JP2006254293A - Connection state display device, program, and network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To specifically display a transmission discontinuance state of a transmission node. <P>SOLUTION: One logical music system comprising one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes when states of virtual connections between the respective nodes by a display means displays states of data transmission to reception modes, according to states of data transmission to reception nodes acquired through network connections. The state display is so carried out to discriminatingly display a transmission node which already starts transmitting data and a transmission data which discontinues data transmission. Thus, the transmission node which already starts transmitting the data, and the transmission node which discontinues the data transmission, are discriminatingly displayed, so a user can immediately grasp the transmission node which discontinues the data transmission since the transmission node fails to secure resources needed for the network transmission. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection state display device and program for displaying a virtual connection state and a data transmission state in a plurality of devices on a network, and a network system. In particular, a connection status display device and a program for clearly displaying the transmission suspension state for a device that has not been able to secure the necessary resources for network transmission and has suspended the transmission of music data, Related to network system.

Conventionally, music data (or word clock) such as digital audio data and MIDI data can be transmitted and received on a network configured in accordance with a predetermined communication standard such as IEEE1394 (i-triple 1394) standard corresponding to multimedia. A configured network system is known. In such a network system, a plurality of nodes (various control devices and music-related devices having an interface compliant with the IEEE1394 standard) are connected via a network connection, and a large number of music data is transferred based on isochronous transfer in IEEE1394. Stream data can be transmitted and received between nodes according to one logical music system composed of a plurality of nodes (for example, the music system according to the present applicant called by the trademark “mLAN”). For example, there is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 shown below. As in the device described in Patent Document 1, conventionally, a virtual connection state, which is a virtual connection set between the nodes, can be displayed on a display that the node has, and the user has displayed the display. The virtual connection of each node can be changed intuitively and easily while referring to the virtual connection state. In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the side that transmits music data is called a transmitting node, and the side that receives music data is called a receiving node.
JP 2001-203732 A

  By the way, when the number of transmission nodes in the network system increases or decreases when a new music-related device is connected to or removed from the network, or the number of transmission sequences included in one isochronous transfer in IEEE1394 is changed at the transmission node. If the transmission setting related to virtual connection in one logical music system is changed, such as changing the IEEE1394 bus usage bandwidth allocated for each virtual connection, changing the channel used for data transmission, etc., the corresponding transmission node In this case, music data transmission is started after reserving resources necessary for data transmission via a network connection. In other words, the transmitting node applies to the predetermined node (so-called isochronous resource manager node) that manages the resource in advance as the resource to be secured for the IEEE 1394 bus use bandwidth and the use channel for data transmission, and grants permission to use these. Data transmission via the network connection can be started only after receiving it. However, the above resources can be newly reserved for reasons such as exceeding the bandwidth of the entire IEEE1394 bus (band over) or another transmitting node is already using the corresponding channel (channel contention). The transmission of the music data is canceled in the transmission node that did not exist. However, conventionally, regardless of the start or stop of such data transmission, either a transmission node that can secure resources and starts transmission of music data, or a transmission node that stops transmission of music data without securing resources In addition, only the set connection (virtual connection state) is displayed so as to be normally “transmitting”. Therefore, since the user cannot immediately know from the display on the display which transmission node has stopped transmitting music data, the musical sound based on the music data transmitted from each transmission node is not obtained. Therefore, there is a problem that it is very troublesome and time-consuming for the user himself / herself to confirm whether or not the data is correctly generated from the receiving node as the data transmission destination.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points. For a device that has not been able to secure resources necessary for network transmission and has stopped transmission of music data, the transmission suspension state is displayed on the display. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection state display device and a program which are explicitly displayed.

  A connection state display device according to claim 1 of the present invention displays a virtual connection state between the nodes in one logical music system composed of one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes. A connection state display device for connecting to at least one of the transmission node and the reception node, a display unit, and all or a part of the transmission nodes constituting one logical music system From the acquisition means for acquiring the data transmission state of each transmission node with respect to the reception node via the network connection, and when displaying the virtual connection state, the reception node according to the acquired data transmission state of each transmission node Control means for controlling the display means to display the data transmission status.

  According to the present invention, the data transmission status for the receiving node is displayed on the display means in accordance with the data transmission status of each transmitting node for the receiving node acquired via the network connection. That is, in one logical music system composed of one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes, data transmission is started when the virtual connection state between the nodes is displayed on the display means. The data transmission status for the receiving node is displayed in accordance with the data transmission status of each of the acquired transmission nodes so that the transmitting node that is currently transmitting and the transmission node that has stopped transmitting data can be distinguished. For example, clearly indicate that a transmitting node that has started transmitting data is in a transmitting state while a transmitting node that has stopped transmitting data clearly indicates that it is in a transmitting stopped state. To display. In this way, the user can immediately grasp the transmission node that has stopped data transmission without securing the necessary resources for network transmission.

  A network system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention manages a resource necessary for data transmission via a network connection, and is a logical unit configured by one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes. A network system having management means for securing resources for each virtual connection between nodes in a simple music system, and transmitting data to the virtually connected receiving nodes according to success or failure of resource securing by the management means A virtual connection destination from one or more transmission nodes that start or stop the transmission, from one or more reception nodes that receive data transmitted from the transmission node, and from the transmission node that has secured resources by the management means The data transmission state to the receiving node of each node is obtained, and the nodes constituting the one logical music system are mutually connected. When displaying a virtual connection state, having from 1 to a plurality of setting display node displays the data transmission state for the receiving node in accordance with the acquired data transmission state. In this way, the user can immediately grasp from the display of the setting display node the transmission node that has not been able to secure resources and has stopped data transmission.

  The present invention can be constructed and implemented not only as a device invention but also as a method invention. Further, the present invention can be implemented in the form of a program of a processor such as a computer or a DSP, or can be implemented in the form of a storage medium storing such a program.

  According to the present invention, when displaying virtual connection states on a plurality of devices on a network on a display, a device that cannot secure a resource necessary for network transmission and stops transmitting music data. Since the data transmission status is displayed with the transmission suspension status specified for the user, the user can immediately grasp from the display on the display the device that has stopped transmission of music data without securing resources. There is an effect that it becomes possible to.

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

  First, a network system using an IEEE1394 interface including a connection status display device (hereinafter also referred to as a setting display node) according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a network system to which a connection state display device according to the present invention is applied. In the following embodiment, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, one setting display node HN, three transmission nodes (Na, Nb, Nc), and one reception node as shown in FIG. A description will be given using a network system configured by RN as an example.

  In the network system shown in FIG. 1, five nodes equipped with an IEEE1394 interface (that is, a setting display node HN, a transmission node (Na to Nc), and a reception node RN) are serially connected by an IEEE1394 cable (C1 to C4). It is connected. The IEEE1394 interface is an interface composed of hardware and software that performs data communication according to the IEEE1394 standard, and actually transmits and receives music data via IEEE1394 cables (C1 to C4) that physically connect nodes. Perform the action. The nodes connected to the network include personal computers, electronic musical instruments such as music synthesizers, automatic performance devices such as sequencers, waveform recording devices such as recorders, signal processing devices such as mixers and effectors, sound source devices, etc. It corresponds to any control device or music related device. The network connection is not limited to the chain connection shown in the figure, and any other connection form such as tree connection or multipoint connection may be used. Further, the connection of each node is not limited to a wired connection and may be connected wirelessly.

  IEEE1394 cables (C1 to C4) are communication cables for physically connecting the physical terminals of each node. The physical terminal is a terminal (also called a port) that can communicate data with other nodes that are physically connected using a communication cable, etc. For music-related equipment, etc., it is used for MIDI interface to send and receive MIDI data. In general, it includes a terminal (MIDI in / out), an audio interface terminal (AUDIO in / out) for transmitting and receiving audio data, the IEEE 1394 interface terminal, and the like. Of course, wireless connection using infrared rays or radio waves is also a physical connection, and a terminal for that purpose is also included in the physical terminal. On the other hand, the virtual connection VC that connects each transmission node (Na to Nc) and the reception node RN virtually connects arbitrary nodes according to user settings. As is conventionally known, in a music system, as long as nodes are chain-connected by IEEE1394 cables (C1 to C4), music data can be transmitted between any nodes virtually connected according to user settings. Communication becomes possible. In other words, even if you do not physically connect any nodes directly using MIDIin / out, AUDIOin / out, etc. that each node has, music between specific nodes is as if they were directly connected to each other. You can send and receive data. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the transmission node A (Na) and the reception node RN, or the transmission node B (Nb) and the reception node RN are not directly connected by the IEEE1394 cable (C1 to C4). Since each of the nodes is connected by the virtual connection VC, the transmission node A (Na) to the reception node RN or the transmission node B (Nb) to the reception node RN as indicated by a dotted arrow in the figure. And music data can be transmitted. Such a virtually connected transmitting node and receiving node constitute one logical music system (see FIG. 4 described later).

  The setting display node HN, the transmission nodes (Na to Nc), and the reception node RN constituting the network system are a control device or music-related device having at least an IEEE1394 interface, which will be described later with reference to FIG. . The setting display node HN displays the connection state and data transmission state of the virtual connection set by the user on its display (refer to “music system setting display screen” shown in FIG. 4 described later). The transmitting node (Na to Nc) is used for transmitting music data to the network system shown in FIG. 1, and the receiving node RN is used for receiving music data from the network system shown in FIG. Music data can be transmitted to the receiving node RN from any of the transmitting nodes (Na to Nc) virtually connected to the receiving node RN. The music data transmitted from the transmission node (Na to Nc) to the reception node RN is attached with identification information for identifying each of a plurality of music data streams flowing on the network. The receiving node RN refers to this identification information to determine whether or not the transmitted music data is the music data required by the own device, and the music data determined as the music data required by the own device. Only receive. For example, in IEEE1394, a plurality of streams flowing on a network are identified by channel numbers attached to the streams. Therefore, when a plurality of receiving nodes RN receive one of a large number of flowing streams, each receiving node RN selects and receives necessary music data based on the channel attached to the packet. . Each transmission node (Na to Nc) and reception node RN includes “connection information” (including connection status and device information on the music system created in each connected transmission node (Na to Nc) and reception node RN). (Not shown). For example, the “connection information” is a unique value (GUID (Global Unique IDentifier)) assigned to each node, a node ID corresponding to the position of the node in the connection shape, and each music data type such as MIDI or audio. Includes data transmission status by IEEE1394.

In the embodiment described above, the setting display node HN, the transmission nodes (Na to Nc), and the reception node RN are distinguished for convenience of explanation. However, in reality, one control device or music-related device is used. It may correspond to a plurality of functions as the respective nodes. For example, a device including both functions as a setting display node and a transmission node, a device including both functions as a transmission node and a reception node, or a device including all functions as a setting display node, a transmission node, and a reception node. It may be.
Note that there are not only one setting display node, transmission node, and reception node in the network system, but a plurality of setting display nodes, transmission nodes, and reception nodes may exist.

  Next, the overall configuration of any one of the setting display node HN, the transmission node (Na to Nc), and the reception node RN will be briefly described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration showing an embodiment of the overall configuration of any one of the above devices. However, since each of the above devices can be described as using a similar hardware configuration, only one diagram of the setting display node HN will be described as a representative.

  The hardware configuration example of the setting display node HN (connection state display device) shown here is configured using a personal computer, in which the connection state and data transmission related to the virtual connection connecting the nodes on the display 5A. The “display control process” for displaying the status is implemented by a computer executing a predetermined control program (see FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 described later) that realizes the process. Of course, these processes are not limited to the form of computer software, but can also be implemented in the form of a microprogram processed by a DSP (digital signal processor), and are not limited to this form of program, but are also discrete. You may implement in the form of a dedicated hardware apparatus comprised including a circuit or an integrated circuit, a large-scale integrated circuit, etc. The connection state display device according to the present invention is not limited to a personal computer, but may be any product application form such as a mixer, a synthesizer, a sound generator, a recorder, or the like.

  The setting display node HN shown in this embodiment is controlled by a microcomputer including a microprocessor unit (CPU) 1, a read only memory (ROM) 2, and a random access memory (RAM) 3. The CPU 1 controls the operation of the entire setting display node. A ROM 2, a RAM 3, a detection circuit 4, a display circuit 5, an external storage device 6, and an IEEE1394 interface (I / F) 7 are connected to the CPU 1 via a data and address bus 1D. Further, the CPU 1 is connected to a timer 1A for measuring the interrupt time and various times in the timer interrupt process (interrupt process). For example, the timer 1A generates a clock pulse, and gives the generated clock pulse to the CPU 1 as a processing timing command or to the CPU 1 as an interrupt command. The CPU 1 executes various processes according to these instructions.

  The ROM 2 stores various programs executed by the CPU 1 and various data. The RAM 3 is used as a working memory that temporarily stores various data generated when the CPU 1 executes a predetermined program, or as a memory that stores a currently executed program and related data. A predetermined address area of the RAM 3 is assigned to each function and used as a register, flag, table, memory, or the like. The operation element 4A is used for various operations such as a numeric keypad for inputting numeric data and a keyboard for inputting character data used for various settings such as setting or changing a virtual connection, or a mouse for operating a predetermined pointing device displayed on the display 5A. It is a child. Of course, in addition to these, various operators such as a switch for instructing setting or changing of a connection state regarding the virtual connection may be included. The detection circuit 4 detects the operation state of each operation element 4A, and outputs information corresponding to the operation state to the CPU 1 via the data and address bus 1D.

  The display circuit 5 displays various screens such as a “music system setting display screen” and a “band display screen” as shown in FIG. 4 on a display 5A composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD) or a CRT. Alternatively, the control state of the CPU 1 is displayed. The user can easily instruct to set or change the virtual connection while referring to the “music system setting display screen” displayed on the display 5A. By using the connection state related to the virtual connection displayed on the display 5A, the virtual connection can be directly set and changed from the display 5A by using, for example, a GUI (graphic user interface), and the operability is improved. In addition, the user may be able to set and change the virtual connection intuitively. The external storage device 6 stores various data such as a setting display table (see FIG. 3) described later, various control programs executed by the CPU 1, and the like. If no control program is stored in the ROM 2, the control program is stored in the ROM 2 by storing the control program in the external storage device 6 (for example, a hard disk) and reading it into the RAM 3. The CPU 1 can be operated in the same manner as in the case. In this way, control programs can be easily added and upgraded. The external storage device 6 is not limited to a hard disk (HD), but a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD-ROM / CD-RAM), a magneto-optical disk (MO), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc. Any storage device may be used as long as the storage device uses various external storage media.

  The IEEE 1394 interface (I / F) 7 is a high-speed communication interface composed of hardware and software that performs data communication in accordance with the IEEE 1394 standard. Other interfaces physically connected via the IEEE 1394 interface 7 It is possible to actually perform music data transmission / reception with the node. Each node (transmission node (Na to Nc), reception node RN) chain-connected (or multipoint connection) via the IEEE1394 interface 7 constitutes the network X, and each of the nodes constituting the network X as already described. A virtual connection can be set between nodes so that music data can be transmitted and received between any specific nodes (see FIG. 1).

  In addition to the above, the transmission node (Na to Nc) and the reception node RN include various interfaces 8 and a nonvolatile memory 9 indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. The various interfaces 8 are interfaces for directly connecting to other nodes such as a MIDI interface and an audio interface other than the IEEE1394 interface. That is, the MIDI interface (or audio interface) inputs MIDI data (or audio data) from another external device AD connected externally to the node, or receives other MIDI data (or audio data) from the node. This is an interface for outputting to an external device AD. The external device AD can generate a musical sound based on a device that generates MIDI data or audio data (when externally connected to a transmission node (Na to Nc)) or MIDI data or audio data in response to a user operation. As long as it is a device having a sound source (when externally connected to the receiving node), any device may be used. The various interfaces 8 are not limited to using dedicated interfaces, but may be configured using general-purpose interfaces other than IEEE1394 interfaces, such as serial interfaces such as RS-232C, USB (Universal Serial Bus), etc. Good. The non-volatile memory 9 stores “connection information” (not shown) representing connection states, device information, and the like on the music system created in each of the transmission nodes (Na to Nc) and the reception node RN. The contents of this “connection information” include node increase / decrease and node connection setting (virtual connection) such as adding a new node on the network X or changing the number of transmission sequences in each transmission node (Na to Nc). ) Is automatically updated in accordance with the reservation of resources that is performed when a change is made.

  Here, it is memorize | stored in the above-mentioned setting display node HN, and the connection state regarding a virtual connection and the data transmission state of each transmission node (for example, refer to the "music system setting display screen" shown in FIG. 4) are displayed on the display 5A. A setting display table to be referred to when doing this will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the data structure of the setting display table.

  As can be understood from FIG. 3, the setting display table includes a node ID, a GUID (Global Unique IDentifier), a device name, a transmission channel number, the number of transmission sequences, a sampling rate, a data transmission state, a reception setting, and the like. . The node ID is a number that is automatically assigned for each node at the time of network configuration by IEEE1394 interface connection. For example, an appropriate number is assigned according to the position of the node in the connection shape. The GUID is a unique number fixedly assigned in advance for each node. The device name is a nickname such as “transmission node A” or “transmission node B” that can be appropriately added to each actual node constituting the network, for example, “music system setting display screen”. It is used to display each node in an easy-to-understand manner (see FIG. 4). The transmission channel designates a channel number to be used for transmitting music data. Here, the transmission node A and the transmission node C transmit music data using “number 1 transmission channel”, and the transmission node B transmits “number 2 transmission channel”. The number of transmission sequences indicates the number of sequences sent in one transmission channel to be used for transmission, and corresponds to the number of logical input / output terminals displayed on the “music system setting display screen” (see FIG. 4). To do. These transmission channels and the number of transmission sequences are data relating only to the transmission nodes (Na to Nc), and can be set as appropriate by the user. The sampling rate is a sampling frequency used for reproducing audio data. In this example, all nodes are set to “48000 (48 kHz)”. The data transmission state indicates the data transmission state in each transmission node (Na to Nc), and is acquired from the corresponding transmission node (Na to Nc) as necessary (see FIGS. 5 and 6 to be described later in detail). ). Data transmission states acquired from the transmission nodes (Na to Nc) include “sending”, “band over”, “channel contention”, and the like. The reception setting indicates a connection state regarding the virtual connection with each transmission node (Na to Nc) in the reception node RN, and this reception setting is automatically updated as appropriate according to the setting / change of the virtual connection by the user.

  Next, the “music system setting display screen” and the “band display screen” displayed on the display 5A will be briefly described. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of each display screen. The “music system setting display screen” is a screen for displaying the configuration of one logical music system on the display 5 based on the above-described setting display table. Here, the numbers 1 to 4 circled in each node in the figure indicate virtual logic input / output terminals called “mLAN plugs” or the like. On the other hand, the “band display screen” shown in FIG. 4B is a conventionally known screen for displaying the IEEE1394 bus use band of the currently used (or unused) portion.

  The “music system display setting screen” is a window WD display of a node block, a virtual connection state, and a data transmission state. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, based on the setting display table shown in FIG. 3, each node constituting the music system and the connection state between the logical input / output terminals in each node are displayed in node blocks ( (Na to Nc, RN, HN) and connection line display (VCa1, VCb1, VCc2). That is, the connection state when three transmission nodes (Na to Nc) are virtually connected to the reception node RN is shown. For the transmission node A (Na), the first logical output terminal Sa is the connection line. The first of the logical input terminals RR of the receiving node RN via VCa1, and the first of the logical output terminals Sb of the transmitting node B (Nb) is the second of the logical input terminals RR of the receiving node RN via the connection line VCb1. For the transmitting node C (Nc), the second logical output terminal Sc is connected to the fourth logical input terminal RR of the receiving node RN via the connection line VCc2. The number of logical input / output terminals of each node is displayed corresponding to the number of transmission sequences, and the number of transmission sequences can be changed by changing the logical input / output terminals from the screen. The setting display node HN is displayed as an independent node because it is not virtually connected to any other nodes (transmission nodes Na to Nc, reception node RN).

  When the increase / decrease of the node or the connection setting in each node is edited, the display of the screen is updated. At this time, if, for example, the transmission node B (Nb) exceeds the IEEE 1394 bus bandwidth, and the transmission node B (Nb) cannot newly secure resources, the transmission node B (Nb) stops transmission. The transmission suspension status is clearly displayed as a node that is currently performing. Here, the over-use of the IEEE1394 bus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4B, the “band display screen” is a screen that displays the currently used (or unused) IEEE 1394 bus band in a display form such as a pie chart G. The user can easily understand how much IEEE 1394 bus bandwidth is currently used (or unused) by looking at the screen. However, from this screen, when each node newly applies for the IEEE 1394 bus usage band, the number of nodes for which the IEEE 1394 bus usage band is higher than the unused IEEE 1394 bus usage band and the IEEE 1394 bus usage band is over. The user cannot grasp which one. Therefore, in the past, the user could not easily know which node has exceeded the IEEE1394 bus usage band and resources cannot be newly secured and transmission has been canceled. .

  Therefore, in the connection state display device (setting display node HN) according to the present invention, the transmission suspension state is displayed on the “music system display setting screen”. That is, returning to FIG. 4A, the transmission node B (Nb) that could not secure a new resource because it exceeds the IEEE1394 bus usage band is superimposed on the corresponding node block. In addition to displaying “band over” and the reason for canceling transmission, the line VCb1 connecting the transmitting node B (Nb) and the receiving node RN is displayed as a dotted line to indicate the transmission canceling state. In addition, in the case where the increase / decrease of the node or the connection setting in each node is edited, for example, a channel contention occurs in the use channel for data transmission applied for use by the transmission node C (Nc), and a new resource is secured. Assuming that the transmission node has failed to transmit, the transmission node C (Nc) is also displayed as a node that has stopped transmission in the same manner as the transmission node B (Nb). However, in this case, unlike the transmission node B (Nb), the reason for canceling transmission is “channel contention”, so that the fact is displayed superimposed on the node block. Then, the line VCc2 connecting the transmission node C (Nc) and the reception node RN is displayed as a dotted line to indicate a transmission suspension state. This makes it easy for the user to immediately grasp from the display on the display 5A the device that has not been able to secure resources and has stopped transmitting music data.

The “music system setting display screen” displayed on the display 5A includes a screen displaying a music system only in a virtual connection state for transmitting and receiving audio data, and a music system only in a virtual connection state for transmitting and receiving MIDI data. There are screens to be displayed, and only one of the screens can be selectively displayed. In that case, for example, without displaying the setting display node, on the screen showing the connection status related to audio data, the connection status related to MIDI data is displayed only for nodes that have a logical terminal (AUDIO-IN / OUT) for audio data. In this screen, the music system configuration for only nodes having logic terminals (MIDI-IN / OUT) for MIDI data may be displayed. Further, a screen showing the connection state regarding the word clock may be displayed.
In addition to displaying the transmission suspension state for each transmission node, the transmission suspension state may be displayed for each virtual connection in each transmission node. In addition, the method of displaying the transmission stop status is not limited to displaying characters such as “band over” and “channel contention” as shown in the figure, but can be displayed in an appropriate display mode such as changing the display color of the node block. It may be.

  In the above-described music system, the number of nodes constituting the music system can be increased or decreased by connecting a new music-related device to the network or by removing a music-related device that has already been connected from the network. It is possible to change the transmission setting (virtual connection) in each node such as changing the number of transmission sequences included in isochronous transfer. The setting display node shown in FIG. 1 automatically updates the above-described “music system setting display screen” and always displays the latest connection state when the node is increased or decreased or the transmission setting is changed. At this time, the transmission of the music data is stopped because the resources necessary for network transmission cannot be newly secured due to reasons such as exceeding the IEEE1394 bus usage band or causing channel contention. For nodes, the transmission suspension status is explicitly displayed on the screen. Therefore, such display control will be described separately for processing executed at the setting display node and processing executed at the transmission node.

  First, the “display control process” executed in the setting display node will be described separately when the node is increased or decreased and when the transmission setting is changed. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of “display control processing when nodes are increased or decreased” executed in the setting display node. This process is a process that is executed in response to an increase or decrease in nodes, such as connecting a new music-related device to the network or removing a connected music-related device from the network. As a trigger for notifying the setting display node that the transmission node has been added and deleted (node increase / decrease), bus reset according to the IEEE1394 standard is used. Note that the addition and deletion of the transmission node include activation of the setting display node, insertion / extraction of the transmission node, and power-on.

  In the “display control process at the time of node increase / decrease”, first, SelfID packets conforming to the IEEE1394 standard are collected from the network, and thereby the total number of nodes connected to the network is known (step S1). In step S2, the process is stopped for a predetermined time, and the process waits for the predetermined time to elapse. The predetermined time here is a sufficient time that is at least longer than the time taken to restore transmission after the transmission node has stopped transmitting in response to a bus reset. In step S3, each node is inquired about the GUID, and the setting display table is updated. In step S4, transmission states are acquired from all transmission nodes by asynchronous transmission of IEEE1394. The transmission status to be acquired includes the status of actual transmission (during transmission), the status of being set to transmit but the status of not actually transmitting due to failure to secure resources (band over or channel contention) It is. In step S5, the setting display table is updated based on the acquired state of the transmission node. In step S6, the display is updated for all transmission nodes.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of “display control processing when transmission setting is changed” executed in the setting display node. This process is a process that is executed in response to a transmission setting (virtual connection) changing operation that appropriately changes the number of transmission sequences, the used bandwidth, the used channel, and the like of a desired transmission node.

  In the “display control process when changing transmission setting” shown in FIG. 6, the transmission setting of the transmission node designated as the transmission setting (virtual connection) change target is changed, and retransmission is instructed (step S11). In step S12, the state of the designated transmission node is acquired by IEEE1394 asynchronous transfer. Step S13 updates the display of the designated transmission node. In step S14, it is determined whether or not to reduce the used bandwidth. As a method for the setting display node to know that the bandwidth has been changed in connection with this bandwidth reduction determination, the transmission node can change the transmission bandwidth by itself and notify the setting display node accordingly. The transmission node changes the transmission bandwidth by the setting operation of the setting display node and notifies the setting display node of the completion of the transmission, and the transmission node transmits the transmission bandwidth by the setting operation from a node that is neither the transmission node nor the setting display node. There is a method of changing the width and notifying the setting display node to that effect. Alternatively, there is a method of generating a bus reset after the change. When the used bandwidth is reduced (YES in step S14), a recovery process (see “Transmission node transmission setting process” described later) is executed for all transmission nodes that are in the “band over” state. An instruction is given (step S15). Then, the data transmission state is acquired from all the transmission nodes that are in the “band over” state (step S16), and the display of all the nodes that are in the “band over” state is changed based on the acquired data transmission state. (Step S17).

  Next, the “transmission setting process” executed in the transmission node will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of “transmission setting processing” executed in the transmission node. However, the transmission node that executes this process is divided into the following three types. First, at the time of bus reset, all the transmission nodes that make up the music system, secondly, only the transmission nodes whose transmission settings have been changed, and thirdly, after the transmission was canceled, the bandwidth used was reduced and transmission recovery was instructed It can be divided into either a transmission node only.

  In step S21, if transmission is in progress, the transmission is stopped, and resources reserved for transmission are released. Such securing / release of resources is performed in accordance with the IEEE1394 standard, and as is known in the art, an isochronous resource manager node (not shown) that manages resources on the network in response to a request from a transmission node. Judgment. A step S22 changes the transmission setting according to the instruction of the setting display node. However, this processing is executed only when the second transmission setting is changed. In step S23, the used channel is reacquired. In step S24, it is determined whether the reacquisition of the used channel is successful. If re-acquisition of the used channel fails (NO in step S24), the data transmission state of the connection information is set to “channel contention” (step S25), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the reacquisition of the used channel is successful (YES in step S24), the used band is reacquired (step S26). A step S27 decides whether or not the reacquisition of the used band has succeeded. If reacquisition of the used band is successful (YES in step S27), transmission is started (step S28), and the data transmission state of the connection information is set to “transmitting” (step S29). On the other hand, if reacquisition of the used band fails (NO in step S27), the acquired channel is released (step S30), and the data transmission state of the connection information is set to “band over” (step S31).

  As described above, when updating the display of the “music system setting display screen” as the number of nodes is increased or decreased and the connection settings at each node are edited, transmission of music data is not possible because resources cannot be secured. For transmission nodes that have canceled the transmission, the transmission suspension reason (band over or channel contention) is displayed, and the connection suspension state is clearly displayed by displaying the connection line with a dotted line. This makes it easy for the user to immediately grasp from the display on the display, together with the reason for canceling the transmission, the device that has not been able to secure resources and has stopped transmitting music data.

Note that the three data transmission states (“transmitting”, “band over”, “channel contention”) in the transmission node are not necessarily one parameter (data connection state according to IEEE1394) in the connection information stored in each transmission node. ) May not be represented. As long as the transmission node (Na to Nc) has a large number of parameters and the setting display node HN can read and interpret them, the setting display node HN can identify the above three data transmission states. May be.
In the above-described embodiment, the system for transmitting and receiving audio and MIDI (or word clock) stream data is exemplified as the network system. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a network system for transmitting and receiving moving image data and the like may be used. .
Note that the transmission node may be set to transmit the transmission status to the transmission node itself, or the setting display node may be set via the network. There may be no nodes.
In addition, although the example of changing the number of transmission sequences included in one isochronous transfer in IEEE1394 as an opportunity for changing the bandwidth of transmission data has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of isochronous transfers transmitted by one transmission node Changing the bandwidth also corresponds to the opportunity for changing the bandwidth. For example, when changing from a state in which audio was transmitted in stereo to a monaural transmission, the sequence included in the isochronous transfer in which two audio data sequences are included is changed. The number of isochronous transfers may be reduced from one in a state where two isochronous transfers including one audio data sequence are transmitted. Further, when digital audio data is transmitted, changing the sampling rate includes changing the amount of data to be transmitted.

1 is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a network system to which a connection state display device according to the present invention is applied. It is a hardware configuration block diagram showing an example of the whole configuration of any one of a setting display node, a transmission node, and a reception node. It is a conceptual diagram which shows one Example of the data structure of a setting display table. FIGS. 4A and 4B are conceptual diagrams illustrating an example of a screen displayed on a display. FIG. 4A is a music system setting display screen, and FIG. 4B is a band display screen. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of the display control process at the time of node increase / decrease. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of the display control process at the time of transmission setting change. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of a transmission setting process.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... CPU, 2 ... ROM, 3 ... RAM, 4 ... detection circuit, 4A ... operator, 5 ... display circuit, 5A ... display, 6 ... external storage device, 7 ... IEEE1394 interface, 8 ... various interfaces, 9 ... nonvolatile Memory, 1D ... communication bus (data and address bus), X ... network, AD ... external device, HN ... setting display node, Na (Nb, Nc) ... sending node, RN ... receiving node, WD ... window

Claims (6)

In a logical music system composed of one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes, a connection state display device for displaying a virtual connection state between the nodes,
Connection means for network connection with at least either the transmitting node or the receiving node;
Display means;
Acquisition means for acquiring the data transmission state of each transmission node with respect to the reception node from all or some of the transmission nodes constituting one logical music system via the network connection;
A connection state display device comprising: control means for controlling the display means to display the data transmission state for the receiving node according to the acquired data transmission state of each transmission node when displaying the virtual connection state.   The acquisition means performs a data transmission state of the transmission node in which the resource securing procedure has been performed in accordance with a predetermined resource securing procedure for securing resources necessary for data transmission from the sending node to the receiving node via the network connection The connection state display device according to claim 1, wherein:   The resource securing procedure is performed either when a transmission node is added to or deleted from the network connection, or when a use bandwidth or a use channel used when data is transmitted through the network connection is changed. The connection state display device according to claim 2.   4. The data transmission state of the transmission node to be acquired is at least one of data transmission during resource reservation success or data transmission stop due to resource reservation failure. 5. Connection status display device. For each virtual connection between nodes in a logical music system that manages resources required for data transmission via a network connection and is composed of one to a plurality of transmission nodes and one to a plurality of reception nodes. A network system having management means for securing resources,
A transmission node that starts or stops data transmission to the virtually connected reception node according to the success or failure of the resource securing by the management unit;
A receiving node for receiving data transmitted from the transmitting node;
The data transmission state for the virtual connection destination receiving node is acquired from the transmission node where the resource is secured by the management means, and the virtual connection state between the nodes constituting the one logical music system is displayed. And a setting display node for displaying a data transmission state for the receiving node according to the acquired data transmission state. On the computer,
A data transmission state of each transmitting node to all the receiving nodes via a network connection from all or some of the transmitting nodes in one logical music system configured by one or more transmitting nodes and one or more receiving nodes With the steps to get
A program for executing a procedure for controlling a predetermined display means to display a data transmission state for a receiving node according to the acquired data transmission state of each transmitting node when displaying the virtual connection state between the nodes. .

Images