JP2004038479A - Data transfer unit, data transfer system, data transfer method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve efficient data transfer by making it possible to automatically select the best-suited destination for data transfer. <P>SOLUTION: A video camera 101 has a communication means for performing two-way data communications with a D-VHS 105, a DVD-R104 and the like; an information acquisition means for acquiring information on the D-VHS 105, the DVD-R 104 and the like from the D-VHS 105, the DVD-R 104 and the like communicably connected thereto via the communication means; and a selection means for selecting the best-suited device as the destination of data transfer based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data transfer device, a data transfer system, a data transfer method, a program, and a recording medium that improve the efficiency of data transfer via a communication network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Due to recent advances in digital technology, many proposals have been made regarding data communication systems in which various devices are connected. In particular, with the spread of bus standards for transferring large amounts of data at high speed, it is becoming easier to exchange data with other devices even for large amounts of information such as moving images.
[0003]
For example, with the popularization of digital video cameras (hereinafter referred to as DVC), so-called non-linear editing, in which video information is imported into a PC and edited as one of the ways to enjoy video, has also attracted attention and is recognized by general users. Being started. In non-linear editing, video information recorded on a magnetic tape by DVC is temporarily stored on a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as HDD) of a PC, and cuts are replaced or deleted by using the function of an application on the PC side.・ There are many cases where steps such as adding production effects and returning the completed video information back to the DVC and writing back to the magnetic tape are often taken, but handling high-information videos in this way is easy. Therefore, the adoption of a high-speed digital interface (hereinafter referred to as DI / F) is indispensable. In addition to a PC, for example, if a digital VHS deck is networked, there is a usability of finally sending an image taken from a DVC and nonlinearly edited by the PC to the digital VHS.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when various devices are connected and networked by the D-I / F in this way, the performance in data communication cannot be fully utilized because of differences in standards, specifications, or product generations between devices. The scene can be predicted.
[0005]
For example, even with the data transfer rate, not all of the networked devices can transfer data at their maximum rates. Since the device A is high speed but the device B is low speed, the bottleneck that data transfer from the device A to the device B must be performed based on the low transfer rate of the device B occurs.
[0006]
Or, the access to the device C is concentrated and the response of the device C becomes slow, and the inconvenience that the data transfer from the device A to the device C is not performed at the scheduled transfer rate may be considered. Taking DVC as an example, in addition to the above-described non-linear editing, for example, in DVC using a small-diameter disk or semiconductor memory as a recording medium, the video is transferred to another large-capacity medium (for example, DVD) and stored. In addition, it is possible to predict the usage with data movement between media, and data transmission from DVC is required to be high speed.
[0007]
Considering such a situation, in the data communication system, a measure for avoiding the inconvenience that the capability of the own device is not sufficiently exhibited due to the influence of other devices is necessary.
[0008]
Accordingly, the present invention provides a data transfer device, a data transfer system, a data transfer method, a program, and a recording medium that enable automatic selection of an optimum data transfer destination and realize efficient data transfer. With the goal.
[0009]
In addition, the present invention automatically selects the most suitable relay for relaying data transfer even when direct data transfer to the final data transfer destination cannot fully take advantage of the original performance. An object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer device, a data transfer system, a data transfer method, a program, and a recording medium that can sufficiently exhibit the performance.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, a data transfer apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit that performs bidirectional data communication with an external device, and a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit. Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the external apparatus from the apparatus, and selection means for selecting an optimal external apparatus as a data transfer destination based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means. Features.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transfer device comprising: a communication unit that performs bidirectional data communication with an external device; and a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit. Information acquisition means for acquiring the information related to each of the above, an external apparatus that is the final data transfer destination based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means, and an external apparatus that is optimal for relaying the data transfer Selection means for selecting, data transfer means for transferring data to the external device serving as the relay device, and transfer of the data from the external device serving as the relay device to the external device serving as the final data transfer destination And control means for controlling.
[0012]
The data transfer system according to the third aspect of the present invention includes the data transfer apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention and a plurality of communication apparatuses capable of bidirectional data communication with the data transfer apparatus. Are connected via a communication network.
[0013]
The data transfer method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a step of performing bidirectional data communication with an external device using a communication unit, and a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit. Acquiring information related to the external device by an information acquiring unit, and selecting a suitable external device as a data transfer destination based on the information acquired by the information acquiring unit by a selecting unit. It is characterized by including.
[0014]
The data transfer method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention includes a step of performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication unit, and a plurality of external devices connected to be communicable via the communication unit, To relay the data transfer with the external device as the final data transfer destination based on the step of acquiring the information related to the external device by the information acquisition unit and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. A step of selecting an optimum external device by a selection means; a step of transferring data by a data transfer means to the external device to be the relay; and a final data from the external device to be the relay And a step of controlling the transfer of the data to an external device as a transfer destination by a control means.
[0015]
The program according to the sixth aspect of the present invention includes a step of performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication unit, and a plurality of external devices communicatively connected via the communication unit. A step of acquiring information relating to the apparatus by the information acquisition means, and a step of selecting an optimum external apparatus as a data transfer destination by the selection means based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means; It is made to perform.
[0016]
The program according to the seventh aspect of the present invention includes a step of performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication unit, and a plurality of external devices communicably connected via the communication unit. Each step of acquiring information related to the device by the information acquisition means, and based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means, is optimal for relaying the data transfer with the external device as the final data transfer destination A step of selecting an external device by a selection unit; a step of transferring data by a data transfer unit to the external device serving as the relay; and a final data transfer destination from the external device serving as the relay And causing the computer to execute a step of controlling the transfer of the data to the external device by the control means.
[0017]
Furthermore, a recording medium according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the program according to the sixth or seventh aspect of the present invention is recorded.
[0018]
With the above configuration, the data transfer apparatus of the present invention can automatically select a data transfer destination. When selecting a data transfer destination, the data communication rate, recordable capacity, job load status, recording Select based on media type.
[0019]
In addition, the data transfer device of the present invention can automatically select a device different from the device to be the final data transfer destination, transfer data to another device, and It controls data transfer from the device to the device that is finally the data transfer destination.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0021]
<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a configuration of a data communication system according to the first and second embodiments. A video camera 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as a video camera) using a disk as a recording medium, a monitor 102, a hard disk recorder 103 (hereinafter referred to as HDR) that records video on a hard disk drive, and a DVD-R stationary recorder 104 (hereinafter referred to as "recording medium"). DVD-R) and digital VHS deck 105 (hereinafter referred to as D-VHS), and each device is connected via a digital interface unit 106. In the present embodiment, a case where a digital interface unit conforming to the IEEE 1394-1995 standard or its extended standard is adopted as the digital interface unit 106 will be described.
[0022]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the video camera 101 of the present embodiment and the DVD-R 104 that forms a data communication system with the video camera 101. Both are provided with the 1394 serial bus described above as a DI / F, and each device is provided with IEEE 1394 interfaces 409 and 422 as connection ports, and both form a network together with other devices via an IEEE 1394 cable 106. .
[0023]
In the video camera 101, when the user operates the operation unit 414 to instruct the start of shooting, the system controller 411 controls each unit and starts shooting and recording operations.
[0024]
The imaging unit 401 extracts a subject image as a video signal, the camera signal processing unit 402 performs predetermined processing on the video signal, and the compression / expansion circuit 403 converts the video signal into a predetermined recording format, and a recording / playback processing unit 404 records the video signal converted into the predetermined recording format on the disk 405. MPEG2 and MotionJPEG are generally known as general-purpose recording formats for moving images. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the recording format is MPEG2. Of course, the purpose of the present application is not impaired even in other recording formats.
[0025]
Reference numeral 406 denotes a switching circuit for switching between a photographing mode and a reproduction mode (the illustrated switching circuit 406 shows an image, and the illustrated switch position has no meaning), and the photographing mode. At the time, the video signal output from the camera signal processing unit 402 is combined with display information such as characters generated by the character generator 407 and displayed on the LCD monitor 408. The video signal converted into the predetermined recording format by the compression / decompression circuit 403 is output to the outside from the IEEE 1394 interface 409 via the buffer memory 410. That is, MPEG2 data is output from the IEEE1394 interface 409.
[0026]
In the playback mode, the recording / playback processing unit 404 reads a signal from the disk 405, the compression / expansion circuit 403 expands the read signal into a predetermined video signal, and the video signal is generated by the character generator 407. It is combined with the generated display information such as characters and displayed on the LCD monitor 408. A signal read from the disk 405 is externally output from the IEEE 1394 interface 409 via the buffer memory 410 from the recording / playback processing unit 404. That is, MPEG2 data is output as it is from the IEEE1394 interface 409.
[0027]
On the other hand, in the DVD-R 104, the system controller 424 controls each part, and controls each part according to an input from the operation unit 426. A tuner unit 415 selectively receives a broadcast radio wave such as a ground wave from the outside and modulates the received radio wave into a predetermined video signal. The compression / decompression processing unit 416 converts the video signal into a predetermined recording format, and the recording / playback processing unit 417 records it on the disk 418. The predetermined recording format is MPEG2, similar to the video camera 101.
[0028]
Reference numeral 419 denotes a switching circuit for switching between a recording mode and a reproduction mode (the illustrated switching circuit shows an image, and the illustrated switch position has no meaning), and the recording mode. At the time of recording, a signal output from the tuner unit 415 is combined with display information such as characters generated by the character generator 420 and output from the video / audio output terminal 421 to the outside.
[0029]
Further, a signal input from the IEEE 1394 interface 422 is also recorded on the disk 418. The signal is sent to the recording / playback processing unit 417 via the buffer memory 423 and recorded on the disk 418.
[0030]
The recording / playback processing unit 417 selectively records a signal from the tuner unit 415 or a signal from the IEEE 1394 interface 422, and the selection is controlled by the system controller 424.
[0031]
In the reproduction mode, the recording / reproduction processing unit 417 reads a signal from the disk 418, the compression / decompression circuit 416 expands the read signal to a predetermined video signal, and the character generator 420 generates a character. A video signal combined with display information such as the above is output from the video / audio output terminal 421 to the outside.
[0032]
A signal read from the disk 418 is externally output from the IEEE 1394 interface 422 via the buffer memory 423 from the recording / playback processing unit 417. That is, MPEG2 data is output as it is from the IEEE 1394 interface 422. Further, the video camera 101 and the DVD-R 104 also exchange control signals via the IEEE 1394 interfaces 409 and 422.
[0033]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing relating to data transfer of the video camera 101 in the first embodiment. A data transfer mechanism of the video camera 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0034]
In a situation where the user moves the video data stored in the disk 405 of the video camera 101 to another medium, when the video camera 101 shifts to the data transfer mode (S101), the video camera 101 uses the data communication system. An inquiry is made to obtain information on each device to be configured (S102).
[0035]
The inquiry is made by broadcasting a packet with predetermined procedure information from the video camera 101 by asynchronous transfer. Each device in the network that has received the inquiry packet broadcasts a response packet according to the above procedure. The transmitted information includes the node ID of the device, the device type, the data transfer rate, the remaining media capacity, the current job load status, and the like.
[0036]
The video camera 101 receives the broadcast response packet from each device (S103). The video camera 101 holds the information thus obtained in the memory 413 (S104). At this time, the HDR 103 did not respond to the inquiry because the power was not turned on. Therefore, the devices that the video camera 101 can recognize as the data transfer destination existing in the network are the DVD-R 104 and the D-VHS 105. The video camera 101 having obtained the network configuration information in this way enters a sequence for determining a data transfer destination. In this embodiment, the video camera 101 is characterized in that the video camera 101 itself automatically determines the data transfer destination according to a predetermined parameter.
[0037]
For example, when the high speed of data transfer is a problem, the device having the fastest rate is selected as the transfer destination with reference to the data transfer rate of each device. Even if the data transfer rate in the specification is high, resources may be allocated to other jobs and a sufficient writing speed may not be obtained. Therefore, immediately before executing data transfer, for example, as in this embodiment It is also effective to obtain the effective transfer rate of each device when the mode is shifted to the data transfer mode. Alternatively, whether or not a sufficient capacity remains in the medium of the counterpart device for the data capacity to be transferred is also a parameter for selecting the counterpart device.
[0038]
Furthermore, filtering by media category may be effective. For example, in the case of video information as in this embodiment, since it often has a huge data capacity, it is a candidate for selecting a disk medium from the viewpoint of being relatively inexpensive or a removable medium on the premise of storage. It can be considered to focus on. This can be done by acquiring category information for each medium. Of course, the transfer destination may be determined by combining the above parameters. Here, it is assumed that the DVD-R 104 is selected with the data transfer rate as a parameter for the purpose of simply performing data transfer at high speed (S105).
[0039]
Thereafter, when the data transfer command is started (S106), the video camera 101 notifies the DVD-R 104 determined as the data transfer destination of the start of data transfer (S107). In this method, the channel ID of data to be transferred is sent to the DVD-R 104 by asynchronous transfer. When the DVD-R 104 receives the notification, it stores the channel ID information and shifts to a data reception waiting state.
[0040]
Thereafter, the video camera 101 performs arbitration to try to acquire the right to use the bus (S108). When the right to use the bus is acquired, the data is transferred synchronously (S109). Steps S108 to S110 are repeated according to a predetermined cycle until the data transfer process is completed in step S110. When the data transfer is completed, the process waits (S111).
[0041]
Further, during the data transfer from step S108 to step S110, the video camera 101 always monitors the remaining capacity of the data to be transferred. Then, the remaining time required for transfer is calculated with reference to the currently selected transfer rate, and information is displayed on the LCD monitor 408 as shown in FIG. 501 represents a DVD-R that is a transfer destination and its transfer rate as indicated by 501, and 502 is an estimated required time until transfer of designated data is completed. Reference numeral 503 denotes a so-called progress bar that represents the ratio of the data capacity that has been transferred to the total data capacity. These displays are controlled by the system controller 411 and generated by the character generator 407, combined with the video signal from the compression / expansion circuit 403, and displayed on the LCD monitor 408.
[0042]
In the present embodiment, the data transfer destination of the video camera 101 is automatically determined by the video camera 101 itself, but the present proposal can also be applied to a configuration in which the data transfer destination can be selected by the user. A device that can be selected as a transfer destination by the parameter evaluation described above may be ranked and displayed on, for example, the LCD monitor 408 to prompt the user to select.
[0043]
The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In this embodiment, IEEE 1394 is adopted as the DI / F. However, the DI / F is not limited to this, and the same kind of configuration is possible with, for example, USB or 100BASE-T.
[0044]
<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The outline of the data communication system in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. A video camera 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as a video camera) using a semiconductor memory as a recording medium, a monitor 102, a hard disk recorder 103 (hereinafter referred to as HDR) that records video on a hard disk drive, and a DVD-R stationary recorder 104 (hereinafter referred to as a hard disk drive). DVD-R), a digital VHS deck 105 (hereinafter referred to as D-VHS) and the like are connected by a digital interface unit 106. The digital interface unit 106 is assumed to be IEEE 1394 as in the first embodiment.
[0045]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of the data communication system according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing data transfer processing of the video camera 101 of this embodiment. The video camera 101 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0046]
The video camera 101 and other devices include the above-described 1394 serial bus as a DI / F, and IEEE 1394 interfaces 701, 702, 717, and 718 as connection ports. Each device is connected by an IEEE 1394 connection cable 106 as shown in FIG. 7, and the devices in the network relay the bus as described above.
[0047]
The video camera 101 records the subject image in the MPEG2 format in the semiconductor memory 706 according to a user operation, and is the same as the video camera 101 of the first embodiment except that the recording medium is different. is there. Other recording formats may be used as in the first embodiment.
[0048]
When the switching circuit 704 switches to the reproduction mode, the memory controller 705 reads a signal from the semiconductor memory 706 in response to a user operation, and the compression / expansion circuit 707 expands the read signal to a predetermined video signal. The video signal is combined with display information such as characters generated by the character generator 708 and displayed on the LCD monitor 709.
[0049]
The signal read from the semiconductor memory 706 is sent to the buffer memory 710 and then output from the IEEE 1394 interface 701 to the outside. That is, MPEG2 data is output as it is from the IEEE1394 interface 701. The output data reaches the IEEE 1394 interface included in each device through the IEEE 1394 cable 106, and devices other than the video camera 101 look at the channel ID of the data packet and take in the necessary data packet.
[0050]
As shown in FIG. 6, when the video camera 101 enters the data transfer mode in which communication is performed via the IEEE1394 interface (S201), the video camera 101 makes an inquiry to obtain information on each device constituting the data communication system (S202). ).
[0051]
The inquiry is made by broadcasting a packet with predetermined procedure information from the video camera 101 by asynchronous transfer as in the first embodiment. Each device in the network that has received the inquiry packet broadcasts a response packet according to the above procedure. The transmitted information includes the node ID of the device, the device type, the data transfer rate, the remaining media capacity, the current job load status, and the like.
[0052]
When the video camera 101 receives the response packet (S203), the network device configuration information can be obtained, and the acquired information is stored and held in the memory 716 controlled by the system controller 715 (S204).
[0053]
Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the video camera 101 displays on the LCD monitor 709 a request for the user to select a data transfer destination. Reference numeral 801 represents an ID of a recording device connected to the network, and reference numeral 802 represents a device type corresponding to the ID 801. As the ID 801, a node ID may be adopted in accordance with the IEEE 1394 specification, or a unique ID number uniquely corresponding to the node ID may be allocated. Reference numeral 802 denotes a model type of each device.
[0054]
The above information is acquired in S203 and held in the memory 716 in S204. From the data transfer target devices listed as described above, the user selects and determines by moving the arrow cursor 803 up and down (S205). This time, the user has selected D-VHS 105 as the data transfer destination.
[0055]
Next, the video camera 101 collates the information of each device stored in the memory 716 (S206). Here, on the basis of the data transfer rate of the video camera 101, the data transfer rate of the D-VHS 105 is slower than that of the video camera 101, and the data transfer rate of the HDR 103 is higher than that of the video camera 101. In order for the video camera 101 to perform direct synchronous transfer with the D-VHS 105, the data transfer rate must match that of the D-VHS 105. That is, the video camera 101 cannot maximize its own data transfer rate. On the other hand, an HDR 103 having a data transfer rate faster than that of the video camera 101 exists in the data communication system. The video camera 101 evaluates that the data transfer rate of the video camera 101 can be maximized by transferring the data to the HDR 103 and then transferring the data from the HDR 103 to the D-VHS 105 (S220). A device to be relayed is selected (S212).
[0056]
As described above, the D-VHS 105 is selected by the user as the data transfer destination from the video camera 101, and the video camera 101 selects the HDR 103 as the data cache device accordingly. Here, as shown in FIG. 9, a display for prompting confirmation is performed on the LCD monitor 709. When the user selects and decides “Start” 901, the video camera 101 starts data transfer (S213).
[0057]
When starting the data transfer, the video camera 101 issues a data relay command to the HDR 103 (S214). This is given an identification ID of a data file to be transferred from the video camera 101 and procedure information for transferring the data file to the D-VHS 105 after receiving the data file. The HDR 103 stores and holds these pieces of information. Thereafter, the video camera 101 notifies the HDR 103, which is a data transfer destination for the video camera 101, of the start of data transfer (S215). As in the first embodiment, the channel ID is sent to the HDR 103 by asynchronous transfer. When the HDR 103 receives the notification, it stores and holds the channel ID information and shifts to a data reception waiting state.
[0058]
Thereafter, the video camera 101 performs arbitration to acquire the right to use the bus (S216). When the right to use the bus is acquired, the data is transferred synchronously (S217). In transferring, the video camera 101 reads out data from the semiconductor memory 706, reads out the data, and sends it to the buffer memory 710. The system controller 715 controls the buffer memory 710 and outputs data to the IEEE 1394 interface 701. The HDR 103 receives the corresponding packet among the data transferred by the IEEE 1394 cable 106 while identifying the channel ID, and records it in the hard disk drive 723 under the control of the system controller 722. If the bus use right cannot be acquired in S216, the process waits for the next packet cycle and tries to acquire the bus use right again in S216. Once the right to use the bus is acquired, the data rate is guaranteed every cycle thereafter until the transfer is completed.
[0059]
Steps S210 to S212 are repeated according to a predetermined cycle until the data transfer process ends in step S212. While the data transfer from S216 to S218 is performed, the video camera 101 always monitors the remaining capacity of the data to be transferred. Then, the remaining time required for the transfer is calculated with reference to the data transfer rate, and the information is displayed on the LCD monitor 709 as shown in FIG.
[0060]
Reference numeral 1002 denotes device information of the D-VHS 105 that is selected by the user and is finally a data transfer destination, and 1003 is device information of the HDR 103 that the video camera 101 is actually transferring data. Reference numeral 1004 denotes an expected required time until the data transmission from the video camera 101 itself is completed, that is, until the data transfer from the video camera 101 to the HDR 103 is completed. Both are generated by the character generator 708 under the control of the system controller 715, combined with the video signal from the compression / expansion circuit 707, and displayed on the LCD monitor 709.
[0061]
When the data transfer from the video camera 101 to the HDR 103 is completed, the HDR 103 starts data transfer to the D-VHS 105 based on the procedure information received from the video camera 101 previously. Similar to the data transfer from the video camera 101 to the HDR 103, the start of the data transfer is notified from the HDR 103 to the D-VHS 105. This is to send the channel ID of data to be transferred to the D-VHS 105 by asynchronous transfer. When receiving the notification, the D-VHS 105 stores and holds the channel ID information and shifts to a data reception waiting state.
[0062]
Thereafter, the HDR 103 tries to acquire the right to use the bus by performing arbitration, and when the right to use the bus is acquired, the data is synchronously transferred. The D-VHS 105 receives a packet having the previously notified channel ID from each packet that is synchronously transferred through the 1394 serial bus, and sends the packet to the recording / playback processing unit 712 via the buffer memory 711, and the cassette tape 720. To record. Thereafter, the synchronous transfer is repeated according to a predetermined cycle until the data transfer process is completed. It ends when the data transfer ends. The video camera 101 is not involved in the data transfer between the HDR 103 and the D-VHS 105.
[0063]
Alternatively, data transfer between the HDR 103 and the D-VHS 105 may be performed in parallel with data transfer from the video camera 101 to the HDR 103. At this time, the data transfer rate from the video camera 101 to the HDR 103 is different from the data transfer rate between the HDR 103 and the D-VHS 105, the former is faster than the latter, and the HDR 103 is a buffer for data transfer from the video camera 101 to the D-VHS 105. The function which can be called is demonstrated.
[0064]
In step S206, if the data transfer rate of the D-VHS 105 is higher than that of the video camera 101, the video camera maximizes the data transfer rate of the video camera 101 even if it is direct transfer to the D-VHS 105. It can be used as much as possible. Therefore, the video camera 101 evaluates that relay by another device is unnecessary (S221), and proceeds to step S208.
[0065]
The video camera 101 notifies the D-VHS 105 of the start of data transfer (S208). When the D-VHS 105 receives the notification, the D-VHS 105 stores the channel ID information and shifts to a data reception waiting state. Thereafter, the video camera 101 tries to acquire the right to use the bus by performing arbitration (S209). When the right to use the bus is acquired, the data is transferred synchronously (S210). If the bus use right cannot be acquired in S209, the process waits for the next packet cycle and tries to acquire the bus use right again in S209. Once the right to use the bus is acquired, the data rate is guaranteed every cycle thereafter until the transfer is completed. Thereafter, synchronous transfer is performed according to a predetermined cycle until the data transfer process is completed in step S211.
[0066]
In the present embodiment, the video camera 101 selects the HDR 103 as a relay destination by evaluating the data transfer rate as a method capable of transmitting data at the highest speed. On the other hand, the parameter for selecting the relay device is not limited to the data transfer rate. For example, even if it is found from the job load information of each device that the user-desired data transfer destination cannot obtain a sufficient effective transfer rate, the video camera 101 itself can use another device with a small load as a cache. The maximum data transfer rate in the network can be obtained without being influenced by the effective rate of the desired transfer destination.
[0067]
Alternatively, if the recordable capacity information of each device is obtained, even if the data size to be transferred is larger than the remaining media capacity of the desired transfer destination and it can be expected that the transfer destination medium needs to be replaced during transfer, the video camera 101 If the data transmission from itself is completed by caching the data in another device, the data transmission can be made more efficient regardless of the convenience of the transfer destination device.
[0068]
Alternatively, in the data transfer to a device using a non-rewritable medium such as a CD-R, the data from the video camera 101 is simultaneously with the writing test performed to check whether there is an error before the actual data writing. The third party device can complete the cache. This can be done by obtaining information such as the media category of the transfer destination device.
[0069]
Finally, as is apparent from the configurations of the first and second embodiments, the recording medium of the video camera of the present invention may be a disk medium, a semiconductor memory, or a magnetic tape.
[0070]
According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, information on the data communication rate, recordable capacity, job load status, media type, etc. of each device constituting the data communication system at the data transfer destination from the data transfer apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to automatically select the most suitable data transfer destination for data transfer and perform efficient data transfer.
[0071]
Also, the data transfer device automatically selects another device that can transfer data more efficiently than the device that is the final data transfer destination, and relays the data transfer to the other device. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently transmit data from the data transfer device.
[0072]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.
[0073]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0074]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0075]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.
[0076]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0077]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the optimum data transfer destination is automatically selected based on information on a plurality of external devices, so that efficient data transfer is realized. Is possible.
[0078]
In addition, according to the present invention, since the optimum device for relaying data transfer is automatically selected, for example, it is possible to transfer data directly to the final data transfer destination. Even when it is not possible to make full use of the above, it is possible to make full use of its performance by selecting an optimal relay device and transferring data via the relay device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data communication system according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data communication system according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of data transfer processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of an LCD monitor.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of data transfer processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of an LCD monitor.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of an LCD monitor.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an LCD monitor.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 video camera
102 Digital TV camera
103 Hard disk recorder
104 DVD-R stationary recorder
105 DVD-R deck
106 IEEE1394 connection cable

Claims (12)

A communication means for performing bidirectional data communication with an external device;
Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the external devices from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication means;
A data transfer apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects an optimum external device as a data transfer destination based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. A communication means for performing bidirectional data communication with an external device;
Information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the external devices from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication means;
Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a selection unit that selects an external device that is a final data transfer destination and an external device that is optimal for relaying the data transfer;
Data transfer means for transferring data to an external device serving as the relay;
A data transfer apparatus comprising: control means for controlling transfer of the data from the external apparatus serving as the relay device to the external apparatus serving as the final data transfer destination. 3. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is information indicating a data communication rate of the external apparatus. 3. The data transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the information is information indicating a capacity capable of recording the data in the external device. 3. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is information indicating a job load status in the external apparatus. 3. The data transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is information indicating a type of a recording medium for the data used in the external apparatus. 7. A data transfer system, wherein the data transfer apparatus according to claim 1 is connected to a plurality of communication apparatuses capable of bidirectional data communication with the data transfer apparatus via a communication network. . Performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication means;
The information acquisition unit respectively acquires information related to the external device from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit;
Selecting a suitable external device as a data transfer destination on the basis of the information acquired by the information acquisition means by a selection means. Performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication means;
The information acquisition unit respectively acquires information related to the external device from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit;
Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means, a selection means selects an external device that is the final data transfer destination and an external device that is optimal for relaying the data transfer; and
Transferring data by a data transfer means to an external device serving as the relay;
And a control means for controlling the transfer of the data from the external device serving as the relay device to the external device serving as the final data transfer destination. Performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication means;
The information acquisition unit respectively acquires information related to the external device from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit;
A program for causing a computer to execute a step of selecting, with a selection unit, an external device that is optimal as a data transfer destination based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit. Performing two-way data communication with an external device using a communication means;
The information acquisition unit respectively acquires information related to the external device from a plurality of external devices that are communicably connected via the communication unit;
Based on the information acquired by the information acquisition means, a selection means selects an external device that is the final data transfer destination and an external device that is optimal for relaying the data transfer; and
Transferring data by a data transfer means to an external device serving as the relay;
A program for causing a computer to execute the step of controlling the transfer of the data from the external device serving as the relay device to the external device serving as the final data transfer destination. 12. A recording medium on which the program according to claim 10 or 11 is recorded.

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