 101 is for communicating with the content storage device 11, and is provided with a USB or Blue Tooth
Etc. The menu storage unit 102 stores the above-described operation menu information. The operation menu information is, for example, HTML (HyperText
Markup Language). Program execution unit 1
Numeral 03 executes program processing necessary for issuing a file operation command corresponding to the operation item selected by the user on the operation menu. Main unit 1
Numeral 05 is for realizing the original audio reproduction function of the MP3 player 21.
Reference numeral 05 denotes a nonvolatile memory for storing audio data.

When the MP3 player 21 is connected to the content storage device 11, the flash memory 105
Can be backed up to the hard disk device (HDD) 111, or new audio data can be downloaded from the hard disk device (HDD) 111 and written to the flash memory 105. Further, editing operations such as changing the reproduction order of the audio data, and control of reproducing the audio data on the hard disk device (HDD) 111 or the flash memory 105 from the audio device built in the TV 12 can be performed.

Next, a series of processes executed between the content storage device 11 and terminals connected thereto will be described with reference to FIG.

(A) First, a connection process is executed for the content storage device (center tool) 11 and the terminal to recognize each other. (B) When the connection processing of (A) is completed, the center tool requests a menu from the terminal. (C) The terminal notifies the center tool of the operation menu described by the markup language. The center tool that has received the operation menu from the terminal displays the operation menu on the TV screen and prompts the user to perform an operation. The user can browse the operation menu by operating the remote controller 13. Terminal is MP3 player 21
In the case of, for example, an operation menu as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, and “music playback” for reproducing audio data,
"Music writing" to write audio data from the HDD 111 to the terminal,
“Import music” to be transferred to D111, “Delete” to delete audio data on HDD 111, HDD 111
A necessary item is selected by the user from menu items such as “change reproduction order” for changing the reproduction order of the above audio data. Actually, the menu has a hierarchical structure, and necessary sub-items for each selected menu item are sent from the terminal to the center tool and sequentially displayed.

(D) When the menu operation is performed by the user in this way and the operation item to be executed is determined, an operation instruction indicating the content of the operation item is sent from the center tool to the terminal. The terminal executes a program process corresponding to the notified operation item, and generates a file operation command necessary for executing the operation item.

(E) The file operation command is sent from the terminal to the center tool. The center tool executes various disk operations such as writing, reading, deleting, moving, and copying data to and from the HDD 111 by executing a file operation command. In this case, the terminal tool can handle the center tool as its own additional HDD. In addition, it is also possible to open a file in which information for determining the audio reproduction order is written by a command from the terminal side, and to edit the content according to a remote control operation.

(F) When the command processing is executed on the center tool side, the result is returned to the terminal side. (G) Then, the next menu is sent from the terminal to the center tool as needed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a packet used for communication between the center tool and the terminal. In this example, three types of packet data as shown in FIGS.

The contents of (B), (C), (D), and (G) of FIG. 2 are transmitted by a markup language such as HTML. In this case, the markup language transfer packet of FIG. 4A is used. The markup language transfer packet includes a 2-byte protocol specification section, a 4-byte packet size specification section, and an arbitrary n-byte data section. The protocol specification section has a value indicating the transfer of the markup language ( 0x0010) is entered, and the description of the actual markup language is entered in the data section.

The contents of (E) and (F) in FIG. 2 are transmitted by control commands. In this case, the control command transfer packet of FIG. 4B is used for command transfer from the terminal to the center tool, and the control command response transfer packet of FIG. 4C is used for notification of the execution result from the center tool. Can be The control command transfer packet of FIG.
The protocol designation section includes a byte protocol designation section, a 4-byte packet size designation section, and an arbitrary n-byte data section. The protocol designation section has a value (0x00) indicating the transfer of the control command.
20) is entered, and the content of the actual control command is entered in the data section. Control commands include open (), close (), read (),
A command corresponding to a file operation such as write () is used. This allows the terminal to directly control access to the HDD 111 in the center tool,
Data backup and the like can be easily performed.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The processing procedure on the center tool side will be described.

The center tool first requests an operation menu from the connected terminal (step S10).
1). When the operation menu is transmitted from the terminal, the center tool captures the operation menu (step S10).
2) Display an operation menu on the TV 12 (step S103). When a certain operation item is selected by the operation of the remote controller 13 by the user, the center tool transmits an operation instruction indicating the content of the selected operation item to the terminal (steps S104 to S107). When the operation menu is described in a markup language such as HTML, for example, a predetermined action is assigned to each operation item.
The content of the selected operation item can be automatically transmitted to the terminal by embedding the content in G1 or JAVA (registered trademark) or the like.

Thereafter, a control command required for executing the selected operation item is transmitted from the terminal. The center tool receives and executes the control command (steps S108 and S109). By executing the control command,
The file operation of the HDD 111 is performed.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The processing procedure on the terminal side will be described.

When receiving a request for an operation menu from the center tool (YES in step S111), the terminal reads the operation menu from the menu storage unit 102 and transmits it to the center tool (step S112). After that, the operation menu is displayed on the center tool side,
When an operation item is selected by the user, an operation instruction indicating the selected operation item is sent from the center tool. The terminal receives the operation instruction (step S
113), execute a program process for generating a control command required for a process corresponding to the operation instruction, and transmit the generated control command to the center tool (steps S114 to S120). As a result, a required control command is generated for each operation instruction and sent to the center tool.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the file operation of the center tool can be performed by the control command from the terminal side. In addition, since an operation menu is prepared on the terminal side and the operation menu is transmitted to the center tool and displayed, an operation menu matching the specifications of the terminal can be provided.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a content storage device according to the second embodiment of the present invention and a portable electronic device corresponding thereto. As in the first embodiment, the content storage device (center tool) 11 includes a data backup and data editing operation common to various portable electronic devices such as an MP3 player 21, a PDA 22, and a digital camera (digital movie / still) 23. It is used as a center tool for content, but is configured to perform content operation according to a program downloaded from a connected terminal instead of a control command.
This allows the center tool to always behave as if customized for the terminal connected to it.

That is, programs necessary for data input / output and data editing between the terminal and the center tool are stored in the terminal in advance. Here, the functional configuration of the MP3 player 21 will be described as an example.

The MP3 player 21 includes a communication interface 101, a menu storage unit 102, a program storage unit 201, a main unit 105, a flash memory 1
05 and the like. The only difference from the first embodiment is that a program storage unit 201 is provided instead of the program execution unit 103 in FIG. The program storage unit 201 stores a group of programs corresponding to various operation items for data input / output and data editing between the MP3 player 21 and the center tool. As the program, various script languages or virtual programs such as JAVA can be used. Generally, the terminal has lower processing capacity than the center tool, so by sending a program from the terminal side to the center tool and performing the program processing with the center tool with higher processing capacity,
It is possible to speed up the processing.

Next, a series of processing executed between the center tool and the terminal connected thereto will be described with reference to FIG.

(A) First, a connection process is executed for the content storage device (center tool) 11 and the terminal to recognize each other. (B) When the connection processing of (A) is completed, the center tool requests a menu from the terminal. (C) The terminal notifies the center tool of the operation menu described by the markup language as in the first embodiment. The center tool that has received the operation menu from the terminal displays the operation menu on the TV screen and prompts the user to perform an operation. The user can browse the operation menu by operating the remote controller 13.

(D) When a menu operation is performed by the user and an operation item to be executed is determined, an operation instruction indicating the content of the operation item is sent from the center tool to the terminal. (E) On the terminal side, a process of selecting a program corresponding to the notified operation item is performed, and the selected program is transmitted to the center tool. For example, by describing the relationship between programs (scripts) corresponding to the contents of operation instructions (operation items) as shown in FIG. 9, only necessary programs can be easily sent to the center tool. . The center tool executes the program transmitted from the terminal side to execute
Various disk operations such as writing, reading, deleting, moving, and copying data to and from 1 are executed. Further, it is also possible to perform a process of opening a file in which information for determining the audio reproduction order is written, and editing the contents according to a remote control operation.

(F), (G) Thereafter, a menu request from the center tool side and a menu transmission from the terminal side to the center tool are performed as necessary.

FIG. 10 shows a second example of the processing executed between the center tool and the terminal. Here, it is assumed that a program cache function for temporarily storing a program received from a terminal is provided on the center tool side. In this case, if the program corresponding to the operation item selected by the user is already cached, the program held in the center tool is immediately executed as shown in FIG. Such processing of (D) and (E) is skipped.

Next, the processing procedure on the center tool side will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The center tool first requests an operation menu from the connected terminal (step S20).
1). When the operation menu is transmitted from the terminal, the center tool captures the operation menu (step S20).
2) Display an operation menu on the TV 12 (step S203). When a certain operation item is selected by the operation of the remote controller 13 by the user, the center tool determines whether a program corresponding to the operation instruction indicating the content of the selected operation item has already been cached (steps S204 to S204). S207). If cached, the corresponding program is immediately executed (step S21).
2).

On the other hand, if not cached, an operation instruction indicating the contents of the selected operation item is transmitted to the terminal (steps S208 to S210). Thereby, the corresponding program (script) is transmitted from the terminal side. The center tool receives the program from the terminal and registers it in the cache (step S211),
The program is executed (Step S212).

Next, the processing procedure on the terminal side will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Upon receiving a request for an operation menu from the center tool (YES in step S221), the terminal reads the operation menu from the menu storage unit 102 and transmits it to the center tool (step S222). After that, the operation menu is displayed on the center tool side,
When an operation item is selected by the user, an operation instruction indicating the selected operation item is sent from the center tool. The terminal receives the operation instruction (step S
223), and select a program necessary for processing corresponding to the operation instruction (step S224). Then, the selected program is transmitted to the center tool (steps S225 to S227).

As described above, the time required for program transfer can be minimized by using a mechanism for individually transferring the program required for the execution for each selected operation item. Also, by using the cache function together, the number of program transfers can be significantly reduced.

Further, by including menu data in the virtual program, the contents of (B) to (G) can be processed at once by the center tool.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, by using a mechanism in which a program and a control command are transmitted from the terminal to the center tool and executed, the content operation led by the terminal can be performed. It becomes possible. So even if a new type of device is developed,
Simply by connecting the terminal to the center tool, processing such as data backup can be performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be variously modified in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. Is obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to flexibly cope with various portable devices, and it is possible to operate various contents including audio, video, and other data with a simple operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content storage device according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a portable electronic device corresponding thereto.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view for explaining a series of processes executed between the content storage device and the portable electronic device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an example of an operation menu provided from the portable electronic device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing an example of a packet structure used for communication between the content storage device and the portable electronic device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart showing the procedure performed by the content storage device of the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the portable electronic device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content storage device according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a portable electronic device corresponding thereto.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view for explaining a series of processes executed between the content storage device of the second embodiment and a portable electronic device.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary view for explaining a correspondence relationship between an operation instruction transmitted from the content storage device of the second embodiment and a program provided from the portable electronic device in response to the operation instruction;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view for explaining a second example of a series of processing procedures executed between the content storage device and the portable electronic device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary flowchart showing the procedure performed by the content storage device of the second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the portable electronic device of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Content storage apparatus (center tool) 12 ... TV 13 ... Remote control 14 ... Antenna 21 ... MP3 player 22 ... PDA 23 ... Camera 101 ... Communication interface 102 ... Menu storage unit 103 ... Program execution unit 104 ... Main unit 105 ... Flash memory 201: Program storage unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A content storage device capable of storing and inputting / outputting various types of content, comprising: a storage device for storing content; and an operation menu received from a portable electronic device to be input / output operated for content. Means for displaying the received operation menu on a display device; means for notifying the portable electronic device of the content of an operation item selected on the operation menu displayed on the display device; Means for receiving, from the portable electronic device, a program required to execute the selected operation item, and executing the program. 2. A means for storing a program received from the portable electronic device, and determining whether a program corresponding to an operation item selected on an operation menu displayed on the display device is already stored. 2. The content storage device according to claim 1, further comprising: means for notifying the selected operation item or executing the stored program according to the determination result. apparatus. 3. A content storage device capable of storing and inputting / outputting various types of content, comprising: a storage device for storing content; and an operation menu received from a portable electronic device as a content input / output operation target. Means for displaying the received operation menu on a display device; means for notifying the portable electronic device of the content of an operation item selected on the operation menu displayed on the display device; Means for receiving, from the portable electronic device, a file operation command required to execute the selected operation item, and controlling the operation of the storage device in accordance with the received file operation command. . 4. A content storage device capable of storing and inputting and outputting various types of content, comprising: a storage device for storing content; A content storage device comprising: means for receiving a program or control command required for execution; and means for executing the received program or control command. 5. A portable electronic device capable of performing a content input / output operation with a content storage device that stores and inputs / outputs various contents, wherein the content is to be displayed on the content storage device on a screen. Means for transmitting an operation menu for operation to the content storage device; means for receiving from the content storage device the content of an operation item selected on the operation menu displayed on the screen; Means for transmitting a program required to execute the content to the content storage device. 6. A portable electronic device capable of performing a content input / output operation with a content storage device which stores and inputs / outputs various contents, wherein the content is to be displayed on the content storage device on a screen. Means for transmitting an operation menu for operation to the content storage device; means for receiving from the content storage device the content of an operation item selected on the operation menu displayed on the screen; Means for transmitting a file operation command necessary for executing the content to the content storage device, wherein a storage device provided in the content storage device is controlled from the portable electronic device. Type electronic equipment. 7. A portable electronic device capable of performing a content input / output operation with a content storage device that stores and inputs / outputs various contents, wherein the content input / output operation is performed with the content storage device. A portable electronic device comprising: means for storing a program necessary for executing a content operation including output; and means for transmitting the stored program to the content storage device to execute the program.