JP2002208983A - Encoder/decoder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of a network home electric apparatus that sharing of functions among apparatuses is not taken into account. SOLUTION: Functions among apparatuses are sorted into input, output, communication and others so that the functions can be shared among the apparatuses by exchanging information of the occupation of each function in the form of data through a connection passage 100. More specifically, a plurality of apparatus in a home are interconnected through a network and the idle/busy state of each apparatus is monitored by exchanging information mutually and the role is shared according to the operational schedule of each apparatus in response to an external request, thus dealing with the external request.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an encoding / decoding apparatus for a communication apparatus and MPEG encoding / decoding, connection and operation control of an AV apparatus, and a data processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been systems for checking the contents of an answering machine at home or the like from outside and systems for controlling home appliances from outside using a dedicated device. The function of confirming the contents of an answering machine is realized as a function of a telephone, and as a method of controlling home appliances from outside, for example, a function of making a bath hot when returning home is realized. In recent years, the development of information processing devices such as the Internet and portable information devices,
2. Description of the Related Art Due to changes such as a change in the processing method of an AV device from analog to digital and the development of the processing capability of a personal computer, devices equipped with several types of functions are overflowing in homes.

[0003] For example, the function of encoding and decoding a television program conventionally handled by a VTR can be replaced by the function of a personal computer at present when the CPU is developed. In addition, since digital processing is performed, data can be reproduced on any device if the storage format of the data matches or has compatibility. Furthermore, taking the LAN as an example due to the advancement of communication technology, the transfer rate is 1
It has become possible to communicate a larger amount of data between devices from 0 Mbps to 100 Mbps than before.

[0004] In response to such a change in equipment, it is becoming possible to make cases such as communication between equipment and division of functions between equipment, but this has not been considered so far. At present, most home appliances only support the operation of one main body, even though the functions are partially provided in a plurality of devices. For example, when the VTR is being used for encoding / decoding, etc., other functions cannot be used even though only a part of the functions of the VTR is used. In addition, since the amount of data processing and the amount of memory are often set small for portable information devices, when transferring data from the VTR to the portable information terminal, the processing capability and display capability of the portable information device were considered. Since the data is transferred above, conversion of the code amount of the coded data is required. However, since there is no suitable function in AV equipment or the like, data conversion has to be performed by a personal computer or the like.

[0005]

As described above, there is a product suitable for each function when looking at the inside of the home. For example, when it is intended to realize both functions such as a telephone and a VTR, the product is not suitable. The only way is to get a new device that has two functions. In addition, in the case where a multi-function device is present, there are many cases in which when one device is operated by another function, it cannot be used even though another function is not operated. It is useless to stop functions that are not used now when the transfer rate in communication has increased.

[0006]

In order to solve this problem, according to the present invention, a plurality of devices are connected at home by a network and information is exchanged with each other to monitor the availability and operating state of each device. When there is a request from the outside, the role is shared according to the operation schedule of each device to respond to the request from the outside.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows an example of an encoding / decoding apparatus for decoding and encoding encoded data again in response to an external operation request and transmitting the encoded data to an operation requesting device via a connection path. An example of the configuration is shown.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention (claim 1).
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoding / decoding device in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an encoding / decoding device, 100 denotes a connection path, and the encoding / decoding device 11 includes a selector 101,
Buffer memory 102, first encoding means 103, first recording means 104, first decoding means 105, activation signal determination means 106, control means 107, transfer means 108, image filter 109, modulation / demodulation means 110, external Input terminal 1
11, a receiving unit 113, a D / A converter 114, an external output terminal 115, and a buffer memory 116. The connection path 100 is connected to the input of the selector 101, the output of the transfer rate determining means 112, the input of the activation signal determining means 106, and the output of the transfer means 108.

The selector 101 includes a communication data a decoded by the control means 107, a video signal c obtained from a received signal b received by an antenna through a modulation / demodulation means 110 such as a television tuner, and a first decoding means 105. The decoded video signal d and the video signal e from the external input terminal 111 are input to the first encoding unit 103, the first recording unit 104, and the first decoding device 105 according to the specification of the control unit 107. Transfer the selected data. In the drawing, data is supplied to the first encoding unit 103, the first recording unit 104, and the first decoding unit 105 with a common video input f, but separate signals are selected for each, and distributed. You may.

The buffer memory 102 stores MPEG1, M
This is a buffer memory for a reference image at the time of encoding used by the first encoding means 103 at the time of encoding processing represented by PEG2 and MPEG4. It is also used as an arbitration memory when the input / output of the first recording means 104 is full.

Similarly, the buffer memory 116 stores the MPE
This is a buffer memory for a reference image at the time of decoding used by the first decoding means 105 at the time of decoding processing represented by G1, MPEG2, and MPEG4. First recording means 104
It is also used as an arbitration memory when the input / output of this is full.

[0014] The first encoding means 103 includes MPEG1,
An image compression circuit such as MPEG2 or MPEG4, which receives an encoding control signal g from the control means 107 and receives a video input f from the selector 101 or the first recording means 10;
4 is encoded using the buffer memory 102, and encoded data i is output to the first recording means 104.

The first recording means 104 comprises a semiconductor memory such as an SD card, a magneto-optical disk device, and a magnetic disk device, and performs recording of an encoded signal, and temporary storage of input data and reproduced image data. First encoding means 103
Are connected by a video signal h for data supply and coded data i for storing coded data, and are connected to the first decoding device 105 by coded data j and a video signal d. In addition, a video input f is input for arbitration of data processing, and is temporarily stored, or an image filter
9 is transferred.

The first decoding means 105 includes MPEG1,
An image expansion circuit such as MPEG2 or MPEG4, which receives encoded data j from the first recording unit 104 or received data of the receiving unit 113 from the selector,
In accordance with the designation of the decoding means control signal k from 07, the decoding processing is performed using the buffer memory 116 as the frame memory, and the decoded video signal d is transferred to the selector 101 and the first recording means 104.

The activation signal judging means 106 is connected to the connection path 100
Is monitored, and when an activation signal is input from the connection path 100, the activation signal m is transmitted to the control unit 107.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the activation signal determining means. The activation signal determination means 106 receives an input signal from the connection path 100, stores data at each cycle of the operation clock n, activates the entire encoding / decoding device 11 when a certain pattern is reached, To p is a data signal from the connection path 100, an operation clock n is a cycle for detecting a start signal, an operation state signal q is "1" when the encoding / decoding device 11 is operating, and is in a stopped state. This signal is “0”.

As shown in the figure, when a certain pattern is sent at a certain period as shown in the figure, and when the encoding / decoding device 11 is stopped, the operation state signal q is "0". m occurs and the whole operates. Then, the operation state signal q becomes "1", and no start signal is generated. To shorten the activation signal, the operation clock n may be increased.

The operation requesting device 200 is, for example, a portable information device, a remote information terminal connected via a communication line, or a display terminal placed in a room separate from the encoding / decoding device.

The control means 107 is constituted by a controller such as a microcomputer whose operation can be changed by a program. When the activation signal m is input, the encoding / decoding device 11 is set to the operating state. The communication packet data r is received from the receiving unit 113, error correction and data processing are performed, and the data is output as communication data a.

For the first encoding means 103, the operation and encoding rate of the first encoding means 103 are controlled by an encoding means control signal g, and the first decoding means is similarly controlled. 105, the decoding means control signal k
Controls the operation and the decoding method. Also,
For the transfer means 108, the amount of the transfer buffer is monitored,
The buffer control signal t is used to control the transfer buffer of the transfer means so as not to overflow.

The transfer means 108 receives the coded signal u output from the image filter 109 and packetizes and transfers the data to the connection path 100 under the control of the buffer control signal t. At this time, the encoding / decoding device 11 is added to the transfer packet.
In addition, the ID of the operation requesting device 200 of the transfer destination is added.

The image filter 109 is provided for the first recording unit 10.
The filter processing of the reproduced image and data such as noise removal, image enlargement / reduction, and encryption is performed on the image or encoded data stored in the storage unit 4. After performing the processing, the coded signal u, which is the processed data, is transferred to the D / A converter 114 for reproduction, or transmitted to the transfer means 108 to transfer the coded data and video data to another device.

The modulation / demodulation means 110 is a kind of so-called TV tuner or CS tuner, and modulates a signal b received by an antenna, converts the signal b into a processable video or encoded data, and transfers the data to the selector 101. External input terminal 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes an input terminal for video or the like, and transmits an external video signal e to the selector 101.

The receiving means 113 comprises the encoding / decoding device 11
When is not operating, the data from the connection path is passed. When the encoding / decoding device 11 is in an operating state, the packetized communication data from the connection path 100 is received and stored, and when the data becomes a processable amount, error correction is performed, and the data is transferred to the control unit 107. I do.

The D / A converter 114 is a D / A converter that outputs reproduced data to an analog display or the like. The external output terminal 115 indicates an output to an analog television such as a VTR output and a digital output terminal such as a DV terminal.

The operation when a start signal is input from the outside will be described. The receiving unit of the activation signal determination unit 106 is constantly operating. When an activation signal is sent from an external device to the activation signal determination means 106 through the connection path 100, the activation signal determination means 106 sends an activation signal m to the control means 107.
Send The control means 107 receives the activation signal m and sets the encoding / decoding device 11 to an activation state.

The control means 107 receives the desired data to be read from the connection path 100, the memory information of the destination device, the image display function, and the information specified by the user when the capacity of the transfer path is insufficient. Sort out. If the processing function is sufficient for the designated read-designated data existing in the first recording means 104, the encoded data is transmitted from the first recording means via the direct transfer means.

If the code amount of the encoded data of the first recording means 104 is insufficient in either one or both of the processing capacity (the free space of the data storage device and the decoding capability) on the receiving side, the code amount is reduced. Perform processing to decrease. When the encoding amount is reduced, the video signal d decoded again by the first decoding unit 105 is transferred via the selector 101,
The video signal f is sent to the first encoding unit 103. The first encoding unit 103 creates encoded data i in accordance with the encoding unit control signal g, and transfers the encoded data from the transfer unit 108 to the connection path 100 via the first recording unit 104.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, encoded data whose transfer rate has been changed is created and transferred to the outside, so that the encoded data can be encoded even in a memory such as a portable device or a device having a small processing function. You can refer to the recorded content.

The user sets the transfer amount and transfer method. If the image size and code amount specified by the user are sufficient for the path, smooth reproduction is possible.
Also, since the transfer method can be specified, functions such as downloading recorded information to the portable device while moving, downloading information to the device at the destination, and viewing the information can be realized.

(Embodiment 2) An encoding / decoding apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention (claim 2) will be described below. In this embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, there is further provided a means for measuring the transfer rate of the encoding / decoding device. FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of an encoding / decoding device that measures the transfer rate of a connection path and performs adaptive encoding.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention (claim 2).
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an encoding / decoding device in FIG. The encoding / decoding device 12 includes a selector 101, a buffer memory 102, a first encoding unit 103, a first recording unit 104, a first decoding unit 105, a start signal determination unit 106, a control unit 107, and a transfer unit 108. , Image filter 109, modulation / demodulation means 110, external input terminal 111, transfer rate determination means 112, reception means 113, D / A converter 114, external output terminal 115, buffer memory 1
16 is comprised. The connection path 100 is connected to the selector 10
1, the output of the transfer rate determining means 112, the input of the activation signal determining means 106, and the output of the transferring means 108. Parts having the same basic functions as those in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

The transfer rate determining means 112 is a means for measuring how much output data from the encoding / decoding device 12 reaches the operation requesting device 200.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an operation flowchart of the transfer rate judgment means 112, and FIG. 5 shows an example of connection between devices.
First, the control means 107 inside the encoding / decoding device 12 activates the transfer rate determination means 112. Then, the transfer rate determination unit 112 starts the dummy data communication, and then transmits the type of the dummy data to the operation requesting device 200. The operation requesting device 200 transfers the completion of data communication preparation to the encoding / decoding device 12 after reception. The transfer rate determining unit 112 waits until receiving a transmission preparation completion signal from the operation requesting device 200.

When the completion of the transmission preparation is confirmed, the transfer rate determining means transmits dummy data at a constant speed and starts a timer. The operation requesting device 200 receives the data and performs error correction. If the data is at a level that can correct the error, the received data amount is added. Otherwise, if the communication packet is broken so that the error cannot be corrected, the data is truncated and the next data is processed.

After a sufficient time has elapsed, the transfer rate judging means 112 sends a dummy data communication end and ends. The operation requesting device 200 receives the end of the dummy data communication, and transfers the total of the transfer data in each time unit to the encoding / decoding device 12. Control means 1 of encoding / decoding device 12
07 determines the transfer rate based on the total of the received transfer data, and determines the first encoding unit 103 and the first decoding unit 1.
05, controlling the transfer means 108;

The transfer rate is measured as described above. As the transfer rate to be used, any of the average, the minimum value, and the maximum value of the total may be used. It is assumed that the transfer rate determining means 112 and the control means 107 are configured by a program controllable MCU or the like.

The operation when a start signal is input from the outside will be described. The receiving unit of the activation signal determination unit 106 is constantly operating. When the start signal m is sent from the external connection device to the start signal determination unit 106 through the connection path 100,
The activation signal determination unit 106 transmits an activation signal m to the control unit 107. The control means 107 receives the activation signal m,
The encoding / decoding device 12 is activated.

The transfer rate judging means 112
Dummy data is transferred to the operation requesting device 200 via “0”, and the transfer rate is determined by receiving the amount of data received from the operation requesting device, and transmitted to the control unit 107. At the same time, the control means 107 sends the operation requesting device 20
0 reads the desired read data, the memory information of the destination device, the image display function, and the capability of the transfer path.

Both the transfer amount and the processing function are the first recording means 1
If the data is sufficient for the designated read-out data existing in 04, the encoded data is transmitted from the first recording means 104 via the direct transfer means 108. The code amount of the encoded data of the first recording unit 104 is determined by the state of the transfer path, the processing capacity of the receiving side (the free space of the data storage device,
If either one or both of them is insufficient, a process for reducing the code amount is performed.

To reduce the amount of coding, the video signal d decoded again by the first decoding means 105 is supplied to the selector 1
01, and sends the video signal f to the first encoding means 103. The first encoding unit 103 creates encoded data i in accordance with the encoding unit control signal g, and transfers the encoded data from the transfer unit 108 to the connection path 100 via the first recording unit 104.

After the transfer between the operation requesting device 200 and the encoding / decoding device 12 starts, the control unit 107 compares the amount of data transmitted and the amount of data actually received by the operation requesting device to transfer the data. The amount can be measured.

If the data amount of the video signal d is sufficient for the transfer amount of the connection path 100, the video signal decoded by the first decoding unit 105 is transferred from the transfer unit 108 through the first recording unit 104. Transfer to connection path 100.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to measure the transfer rate of the transfer path by itself and transmit coded data or image data corresponding to the transfer rate.

(Embodiment 3) Next, when the reservation time is approaching during the operation of the present invention (claims 3 and 4), it is notified that the operation is switched to the reservation operation, and the reservation operation is performed. The processing for the operation requesting device of the encoding / decoding device will be described.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an operation flowchart of the encoding / decoding device according to the present invention (claim 4). The operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

When an activation signal is sent from an external connection device to the activation signal determination means 106 via the connection path 100,
The activation signal determination unit 106 transmits an activation signal m to the control unit 107. When the encoding / decoding device 12 is operating, no activation signal is generated. The control unit 107 receives the activation sequence and transmits an operation rejection signal. In the stop state, the control unit 107 receives the start signal m and sets the encoding / decoding device 12 to the start state.

When the first encoding means 103 and the first decoding means 105 are inactive, a search is made for an operation reservation in the memory. An operation rejection signal is transmitted from 108, the power of the encoding / decoding device 12 is turned off, and the process ends.

If there is time before the reservation time or there is no reservation, it is determined whether or not there is an operation request of the device itself. If there is no operation request, an operation acceptance signal is transmitted.
, The transfer rate is measured, and the first encoding unit 103 and the first decoding unit 105 are operated to transfer data. During data transfer, encoding and decoding are performed while verifying the reservation time and the operation request of the device itself. When the reservation time approaches or when the encoding and decoding processes are completed, the encoding and decoding processes currently performed by the first encoding unit 103 and the first decoding unit 105 are stopped, and the control unit 1
Then, an encoding / decoding end and a reservation operation start signal are sent to the operation requesting device 200 via the terminal 07, and the encoding / decoding device 12 is turned off or shifted to a reservation operation state, and the operation ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, FIG.
By incorporating the functions of the flowchart in the control program of the control means 107 into the control program of the control means 107, it is possible to transmit the encoded data or the image data suitable for the transfer path while keeping the reservation time and the flexibility for the device direct operation request. .

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 7 shows the configuration of an encoding / decoding apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention (Claim 5). The encoding / decoding device according to the present embodiment has a connection path 1
00, the operation requesting device 200, the encoding / decoding device 1
Second, a second encoding / decoding device 13 is connected.

The operation requesting device 200 is the encoding / decoding device 1
2. Connection path 1 for both second encoding / decoding device 13
00, the encoding / decoding device 12 and the second encoding / decoding device 13 are activated according to the first and second embodiments, start packet communication with the operation requesting device 200, and Is measured. At the same time, both are in Embodiment 3.
Investigate its own operation status and reservation status according to the above. When there is no reservation state, both of them transmit an operation acceptance signal to the operation requesting device 200 according to the operation of the third embodiment, and the operation requesting device 200 transmits the operation of the encoding and decoding device 12 and the second encoding and decoding device 13. One of them is activated to perform a desired process.

When both the encoding / decoding device 12 and the second encoding / decoding device 13 are in operation, an operation rejection signal is transferred to the operation requesting device 200 according to the third embodiment. In the operation requesting device 200, the encoding / decoding device 1
2. The current operation status and reservation status are requested from the second encoding / decoding device 13, and the encoding / decoding device 12 and the second encoding / decoding device 13 send the current operation status to the operation requesting device 200, The reservation status is transmitted with its own ID information.

Here, when the operation state or the reservation state of the encoding / decoding device 12 is video recording and the operation state of the second encoding / decoding device 13 is data reproduction, some of the functions shown in FIG. It works if you use. For example, the recording state can be sufficiently realized by starting up the modulation / demodulation unit 110, the selector 101, the buffer memory 102, the first encoding unit 103, the control unit 107, and the first recording unit 104. , The buffer memory 116, the transfer means 108, and the receiving means 113 are stopped.

The reproducing state is such that the first recording means 104, the first decoding means 105, the buffer memory 116, the D / A converter 115 and the control means 107 operate, and the modulation / demodulation means 1
10, the selector 101, the buffer memory 102, the first encoding unit 103, the transfer unit 108, and the reception unit 113 are stopped.

When the encoded data recorded in the encoding / decoding device 12 is transferred to the operation requesting device 200, if the transfer rate and the processing capability of the receiving side are sufficient as described in Embodiment 1, One recording unit 104 implements a function of receiving encoded data from the first encoding unit 103 as a recording process, reading the encoded data requested, and outputting the data from the transfer unit 108 to the connection path 100. Therefore, the operation requesting device 200 transfers the transfer request to the encoding / decoding device 12 again, and the encoding / decoding device 12 operates to realize the above function.

If the transfer rate and the processing capacity of the receiving side are not sufficient, the operation requesting device 200 requests the encoding / decoding device 12 to decode the data, and the second encoding / decoding device 13 transmits the data at the transfer rate. Requires corresponding encoding.

The encoding / decoding device 12 includes the first recording unit 1
After the encoded data is extracted from the data decoding unit 04 and the data is decoded by the first decoding unit, the decoded data is transferred from the transfer unit 108 to the second coding and decoding device 13. The second encoding / decoding device 13 receives the encoded data by the first recording unit 104 through the selector 101, performs encoding by the first encoding unit 103 according to the encoding unit control signal g, and sets the transfer unit 108 The encoded data is transferred to the operation requesting device 200 via the operation requesting device 200.

As described above, the above operation is realized by the control means 107 among the operation requesting device 200, the encoding / decoding device 12, and the second encoding / decoding means 13, so that the device is in an operating state. Even in this case, an encoding / decoding processing system capable of performing a desired operation using a plurality of devices by performing functional division can be configured.

Here, as the second encoding / decoding device, a device similar to the encoding / decoding device 12 has been described as an example.
A device having a necessary function, such as a personal computer, may be used as the second encoding / decoding device.

FIG. 8 shows the connection of each device when the portable information terminal 301 is used as an embodiment of the operation requesting device 200 of the present invention, and FIGS. 9 and 10 show the present invention (claim 5). The display information of the portable information terminal in the case is shown.

In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a portable information terminal,
02. The information displayed on the screen is that the device information 1 indicated by 303 is the device information 12 indicated by the encoding / decoding device 12, 304, the device information 3 indicated by the second coding / decoding device 13, 305 is the television 203, 306. Is the personal computer 204, and the information 307 is the portable information terminal 301 of its own device.

As the devices displayed in FIG. 9, there are a telephone 205 and a CS / BS tuner 206, but detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 9, marks 320, 321, and 322 displayed on the device information 1 303 indicate encoding means, decoding means, and communication means, respectively.

In the figure, those marked with a circle indicate that the machine is stopped, and those marked with a cross indicate that the machine is operating. In this example, the device of the device information 1 indicated by 303, that is, the encoding / decoding device 12, indicates that the encoding unit is operating and the decoding unit and the communication unit are stopped.

Similarly, the device of the device information 2 indicated by 304, that is, the coding / decoding device 13, indicates that the coding means and the communication means are stopped, and that the decoding means is operating.
The device of device information 3 indicated by 05, that is, the television 203
Indicates that the communication unit is stopped and the display unit is operating, and that the personal computer 204 of the device information 4 indicated by 306 is operating both the communication unit, the internal processing, and the display unit. .

The device connection 331 indicates that the device of the device information 2 indicated by 304, ie, the decoding means of the encoding / decoding device 13 and the device of the device information 3 indicated by 305, ie, the television 203, are connected. Show. In the display information, the communication state of the own device 307 is open.

Here, as shown in FIG.
2, the device information 32 in the portable information terminal 301.
Route 332 for 1,322,325,323,333
Is written, the selection screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, and by deciding, a connection path 332 is newly set between the devices.
Data processing begins.

The encoded data is transmitted from the first recording means 104 to the first decoding means 105 of the encoding / decoding device 12 shown in FIG. j is transferred, and the video signal d decoded by the first decoding unit 105 is written back to the first recording unit 104. The video data stored in the first recording unit 104 is output to the connection path 100 by the transfer unit 108 via the image filter 109, and is output to the second encoding / decoding device 1
3 is transferred.

The second encoding / decoding device 13 handles encoding and transfer. The packet of the image data input from the receiving means 113 is converted into a video signal by the control means 107,
After that, it is stored in the first recording means 104 through the path of the encoded data i. At the time of transfer, transfer means 108 from first recording means 104 via filter 109
To the connection path 100
The data is transmitted to the portable information terminal 301 through.

If the transfer rate of the connection path is not sufficient, the image size is changed by the filter 109 of the encoding / decoding device 12, and the data amount is reduced for transfer.

By controlling the devices by the remote control from the operation requesting device 200 in this way, a connection processing method capable of realizing a desired operation can be realized by collecting necessary functions even when each device is operating.

The transfer means 108 has the following functions for verifying the newly set connection route. In FIG. 10, when it is desired to verify the output from the encoding / decoding device 12, when the designation is received from the portable information terminal 322, the encoding / decoding device 12 transfers the information to the second encoding / decoding device 13. A packet is created so that the transferred data packet is transmitted to the portable information terminal 301 in the same manner. The portable information terminal 301 receives the communication packet from the encoding / decoding device 12 and displays it on the screen.

With this operation, it is possible to verify information in the middle of the connection path by changing the data designation of the transfer destination when performing the packet communication.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 12 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention (claim 6). In addition to the circuit configuration described in the second embodiment, a second encoding unit 117, a second recording unit 118, and a second decoding unit 119 are newly added.

The second encoding means 117 has MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4
Receives an encoding control signal g from the control means 107 and encodes the video input f from the selector 101 and the video signal h from the first recording means 104 using the buffer memory 102. , First recording means 10
4 to output the encoded data i.

The second recording means 118 is the first recording means 1
As in the case of No. 04, it is composed of a semiconductor memory such as an SD card, a magneto-optical disk device, and a magnetic disk device. Recording of encoded signals, temporary storage of input data and reproduced image data are performed. The first encoding means 103 is connected to the video signal h for data supply and the encoded data i for storing the encoded data, and the first decoding means 105 is connected to the encoded data j and the video signal d. Connected by In addition, a video input f is input for arbitration of data processing, and the data is temporarily stored or transferred to the image filter 109 as encoded data u.

The second decoding means 119 is the same as the first decoding means 105 for MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4
And the like, which receives the encoded data j from the first recording unit 104 and the second recording unit 118 or the reception data of the receiving unit 113 from the selector 101, and specifies the decoding control signal from the control unit 107. , The decoding process is performed using the buffer memory 116 as the frame memory, and the decoded video signal d is transferred to the first recording unit 104 via the selector 101.

With this configuration, similar to the second embodiment,
At the same time that the first encoding unit 103 encodes the video signal or the video input, the second encoding unit 117 also reduces the bit rate by reducing the image size and the number of frames as compared with the first encoding unit 103. Is performed, and is recorded in the second recording means 118. The data stored in the second recording means is dedicated to real-time communication, and is used to reproduce recorded data on a device having a small screen size and a low processing capability such as a portable information device. If the transfer rate is sufficient for a device having a higher processing capability, the user determines whether or not it is necessary to generate encoded data by the second encoding unit 117 via the connection path 100.
, It is possible to prevent multiplex processing of the entire device.

Here, the data stored in the first recording means 104 can be regarded as data for storage, and the data stored in the second recording means 118 can be regarded as data for communication. Even if data is transferred using a high-speed, small-sized device such as a semiconductor memory, SD card, or HDD as the second recording means for communication, an optical disk or HDD having high reliability in data storage is used for storage. Good.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 13 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention (claim 7). The encoded data stream existing on a disk device such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk is extremely rarely continuous, but is usually arranged on the surface of the disk one by one. In this case, each data has a data header in addition to the encoded data, and stores data positions before and after continuous data, user data, and the like.

In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which encoded data is created in accordance with the transfer rate, and transmission data is created. However, such data requires an area for recording means, and such data is required. If there remains, the storage capacity of the entire recording means also decreases, and unlike a tape device,
Since the data is rewritten at random, there is a case where necessary data is erased. Also, data that has already been viewed is often useless, and should be overwritten if the recording area is insufficient, but it is difficult to determine in the conventional case.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, storage priority information is added to the data header, the storage priority is lowered for transfer data, and the user By changing the storage priority in the setting of, data to be retained is left, and overwritable data is overwritten according to the priority.
As a result, even when the recording capacity is insufficient, the recording means can be used to the maximum extent while leaving the data to be retained.

(Embodiment 7) FIGS. 14, 15, and 16
The seventh embodiment of the present invention (claim 10) is shown below. FIG.
Indicates the connection relationship of the devices, and it is assumed that the other party's telephone 231 and telephone 206 are both videophones. FIG. 15 shows an example of the corresponding operation of the device shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 shows an example of the verification processing of the motion vector and the image correlation shown in FIG. The operation will be further described with reference to FIGS.

When a call is received from the other party's telephone 231 to the telephone 206, the telephone 206 checks the recording capacity for the answering machine. If there is a responder or the remaining storage capacity is sufficient, the telephone 206 is used alone. If the recording capacity for the answering machine is insufficient, an operation request signal is output through the connection path to activate the answering machine and wait for a response. The encoding / decoding device receives the operation request and checks its own reservation.

If the reservation status is inconvenient for adding the current processing, the operation rejection signal is transmitted as described in the third embodiment. In this case, the telephone 206 divides the request according to the fourth embodiment and waits for a response from another operable device. If any device is inoperable, the fact that the answering machine is full is communicated to the other party's telephone 231 and the process is terminated. When the coding / decoding device accepts the operation, the telephone 206 transfers the answering machine message to the telephone 231 of the other party, and transfers the coding rate and the operation start to the coding / decoding device.

The coding / decoding device receives the designation of the coding rate and the operation start, sets the internal equipment, and prepares for coding. When the message is transmitted from the telephone 231 of the other party, the telephone 206 monitors the end of the message and transfers voice and image data to the connection path. The encoding / decoding device encodes the image and audio data of the connection path, and shows the image correlation between the images of the motion vector created by the motion prediction at the time of encoding and the image without performing the motion compensation, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Verify using. When the message transmission from the other party's telephone 231 is completed, the telephone 206
Transmits an operation end to the encoding / decoding device, and ends. The encoding / decoding device receives the operation end signal, performs post-processing, and ends.

The magnitude of a motion vector, image correlation verification, and post-processing of the encoding / decoding apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. A series of operations in the processing block 401 in FIG. 16 is verification of the magnitude of the motion vector and image correlation in FIG. 15, and a series of operations in the processing block 402 corresponds to post-processing in FIG.

The operation of the processing block 401 will be described. With respect to image input, the first encoding unit 103 detects a motion vector and encodes an image. The motion vector at this time is also transferred to the control means 107, and the average of one image is calculated. When the average of one image is smaller than the threshold, the control unit 107 causes the first encoding unit 103 to insert a hold flag into the encoded data. The protection flag is a part of the coded data of MPEG and is embedded in the part of the user data in the area which does not hinder the decoding.

Next, when the image processing of one group has already been performed, the average of the motion vector is initialized, and the processing of the next image is performed. As described above, the hold flag is added for each image group which is an MPEG image configuration unit. Since the first image in one image group is an image for which motion compensation is not performed, a hold flag is not added.

FIG. 17 shows the structure of an image group processed in MPEG group units. In this example, one image group is composed of 15 images, the first one being an image for which motion compensation is not performed, and the remaining 14 being a structure for which motion compensation is performed. The suspension flag is added to the remaining 14 cards.

The processing block 401 is the telephone 23 of the other party.
While the message transmission is being performed from step 1, the above processing is repeated. When the processing of the processing block 401 ends, the encoding / decoding device reads data from the data position at the start of recording. If the read data has a hold flag, it is determined whether the image is one for which motion compensation is to be performed, and if the image is one for which motion compensation is to be performed, the data is discarded. Otherwise, the correlation between the previous image without motion compensation and the current image without motion compensation is compared, and if the difference between the previous and current times is less than a certain threshold value, it is determined to be similar and the data is discarded. I do. If not, the data is replaced with still image information and the next image data is processed.

The above operation is performed on all images recorded as answering machines. Since the image data other than the image data having a large motion is replaced with still image data, the recording capacity can be saved. In addition, since a data amount can be reduced for a phone having a small movement of the screen among a silent phone, a mischievous phone, and the like, a useless storage capacity of the mischievous phone can be eliminated.

(Eighth Embodiment) FIGS. 18 and 19 show an eighth embodiment of the present invention (claim 11). Conventionally, there are many cases where the reservation time is changed due to an extension of a night game broadcast or an emergency report. Also, such a case may be difficult to predict when going out. In particular, in the case of terrestrial commercial broadcasting, it is often difficult to know the extension of night games or information on emergency programs unless the user has been watching the channel. To solve these problems, CS broadcasting has a function to change the reservation time by transmitting the information when the time is out of sync using radio waves or telephone lines, but there is no way for users to confirm at a remote location. Was.

In the present embodiment, the coding / decoding device starts a reservation operation to perform the coding, and when the coding / decoding device records the coded data or the image data, a part of the coded data or the image data is requested. An example of processing of the encoding / decoding device, which is characterized in that confirmation of reservation setting is performed by transferring to an apparatus, is shown.

The portable information terminal 301 is connected to the base station 221 by a communication means such as a telephone line or wireless communication.
06. The operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 18, and FIG.

When the reservation operation is started, a video input is input to the first encoding means 103, encoded data is generated, and transferred to the first recording means 104. At this time, the encoded data and the video input have been transferred to the first recording unit 104. The control unit 107 transfers a communication start signal to the portable information terminal 301. The portable information terminal receives the communication start signal, shifts to a data transfer enabled state, and
A transmission preparation completion signal is transmitted to the encoding / decoding device via the. The encoding / decoding device that has received the transfer preparation completion signal through the receiving unit 113 performs the work of reducing the image and compressing the encoded data from the first recording unit 104 through the image filter 109 under the control of the control unit 107. , Transfer means 1
08, The compressed data is transmitted to the portable information terminal 301 via the connection path.

The portable information terminal 301 receives the compressed data, records it in the recording means inside the portable information terminal 301, and notifies the user of the start of the operation of the encoding / decoding apparatus by a ringing tone. When the user operates the portable information terminal in response to a ringing tone, like a telephone call, the compressed data is expanded and displayed on the screen. After the elapse of the matching time from the start of the reservation operation, the encoding / decoding device ends the data transfer and transfers a transfer end signal to the portable information terminal 301. Upon receiving the transfer end signal, the portable information terminal ends the recording operation.

As described above, the data of the operation content is transferred for a certain period of time from the start of the reservation operation of the encoding / decoding device, recorded in the portable information terminal, and reproduced by the next portable information terminal, thereby executing the reservation operation. The user can confirm whether the contents are correct.

(Embodiment 9) FIGS. 20 and 21 show Embodiment 9 of the present invention (claim 12). It is assumed that both the encoding / decoding device and the second encoding / decoding device have the configuration described in Embodiment 4 or 5.

When the timer recording is set by the encoding / decoding device 12, the control unit 107 checks whether the free space in the storage unit 104 is sufficient and which movement data is optimal for securing the capacity. If the free space is sufficient, the process waits until the reservation operation starts. If the free space is insufficient, the encoding / decoding device 12 according to the second embodiment is used.
Transmits a data transfer signal and a transfer data amount as an operation request to a device connected as the operation request terminal 200.

When the second encoding / decoding device 13 receives the operation request signal, the control means confirms its own reservation state, calculates its free storage capacity, and determines whether it is sufficient.
If the capacity is not sufficient, the second encoding / decoding device 13
Sends an operation rejection signal. When the encoding / decoding device 12 receives the operation rejection signal, it transmits a message indicating that the capacity is insufficient to execute the reservation to the display device or the portable information terminal, etc., and enters a standby state for the reservation operation. .

When the capacity of the second encoding / decoding device 13 is sufficient, preparation for reception is performed, and after the means shown in FIG. 3 is activated, the transfer acceptance signal is transmitted as the operation acceptance signal to the encoding / decoding device. Transfer to 12. Similarly, when the encoding / decoding device 12 receives the transfer acceptance signal, the encoding / decoding device 12 prepares for transfer.
Activate the means shown in FIG.

When the transfer preparation is completed, the encoding / decoding device 1
2 transmits a transfer start signal, extracts data from the first recording means 104, packetizes the data by the transfer means 108,
The necessary information is added and the data transfer is started.

The second encoding / decoding device 13 receives the transfer start signal, receives the data, converts the packet data into coded data by the receiving means 113 and the control means 107, and records it on the first recording means 104. . When the data transfer ends,
The encoding / decoding device 12 distributes a transfer end signal to the second encoding / decoding device 13, ends the data transfer, and waits until the reservation start time. The encoding / decoding device 12 ends the reception when receiving the transfer end signal.

Even if the storage capacity is insufficient when the reservation is made to the encoding / decoding device 12 by the above operation, the storage capacity required for the reservation operation is obtained, or if not possible, the storage capacity is increased. The shortage is transmitted to all devices, and the user can confirm it in advance.

In this embodiment, the second encoding / decoding device is used as a recording data transfer target for simplification of description, but a hard disk of a personal computer may be used if communication control is possible. .

[0110]

As described above, according to the present invention, the encoding
It has independent means for decryption, and has means for connecting to another device, thereby enabling transmission of data to another device. Further, by obtaining the information of the transfer path by the transfer rate determining means, encoded data suitable for the transfer path can be created and transferred.

Further, since the configuration is such that the functions can be divided and operated, even when the devices are in operation, the usable functions of some devices can be combined to fulfill another function according to the operation request. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a start signal determination unit in FIG. 1; FIG. 2B is a timing chart showing the same operation;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a transfer rate determining unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a connection example of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a reservation search operation of the encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a connection example of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a connection example of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 4;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an information display example of the portable information terminal according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an information setting example of the portable information terminal according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a response to the connection setting of the portable information terminal according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a data recording method of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an operation flowchart of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart of motion vector detection and image correlation investigation according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image group of MPEG encoding.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding device according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an operation flowchart of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of an encoding / decoding apparatus according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an operation flowchart of the ninth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 11 encoding / decoding device 12 encoding / decoding device 13 second encoding / decoding device 100 connection path 101 selector 102, 116 buffer memory 103 first encoding means 104 first recording means 105 first decoding Means 106 Start signal determination means 107 Control means 108 Transfer means 109 Image filter 110 Modulation / demodulation means 111 External input terminal 112 Transfer rate determination means 113 Receiving means 114 D / A converter 115 External output terminal 117 Second encoding means 118 Second Recording means 119 Second decoding means 200 Operation requesting device 203 Television 204 Personal computer 205 CS / BS tuner 206 Telephone 220 Home LAN 221 Base station 231 Remote telephone 301 Portable information terminal 302 Portable information terminal input means 303 Device information 1 (display information of coding / decoding device 201) 304 Device information 2 (display information of second coding / decoding device 202) 305 Device information 3 (display information of television 203) 306 Device information 4 (personal computer) 204
307 Own device (display information of portable information terminal 301) 320 Input status of device information 1 321 Output status of device information 1 322 Status of communication port of device information 1 323 Input status of device information 2 324 Device information 2 output status 325 device information 2 communication port status 326 device information 3 output status 327 device information 3 communication port status 328 device information 4 output status 329 device information 4 input status 330 device information 4 communication port Status 331 Current inter-device connection information 332 Newly set inter-device connection information 333 Status of communication port of own device 401 Processing block (processing of magnitude of motion vector, image correlation) 402 Processing block (post-processing)

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Claims (13)

[Claims] An information processing apparatus comprising: a connection unit for connecting to another device; and a transfer unit for transferring data to another device, and performs encoding and decoding processing in response to an external operation request. What is claimed is: 1. An encoding / decoding apparatus, comprising: decoding and encoding encoded data again according to an external specification; and transmitting the data to a transfer path. 2. A transfer rate judging means for examining a transfer rate with another device, wherein the encoded data is again decoded and encoded according to a transferable rate of the transfer path, and the encoded data is transmitted to the transfer path. 2. The encoding / decoding device according to claim 1, wherein the encoding / decoding is performed. 3. A reservation function is further provided, wherein an operation request from another device is approved or rejected according to a state of the reservation function,
3. The encoding / decoding device according to claim 1, wherein the information is notified to an operation requesting device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the reservation time approaches, an operation request rejection signal is newly transmitted to the requesting device, and the operation is switched to the reservation operation to protect the reservation. Encoding / decoding device. 5. When a part of a request from another device can be executed, information of an executable function is notified to the operation requesting device,
5. The encoding / decoding device according to claim 3, wherein an executable function is executed in response to a request from the operation requesting device. 6. A method according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of encoding means and a plurality of recording media, wherein a plurality of encoded data comprising the same original data having different compression ratios are prepared in advance when encoding the data. Item 7. An encoding / decoding device according to Item 5. 7. The encoding / decoding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein priorities for storing encoded data are set in accordance with the frequency of use. 8. The encoding and decoding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said recording medium is a magnetic storage medium. 9. The encoding and decoding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said recording medium is a semiconductor memory. 10. The encoding / decoding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image data is recorded as a still image when the difference between the motion vectors between the images during encoding is equal to or less than a certain level. 11. When a scheduled recording is started, a part of the encoded data being recorded is transferred to an external operation requesting device, so that it is determined whether or not the recording is operating with the wrong recording contents. The encoding / decoding device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the user is made to confirm. 12. When the recording capacity of the recording means is predicted to be satisfied by a reservation operation or a designation operation, the encoded data is transferred to another recordable device in accordance with the priority of storing the encoded data. 6. The recording device according to claim 5, wherein a recording capacity of the recording unit is secured, and a reservation operation or a designation operation is performed.
Or the encoding / decoding device according to 6. 13. When there is a request, the status of data communication with another device via the connection path and the data currently being transferred are transferred to the operation request signal, thereby confirming the operation to the operation requesting device. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein
An encoding / decoding device according to claim 1.