JP3262427B2 - Equipment control system for home bus system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for controlling a device connected to a home bus, which is required for a person to operate or control the device, and a home bus using the device control device. The present invention relates to a system device control system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a system configuration for controlling conventional devices in a home bus system.

In FIG. 10, 11a, 11b, 12a
And 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b are twisted pair cables which are transmission media of the home bus system, and constitute a pair of twisted pair cables, respectively. 11a and 11b are control channels, and 12
a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b are information channels. Reference numeral 58 denotes a home bus controller (HBC), which has a function of managing various devices connected to the home bus. Devices such as an air conditioner 60 and a VTR 59 are connected to the home bus, and can be controlled from other devices via the home bus control channels 11a and 11b. For various devices connected to the home bus such as the air conditioner 60 and the VTR 59, a control device for a person to control those devices has recently displayed graphic screens such as characters and figures because of its easy operation. A control method based on the used menu selection is adopted.

[0004] Reference numeral 101 denotes a conventional home bus connection type device control device using a graphic screen in a form directly connected to a home bus. Reference numeral 123 denotes a conventional portable device control device using a graphic screen in a portable form for remotely controlling the device. The control device 123 bidirectionally communicates with the home bus-infrared conversion device 112 using infrared light. connect. The home bus-infrared converter 112 converts the control information transmitted on the home bus control channels 11a and 11b into an infrared signal 122 and transmits the infrared signal 122 to the portable device controller 123.
3 receives the device control information of the infrared signal 121 transmitted from the control channel 11a and reconstructs the data structure and the packet structure based on the communication protocol of the home bus.
11b, which has a function of transmitting data on the portable device control device 123b.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a conventional home bus connection type device control device. In FIG. 7, a home bus connection type device control device 101 transmits a home bus control channel 11 via a home bus communication control unit 103.
a, 11b and used in a form directly connected to the home bus. Using the home bus connection type device control device 101, a person controls audio / video devices such as a VTR and equipment such as an air conditioner and lighting connected to the home bus with a graphic screen using characters and figures. be able to. The home bus connection type device control device 101 includes a display unit 107 that displays a graphic screen such as a CRT or a liquid crystal as components visible to humans,
An instruction unit 108 including a touch panel or the like mounted on the surface of the display unit 107 for allowing a person to point a device selection menu or a control menu displayed on the display unit 107 with a finger or the like.
With Operation screen information such as a menu for selecting a device to be controlled by a person connected to the home bus and a control menu for the device is stored in the display memory unit 105 as character and graphic information. Controlling the unit 104 to read required operation screen information from the display memory unit 105;
The image is output from the graphic display controller 104 as a video signal of one screen. The output video signal is converted by the video interface unit 106 into a video signal format that can be input to the display unit 107 and displayed on the display unit 107. Reference numeral 109 denotes a sound effect generator, and the processor 102
Has a function of generating a reaction sound when a person inputs with the instruction unit 108, for example, a beep or a warning sound when a person operates by mistake. Reference numeral 110 denotes a voice synthesizing unit which synthesizes and generates a voice stored in advance, and provides guidance to a person by using the synthesized voice, issues a warning, and notifies an operation error or the like. The audio signal output from the sound effect generator 109 and the audio synthesizer 110 is output to the user by an audio output unit 111 including an amplifier and a speaker.

FIG. 6 shows a VTR operation screen as an example of the operation screen. Reference numeral 61 denotes a display unit having the same meaning as the display unit 107, and 62 has the same meaning as the instruction unit 108 and is mounted on the surface of the display unit 61. FIG. 6 is common to a conventional portable device control device described later and an operation screen example of the embodiment of the present invention, and the numbers assigned to the display unit and the instruction unit here are different from those in FIG.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 63 denotes an area for displaying the name of a device to be controlled.
Reference numerals 7, 68, and 69 are areas indicating operation items of the target device. Reference numeral 70 denotes an area provided for returning to a home menu for displaying which of a plurality of devices to be controlled is operated. For example, when a person wants to reproduce a VTR, it can be realized by pressing a region 65 representing reproduction in FIG. 6 with a finger or the like. For example, when a person presses an area 65 with a finger, the display unit 108 shown in FIG. 7 detects that the area has been pressed, and outputs the XY coordinate information of the pressed part to the processing unit 1.
Tell 02. At this time, the processing unit 102 controls the sound effect generation unit 109 to output, for example, a “beep” sound from the audio output unit 111 in order to notify a person that the input has been accepted by the instruction unit 108. The processing unit 102 is the instruction unit 1
08 and the current display unit 10
7 based on the operation screen information displayed on the
Recognizing that "play" has been pressed, in order to control the VTR connected to the home bus to the playback state, the home bus control information having the meaning of "play" of the VTR is constructed, and the home bus communication control unit 103 Home bus communication control unit 1
03 converts the control information representing the meaning of “reproduction” of the VTR received from the processing unit 102 into an electrophysical and logically matched signal for transmission to the control channels 11a and 11b, and then converts the control information into control signals 11a and 11b. 11b. V
TR59 is the V transmitted to control channels 11a and 11b.
It receives control information having the meaning of "play" of the TR, and controls itself to a playback state. Further, whether or not the state has actually shifted to the playback state can be confirmed by the home bus connection type device control apparatus 101 requesting the state of the VTR 59 via the control channels 11a and 11b and receiving a response. If the home bus connection type device control device 101 obtains information that the VTR 59 has actually shifted to the playback state, the graphic display controller 10
4 to change or reverse the display color of the area (65 in FIG. 6) indicating “playback” of the VTR displayed on the display unit 107,
To output a synthesized voice such as “VTR has been reproduced” from the voice output unit 111 to notify the person.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a conventional portable device control device. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 123 denotes a conventional portable device control device which is used without being directly connected to a home bus, and which can be carried by a person and remotely connected to the home bus such as an audio / video device such as a VTR. It is a device that controls equipment such as an air conditioner, lighting, and the like on a graphic screen using characters and figures.

The portable device control device 123 has a display unit 128 for displaying a graphic screen such as a CRT or a liquid crystal, similar to the home bus connection type device control device 101, and a human display unit on the display unit 128 as components visible to a person. And an instruction unit 129 including a touch panel or the like attached to the surface of the display unit 128 for pointing a selected menu or a control menu of the selected device with a finger or the like.

An operation screen such as a selection menu of devices connected to the home bus and a control menu of the devices displayed on the display unit 128 is displayed on the graphic display controller unit 125 similarly to the home bus connection type device control device 101. , The display processing is performed via the display memory unit 126 and the video interface unit 127, and the description thereof will be omitted. As for the output of the sound effect and the synthesized sound, similarly to the home bus connection type device control device 101, the sound effect generator 136, the sound synthesizer 137, and the sound output unit 1 are output.
Since they are output via the output terminal 38, their description is omitted.

The difference between the portable device control device 123 and the home bus connection device control device 101 is in the method of transmitting control information of the device and the method of receiving control information transmitted from the device connected to the home bus. is there. This is because the control information to be transmitted to the device connected to the home bus in the home bus connection type device control device 101 is transmitted to the control channels 11 a and 11 of the home bus via the home bus communication control unit 103.
b, the portable equipment control device 123 converts the control information of the equipment into a structure suitable for the processing unit 124 to transmit the data by infrared rays, and transmits the converted information to the infrared data modulation unit 130. The signal is modulated into a signal having a specific frequency carrier by the
1 drives the infrared LED 132 for data signal transmission, converts the electric signal into an optical signal by the infrared LED 132 for data signal transmission, transmits it to the space as an infrared signal 121, and transmits it to the home bus-infrared converter 112 described later. I do.

Conversely, control information such as the state received from the device connected to the home bus is not directly received from the control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus, but is transmitted as an infrared signal via the home bus-infrared converter 112. Receive from space. That is, the infrared signal 122 sent from the home bus-infrared converter 112 is received by the infrared data signal receiving unit 133, the optical signal is converted into an electric signal, and then the signal is amplified by the signal amplifying unit 134. After being demodulated by the data signal demodulation unit 135, it is transmitted to the processing unit 124, and the processing unit 124 decodes the meaning of the control information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a conventional home bus-infrared converter. In FIG. 8, 11
Reference numeral 2 denotes a conventional home bus-to-infrared converter, which is interposed between the home bus and the portable device controller 123, control information transmitted by infrared rays, and a control channel 1 of the home bus.
It is a device that converts control information transmitted on 1a and 11b electrically and logically. Control channels 11a, 1
Control information transmitted to the home bus communication control unit 11
4 and converted into readable data by the processing unit 113, and then transmitted to the processing unit 113. Processing unit 1
Reference numeral 13 converts the received control information transmitted on the home bus into a structure suitable for transmission using infrared rays, and transmits the structure to the infrared data modulator 118. Infrared data modulator 11
8, the signal is modulated into a signal having a carrier of a specific frequency, and the infrared LED
Driving ED120, infrared LED for data signal transmission
The electrical signal is converted into an optical signal by 120 and transmitted to space as an infrared signal 122.

Conversely, a portable device control device 1
Infrared signal 1 with different carrier transmitted from 23
Reference numeral 21 denotes an infrared data signal receiving unit 115, which converts an optical signal into an electric signal, converts the optical signal into an electrical signal, amplifies the signal by a signal amplifying unit 116, demodulates the signal by an infrared data signal demodulating unit 117, and Is transmitted to The processing unit 113 converts the received control information having a packet structure in a format suitable for infrared transmission into control information having a packet structure suitable for transmission on the home bus control channels 11a and 11b, and then performs home bus communication control. Transmit to the unit 114. The home bus communication control unit 114 converts the control information received from the processing unit 113 into an electrophysical and logically matched signal for transmission to the control channels 11a and 11b, and transmits the signal to the control channels 11a and 11b. .

The portable device controller 123 and the home bus-to-infrared converter 112 will be described with reference to the operation screen of the VTR shown in FIG. Reference numeral 61 in FIG. 6 denotes a display unit having the same meaning as the display unit 128 of the portable device control device 123, and 62 in FIG.
It has the same meaning as 29 and is mounted on the surface of the display unit 61.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the operation screen of the VTR is displayed on the display unit 61 (display unit 128 in FIG. 9), for example, when a person wants to reproduce the VTR, the reproduction in FIG. This can be realized by pressing the 65 areas to be expressed with a finger or the like. For example, when a person presses the area 65 with a finger, the indicating unit 129 shown in FIG. 7 detects that the pressing is performed, and transmits the XY coordinate information of the pressed portion to the processing unit 124. At this time, in order to notify the person that the input has been accepted by the instruction unit 128, the processing unit 124
36 to output, for example, a beep sound to the audio output unit 1.
38. The processing unit 124 is the touch panel unit 1
29 and the XY coordinate information transmitted from the
8 based on the operation screen information displayed on the
Recognizing that "play" has been pressed, in order to control the VTR connected to the home bus to the playback state, the control information representing the playback of the VTR is constructed and transmitted to the infrared data modulator 130. The infrared data modulator 130 Modulates control information into a signal having a carrier of a specific frequency in order to transmit a data signal into space using infrared rays,
At 31, the data signal transmission infrared LED 132 is driven, and the data signal transmission infrared LED 132 converts an electric signal into an optical signal and transmits it as an infrared signal 121 to space. The control information having the meaning of “playback” of the VTR transmitted to this space is stored in the home bus-infrared converter 11.
2 and converted into a data structure suitable for transmission to the control channels 11a and 11b,
a, 11b.

The VTR 59 has control channels 11a and 11b.
The control information having the meaning of "play" of the VTR transmitted to the VTR is received, and the self-control device is controlled to the playback state. Furthermore, whether or not the state has actually shifted to the playback state is determined by the portable device control device 123.
Can request the status of the VTR 59 via the home bus-infrared ray converter 112 and the control channels 11a and 11b, and can confirm the status by receiving a response from the VTR. If the information that the VTR 59 has actually shifted to the playback state can be obtained, the graphic display controller 125
To change or reverse the display color of the area (65 in FIG. 6) indicating “playback” of the VTR displayed on the display unit 128, and at the same time, control the voice synthesis unit 137 to, for example, , "A VTR has been reproduced" is output from the voice output unit 138 to notify the person.

[0018]

However, in such a conventional home bus device controller, a plurality of home bus connection device controllers and portable device controllers are installed in a house. If the number of devices connected to the home bus and the function of each device change,
The character / graphic data of the operation screen information of the device and the speech synthesis data stored for each device must be changed for all of the home bus connection type device control device and the portable device control device. In addition, the home bus connection type device control device and the portable device control device each store a display memory for storing operation screen information, a graphic display controller having a drawing processing function, and a function for storing voice synthesis data and generating voice synthesis. Must be provided, the cost of the entire system increases, and the internal processing of each control device itself becomes complicated. In addition, the home bus connection type device control device and the portable device control device manage the contents of the operation screen and the syllable data of speech synthesis, respectively, so that the operation screen structure and operation method and the wording of speech synthesis are controlled by the device. There is a problem that a difference occurs and the user may feel confused by the operation.

The present invention, taking into account such problems of the conventional home bus system device control system, can easily cope with a change or expansion of the system, can unify the operation method and the response to the operation, and can realize the whole system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device control system for a home bus system which can reduce the cost.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an instruction means for issuing a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to a home bus, and transmitting the transmitted data. Display data receiving means for receiving incoming display data, display means for displaying the received display data, operation instruction input means for inputting an operation instruction of the device using the display, And a command information transmitting means for transmitting the command information to the home bus.

Further, the present invention provides a display data storage means for storing the display data of claim 1, a transmission instruction receiving means for receiving the transmission instruction of claim 1, and a display data storage based on the received transmission instruction. 2. A display data transmitting means for transmitting display data stored in the means to a home bus, and
Based on the instruction information transmitted from the instruction information transmitting means,
An operation information transmission processing device comprising: a control information transmission unit that transmits control information of a device to a home bus.

According to the present invention, there is provided an instruction means for receiving an output from the optical transmission conversion means according to claim 7 or 8 and outputting it as a transmission instruction to a home bus, and an operation means required for operating devices connected to the home bus. 9. A display data receiving means for receiving display data for performing display, an optical signal transmitting means for converting the received display data into an optical signal and emitting the same, and receiving an optical signal of the instruction information according to claim 7 or 8. Optical signal receiving means,
A home bus comprising: an instruction information conversion transmitting unit that converts the received optical signal into an electric signal and transmits the electric signal to the home bus.
It is an infrared converter.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an instruction means for issuing a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to the home bus, and converts the transmission instruction into light. Optical transmission conversion means, optical signal reception means for receiving an optical signal emitted from the optical signal transmission means according to claim 5 or 6, display means for converting the received optical signal into an electric signal and displaying the signal; Operation instruction input means for inputting an operation instruction of a device connected to the home bus using the display, and instruction information light output means for converting the input instruction information into an optical signal and emitting the same. It is a portable device control device.

Further, the present invention provides a home bus connection type device control device according to claim 1 or 4, an operation information transmission processing device according to claim 2 or 3, and a home bus-infrared conversion device according to claim 5 or 6. A device control system for a home bus system, comprising a device and a portable device control device according to claim 7 or 8.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the instruction means issues a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to the home bus, and the display data receiving means transmits the display data. Receiving the display data;
The received display data is displayed, and a person uses the operation instruction input unit to input an operation instruction of the device using the display, and the instruction information transmitting unit transmits the input instruction information to the home bus.

According to the present invention, the display data storing means stores the display data, the transmission instruction receiving means receives the transmitted transmission instruction, and the display data transmitting means stores the display data based on the received transmission instruction. The received display data is transmitted to the home bus, and the control information transmitting means transmits the control information of the device to the home bus based on the instruction information transmitted from the instruction information transmitting means.

Further, according to the present invention, the instruction means receives the output from the optical transmission conversion means and outputs the output to the home bus as a transmission instruction, and the display data receiving means is necessary for operating the device connected to the home bus. The display data for performing display is received, the optical signal transmitting unit converts the received display data into an optical signal and emits the same, and the optical signal receiving unit receives the optical signal of the instruction information, and transmits the instruction information converted and transmitted. Means converts the received optical signal into an electric signal and transmits the electric signal to the home bus.

Also, according to the present invention, the instruction means issues a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to the home bus, and the optical transmission conversion means issues the transmission instruction. Converted to light, the optical signal receiving means receives the optical signal emitted from the optical signal transmitting means, the display means converts the received optical signal to an electric signal and displays it, and the person operates by the operation instruction input means. Using the display, an operation instruction for a device connected to the home bus is input, and the instruction information light output unit converts the input instruction information into an optical signal and emits the signal.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an operation information transmission processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the operation information transmission processing device 1 includes a pair of twisted pair cables 11a and 1 which are transmission media of a home bus system.
1b, 12a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b. 11a and 11b are control channels, 12a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 1
4a and 14b are information channels. Reference numeral 7 denotes a home bus communication control unit which controls the home bus control channels 11a and 11a.
1b receives control information addressed to itself,
Conversely, it has a function of transmitting control information to the control channels 11a and 11b. Reference numeral 8 denotes an information channel connection unit, which receives information channels 12a, 12b, and 13 according to an instruction from the processing unit 2.
a and 13b and one of three information channels 14a and 14b are selected and connected, and the input signals from the video signal modulator 6, the sound effect generator 9 and the audio synthesizer 10 are selected as information. It has the function of transmitting on a channel. Reference numeral 3 denotes a display memory unit which has a function of storing operation screen information such as a selection menu of a device to be controlled by a person and a control menu of the device, which is connected to the home bus. Reference numeral 4 denotes a graphic display controller, which has a function of reading operation screen information stored in the display memory unit 3 in accordance with an instruction from the processing unit 2 and outputting it as a one-screen video signal to be drawn as characters and figures. Reference numeral 5 denotes a video converter which converts a video signal output from the graphic display controller 4 into a color N signal.
It has a function of converting to a TSC composite video signal. The color NTSC composite video signal output by the video conversion unit 5 is once separated into a luminance component and a color component by the video signal modulation unit 6, and then the luminance component is frequency-modulated into a luminance signal having a center frequency near 4 MHz. Is done. Further, the separated color components are converted into color signals that are low-frequency-converted from the original subcarrier frequency of 3.58 MHz to the subcarrier frequency of several hundred KHz. The frequency-modulated luminance signal and the low-frequency-converted color signal are frequency-multiplexed and mixed, and then output to the information channel connection unit 8.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a sound effect generator, which has a function of generating a reaction sound, a warning sound, and the like under the control of the processing unit 2. Reference numeral 10 denotes a voice synthesizing unit which synthesizes voice data stored in advance and outputs the synthesized voice data as a voice signal. The voice synthesizing unit 10 provides guidance to a person with a voice synthesized voice and notifies a warning.

The display memory unit 3 constitutes display data storage means, the home bus communication control unit 7 and the like constitute transmission instruction receiving means and control information transmitting means, and the information channel connection unit 8 and the video signal modulation unit 6 And the like constitute a display data transmitting means, and the voice synthesizing section 10, the information channel connecting section 8 and the like constitute a response information transmitting means.

As described above, the information channel connection unit 8 selects and connects any one of the three information channels according to the instruction from the processing unit 2, and outputs the video signal and the effect input from the video signal modulation unit 6. The sound signal input from the sound generator 9 and the sound synthesizer 10 is transmitted on the selected information channel. Since the video signal and the audio signal are arranged in the divided frequency bands, the video signal and the audio signal are multiplexed and transmitted by the same pair of information channels.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a home bus connection type device control apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 15 denotes a home bus connection type device control device. 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a home bus communication control unit, which has a function of receiving control information addressed to itself transmitted on the control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus and transmitting control information to the control channels 11a and 11b. Reference numeral 18 denotes an information channel connection unit, which receives information channels 12a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14 according to an instruction from the processing unit 16.
By selecting and connecting any one of the three information channels b, a video signal and an audio signal that are frequency-multiplexed are received. The received frequency-division multiplexed video signal and audio signal are separated into a video signal and an audio signal by a signal separation unit 19 including a filter or the like. The separated video signal is input to the video signal demodulation unit 20 and the video signal demodulation unit 2
0 separates the received video signal into a frequency-modulated luminance signal and a low-frequency converted color signal, demodulates the luminance signal as the original baseband luminance component, and converts the color signal to the original 3.
Demodulates into a color component with a subcarrier frequency of 58 MHz,
It has the function of restoring and outputting a color NTSC composite video signal. The display unit 21 is composed of a CRT or a liquid crystal, and has a color N input from the video signal demodulation unit 20.
It has a function of displaying a TSC composite video signal. The audio signal output from the signal separation unit is output to the user by an audio output unit 23 including an amplifier and a speaker.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an instruction unit constituted by a touch panel or the like.
XY coordinate information indicating a device selection menu or a control menu displayed with a finger or the like is detected, and the processing unit 16
It has the function of transmitting to The processing unit 16 assembles the XY coordinate information input from the instruction unit 22 into a packet having a data structure that conforms to the communication protocol of the home bus.
The packet including the coordinate information is converted by the home bus communication control unit 17 into an electrophysical and logically matched signal to be transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b, and then transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b.

The instruction unit 22 and the processing unit 16 constitute instruction means and operation instruction input means, the information channel connection unit, the signal separation unit 19 and the like constitute display data receiving means and response information receiving means, and the display unit 21 constitutes a display means,
The home bus communication control unit 17 and the like constitute an instruction information transmitting unit, and the audio output unit 23 constitutes a response information output unit.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a home bus-to-infrared ray converter according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 24 denotes a home bus-infrared converter. Reference numeral 26 denotes a home bus communication control unit, which has a function of receiving control information addressed to itself transmitted on control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus and transmitting control information to the control channels 11a and 11b. Reference numeral 27 denotes an information channel connection unit which receives an information channel 12 in accordance with an instruction from the processing unit 25.
By selecting and connecting one of the three information channels a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b, a frequency-multiplexed video signal and audio signal are received. The received frequency-division multiplexed video signal and audio signal are separated into a video signal and an audio signal by a signal separation unit 28 including a filter or the like. The separated video signal is input to the video signal demodulation unit 29, and the video signal demodulation unit 2
Numeral 9 separates the received video signal into a frequency-modulated luminance signal and a low-frequency converted color signal, demodulates the luminance signal as the original baseband luminance component, and converts the color signal into the original 3.
Demodulates into a color component with a subcarrier frequency of 58 MHz,
It has the function of restoring and outputting a color NTSC composite video signal.

The color NTSC composite video signal output from the video signal demodulation unit 29 is modulated by the infrared video modulation unit 30 into a signal having a carrier of a specific frequency, and the infrared LED driving unit 31 transmits the video signal transmitting infrared light L.
Driving ED32, infrared LED32 for video signal transmission
The electrical signal is converted into an optical signal by the above-described method, and is transmitted to the space as shown by an arrow 40. The infrared image signal indicated by the arrow 40 is transmitted to a portable device control device 42 described later.

On the other hand, the audio signal separated by the signal separation unit 28 is modulated by the infrared audio modulation unit 33 into a signal having a carrier of a specific frequency, and the infrared LED driving unit 34 drives the infrared LED 35 for audio signal transmission. The electric signal is converted into an optical signal by the infrared LED for transmitting a sound signal 35 and transmitted to the space as shown by an arrow 41. Arrow 4
The infrared audio signal shown in FIG. 1 is similar to the video signal,
This is transmitted to the portable device control device 42 described later.

Conversely, the portable equipment control device 4
The infrared signal (arrow 39 in FIG. 3) having a different carrier transmitted from 2 is received by the infrared data signal receiving section 36, the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal, and then the signal is amplified by the signal amplifying section 37. , Infrared data signal demodulation unit 38
, And transmitted to the processing unit 25. Processing unit 25
Transmits control information having a packet structure of a format suitable for received infrared transmission to the control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus.
After it is converted into control information having a packet structure suitable for transmission to the home bus communication control unit 26, it is transmitted. The home bus communication control unit 26 converts the control information received from the processing unit 25 into an electrophysical and logically matched signal for transmission to the control channels 11a and 11b, and then transmits the signal to the control channels 11a and 11b. .

The infrared data signal receiving section 36 and the like constitute optical signal receiving means, and the processing section 25 and the home bus communication control section 2
6 constitute an instruction means and an instruction information conversion and transmission means, the information channel connection section 27 and the like constitute a display data reception means and a response information reception means, and the video signal transmission infrared LED 3
2 and the like constitute optical signal transmitting means, and the infrared LED 35 for transmitting audio signals and the like constitute optical response signal transmitting means.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a portable device control apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Is a portable device control device. The infrared video signal indicated by the arrow 40 transmitted from the home bus-infrared converter 24 is received by the infrared video signal receiving unit 43, the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal, and the signal is amplified by the signal amplifying unit 44. Is demodulated by the infrared video signal demodulation unit 45 into the original video signal. Reference numeral 47 denotes a display unit composed of a CRT or a liquid crystal. The video signal demodulated by the infrared video signal demodulation unit 45 is output by the video signal processing unit 46 to the display unit 4.
7 is converted into a video signal in a format that can be input to
7, an image is displayed on the display unit 47. Here, if the format of the video signal output from the infrared video signal demodulation unit 45 and the format of the video signal input to the display unit 47 are the same, the video signal processing unit 46 can be omitted.

On the other hand, the infrared audio signal indicated by the arrow 41 transmitted from the home bus-infrared converter 24 is received by the infrared audio signal receiving section 48, and the optical signal is converted into an electric signal. The signal is amplified by 49 and demodulated by the infrared audio signal demodulation unit 50 into the original baseband audio signal. The demodulated audio signal is output to the user by an audio output unit 51 including an amplifier and a speaker.

Reference numeral 52 denotes an instruction unit constituted by a touch panel or the like, which is attached to the surface of the display
Has a function of detecting XY coordinate information indicating a device selection menu or a control menu displayed with a finger or the like, and transmitting the information to the communication processing unit 53. The communication processing unit 53 converts the transmitted XY coordinate information into a structure suitable for transmission by infrared rays and transmits the information to the infrared data modulation unit 54. The infrared data modulation section 54 modulates the data signal input from the communication processing section 53 into a signal having a carrier of a specific frequency, and the infrared LED drive section 55 controls the data signal transmission infrared LED 56 with the modulated signal. Drive. In the data signal transmission infrared LED 56, the electric signal is converted into an optical signal and transmitted to the space as indicated by an arrow 39. The infrared signal having the XY coordinate information indicated by the arrow 39 is received by the infrared data signal receiving unit 36 in the home bus connection type device control device 24 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 57 denotes a battery unit such as a battery for supplying power to each unit of the portable device control device 42.

The instruction unit 52, the communication processing unit 53, etc. constitute an instruction unit and an operation instruction input unit. The infrared LED 56 for data signal transmission constitutes a light transmission conversion unit and an instruction information light output unit. The signal receiving section 43 and the like constitute optical signal receiving means, the display section 47 constitutes display means, the infrared sound signal receiving section 48 and the like constitute response signal converting means, and the sound output section 51 serves as response signal outputting means. Make up.

FIG. 5 shows the operation information transmission processing device 1 described above.
The fifth example using the home bus connection type device control device 15, the home bus-infrared ray conversion device 24, and the portable device control device 42
1 is a configuration diagram of a home bus system device control system according to an embodiment.

In FIG. 5, as described above, 11a,
11b is a control channel, 12a and 12b, 13a
And 13b, and 14a and 14b are information channels. 58 is a home bus controller (HBC),
It has functions such as management of devices on the home bus. Devices such as an air conditioner 60 and a VTR 59 are connected to the home bus, and control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus are connected.
Can be controlled from other devices via the. For various devices connected to the home bus such as the air conditioner 60 and the VTR 59, a control device for a person to control those devices has recently displayed graphic screens such as characters and figures because of its easy operation. A control method based on the used menu selection is adopted.

The operation information transmission processing device 1 unifies the operation screen information of the devices connected to the control channels 11a and 11b of the home bus, and the sound information such as the effect sound such as the reaction sound and the warning sound and the sound synthesis sound. , And multiplexes the operation screen information as a color video signal and the audio information as a baseband audio signal.
And 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b are selected and transmitted, and the XY coordinate information of the indicator transmitted on the home bus control channels 11a and 11b is received and transmitted. It has a function of controlling the devices connected to the home bus via the control channel in relation to the operation screen information to be performed.

The home bus connection type device control device 15 is a device in which a person operates a device by using a graphic screen in a form directly connected to the home bus.

The portable device control device 42 is a device that is operated by a person using a portable graphic screen for remotely controlling the device. Home bus-
The infrared conversion device 24 converts the video signal of the operation screen information transmitted from the operation information transmission processing device 1 via the information channel of the home bus into an infrared signal as indicated by 40 and transmits the infrared signal to the portable device control device 42 Or voice information 41
The function of converting into an infrared signal and transmitting it to the portable device control device 42 as shown in FIG. In addition, the X-ray signal of the infrared signal 39 shown in FIG.
A device having a function of reconstructing control information such as Y coordinate information as a data structure and a packet structure based on the home bus communication protocol and transmitting the data on the control channels 11a and 11b. It fulfills the function. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the VTR as an example. Reference numeral 61 denotes a display unit having the same meaning as the display unit 21 in FIG. 2, and 62 has the same meaning as the instruction unit 22 in FIG. 2 and is mounted on the surface of the display unit 62. FIG. 6 is common to an example of an operation screen of the portable device control device 42 described later, and here, the numbers assigned to the display unit and the instruction unit are different from those in FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 63 denotes an area for displaying the names of the devices to be controlled, and 64, 65, 66, 6
Reference numerals 7, 68, and 69 are areas indicating operation items of the target device. Reference numeral 70 denotes an area provided for returning to a home menu for displaying which of a plurality of devices to be controlled is operated.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

First, an example of operating a VTR using the home bus connection type device control device 15 will be described. The home bus connection type device control device 15 requests the operation screen of the VTR shown in FIG. 6 from the operation information transmission processing device 1 by transmitting and receiving communication on the control channels 11a and 11b.
At this time, the operation information transmission processing device 1 inquires of the HBC 58 about an available channel among the information channels 12a and 12b, 13a and 13b, and 14a and 14b, or voluntarily requests a channel to obtain the information channel. To win one. The operation screen information as shown in FIG. 6 is transmitted as a video signal to the home bus connection type device control device 15 via the acquired information channel. On the other hand, the home bus connection type device control device 15 sends information indicating which information channel the operation information transmission processing device 1 has acquired to the HBC 58 or the direct operation information transmission processing device 1.
And the information channel is connected by the information channel connection unit 18 so that the video signal having the operation screen information transmitted from the operation information transmission processing device 1 is demodulated by the video signal demodulation unit 20 and displayed on the display unit 21. can do.

Next, in the state where the operation screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display unit 21 in this manner, when a person wants to reproduce the VTR, the person expresses a 65 area representing the reproduction with a finger or the like. It can be realized by pressing with. For example, when a person presses the area 65 with a finger, the indicating unit 22 shown in FIG. 2 detects the pressing, and the XY coordinate information of the pressed portion is processed by the processing unit 16 according to the communication protocol of the home bus. The information is constructed into control information such as a command in a format according to the format, and is transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b via the home bus communication control unit 17.

Next, the XY coordinate information transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b is received by the operation information transmission processing device 1, and the operation information transmission processing device 1 Based on the operation screen information transmitted via the information channel, it recognizes that a person has pressed "play" of the VTR, and controls the VTR 59 connected to the home bus to the playback state. Is constructed and transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b.
At this time, the processing unit 2 of the operation information transmission processing device 1 controls the sound effect generation unit 9 in the sense that the person has recognized that the person has instructed the reproduction of the VTR, and generates, for example, a "beep" sound. By controlling the voice synthesis unit 10, for example, "
Play a VTR. "
The audio signal is frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to the same information channel as the information channel currently transmitting the operation screen information via the information channel connection unit 8. This audio signal is transmitted to the home bus connection type device control device 15 via the information channel, and is input to the signal separation portion 19 via the information channel connection portion 18 in the home bus connection type device control device 15. The audio signal is separated in the signal separation unit 19, and a sound "pip" or "reproduce the VTR" is output from an audio output unit 23 including a speaker or the like.

The VTR 59 controls the control channels 11a and 11b.
The control information having the meaning of "play" of the VTR transmitted to the VTR is received, and the self-control device is controlled to the playback state. Furthermore, whether the operation information transmission processing apparatus 1 has actually shifted to the playback state can be confirmed by the operation information transmission processing device 1 requesting the state of the VTR 59 via the control channels 11a and 11b and receiving a response. The information transmission processing device 1 is actually a VTR
If the information that the display 59 has shifted to the reproduction state is obtained, it controls its own graphic display controller unit 4 and operates the VTR of the operation screen information as a video signal transmitted to the home bus connection type device control device 15 via the information channel.
The display color (65 in FIG. 6) indicating “reproduction” is changed or reversed. The display is reflected on the display unit 21 of the home bus connection type device control device 15 so that the person is eventually notified. At this time, VTR
The processing unit 2 of the operation information transmission processing device 1 controls the voice synthesizing unit 10 to notify a person that the 59 has actually reproduced by voice, for example, “VTR has reproduced”.
This voice signal is frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to the same information channel as the information channel that is currently transmitting the operation screen information via the information channel connection unit 8. This audio signal is transmitted to the home bus connection type device control device 15 via the information channel, and is input to the signal separation portion 19 via the information channel connection portion 18 in the home bus connection type device control device 15. The audio signal is separated by the signal separation unit 19, and the “VTR” is output from the audio output unit 23.
Is output, and the result is also notified by voice to the person. Conversely, for example, information indicating that the tape cannot be played back due to the absence of the VTR 59 tape is output to the VTR 5.
9, it is possible to call attention to a person by outputting a voice synthesized sound such as “Please put a tape” from the voice output unit 23 by the above processing.

Next, using the portable equipment control device 42, V
An example of operating the TR will be described. The description of FIG. 6 is omitted as in the case of the home bus connection type device control device 15 described above, so that the contents of FIG. 6 are omitted. 61 is the display unit 4 of FIG.
Reference numeral 62 denotes a display unit having the same meaning as that of the indicator unit 52, and has the same meaning as that of the instruction unit 52 in FIG.

The operation screen of the VTR shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the control channels 11a and 11b and the infrared Request by communication in. At this time, the operation information transmission processing device 1 transmits information channels 12a and 12b, 13a and 13b, to the HBC 58.
One of the information channels is obtained by inquiring about an empty channel among the channels 14a and 14b and requesting the channel independently. The operation screen information is transmitted as a video signal to the home bus-infrared conversion device 24 via the acquired information channel. On the other hand, the home bus-infrared converter 24 inquires of the HBC 58 or the operation information transmitter 1 directly about the information channel which the operation information transmission processor 1 has acquired, and changes the information channel to the home bus-infrared converter. The video signal having the operation screen information transmitted from the operation information transmission processing device 1 is demodulated by the video signal demodulation unit 29 by the connection through the information channel connection unit 27 in the device 24, and the infrared video modulation unit 30
The signal is modulated into a band for transmission by infrared rays, and is transmitted to the space as an infrared image signal by the infrared LED 32 for transmitting a video signal. The infrared image signal (arrow 40) sent to the space is received by the portable device controller 42,
The signal is demodulated and converted as an electric video signal by the portable device control device 42, and can be displayed on the display unit 47 in the portable device control device 42.

Next, for example, when a person wants to reproduce the VTR while the operation screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display unit 47 of the portable device control device 42, the reproduction is represented by 6
This can be realized by pressing a region 5 with a finger or the like. For example, when a person presses the area 65 with a finger, the indicating unit 52 detects that the pressing is performed, and the communication processing unit 53 transmits the XY coordinate information of the pressed portion by infrared communication. It is constructed into control information such as a command in a format conforming to the rules, and is transmitted to the space as an infrared data signal via the data signal transmission infrared LED 56.

Next, the infrared data signal having the XY coordinate information transmitted to the space is received by the home bus-infrared converter 24 as shown by an arrow 39, and the optical signal is transmitted by the home bus-infrared converter 24. Is converted into an electric signal, and the signal is amplified by a signal amplifying unit 37 in the home bus-infrared converter 24, and an infrared data signal demodulating unit 38
, And transmitted to the processing unit 25. The processing unit 25 transmits the received control information having a packet structure of a format suitable for infrared transmission to the control channels 11a, 1
After being converted into control information having a packet structure suitable for transmission to 1b, it is transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b via the home bus communication control unit 26.

Next, the XY coordinate information transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b is received by the operation information transmission processing device 1, and the operation information transmission processing device 1 Based on the operation screen information transmitted via the information channel, it recognizes that a person has pressed "play" of the VTR, and controls the VTR 59 connected to the home bus to the playback state. Is constructed and transmitted to the control channels 11a and 11b. At this time, the processing unit 2 of the operation information transmission processing device 1 means that it has recognized that a person has instructed reproduction of the VTR 59.
Controls the sound effect generator 9 to generate, for example, a beep sound, or controls the voice synthesizer 10 to generate a synthesized voice such as, for example, "play a VTR". The signal is frequency-multiplexed and transmitted to the same information channel as the information channel that is currently transmitting the operation screen information via the information channel connection unit 8.

This audio signal is transmitted to the home bus-to-infrared ray converter 24 via the information channel, and is input to the signal separating section 28 via the information channel connecting section 27 in the home bus-to-infrared ray converter 24. The audio signal is separated by the signal separation unit 28. The separated audio signal is modulated into a band for transmission by infrared light in the infrared sound modulation unit 33, and is transmitted to the space as an infrared sound signal by the infrared LED 41 for sound signal transmission. The infrared sound signal (arrow 41) transmitted to the space is transmitted to the portable equipment control device 42.
Is received by the infrared audio signal receiving unit 48, and is demodulated as an electrical audio signal by the infrared audio signal demodulation unit 50.
From the audio output unit 51, a sound such as "beep" or "reproduce VTR" is output.

The VTR 59 controls the control channels 11a and 11b.
The control information having the meaning of "play" of the VTR transmitted to the VTR is received, and the self-control device is controlled to the playback state. Furthermore, whether the operation information transmission processing apparatus 1 has actually shifted to the playback state can be confirmed by the operation information transmission processing device 1 requesting the state of the VTR 59 via the control channels 11a and 11b and receiving a response. The information transmission processing device 1 is actually a VTR
If the information that the display 59 has shifted to the reproduction state is obtained, the graphic display controller unit 4 controls its own graphic display controller unit 4 to control the VTR of the operation screen information which is a video signal transmitted to the home bus-infrared converter 24 via the information channel.
The display color of the area (65 in FIG. 6) indicating "reproduction" is changed or reversed. The video signal is transmitted as an infrared video signal to the portable device control device 42 by the home bus-infrared converter 24, and is reflected on the video projected on the display unit 47 in the portable device control device 42 as a result. People are notified. Also, at this time, in order to notify the person by voice that the VTR has actually played,
The processing unit 2 of the operation information transmission processing device 1 includes a voice synthesis unit 10
To generate, for example, a voice synthesized sound such as “VTR has been reproduced”, and to transfer the voice signal to the same information channel as the information channel that is currently transmitting the operation screen information via the information channel connection unit 8. Transmit by frequency multiplexing. This audio signal is transmitted to the home bus-to-infrared ray converter 24 via the information channel, and is input to the signal separating section 28 via the information channel connecting section 27 in the home bus-to-infrared ray converter 24. The audio signal is separated by the signal separation unit 28, and the separated audio signal is modulated by the infrared sound modulation unit 33 into a band for transmission by infrared rays.
The infrared signal is transmitted to the space by the infrared LED 35 for transmitting an audio signal. The infrared sound signal (arrow 41) sent to the space is received by the infrared sound signal receiving unit 48 of the portable device control device 42, demodulated as an electric sound signal by the infrared sound signal demodulation unit 50, and the sound output unit 51. As a result, the sound "VTR has been reproduced" is output, and consequently the person is notified by voice. Conversely, if the VTR 59 obtains information that it cannot be reproduced because the tape of the VTR 59 is not inserted, for example, "
It is also possible to call attention to a person by outputting a speech synthesis sound such as "Please put a tape" from the speech output unit 51 by the above-described processing.

Management and processing of operation screen information of devices connected to the home bus, management and processing of voice information such as recognition, warning, guidance, etc. accompanying operation of the devices by voice signals, and transmission of operation information to control of the devices The processing device can be centrally operated, the screen operation information and audio information can be centrally managed, the system can be changed and expanded in a simple manner, the device operation method, the voice response method to the operation, etc. Can be unified, so that the user's operation is less confused.

In the above embodiment, the CR is used as the display unit.
Although T and liquid crystal are used, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and other display means can be used.

In the above embodiment, the touch panel is used as the instruction unit, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this.

In the above embodiment, the sound effect generator is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If the voice synthesizer has a function of generating an onomatopoeic sound and a melody sound, the sound synthesizer is constituted only by the voice synthesizer. Is also good.

Each means constituting the above-described embodiment may be realized by software using a computer, or may be realized by using a dedicated hardware circuit having each of these functions. .

[0068]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can easily cope with a change or expansion of the system.
It has the advantage that the operation method and response to the operation can be unified, and the cost of the entire system can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an operation information transmission processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a home bus connection type device control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a home bus-infrared converter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a portable device control device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a device control system for a home bus system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device operation screen displayed on the home bus connection type device control device and the portable device control device.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a conventional home bus connection type device control device.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a conventional home bus-to-infrared ray converter.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional portable device control device.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a conventional device control system for a home bus system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 operation information transmission processing device 3 display memory unit 7, 17, 26 home bus communication control unit 21, 47 display unit 22, 52 instruction unit 15 home bus connection type device control device 24 home bus-infrared conversion device 42 portable device control Equipment 58 HBC 59 VTR

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04Q 9/00-9/16 H04L 12/40

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. An instruction unit for issuing a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to a home bus, and a display for receiving the transmitted display data. Data receiving means, display means for displaying the received display data, operation instruction input means for inputting an operation instruction for the device using the display, and the input instruction information to the home bus. And a command information transmitting means for transmitting the command information to the home bus connection type device control device. 2. A display data storage unit for storing the display data according to claim 1, a transmission instruction receiving unit for receiving the transmission instruction according to claim 1, and the display data storage based on the received transmission instruction. A display data transmitting unit for transmitting display data stored in the unit to the home bus; and transmitting control information of the device to the home bus based on the instruction information transmitted from the instruction information transmitting unit of claim 1. An operation information transmission processing device comprising: a control information transmission unit. 3. The operation information transmission device according to claim 2, further comprising: response information transmission means for transmitting response information by voice or the like for confirming the operation instruction to the home bus. Processing equipment. 4. A response information receiving means for receiving response information transmitted from the response information transmitting means of claim 3, and a response information output means for outputting the received response information. The home bus connection type device control device according to claim 1. 5. An instruction means for receiving an output from the optical transmission conversion means according to claim 7 or 8 and outputting it as a transmission instruction to a home bus, and performing a display necessary for operating a device connected to the home bus. Display data receiving means for receiving display data for, and converting the received display data into an optical signal,
An optical signal transmitting means for emitting light, an optical signal receiving means for receiving the optical signal of the instruction information according to claim 7 or 8, and an instruction information conversion for converting the received optical signal into an electric signal and transmitting the electric signal to the home bus. A home bus-to-infrared ray converter, comprising: a transmitting unit. 6. A response information receiving means for receiving response information transmitted from the response information transmitting means of claim 3, and an optical response signal transmitting means for converting the received response information into an optical signal and emitting the optical signal. 6. The home bus-to-infrared ray converter according to claim 5, further comprising: 7. Instruction means for issuing a transmission instruction for transmitting display data for performing display necessary for operating a device connected to the home bus, and optical transmission conversion for converting the transmission instruction to light. Means, an optical signal receiving means for receiving an optical signal emitted from the optical signal transmitting means according to claim 5 or 6, a display means for converting the received optical signal into an electric signal and displaying the same, and a display for the display Operating instruction input means for inputting an operation instruction of a device connected to the home bus using a personal computer, and instruction information light output means for converting the input instruction information into an optical signal and emitting the same. Portable equipment control device characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. A response signal converting means for receiving an optical response signal transmitted from the optical response signal transmitting means of claim 6 and converting the received optical response signal into a response signal, and a response signal output means for outputting the converted response signal. 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:
The portable device control device as described in the above. 9. The home bus connection type device control device according to claim 1 or 4, the operation information transmission processing device according to claim 2 or 3, and the home bus-infrared conversion according to claim 5 or 6. A device control system for a home bus system, comprising: a device; and the portable device control device according to claim 7.