JP2013126198A - Relay device, and program for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relay device capable of precisely executing operation designated by control commands transmitted from a plurality of receivers when receiving the control commands.SOLUTION: A relay device comprises: a plurality of output parts; and a control part having a plurality of control ports, where each output part is connected to each control port of the control part. The relay device can set which output part of the plurality of control parts is prioritized. When having received a control command from a receiver, the relay device identifies a port of a control part which has received the control command. When the identified port is connected to the output part set to be prioritized, the relay device executes the control command. Thereby, the relay device is enabled to: receive control commands from a plurality of receivers; and execute a control command transmitted from a receiver connected to an output part set to be prioritized when receiving the control commands.

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay device connectable to a sink device and a source device.

  In recent years, a transmitting device (hereinafter referred to as a source device) such as a DVD player or a Blu-ray (registered trademark; hereinafter referred to as Blu-ray) player, and a receiving device (hereinafter referred to as a sink device) such as a TV, A form of connection using a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable via a relay device (hereinafter referred to as a repeater) such as an AV amplifier has become widespread. By using the HDMI cable, video and audio signals from the source device can be transmitted and received in digital format with high image quality and high sound quality.

  Further, the HDMI standard defines CEC (Cosmer Electronics Control) which is a protocol for transmitting control signals in both directions. By using CEC, for example, it is possible to operate a repeater or a source device in conjunction with each other simply by transmitting a remote control signal to a sink device (for example, a TV) by a user operation.

  Some repeaters have a plurality of HDMI output terminals. When a plurality of sink devices are connected to a repeater having a plurality of HDMI output terminals, video signals from source devices connected to the repeater can be transmitted to the plurality of sink devices at the same time. For example, when two sink devices are installed in different rooms, the user can view content transmitted from the source device in the sink devices installed in a plurality of rooms. Each of the plurality of sink devices transmits a CEC command to the repeater, and can set or control the repeater or the source device.

  According to the HDMI standard, a physical address and a logical address are assigned to each device such as a sink device, a repeater, and a source device. The physical address is unique numerical information used to identify the position of each device in the tree structure of the AV system constituted by the source device, repeater, and sink device. A logical address is an ID that represents a category of a device. The logical address is mainly used for designating the source and destination of the command, and the physical address is mainly used for designating the input switching destination. Details of the physical address and logical address assignment will be described later.

When the sink device is a TV, the physical address of the TV is “0.0.0.0” and the logical address of the TV is 0. Accordingly, when the repeater receives CEC commands from a plurality of sink devices, the repeater cannot identify the sink device that has transmitted the CEC command from the physical address and the logical address. If the sink device that has transmitted the CEC command cannot be identified, the repeater cannot normally execute the CEC command, causing malfunction. In order to avoid malfunction, the repeater needs to have a hardware configuration in which a control line for receiving a CEC command (hereinafter referred to as a CEC control line) is connected to only one HDMI output terminal. Therefore, the repeater can connect a plurality of sink devices, but the number of sink devices that can operate in conjunction with the CEC command is limited to one.

  FIG. 17 is a connection diagram of a sink device, a repeater, and a source device having a conventional configuration. Sink devices 300A and 300B are connected to the repeater 200 via an HDMI cable. The sink devices 300A and 300B have acquired the physical address 0.0.0.0 and the logical address 0, respectively. The sink devices 300A and 300B have a plurality of HDMI input terminals, and the repeater 200 is connected to the HDMI IN1 of the sink device 300A and the HDMI IN2 of the sink device 300B. The repeater 200 includes two HDMI output terminals. The sink device 300A is connected to the HDMI OUT Main, and the sink device 300B is connected to the HDMI OUT Sub. The source device 100 is connected to the repeater 200 via an HDMI cable. The CEC command is transmitted as a CEC signal via the HDMI cable.

  The CEC command received from the sink devices 300A, 300B or the source device 100 is input to the port A that is the CEC input / output port of the control unit 21 of the repeater 200. A CEC command output from the repeater 200 to the sink devices 300A and 300B or the source device 100 is output from the port A. When the port A and the HDMI OUT Main are connected, the sink device 300A, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 can be linked by transmitting and receiving the CEC command. However, since the HDMI OUT Sub to which the sink device 300B is connected is not connected to the port A of the control unit 21, the sink device 300B cannot operate in conjunction with the repeater 200 and the source device 100 by the CEC command. That is, the repeater 200 can communicate with only one sink device 300 (sink device 300A) among the plurality of sink devices 300 using the CEC command. Further, as described above, when the CEC signal line indicated by the broken line in FIG. 17 is also laid, the repeater 200 can receive the CEC signal from the sink devices 300A and 300B through the port A, but transmits the CEC signal. Since the sink device 300 cannot be specified, the CEC command cannot be executed normally.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-244980 describes that message transmission by a bi-directional connection is easily continued when a communication device holds a physical address and a logical address and continues to use them.

However, according to the above technique, when a plurality of sink devices are connected to the repeater, the repeater cannot operate normally in conjunction with the CEC command transmitted from both sink devices.

JP 2008-244980 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and its object is to specify an operation specified by a control command when receiving a control command transmitted from a plurality of receiving devices connected to the relay device. It is to provide a relay device that can accurately execute.

A relay device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a relay device connectable to a transmission device that transmits a video signal and a plurality of reception devices that receive the video signal, and the video signal is transmitted to the plurality of reception devices. A plurality of output units, a control unit having a plurality of control ports, a connection unit that associates and connects the output unit and the control port, and the output unit and the control that are connected by the connection unit Management means for managing ports in association with each other, control command receiving means for receiving a control command that is a command for controlling the relay apparatus or the transmission apparatus from the reception apparatus, and the relay apparatus to the reception apparatus When outputting the video signal, output setting means for setting which of the plurality of output units is to be prioritized; and the control unit that has received the control command. Control port specifying means for specifying a port; and determining means for determining whether or not the specified control port is connected to the output unit set to have priority when receiving the control command; An execution unit that identifies the output unit associated with the identified control port by the management unit and executes the control command when it is determined that the output unit is set to have priority; Is provided.

  The relay device includes a plurality of output units and a control unit having a plurality of control ports, and each output unit is connected to each control port of the control unit. The relay device can set which output unit has priority among a plurality of control units. When the relay device receives the control command from the receiving device, the relay device identifies the port of the control unit that has received the control command. When the identified port is connected to the output unit set to have priority, the relay device executes the control command. As a result, the relay device can receive control commands from a plurality of receiving devices, and when receiving the control command, the relay device transmits a control command transmitted from the receiving device connected to the output unit set to have priority. Can be executed.

In a preferred embodiment, the input unit that inputs the video signal from the transmission device and the input unit are connected to the control port that is connected to the output unit that is set to have priority, so that the priority is given. A connection switching unit that disconnects from the control port that is not set, a relay device physical address acquisition unit that acquires a physical address of the relay device from the reception device connected to each output unit, and the output setting unit The physical address setting means for setting the physical address acquired from the receiving device connected to the output unit set to be prioritized as the physical address of the relay device, and the set A transmitting device physical address setting means for setting the physical address of the transmitting device based on the physical address of the relay device; When it is determined that the control port specified by the control port specifying means is not connected to the output unit connected to the output unit set to have priority, the control port is set to the transmission device The transmission device physical address specifying means for specifying the physical address, and the transmission using the physical address set in the transmission device from the control port connected to the output unit set to have priority. Transmitting means for transmitting the control command to the apparatus.

  The relay device connects the input unit connected to the transmission device to a control port that is set to have priority, and disconnects the control port that is not set to have priority. When the priority of the output unit is changed, the relay device changes the physical address used by the relay device, and also changes the physical address set in the transmission device. When the relay device determines that the control command received from the receiving device has been received by a control port that is not set to be prioritized, the relay device is set to give priority using the physical address set in the transmitting device. The control command is transmitted from the control port to the transmitting device. As a result, the relay apparatus can execute the control command transmitted from the receiving apparatus connected to the output unit that is not set to have priority.

A relay device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises second control command receiving means for receiving a control command, which is a command for controlling the relay device or the receiving device, from the transmitting device, from the transmitting device. When the control command is received, the transmission device physical address identification unit identifies a priority physical address that is the physical address set in the transmission device, and the transmission unit is set to have priority. The control command is transmitted from the control port connected to the output unit to the receiving device using the priority physical address.

  When the relay device receives the control command from the transmission device, the relay device identifies the physical address set in the transmission device. The relay device transmits a control command to the receiving device from the control port connected to the output unit set to be prioritized using the specified physical address. As a result, the relay apparatus can transmit the control command received from the transmission apparatus to the reception apparatus set to have priority.

When the relay device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention receives the control command from the transmitting device, the transmitting device physical address specifying means is the non-priority physical that is the physical address that is not set in the transmitting device. The address is specified, and the transmission means transmits the control command to the receiving device using the non-prioritized physical address from the control port not connected to the output unit set to be prioritized.

  When receiving the control command received from the transmission device, the relay device identifies the physical address that is not set in the transmission device among the physical addresses generated to be set in the transmission device. The relay device transmits a control command to the receiving device using the specified physical address. As a result, the control command transmitted from the transmission device can be normally transmitted to a plurality of reception devices.

The relay device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a power state change detecting unit that detects a change in a power state of the receiving device; a power state acquiring unit that acquires a power state of the receiving device; A power change detection port specifying means for specifying the control port to which the receiving device whose power status has changed is detected when detecting that the power status of the device has changed, and detects a change in the power status The determination result of whether or not the control port is connected to the output unit set to have priority, and the control port connected to the control port different from the control port that has detected that the power supply state has changed Based on the power status of the receiving device, the receiving device connected to the output unit set to have priority, the relay device, and the transmitting device operate. As to the transmitting device physical address setting means sets the physical address to the transmitting device, the connection switching means switches the connection.

The relay device detects that the power state of the receiving device has changed. Further, the relay device can acquire the power state of the receiving device. When the relay device detects that the power state of the receiving device has changed, the relay device identifies a control port connected to the output unit to which the receiving device whose power state has changed is connected. The relay device is based on whether or not the specified control port is set to have priority and the power state of the receiving device connected to a control port different from the control port that has detected that the power state has changed, It is set so that the receiving device, the relay device, and the transmitting device connected to the output unit set to have priority are operated. As a result, the relay apparatus is automatically set so that the receiving apparatus connected to the output unit set to be prioritized operates together with the relay apparatus and the transmitting apparatus.

The relay device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention receives an authentication command receiving means for receiving an authentication command for receiving the voice signal from the receiving device, and the voice signal transmitted from the receiving device. Audio output unit management that associates and manages audio signal receiving means, a plurality of audio output units that output the audio signal to audio receiving apparatuses installed in a plurality of rooms, the control port, and the audio output unit A voice output unit specifying unit that specifies the voice output unit associated with the control port that has received the authentication command, and the voice signal transmitted from the receiving device. And an output means for outputting from the specified audio output unit.

The relay device can output the audio signal transmitted from the receiving device from the audio output unit. Since the relay device can specify the receiving device that has transmitted the authentication command for receiving the audio signal transmitted from the receiving device, the relay device can normally execute the authentication process with the receiving device. As a result, the relay device can output an audio signal transmitted from the receiving device.

  When a control command is received from a plurality of receiving devices, it is possible to provide a relay device that can accurately execute an operation specified by the control command.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram between a sink device and a repeater. It is a table which a repeater has. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a table which a repeater has. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a device connection diagram It is a device connection diagram It is an apparatus connection diagram. It is an apparatus connection diagram. It is an apparatus connection diagram. It is a flowchart which a repeater performs. It is a table which a repeater has. It is a conceptual diagram of the apparatus connection by conventional embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a source device, a repeater, and a sink device according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a source device 100, a repeater 200, and a sink device 300 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The source device 100 includes a control unit 11, a memory 12, a playback unit 13, an HDMI transmission unit 14, and a connector unit 15.

The control unit 11 controls the entire source device 100 by executing a program stored in the memory 12, and is, for example, a microcomputer or a CPU. The memory 12 holds the setting contents of the source device 100 and is, for example, a ROM or a RAM. The reproducing unit 13 reproduces a disc or the like inserted into the source device 100, and is, for example, a DVD / Blu-ray reproducing unit or an HDD reproducing unit. The reproduction unit 13 reproduces content such as a DVD / Blu-ray disc, and the video signal and audio signal of the reproduced content are output to the HDMI transmission unit 14.

  The HDMI transmission unit 14 is connected to the connector unit 15, and the video signal and audio signal input from the reproduction unit 13 are HDMI standard signals (hereinafter referred to as HDMI signals) based on the control of the control unit 11. Convert to Further, the HDMI transmission unit 14 transmits an HDMI signal based on the control of the control unit 11.

  The connector unit 15 of the source device 100 is connected to the connector unit 23 of the repeater 200 with an HDMI cable. The HDMI cable is a TMDS line that communicates HDMI signals, a hot plug line that detects hot plugs, a DDC (Display Data Channel) line that communicates data such as EDID, and a CEC line that communicates signals for device cooperation. It consists of.

The repeater 200 includes a control unit 21, a memory 22, a connector unit 23, an HDMI receiving unit 24, a switch 25, an audio processing unit 26A, an amplification unit 27A, an audio processing unit 26B, an amplification unit 27B, an HDMI transmission unit 28, and a connector unit 29A. 29B. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, the audio processing units 26A and 26B are simply referred to as the audio processing unit 26, the amplification units 27A and 27B are simply referred to as the amplification unit 27, and the connector units 29A and 29B are simply referred to as the connector unit 29. . A speaker 30A is connected to the amplifier 27A, and a speaker 30B is connected to the amplifier 27B. The repeater 200 includes a plurality of audio processing units 26 and amplifying units 27, so that audio can be output simultaneously to the speakers 30A and 30B. It is possible to install the speaker 30A in the main room and the speaker 30B in the zone 2 room. In addition, hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, the speaker 30A and the speaker 30B are simply referred to as the speaker 30. The memory 22 has a table 201 described later. The audio processing unit 26 is a DIR, DSP, or the like. The DIR of the audio processing unit 26 converts an audio signal received by the HDMI receiving unit 24 or an ARC (Audio Return Channel) signal transmitted from the sink device 300 described later into a format that can be processed by the DSP. The DSP performs processing such as sound field correction on the audio signal. The audio signal processed by the audio processing unit 26 is output from the speaker 30 via the amplifying unit 27 constituted by a DAC and an amplifier.

The control unit 21 controls the entire repeater 200 by executing a program stored in the memory 22 and is, for example, a microcomputer or a CPU. The memory 22 holds setting contents of the repeater 200, and is a ROM or a RAM, for example. The control unit 21 includes a plurality of control ports (hereinafter referred to as ports). The port A is connected to the connector unit 29A and S1 of the switch 25, and the CEC command received from the sink device 300A and the CEC command received from the source device 100 are input. Further, the CEC command is output from the port A to the sink device 300A and the source device 100. The port B is connected to the connector unit 29B and S2 of the switch 25, and receives the CEC command received from the sink device 300B and the CEC command received from the source device 100. Further, the CEC command is output from the port B to the sink device 300B and the source device 100. The port S is connected to the switch 25 and is switched to a state where S0 and S1 are connected or a state where S0 and S2 are connected according to an instruction from the control unit 21.

Based on the control of the control unit 21, the HDMI receiving unit 24 generates original video data from the received HDMI signal and transmits the original video data to the HDMI transmitting unit 28. Further, the HDMI receiving unit 28 generates an original audio signal from the HDMI signal based on the control of the control unit 21 and supplies the original audio signal to the audio processing unit 26. The HDMI transmitting unit 28 is connected to the connector unit 29, converts the decoded video signal input from the HDMI receiving unit 24 into an HDMI signal based on the control of the control unit 21, and outputs the HDMI signal to the sink device 300. Send.

The sink device 300A includes a control unit 41A, a memory 42A, an HDMI receiving unit 43A, and a display unit 44A. The sink device 300B has the same configuration as the sink device 300A. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the control unit 41A, 41B, the memory 42A, 42B, the HDMI receiving unit 43A, 43B, and the display unit 44A, 44B, the control unit 41, the memory 42, the HDMI receiving unit 43, The display portion 44 is referred to as the connector portion 45A and the connector portion 45B are simply referred to as the connector portion 45. FIG. 1 shows a state where the sink device 300A is installed in the main room and the sink device 300B is installed in the zone 2 room.

The control unit 41 controls the entire sink device 300 by executing a program stored in the memory 42, and is, for example, a microcomputer or a CPU. The memory 42 holds setting contents of the sink device 300 and is, for example, a ROM or a RAM. The HDMI receiving unit 43 is connected to the connector unit 45 and receives an HDMI signal transmitted from the repeater 200 based on the control of the control unit 41. Further, the HDMI receiving unit 43 generates original video data from the received HDMI signal based on the control of the control unit 41 and outputs the original video data to the display unit 44. The display unit 44 is a display, such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display.

  The connector part 45A and the connector part 29A, and the connector part 45B and the connector part 29B are in addition to the above-described DDC line, CEC line, TMDS line, and hot plug line, as well as HEAC (HDMI Ethernet (registered trademark), hereinafter referred to as Ethernet) and Audio return. Channel) line. The HEAC line can transmit an Ethernet (registered trademark, hereinafter referred to as Ethernet) signal via an HDMI cable. Further, the HEAC line can transmit an audio signal such as an SPDIF (Sony Philips Digital Interface) format from the sink device 300 to the repeater 200. Thereby, the sink device 300 that is a TV can transmit the audio signal of the broadcast data received by the TV tuner or the like to the repeater 200 via the HDMI cable. The repeater 200 can output an audio signal received via the HEAC line from the speaker 30.

When the CEC command is received from the sink device 300, the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 having the above configuration specifies whether the CEC command is input to the port A or the port B. Further, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the identified port is a port connected to the HDMI OUT terminal that is set to output with priority in the repeater 200. When the control unit 21 determines that the port is set to output with priority, the control unit 21 executes the CEC command. If the control unit 21 needs to execute the CEC command, the control unit 21 sends the CEC command to the source device 100. Send. When a response needs to be transmitted to the sink device 300, the control unit 21 transmits a CEC response command from the identified port.

  The operation of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 2 shows a sequence chart in which the sink device 300 and the repeater 200 set a physical address and a logical address.

A physical address is an identification number that uses a 16-bit numerical value divided into 4 bits by 4 bits. Four decimal numbers from 0 to 15 are arranged like (0.0.0.0). Expressed. By assigning the physical address to each device, the position of each device connected by the HDMI cable in the tree structure is identified. When the sink device 300 is a TV, a physical address (0.0.0.0) is assigned. The repeater 200 connected to the HDMI IN1 of the sink device 300 has a physical address (1.0.0.0), and the repeater 200 connected to the HDMI IN2 has a physical address (2.0.0.0). Is assigned. A logical address is an ID that represents a category of a device. The logical address is mainly used for designating the source and destination of the command, and the physical address is mainly used for designating the input switching destination. As the logical address, a usable numerical value is determined for each category of the device. For example, when the sink device 300 is a TV, 0 can be used. The logical address that can be used by the repeater 200 is 5, and in the case of a player such as a DVD player, the logical address that can be used is either 4, 8, or 11. In the following, it is assumed that the repeater 200 is connected to the HDMI IN1 terminal of the sink device 300A and the repeater 200 is connected to the HDMI IN2 terminal of the sink device 300B. That is, the connector unit 45A of the sink device 300A in FIG. 1 corresponds to HDMI IN1 in FIG. 18, and the connector unit 45B of the sink device 300B in FIG. 1 corresponds to HDMI IN2 in FIG.

  The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 monitors the HotPlug line connected to the sink device 300, and determines whether or not the HotPlug has been changed to High (S101). HotPlug is changed to High when each device is connected with an HDMI cable or when the device is turned on. If the control unit 21 determines that HotPlug remains Low (NO in S101), the control unit 21 waits for HotPlug to become High. When the power is turned on (S102), the control unit 41 of the sink device 300 determines whether the repeater 200 is connected to HDMI IN1 among the two HDMI input terminals of the sink device 300 (S103). For example, if the sink device 300 is the sink device 300A, it is determined as HDMI IN1 (YES in S103), and if the sink device 300 is the sink device 300B, it is determined as HDMI IN2 (NO in S103). In the following description, it is assumed that the sink device 300 is the sink device 300A.

If the control unit 41 of the sink device 300 determines that it is HDMI IN1 (YES in S103), it sets the physical address to be presented to the repeater 200 to (1.0.0.0) (S104). PA in FIG. 2 is an abbreviation for Physical Address and indicates a physical address. When the sink device 300 is the sink device 300B, since the repeater 200 is connected to the HDMI IN2, the physical address presented to the repeater 200 by the control unit 41B of the sink device 300B is (2.0.0.0). (S105). The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 sets the physical address generated in S104 or S105 to the EDID presented to the repeater 200 (S106). The EDID is an ID including resolution and physical address supported by each device. Each device acquires information such as the output resolution of the counterpart device by transmitting and receiving EDID.

  The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 causes the HDMI transmission unit 14 to change HotPlug to High (S107). The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 detects that HotPlug is High (YES in S101), transmits a request for reading EDID to the sink device 300, and acquires EDID (S108). The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 determines the physical address (1.0.0.0) of the repeater 200 with reference to the physical address described in the EDID (S109). Through the processing up to S109, the repeater 200 determines a physical address corresponding to the sink device 300 connected to the HDMI OUT Main terminal of the repeater 200.

  In order to acquire the logical address No. 5, the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 broadcasts a confirmation command for confirming whether another device is using the logical address No. 5, and waits for a response from each device. (S110). The HDMI standard stipulates that the logical address of the repeater 200 should be set to 5. Note that LA in the sequence chart of FIG. 2 is an abbreviation for Logical Address and indicates a logical address.

  When the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 determines that the logical address No. 5 can be used, it determines the logical address of the repeater 200 itself as 5 (S111). FIG. 3 shows a table 201 stored in the memory 22 of the repeater 200. The table 201 associates the HDMI output terminal with the logical address and physical address set in the repeater 200, the logical address of the sink device 300, the physical address, the port of the control unit 21, and the HDMI output unit in which priority is set. The priority flag, which is information on whether or not, is managed. Through the processing up to S111, the control unit 21 stores the information of the repeater 200 related to HDMI OUT Main among the information shown in FIG. That is, it is stored that the physical address of the repeater 200 corresponding to the HDMI OUT Main terminal of the repeater 200 is 1.0.0.0 and the logical address is 5. The microcomputer port in FIG. 3 indicates a port of the control unit 21 and is managed in association with the HDMI output terminal. Since the port A is connected to the HDMI OUT Main, the microcomputer port corresponding to the HDMI OUT Main is the port A. The setting of the priority flag of the table 201 will be described later.

  The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 transmits a command for inquiring about the physical address of the device that broadcasts to acquire the logical address No. 5 in S110 (S112). On the other hand, the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 transmits its own physical address (1.0.0.0) by broadcast (S113).

  The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 stores the logical address and physical address of the repeater 200 in association with the currently set HDMI IN (S114). The sink device 300A manages the physical address and logical address of the repeater 200 connected to the input selector for each input selector. For example, since the repeater 200 is connected to HDMI IN1 of the sink device 300A, the sink device 300A stores PA = 1.0.0.0 and LA = 5 in association with HDMI IN1.

  The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 notifies the repeater 200 by broadcasting that the number 0 is used as the logical address of the sink device 300 itself, and determines (S115).

  The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 detects the presence of a device that is executing a logical address acquisition request by the process of S115 (S116). The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 transmits a request for acquiring a physical address to the device that has executed the logical address request processing (S117). The control unit 41 of the sink device 300 broadcasts the physical address (0.0.0.0) of the sink device 300 (S118). The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 stores the logical address and physical address of the sink device 300 in the table 201 in association with the HDMI output terminal being set (S119). That is, the control unit 21 stores LA = 0 and PA = 0.0.0.0 of the sink device 300 in the table 201.

  The repeater 200 monitors the fact that HotPlug is set to High from the sink device 300B connected to the HDMI OUT Sub (S101), and executes the same processing as described above. As a result, the repeater 200 stores the physical address of the repeater 200, the logical address, the logical address of the sink device, and the physical address in association with the HDMI OUT Sub terminal as shown in the table 201 of FIG. Note that the repeater 200 and the source device 100 execute the same processing as in FIG. 2 to set a logical address and a physical address. In that case, in FIG. 2, the sink device can be read as a repeater, and the repeater can be read as a source device.

  As a result of the above processing, the repeater 200 corresponds to each of HDMI OUT Main and HDMI OUT Sub, as shown in the table 201 of FIG. 3, and the physical address and logical address of the repeater 200, the physical address of the sink device 300, and the logical address. And the port of the control unit 21 are stored. The priority flag is set in a flowchart described later.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart executed by the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 when the setting of outputting video from the HDMI OUT Main and the HDMI OUT Sub is changed by the user operation in the repeater 200. In the present embodiment, the control unit 21 of the repeater 200 switches between a physical address enabled by the repeater 200 and a physical address presented to the source device 100 according to the output setting change. Furthermore, since the control unit 21 switches the switch 25 when the output setting change is executed, a communication path for the sink device 300, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 to work together can be appropriately established.

  The repeater 200 can simultaneously output video signals received from the source device 100 to the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B. Hereinafter, the setting of the video signal output at the HDMI OUT terminal of the repeater 200 is referred to as monitor-out setting. The monitor-out setting includes a Both setting, a Both (Main) setting, a Both (Sub) setting, a Main setting, and a Sub setting. When the monitor-out setting is set to the Both setting, the Both (Main) setting, or the Both (Sub) setting, the repeater 200 outputs the video signal received from the source device 100 to both the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B. . When the sink device 300A has a maximum supported resolution of 1080p, the sink device 300B has a maximum supported resolution of 1080i, and the source device 100 outputs a video signal with a resolution of 1080p to the repeater 200, the repeater 200 operates as follows. . The maximum supported resolution is the maximum resolution of the video signal that can be displayed by the sink device 300. The repeater 200 identifies resolution information that can be supported by each sink device 300 by receiving the EDID.

When the Repeat setting is set in the repeater 200 and the repeater 200 receives a video signal with a resolution of 1080p from the source device 100, the repeater 200 converts the video signal to a resolution of 1080i and converts the sync device 300A and the sink device 300B. Output to. That is, the repeater 200 changes and outputs the video signal received from the source device 100 to a resolution that can be output by both the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B.

  When the monitor 200 is set to Both (Main) in the repeater 200, and the repeater 200 receives a 1080p video signal from the source device 100, the repeater 200 transmits the video signal to the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B. Is output as 1080p. That is, the repeater 200 outputs the video signal received from the source device 100 as it is if the sink device 300 connected to the HDMI OUT Main can display it. Since the sink device 300 connected to the HDMI OUT Main has priority, the sink device 300B having the maximum supported resolution 1080i cannot display an image.

When the monitor-out setting is set to Both (Sub), the video signal output to the sink device 300B connected to the HDMI OUT Sub terminal is prioritized. In the above example, since the maximum supported resolution of the sink device 300B is 1080i, the repeater 200 changes the video signal having the resolution 1080p received from the source device 100 to the resolution 1080i and outputs it to the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B. As a result, the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B receive the video signal with resolution 1080i from the repeater 200 and display it.

  The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 receives a monitor-out setting change instruction by a user operation (S201). The control unit 21 determines whether the monitor-out setting is any of “Both”, “Both (Main)”, or “Both (Sub)” (S202), and if it is determined to be any (YES in S202), It is determined whether or not the monitor-out setting is “Both” or “Both (Main)” (S203), and when it is determined that it is “Both” or “Both (Main)” (YES in S203), the switch 25 is connected to S0 and S1. (S204). When S0 and S1 are connected, a communication path between the HDMI OUT Main (connector unit 29A), the port A of the control unit 21 connected to the HDMI OUT Main, and the connector unit 23 is established, and the sink device 300A, repeater 200, and source device 100 are linked by a CEC command.

The control unit 21 refers to the table 201 in FIG. 3 and sets (1.0.0.0), which is the physical address assigned to the HDMI OUT Main, to the physical address used by the repeater 200 itself (S205). .

  The control unit 21 presents the physical address (1.1.0.0) to the source device 100 (S206). S-PA in the flowchart of FIG. 4 indicates a physical address to be presented to the source device 100. When the monitor-out setting is changed in the repeater 200, the physical address of the source device 100 is reset to a value presented by the repeater 200. FIG. 5 is a table of the repeater 200, which manages the physical address of the repeater 200 and the physical address presented to the source device in association with the monitor-out setting. Note that the priority flags in FIG. 5 are added for the sake of explanation, and need not be managed in FIG. For example, in FIG. 5, when the monitor-out setting is Main, Both, or Both (Main), the physical address that the repeater 200 enables by the processing of S205 is (1.0.0.0), and the source device This indicates that the physical address presented to is (1.1.0.0).

  The control unit 21 sets the HDMI OUT Main priority flag of the table 201 of FIG. 3 to TRUE (S207), and sets the HDMI OUT Sub priority flag to FALSE (S208). When the control unit 21 receives the CEC command from the sink device 300, the control unit 21 determines whether the priority flag corresponding to the HDMI OUT terminal to which the sink device 300 that transmitted the CEC command is connected is set to TRUE. It is determined whether or not to send a CEC command to. Note that the priority flag in FIG. 5 is also rewritten to the same value as the priority flag in FIG.

Through the above processing, when the monitor-out setting is set so that HDMI OUT Main is prioritized, the repeater 200 enables the physical address corresponding to HDMI OUT Main in the table 201 of FIG. Set the physical address presented by.

  When it is determined that the monitor-out setting is neither “Both”, “Both (Main)”, or “Both (Sub)” (NO in S202), the control unit 21 determines whether the monitor-out setting is the “Main” setting (S209). ). In the case of Main setting, the control unit 21 transmits a video signal only to the sink device 300A connected to the HDMI OUT Main. When the control unit 21 determines that the Main setting is set (YES in S209), the control unit 21 executes the processing from S205 onward.

  When the control unit 21 determines that the monitor-out setting is neither “Both” nor “Both (Main)” (NO in S203), the control unit 21 switches the switch 25 so that S0 and S2 are connected (S211). When S0 and S2 are connected, between the HDMI OUT Sub (connector unit 29B), the port B of the control unit 21 connected to the HDMI OUT Sub, and the connector unit 23 to which the source device 100 is connected. A communication path is established, and the sink device 300B, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 are linked by the CEC command.

With reference to FIG. 3, the control unit 21 sets the physical address (2.0.0.0) assigned to the HDMI OUT Sub as a physical address used by the repeater 200 itself (S212).

  The control unit 21 presents the physical address (2.1.0.0) to the source device 100 (S213). Similar to the processing of S206, the control unit 21 sends the physical address (2.1.2.1) to the source device 100 based on the physical address (2.0.0.0) corresponding to HDMI OUT Sub in the table 201 of FIG. 0.0), and is managed in association with Both (Sub) and Sub in the table of FIG.

  The control unit 21 sets the HDMI OUT Sub priority flag of the table 201 of FIG. 3 to TRUE (S214), and sets the HDMI OUT Main priority flag to FALSE (S215).

Through the above processing, when the monitor-out setting is set so that HDMI OUT Sub is prioritized, the repeater 200 enables the physical address corresponding to the HDMI OUT Sub in the table 201 of FIG. To the physical address setting presented by.

  When determining that the monitor-out setting is not the Main setting (NO in S209), the control unit 21 determines whether or not the monitor-out setting is the Sub setting (S210), and determines that the monitor-out setting is the Sub setting (S210). YES), the processing after S211 is executed. When the monitor out setting is the Sub setting, the repeater 200 transmits the video signal only to the sink device 300B connected to the HDMI OUT Sub. Further, when the control unit 21 determines that the monitor-out setting is not the Sub setting (NO in S210), the process ends because the monitor-out setting is an error.

Through the above processing, when the monitor-out setting is changed, the connection state of the switch 25 and the setting of the physical address of the source device 100 are automatically changed. As a result, the sink device 300 set to be prioritized by the monitor-out setting can be linked with the repeater 200 and the source device 100.

[First Embodiment of CEC Linkage Processing]
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command from the sink device 300. According to the present embodiment, when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command from the sink device 300, the repeater 200 can appropriately execute the CEC command by specifying the port of the control unit 21 that has received the CEC command.

The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 determines whether or not a CEC command has been received from the sink device 300 (S301). When it is determined that it has not been received (NO in S301), it waits for transmission of the CEC command. When determining that the CEC command has been received from the sink device 300 (YES in S301), the control unit 21 specifies the port of the control unit 21 that has received the CEC command (S302).

The control unit 21 determines whether the port that received the CEC command is a TRUE port in the priority flag of the table 201 in FIG. 3 (S303), and determines that the port is a port for which FALSE is set ( Since the CEC command transmitted from the HDMI OUT terminal whose priority flag is set to FALSE does not need to be transmitted to the source device 100, the process ends. For example, when it is determined that the port B of the control unit 21 has received a CEC command and the priority flag of HDMI OUT Sub is set to FALSE, NO is determined in S303.

When it is determined that the priority flag is set to TRUE (YES in S303), the control unit 21 executes the CEC command (S304). When the control unit 21 determines that the CEC command is not required to be executed by the repeater 200, the process of S304 may not be executed.

The control unit 21 transmits a CEC command to the source device 100 (S305). The CEC command transmitted to the source device 100 is, for example, a command for starting or stopping playback of the source device 100.

The control unit 21 transmits a CEC command indicating that the CEC command has been executed to the sink device 300 (S306). The sink device 300 displays information after execution of the CEC command on the display unit 44 of the sink device 300 according to the CEC command received from the repeater 200. For example, after transmitting a CEC command for changing the volume value of the repeater 200, the sink device 300 receives the changed volume value from the repeater 200, and displays the received volume value on the display unit 44. Note that the control unit 21 does not have to execute the process of S306 when it is not necessary to respond to the execution result of the CEC command.

According to the present embodiment described above, the control unit 21 can determine the sink device 300 that has transmitted the CEC command based on the port that has received the CEC command. Therefore, the control unit 21 can normally transmit the CEC command to the source device 100 and Can successfully send a response.

[CEC interlocking processing embodiment 2]
The flowchart of FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment. According to the present embodiment, when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command from the sink device 300, even if the reception port of the control unit 21 is a port whose priority flag is set to FALSE, the source device 100 The CEC command can be appropriately transmitted to The same processes as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 determines whether or not the port that has received the CEC command is a port for which the priority flag is set to TRUE (S303), and is determined to be a port for which the priority flag is set to FALSE. When the determination is made (NO in S303), the repeater 200 is permitted to transmit the received CEC command to the source device 100 when the port whose priority flag is set to FALSE receives the CEC command from the sink device 300. It is determined whether or not it is performed (S401). The user can change the setting as to whether or not to allow the CEC command to be executed when the port whose priority flag is set to FALSE receives the CEC command from the sink device 300 by operating the repeater 200. is there.

  If it is determined that it is permitted (YES in S401), the control unit 21 refers to FIG. 5 and identifies the physical address presented to the source device 100 whose priority flag is set to TRUE (S402). ). For example, (1.1.0.0), which is a physical address whose priority flag is set to TRUE, is specified.

  The control unit 21 uses the physical address acquired by the process of S402 and outputs the CEC command from the port (port A) of the control unit 21 in which the priority flag is set to TRUE in FIG. 3 (S403). The source device 100 receives the CEC command from the repeater 200 and executes the CEC command.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the control unit 21 receives a CEC command from the sink device 300 (sink device 300B) that is not set to be linked to CEC (the priority flag is set to FALSE). However, the CEC command can be transmitted from the port of the control unit 21 connected to the source device 100 using the physical address set in the source device 100. As a result, the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B can control the source device 100 from both.

[CEC interlocking processing embodiment 3]
The flowchart of FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment. According to this embodiment, when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command from the source device 100, the repeater 200 can appropriately transmit the CEC command to the sink device 300 whose priority flag is set to FALSE. The setting of the priority flag at the start of the flowchart in FIG. 8 is assumed to be in the state of the table 201 in FIG. 3, and the switch 25 is in a state in which S0 and S1 are connected.

  The control unit 21 of the repeater 200 determines whether or not a CEC command has been received from the source device 100 (S501). If it is determined that the CEC command has not been received (NO in S501), the control unit 21 waits for reception of the CEC command. Since the switch 25 is in a state where S0 and S1 are connected, the port waiting for the reception of the CEC command is the port A. If the control unit 21 determines that the CEC command has been received (YES in S501), it is determined whether the video is set to be output to both the sink device 300A and the sink device 300B, that is, the monitor-out setting is Both. It is determined whether or not it is Both (Main) or Both (Sub) (S502).

  When the control unit 21 determines that the monitor-out setting is neither “Both”, “Both (Main)”, or “Both (Sub)” (NO in S502), the control unit 21 sinks from the port (port A) in which the priority flag is set to TRUE. A CEC command is transmitted to the device 300A (S506), and the process ends. In this case, the CEC command is not transmitted to the sink device 300B.

  When the control unit 21 determines that the monitor-out setting is any one of “Both”, “Both (Main)”, and “Both (Sub)” (YES in S502), the control unit 21 starts from the port (port A) in which the priority flag is set to TRUE. A CEC command is transmitted to the sink device 300A (S503). When transmitting the CEC command to the sink device 300A, the control unit 21 uses the physical address transmitted from the source device 100 as it is.

The control unit 21 specifies the physical address of the repeater 200 corresponding to the HDMI OUT terminal (HDMI OUT Sub) whose priority flag is set to FALSE in the table 201 of FIG. 3 (2.0.0.0). The physical address (2.1.0.0) set in the source device 100 corresponding to the physical address thus obtained is acquired from the table of FIG. 5 (S504).

  The control unit 21 transmits a CEC command to the sink device 300B using the physical address (2.1.0.0) acquired in S504 from the port (port B) in which the priority flag is set to FALSE. . Since the sink device 300B determines that the CEC command should be executed when a physical address starting with 2 in the first digit is received, by receiving the physical address (2.1.0.0) from the repeater 200, The received CEC command can be executed normally.

  According to the present embodiment described above, when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command from the source device 100, the repeater 200 can appropriately transmit the CEC command to the sink device 300 whose priority flag is set to FALSE. The device 300 can be controlled by the source device 100. For example, when the repeater 200 receives a CEC command for changing the input selector of the sink device 300 from the source device 100, the control unit 21 transmits a command for switching the input selector from the port A to the sink device 300A, and the sink device from the port B A command for switching the input selector is transmitted to 300B. As a result, the input selectors of both sink devices 300 are switched to the input selector connected to the repeater 200, and the video signal transmitted from the source device 100 can be output.

[Embodiment 4 of CEC interlocking processing]
The flowchart of FIG. 9 shows the fourth embodiment. According to the present embodiment, when the sink device 300 is turned on or off, the control unit 21 automatically switches the connection of the switch 25 and further changes the physical address to be presented to the source device 100. . 10 to 14 show connection diagrams of the source device 100, the repeater 200, and the sink device 300, and are used to explain the flowchart of FIG. It is assumed that the priority flag and the like are set in the state shown in the table 201 in FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows a connection diagram when the power supply state of the sink device 300B is either ON or OFF, and the power supply of the sink device 300A is changed from the OFF state to the ON state. The control unit 21 detects that the power state of any one of the sink devices 300 has been changed to ON or OFF (S601, (1) in FIG. 10), and determines the port of the control unit 21 that has detected ON or OFF. (S602, (2) in FIG. 10). The control unit 21 determines the power state of the sink device 300 by periodically inquiring the sink device 300 using a CEC command. The cycle in which the control unit 21 inquires the sink device 300 about the power supply state is, for example, 3 seconds.

  The control unit 21 determines whether or not the power source of the sink device 300 is turned on (S603). If it is determined that the sink device 300 is turned on (YES in S603), the priority flag of the port of the control unit 21 specified in S602 is TRUE. 3 is determined based on the table 201 in FIG. 3 (S604), and when the priority flag is determined to be TRUE (YES in S604), the control unit 21 sets the switch 25 and the priority flag is TRUE. Switch to a state where S0 and S1 are connected so that the port is connected to the source device 100 (S605, (3) in FIG. 10).

  The control unit 21 sets the physical address used by the repeater 200 to the physical address (1.0.0.0) on the HDMI OUT Main side (S205, (4) in FIG. 10), and sends the figure to the source device 100. In the table of 5, the physical address (1.1.0.0) of which the priority flag is TRUE is presented and set (S606, (5) of FIG. 10). In the embodiment of FIG. 10, when the sink device 300A is turned on, the sink device 300A, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 are connected to each other via the CEC line, and the source device 100 is connected to the sink device 300A. A physical address (1.1.0.0) for linking with 300A is set. As a result, the sink device 300A, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 can be linked by the CEC command.

  FIG. 11 shows a connection diagram when the power supply state of the sink device 300A is OFF and the power supply of the sink device 300B is changed from OFF to ON ((1) in FIG. 11). The control unit 21 determines that the priority flag of the port ((2) in FIG. 11) that detected the power ON is FALSE (NO in S604), and is different from the sink device 300 whose power state has been changed in S601. It is determined whether or not the power source of the other sink device (sink device 300A) is in an ON state (S607). When it is determined that the power source is in an OFF state (NO in S607), the switch 25 is set with a priority flag. Switching is made so that S0 and S2 are connected so that the port that is FALSE is connected to the source device 100 (S608, (3) in FIG. 11).

  The control unit 21 sets the physical address used by the repeater 200 to the physical address (2.0.0.0) on the HDMI OUT Sub side (S212, (4) in FIG. 11). In the table of 5, the physical address (2.1.0.0) whose priority flag is FALSE is presented and set (S609, (5) of FIG. 11).

According to the embodiment of FIG. 11, when the power of the sink device 300B is turned on when the power of the sink device 300A connected to the HDMI OUT terminal of the priority flag is TRUE, the sink device 300B and the repeater 200 are turned on. And the source device 100 are set to be linked by the CEC command.

  FIG. 12 shows a connection diagram when the power supply state of the sink device 300B is ON and the power supply of the sink device 300A is changed from ON to OFF. The control unit 21 detects that the power source of the sink device 300A has been changed to OFF by the process of S603 (NO in S603, (1) in FIG. 12), and the sink device 300 whose power source state has been changed by S601 Judges whether or not the other sink device (sink device 300B) is in the ON state (S610). The control unit 21 determines that the power state of the sink device 300B is ON (YES in S610), and the sink device 300 (sink device 300B) determined to be ON in S610 has a priority flag of TRUE. It is determined whether or not it is connected to a certain port (S611). Since the sink device 300B is connected to the port B, it is determined that the sink device 300B is connected to the port whose priority flag is FALSE (NO in S611).

The control unit 21 switches the switch 25 to a state in which S0 and S2 are connected so that the port whose priority flag is FALSE ((2) in FIG. 12) is connected to the source device 100 (S612, FIG. 12 (3)). The control unit 21 sets the physical address used by the repeater 200 to the physical address (2.0.0.0) on the HDMI OUT Sub side (S212, (4) in FIG. 12). In the table of 5, the physical address (2.1.0.0) whose priority flag is FALSE is presented and set (S613, (5) of FIG. 12).

According to the embodiment of FIG. 12, when the power of the sink device 300B is turned on when the power of the sink device 300A whose priority flag is connected to the HDMI OUT terminal of TRUE is changed from the ON state to the OFF state, The sink device 300B, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 are set to be linked by the CEC command.

  FIG. 13 shows a connection diagram when the power source state of the sink device 300A is ON and the power source of the sink device 300B is changed from ON to OFF. The control unit 21 detects that the power source of the sink device 300B has been changed to OFF by the processing of S603 (NO in S603, (1) in FIG. 13), and the sink device 300 whose power source state has been changed by S601 The sink device 300 (sink device 300A) that is determined to be in the ON state in S610 is determined that the power source state of the other sink device (sink device 300A) is different, and the priority flag is TRUE. It is determined whether or not it is connected to a port ((2) in FIG. 13) (S611). Since the sink device 300A is connected to the port A, it is determined that the sink device 300A is connected to the port whose priority flag is TRUE (YES in S611).

The control unit 21 switches the switch 25 to a state where S0 and S1 are connected such that a port whose priority flag is TRUE is connected to the source device 100 (S605, (3) in FIG. 13). The control unit 21 sets the physical address used by the repeater 200 to the physical address (1.0.0.0) on the HDMI OUT Main side (S205, (4) in FIG. 13), and sends the figure to the source device 100. In the table of 5, the physical address (1.1.0.0) of which the priority flag is TRUE is presented and set (S606, (5) of FIG. 13).

According to the embodiment of FIG. 13, when the power of the sink device 300A connected to the HDMI OUT terminal whose priority flag is FALSE is changed from the ON state to the OFF state, the power of the sink device 300A is ON. The sink device 300A, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 are set to be linked by the CEC command.

FIG. 14 shows a connection diagram when the power supply state of the sink device 300A is OFF and the power supply of the sink device 300B is changed from ON to OFF. The control unit 21 detects that the power of the sink device 300B has been changed to OFF by the processing of S603 (NO in S603, (1) in FIG. 14), and the sink device 300 whose power status has been changed by S601 Is determined that the other sink device (sink device 300A) is in the ON state, and the switch 25 is connected to the source device 100 through the port whose priority flag is TRUE ((2) in FIG. 14). Thus, the state is switched to the state where S0 and S1 are connected (S605, (3) in FIG. 14). The control unit 21 sets the physical address used by the repeater 200 to the physical address (1.0.0.0) on the HDMI OUT Main side (S205, (4) in FIG. 14), and sends the figure to the source device 100. In the table of 5, the physical address (1.1.0.0) of TRUE is set and set (S606, (5) of FIG. 14).

According to the embodiment of FIG. 14, when both the sink devices 300 are in the OFF state, the sink device 300A connected to the HDMI OUT terminal whose priority flag is ON, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 perform the CEC command. Are set to work together. That is, when both the sink devices 300 are in the OFF state, the sink device 300, the repeater 200, and the source device 100 that are set to have priority by the monitor-out setting are connected so as to be linked.

[Fifth Embodiment of CEC Linkage Processing]
The flowchart of FIG. 15 shows a fifth embodiment. FIG. 16 shows a table 201 in which an output zone indicating whether the ARC signal input from each HDMI OUT output terminal is output from the main room or the zone 2 room is added to the table 201 of FIG. In the table 201 of FIG. 16, the ARC signal output from the sink device 300A connected to the HDMI OUT Main is output from the speaker 30A installed in the main zone and output from the sink device 300B connected to the HDMI OUT Sub. The ARC signal is set to be output from the speaker 30B installed in the zone 2. The ARC signal transmitted by the sink device 300 is an SPDIF format audio signal, for example, a TV broadcast audio signal received by the sink device 300.

According to the present embodiment, when a CEC command (hereinafter referred to as an ARC authentication command) for executing ARC authentication is transmitted from either or both of the sink devices 300, the repeater 200 transmits the ARC authentication command. The ARC authentication process can be normally executed with the sink device 300. As a result, the repeater 200 can output the ARC signal transmitted from the sink device 300 from the speaker 30 installed in the main zone or zone 2.

  The control unit 21 receives <Request ARC Initiation>, which is a CEC command indicating an ARC start request, from the sink device 300 (S701). The control unit 21 specifies the port that has received <Request ARC Initiation> (S702), and acquires the output zone of the specified port with reference to FIG. 16 (S703). For example, when the sink device 300B transmits the CEC command of S701, the port B is specified, and the zone 2 is specified as the zone corresponding to the port B.

  When it is determined that the zone specified in S703 is zone 2 (YES in S704), the control unit 21 specifies the audio processing unit 26B and the amplification unit 27B (S705), and is determined to be the main zone. (NO in S704), the audio processing unit 26A and the amplification unit 27A are specified (S708).

  The control unit 21 transmits <Initiate ARC>, which is a CEC command indicating that it is ready to output an ARC signal, from the port specified in S702 to the sink device 300 (S706).

The control unit 21 inputs the ARC signal transmitted from the sink device 300 to the audio processing unit 26 and the amplification unit 27 specified in S705 or S708 (S707), and outputs them from the speaker 30.

According to the above embodiment, when the ARC authentication command is transmitted from the sink device 300, the repeater 200 normally executes the ARC authentication process with the sink device 300 that transmitted the ARC authentication command, and the repeater 200 transmits from the sink device 300. The ARC signal can be output from the speaker 30 installed in the main zone or zone 2.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment. Three or more sink devices 300 may be connected to the repeater 200. In that case, three or more ports of the control unit for CEC processing are required. Two or more source devices 100 may be connected to the repeater 200. Also, the number of zones may be greater than two.

  The present invention can be suitably employed in devices such as AV receivers, AV amplifiers, and TVs.

100 source device 200 repeater 300A sink device 300B sink device 11 control unit 12 memory 13 playback unit 14 HDMI transmission unit 15 connector unit 21 control unit 22 memory 23 connector unit 24 HDMI reception unit 25 switch 26A audio processing unit 26B audio processing unit 27A amplification Unit 27B amplification unit 28 HDMI transmission unit 29A connector unit 29B connector unit 30A speaker 30B speaker 41A control unit 41B control unit 42A memory 42B memory 43A HDMI reception unit 43B HDMI reception unit 44A display unit 44B display unit 45A connector unit 45B connector unit

Claims (7)

A relay device connectable to a transmitting device that transmits a video signal and a plurality of receiving devices that receive the video signal,
A plurality of output units for outputting the video signals to the plurality of receiving devices;
A control unit having a plurality of control ports;
Connection means for associating and connecting the output unit and the control port;
Management means for managing the output unit and the control port connected by the connection means in association with each other;
Control command receiving means for receiving a control command which is a command for controlling the relay device or the transmitting device from the receiving device;
When the relay device outputs the video signal to the receiving device, output setting means for setting which one of the plurality of output units has priority;
Control port specifying means for specifying the control port that has received the control command;
A determination means for determining whether the specified control port is connected to the output unit set to be prioritized when receiving the control command;
An execution unit that identifies the output unit associated with the identified control port by the management unit and executes the control command when it is determined that the output unit is set to have priority; A relay device comprising: An input unit for inputting the video signal from the transmission device;
Connection switching means for connecting the input unit to the control port connected to the output unit set to give priority and disconnecting from the control port not set to give priority.
Relay device physical address acquisition means for acquiring a physical address of the relay device from the receiving device connected to each output unit;
Physical address setting means for setting the physical address acquired from the receiving device connected to the output unit set to be prioritized by the output setting means to be used as the physical address of the relay device;
Transmitting device physical address setting means for setting the physical address of the transmitting device based on the set physical address of the relay device;
When it is determined that the control port specified by the control port specifying means is not connected to the output unit connected to the output unit set to have priority, the control port is set to the transmitting device. Transmitting device physical address specifying means for specifying the physical address,
Transmission means for transmitting the control command to the transmission device from the control port connected to the output unit set to be prioritized using the physical address set in the transmission device; The relay device according to claim 1. A second control command receiving means for receiving a control command that is a command for controlling the relay device or the receiving device from the transmitting device;
When the control command is received from the transmitting device, the transmitting device physical address identifying means identifies a priority physical address that is the physical address set in the transmitting device,
3. The relay according to claim 2, wherein the transmission unit transmits the control command to the receiving device using the priority physical address from the control port connected to the output unit set to be prioritized. apparatus. When the control command is received from the transmitting device, the transmitting device physical address specifying means specifies a non-priority physical address that is the physical address that is not set in the transmitting device,
The said transmission means transmits the said control command to the said receiving apparatus using the said non-priority physical address from the said control port which is not connected to the said output part set so that it might be prioritized. Relay device. Power supply state change detecting means for detecting that the power supply state of the receiving device has changed;
Power supply status acquisition means for acquiring the power supply status of the receiving device;
A power change detection port specifying means for specifying the control port to which the receiving device whose power state has changed is detected when detecting that the power state of the receiving device has changed;
The determination result of whether or not the control port that has detected the change in the power supply state is connected to the output unit set to have priority is different from the control port that has detected that the power supply state has changed. Based on the power state of the receiver connected to the control port,
The transmission device physical address setting means sends the physical address to the transmission device so that the reception device, the relay device, and the transmission device connected to the output unit set to have priority are operated. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the connection switching unit switches the connection. An authentication command receiving means for receiving an authentication command for receiving the audio signal from the receiving device;
Audio signal receiving means for receiving the audio signal transmitted from the receiving device;
A plurality of sound output units for outputting the sound signals to sound receiving devices installed in a plurality of rooms;
Audio output unit management means for managing the control port and the audio output unit in association with each other;
A voice output unit specifying means for specifying the voice output unit associated with the control port that has received the authentication command when the authentication command is received;
The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising: an output unit that outputs the audio signal transmitted from the receiving device from the specified audio output unit. The relay apparatus program which makes the said relay apparatus perform each means of the relay apparatus in any one of Claims 1-6.

Images