JP3522206B2 - Karaoke device characterized by a redundant system using three external storage devices - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a karaoke device, and more particularly, to a karaoke device for reading various kinds of data which are sources of accompaniment music, lyrics images and background video of karaoke music from an external storage device such as a hard disk device and processing the data. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke performance terminal in a known communication karaoke system. The schematic structure and basic operation of a conventional karaoke apparatus will be described with reference to this figure.

=== Structure of Karaoke Device === A computer mainly including a central control unit 2 including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and a hard disk device 3, and the central control unit 2 is incorporated in the hard disk device 3. By processing various stored data and programs,
The karaoke apparatus 1a is integrated by performing data communication with the peripheral components via the data bus 100 and the control bus 110.

The hard disk device 3 serves as the origin of music generation data, which is the origin of the karaoke accompaniment music described in the MIDI format, and the lyrics image which is depicted in synchronization with the performance of the music, for a large number of karaoke songs. A karaoke database is constructed by storing music data including lyrics drawing data and various incidental data associated with each music. Also, main memory (RAM) at startup
Also stored is a performance program which is stored in and serves as a system program of the karaoke apparatus 1a.

The CD-ROM changer 15 has a large number of Cs.
D-ROM is stored and multiple systems of CD-RO
It is configured to include an M drive device (player) and a carrier device for supplying an appropriate CD-ROM to a player of a predetermined system. Each CD-ROM stores image data in an appropriate format such as MPEG1 used as a background image of lyrics. The image data is divided into short-term material images corresponding to cut images, and the large amounts of the material image data are stored in a large number of CD-ROMs to construct a large-scale image database.

Each system player includes a video data decoding circuit, and the CD-ROM changer 15 drives a designated CD-ROM by an appropriate player under the control of the central control unit 2 to a designated recording position. The recorded material video data is read and decoded. By alternately outputting the video signals decoded by a plurality of players, a background image edited by being connected to a series of mood images is displayed on the display 14.

The communication control unit 16 is composed of a data communication device such as a modem or TA (terminal adapter) and an interface of a predetermined standard such as RS232C, and a host computer connected to a predetermined network such as a telephone line network and a central part. It mediates data communication with the control unit 2. Then, the central control unit 2 stores the data of the new song downloaded from the host computer in the hard disk device 3 or installs the latest performance program sent from the host computer.

=== Performance Operation === When the user turns on the power and the karaoke apparatus 1a is activated, the central control unit 2 operates the IPL stored in the ROM.
According to (Initial Program Loader), the performance program is read from the hard disk device 3 and stored in the RAM. The central control unit 2 executes various processes related to the performance of the karaoke piece according to this performance program. When the central control unit 2 receives a music number input by the user through the remote control transmitter 5 or the operation panel 6 through the operation control unit 7, the central control unit 2 stores the input order and the music number in the RAM in association with each other, Register for the performance reservation. When it becomes the performance order of the reserved music, the corresponding music data is extracted from the hard disk device 3 and stored in the RAM. Music generation data in the music data stored in the RAM is sequentially transferred to the synthesizer 8, and the voice signal (music voice signal) of the accompaniment music generated here is a voice signal (singing voice signal) input from the microphone 11. It is also input to the mixing amplifier 9 and the mixed audio signal is output from the speaker 10.

On the other hand, the lyrics rendering data is processed in synchronization with the processing of the music generation data. The lyric drawing data is a character string in which all lyric characters are separated into appropriate measures, and information such as the display / erase order (lyric drawing sequence) of the character string and the display position of the character string and the display / display of each character string are displayed. Each information such as the erasing timing and the color changing timing (instruction when singing) of each character in the character string is described, and the central control unit 2 displays / erases a specified character string at a specified timing, or displays. The lyrics image in which the characters in the inside are changed in color is sequentially developed in the video RAM 12 as a bitmap.

In addition, a CD-
It controls the ROM changer 15. Video script data is
It is data describing in time series which material video data is read from which recording position of which CD-ROM.
The central control unit 2 operates the CD-RO according to the video script data.
Control the M changer 15. The video script data is created in advance so that different CD-ROMs can be designated alternately. The same CD-R
The material video data is continuously read from the OM so that there is no time lag due to access to the data recording position when switching the material video. Video control unit 13
Performs a process of superimposing the lyrics image on the mood image from the CD-ROM changer 15 and outputs the image signal to the display 14.

[0011]

The karaoke apparatus having the above-mentioned structure uses a CD-ROM changer to build a video database. Including CD-ROM changer,
Video database using many disk media,
Requires large and expensive equipment. Therefore, in view of the current trend that hard disk devices have large capacity and low price, and CPU processing speed has been remarkably improved, the music data and the video data are stored in one or a plurality of hard disk devices and the video data is stored. A karaoke device of the type that uses a dedicated decoder or software to decrypt the karaoke system has appeared. As a result, the karaoke apparatus is downsized and the price is reduced. Further, this type of karaoke apparatus has an advantage that the CD-ROM changer type does not have the advantage that the video data can be freely updated or added online in the same manner as the music data. It is considered to be popular.

However, the hard disk device is not a device that can be used semipermanently. It is also true that the probability of failure is higher than that of optical disks. Failure is likely to occur due to long-term use or shock. Even if it does not become inoperable, it often happens that data is read out abnormally due to data damage or volatilization. If a failure or abnormality of the hard disk drive occurs, it is necessary to replace the hard disk drive, reformat the hard disk, or re-store the data.

A hard disk is repaired or repaired by a store or a business operator (karaoke operator) who installs and operates a karaoke device.
The karaoke machine must be deactivated when it is under maintenance. For karaoke operators, this suspension period directly leads to a decrease in profits. Especially in restaurants, etc., there are many business forms in which one karaoke device is installed in one store, and an alternative karaoke device or karaoke venue (room)
There is no. Therefore, a customer who intends to use the karaoke device is lost during the suspension period, the business performance is not recovered even after the karaoke device is restored, and there is a high possibility that the “sequel” of the failure remains.

Therefore, there is also a karaoke apparatus which, when a read abnormality or the like which indicates a failure of the hard disk is detected, notifies the effect or notifies a predetermined contact via a communication line. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-204839, the number of times of detecting an abnormality related to a hard disk device is counted and only the count result is notified. This allows the maintenance / inspector side to know the extent of the abnormality, and does not maintain or inspect each time an abnormality is detected, reducing the cost of maintenance management. JP-A-11-65
Japanese Patent No. 578 discloses a karaoke device that monitors the temperature inside the karaoke device and notifies the abnormality in advance. Furthermore, the karaoke device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-88551 discloses a result of analysis of a process leading to a failure,
It predicts a failure by comparing it with the actual monitoring state.

However, even if a failure is actually predicted, how certain is the prediction?
If the failure does not occur as predicted, the replaced hard disk drive and all the costs required for the replacement are wasted. In addition, how much the maintenance / inspection company can respond to the predicted failure, and even before the actual failure, if there is an urgent need, the karaoke machine can be used during business hours. Will be paused. of course,
There are also unprecedented types of failures and sudden failures.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by devising the configuration of the hard disk device and the stored data, even if the hard disk actually fails, the karaoke device is continuously operated in the backup mode, and depending on the kind of failure, it is a normal operation at the time of non-failure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a karaoke device having a unique backup function in which the operation mode and the backup mode perform exactly the same operation.

[0017]

A karaoke apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by a redundant system including three external storage devices and is specified by the following items (1) to (9). Is. (1) It is a karaoke device including three external storage devices A, B and C, and a central control unit. (2) The karaoke database includes music generation data, lyrics extraction data, video script data, and attribute information. The data database is a collection of music data including two, and is stored in duplicate in two external storage devices A and B. (3) The video database is a collection of material video data divided into a large number. That is, it is divided and stored in two external storage devices B and C. (4) The performance program is duplicated and stored in two external storage devices A and B. (5) The central control unit executes the normal performance mode when there is no abnormality in any of the external storage devices, the backup A mode when the external storage device A has an abnormality, and the backup A mode when the external storage device B has an abnormality. Run backup B mode If the external storage device C is abnormal, the backup C mode is executed. (6) The normal performance mode is based on the performance program read from the external storage device A or B.
Alternatively, the music data read from B is reproduced, and the material video data read from the external storage devices B and C is reproduced according to the video script data of the music data. (7) The backup A mode is from the external storage device B The music data read from the external storage device B is reproduced based on the read performance program, and the external storage devices B and C are reproduced in accordance with the video script data of the music data.
(8) In the backup B mode, the music data read from the external storage device A is reproduced based on the performance program read from the external storage device A, and Reproducing the material video data read from the external storage device C according to the attribute information, (9) The backup C mode is read from the external storage device A or B based on the performance program read from the external storage device A or B. Playing back the music data and playing back the material video data read from the external storage device B in accordance with the attribute information of the music data,

In the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned basic configuration, the central control unit executes the investigation program stored in the internal ROM at the time of start-up so that the three external storage devices A, B and C are executed.
Alternatively, the central control unit may record the abnormality investigation result by the investigation program in the external storage device A, B, or C different from the investigation target.

[0019]

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION === Karaoke device === A karaoke device according to an embodiment of the present invention adopts a hardware configuration in which a hard disk device is used as a storage medium for material video data, and the hard disk device is damaged. It has a backup function that allows the karaoke machine to continue operating without interruption even if an abnormality occurs. FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the karaoke apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention. This karaoke device 1b is not equipped with a CD-ROM changer, but an MPEG decoder for decoding video data in MPEG format supplied via the central control unit 2 and a JPEG decoder for decoding still image data or moving image data in JPEG format. And a video decoding unit 17 having a built-in. Also, three hard disk devices A, B, and C are provided as external storage devices. In this embodiment, the storage capacities of the hard disk devices A, B and C are 20 GB, 30 GB and 30 GB respectively in this order.

FIG. 3 shows the contents of data stored in each of the hard disk devices A, B and C. The karaoke database is constructed by duplicating and storing the music data in the hard disk device A and the hard disk device B. Performance programs are stored in the hard disk device A and the hard disk device B, respectively. The hard disk device B and the hard disk device C are CDs equipped with the conventional karaoke device 1a (FIG. 1).
Each CD-ROM in the ROM changer 15
Similarly, a large amount of material video data divided into a large number is divided and stored, and a video database is constructed. The material video data in the present embodiment is MPEG1 format video data or JPEG format image data, and the material video data corresponding to a short-time moving image is used as a video file, and image data corresponding to one still image. Is used as an image file, and each material video is managed in file units. Therefore, the video script data in this embodiment is a time-sequential description of video files that are alternately read from the hard disk device B and the hard disk device C and processed. The performance program is stored in the hard disk device A and the hard disk device B.

=== Operation Mode === The karaoke apparatus 1b of the present embodiment operates in different modes according to the failure status of the hard disk devices A, B, and C at startup. When the karaoke machine 1b is started by supplying power, the central control unit 2 develops a hard disk device investigation program (hereinafter, investigation program) in the internal ROM in the RAM according to the IPL. When the central control unit 2 executes this investigation program and recognizes that all of the hard disk devices A, B, and C are normal, it reads the performance program from the hard disk device A and reads R
The karaoke device 1 developed in AM and played in the normal performance mode
Control / b. On the other hand, hard disk devices A and B
If any of the Cs has failed, the karaoke machine 1b is controlled / controlled by any of the backup modes A to C according to the performance program read from the hard disk device that has not failed.

=== Normal Performance Mode === In the normal performance mode, the conventional karaoke apparatus 1a (FIG. 1) is used.
The operation is almost the same as the performance processing in. The central control unit 2 reads the performance program from the hard disk device A and also reads the music data of the designated music from the hard disk device A. Then, the music data is stored in RAM
Then, the accompaniment music and lyrics image generation processing is executed, and in parallel with this processing, video files alternately read from the hard disk device B and the hard disk device C are transferred to the video decoding unit 17. The video signal decoded by the video decoding unit 17 is input to the video control unit 13. Video control unit 13
Outputs a video signal obtained by superimposing the lyrics image bit-mapped in the video RAM 12 on the video signal from the video decoding unit 17 to the display 14.

=== Backup A Mode === The performance mode when the hard disk device A fails is the backup A mode (A mode). Central control unit 2
If the investigation program determines that the hard disk device A has failed, it develops the performance program stored in the hard disk device B into the RAM and gives the performance program that the hard disk device A has failed. The performance program recognizes that the hard disk device A is out of order and reads the designated music data from the hard disk device B. Therefore, the same operation as the normal performance mode is performed except that the hard disk device for reading the music data is different. === Backup B mode === The mode when the hard disk device B fails is the backup B mode (B mode). The central controller 2
When it is determined by the investigation program that the hard disk device B is out of order, the performance program stored in the hard disk device A is expanded in the RAM and the fact that the hard disk device B is out of order is given to the performance program. Since the hard disk device B is out of order, the performance program cannot apply the method of alternately reading the video files from the hard disk device B and the hard disk device C and editing the background image. In this embodiment, the music genre and the like are attached to each piece of music generation data as attribute information, and a correspondence table between the attribute information and predetermined material video data is stored in the ROM or the like. Further, the material video data specified by the correspondence table is an image file corresponding to a still image, and the correspondence table describes the image file names to be displayed and the display order in time series. Note that the image file may be image data in another format such as GIF as long as it has a decoding means using dedicated hardware or software. Of course, it may be data (motion JPEG, motion GIF, etc.) of a type in which a plurality of still images are switched to make a moving image. In the B mode, the central control unit 2 reads out the image files corresponding to the attribute information of the designated music piece from the hard disk device C in the display order and sequentially transfers them to the video decoding unit 17 in time series. The video decoding unit 17 outputs the decoded video signal of the still image to the video control unit 13.
As a result, the lyrics are superimposed and displayed on the background image in which the still images are continuously switched on the display 14.

=== Backup C Mode === The mode when the hard disk device C fails is the backup C mode (C mode). The central controller 2
When it is determined by the investigation program that the hard disk device C is out of order, the performance program stored in the hard disk device A is developed in the RAM and the fact that the hard disk device C is out of order is given to the performance program. In the hard disk device B and the hard disk device C, video files and image files having the same contents are partially overlapped and stored, and the performance program is the same as in the B mode, and the material corresponding to the attribute information of the designated music piece is stored. The video data (image file) is read from the hard disk device B and decoded. Therefore, the karaoke device 1b is
The operation is exactly the same as in B mode except that the hard disk device from which the performance program, music data, and image file is read out is different.

=== Ancillary Function Accompanied by Failure of Hard Disk Device === The karaoke apparatus 1b of the present embodiment has the above-mentioned backup modes corresponding to the failure of the hard disk device and records the status of failure or abnormality. Failure recording function to
It has a failure notification function for notifying a maintenance / inspection company of the karaoke apparatus that the hard disk device has failed.

<Failure Recording Function> The central control unit 2 makes a log of a failure of the hard disk device confirmed at the time of startup or after startup, such as a temporary reading error, as a failure history record of a predetermined file format, and the hard disk. Store in the device. Of course, the failure record book cannot be stored in the hard disk drive in which the failure has occurred. Further, even if the failure does not occur, if a failure occurs in the hard disk device, there is a possibility that the failure history record cannot be retrieved. Therefore, in this embodiment, a failure or abnormality of the hard disk device A is recorded in the hard disk device B, and a failure or abnormality of the hard disk device B or the hard disk device C is recorded in the hard disk device A. The contents of the failure record include, for failures, the operated backup mode (A mode to C mode) and the operation date and time. The details of the error include the hard disk device in which the error occurred, the date and time when the error occurred, and the details of the error. The details of the abnormality are, for example, the fact that the access to the specific data is impossible, and the data name thereof.

<Fault notification function> The FAX number of a maker, such as a device maker, who maintains and inspects karaoke equipment is stored in the ROM.
When the central control unit 2 recognizes a failure of the hard disk device, the central control unit 2 creates a standard failure notification stating that, and a maintenance / inspection company. To notify. The contents of the failure notification include a terminal ID for identifying the failed karaoke device 1b, a telephone number, a failed hard disk device (A, B, C), a failure date and time, and the like. Then, at the time of start-up or during a performance pause, the communication control section 16 is connected to a telephone line at a proper time to call the FAX number. Then, the failure notification converted into FAX format data is sent. As a result, the dealer who received the FAX of the failure notification can go to the installation place of the karaoke apparatus 1b and take appropriate measures according to the contents of the notification. Note that the content of the above-described failure notification may be synthetic voice, not limited to FAX. Then, a predetermined telephone number may be called and notified by a voice message. Alternatively, the failure may be notified to a predetermined address by connecting to a predetermined data communication network such as the Internet in the form of electronic mail. Of course, a predetermined lamp provided in the karaoke apparatus 1b may be turned on or off, or if an information display such as a liquid crystal panel is provided and the details of the failure are displayed here, the karaoke apparatus 1b is operated. Persons and users can be notified of failures.

=== Others, Modifications / Applications === In the above embodiment, the backup mode is operated only when the hard disk device fails. However, even if all hard disk devices are normal, failure can be predicted to some extent by analyzing the contents of the failure record book. Therefore, for example, when a predetermined condition is satisfied such that a reading error occurs in a specific hard disk device a predetermined number of times or more, the hard disk device may be operated in an appropriate backup mode.

When the hard disk device actually fails or is expected to fail, the backup mode is activated and the maintenance / inspection company is notified of that fact. It may be recorded. Then, if the contents of the failure record book are periodically notified to the maintenance / inspection company in the same manner as the failure notification, the state of the hard disk device can be grasped.

In the above embodiment, the failure of the hard disk device is investigated at the time of startup, but there is a possibility that the hard disk device will fail during the operation of the karaoke device after the startup. Therefore, if the performance program is configured to restart when the failure of the hard disk device that occurs after the startup is recognized, the failure of the hard disk device is detected at the time of restart and the hard disk device operates in an appropriate mode. The timing of restarting may be timely, such as between musical performances. And for the songs reserved for performance before restarting, if the reservation table etc. is temporarily saved in a normal hard disk device and the reservation table is stored again in RAM after startup, the user can perform a performance reservation operation. There is no need to fix it.

The performance program stored in the hard disk device A (referred to as program A) and the performance program stored in the hard disk device B (referred to as program B) may have the same configuration, or a part of different processing is executed. It may be configured to do so. That is, in the above embodiment, the program B is used only when the hard disk device A fails. Otherwise, program A is used. Therefore, the program B may be configured to read the music data of the designated music from the hard disk device B.

When the programs A and B have the same structure, the hard disk device investigation program only specifies the read hard disk device of the performance program, and the performance program itself investigates the hard disk device or the investigation program detects the defective hard disk device. You can get information from the karaoke machine 1b in a specific mode.
Should be operated.

In the B mode and the C mode, not only still images but also a plurality of image data associated with attribute information may be sequentially read and sequentially transferred to the image decoding unit 17 to display a moving image. By adding appropriate video effects such as fade-in / fade-out at the time of video switching, it is possible to reduce the discomfort at the time of video switching even if the video file transfer is not in time. Alternatively, a video file corresponding to a material video longer than the performance time of one music piece may be prepared, and this video file may be designated in the backup B and C modes.

Attribute information that directly specifies a specific video file or image file may be associated with each song without using the correspondence table, or material video data for B and C modes may be prepared exclusively. Then, it may be randomly selected from them.

In a karaoke device for a communication karaoke system, music data and various programs are downloaded to a hard disk device. Therefore, if the music data is simultaneously stored in the hard disk device A and the hard disk device B at the download opportunity, new data and programs are surely stored even if one of the hard disk devices is out of order. Of course, a failure of the hard disk device may be discriminated at a communication opportunity and stored in an appropriate hard disk device. In this case, if both the hard disk device A and the hard disk device B are normal, it is possible to download to one hard disk device and copy the download data to the other after the download is completed. Of course, if a failure occurs during downloading, it may be possible to transfer it to the other.

[0037]

According to the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, even if a video database is built in an external storage device such as a hard disk device, by equipping three external storage devices, one of the external storage devices fails. Even if it does, the karaoke device can be continuously operated without stopping. Moreover, the data capacity is saved by devising the data content stored in each of the three external storage devices.

Also, the performance of the music and the display of the lyrics are exactly the same as the normal operation, and the display operation of the background image is also the same as the normal operation depending on the malfunctioning external storage device. Even if the display operation of the background image is different from the normal operation, the appropriate background image is displayed based on the attribute information associated with each song, so that the user's discomfort can be reduced. it can.

If the operating state of the external storage device is investigated at the time of start-up and the background image display processing is appropriately performed according to the result of the investigation, it is restarted when the failure of the external storage device is recognized after the start-up. It is changed to an appropriate display process only by performing the process.

By recording the status of a failure or abnormality as a failure history record in an external storage device that has not failed, the failure or abnormality log can be reliably saved. Logs are important materials for accurately grasping the status of failures and for repairs and prevention of future failures.
Even if all external storage devices are normal, if a failure is predicted based on the failure history record and appropriate processing is switched, a sudden failure can be prevented beforehand, and a failure is expected in advance. It is also possible to take security measures in advance for the data stored in the external storage device.

By notifying a predetermined contact that the external storage device has failed, the external storage device will not be left in a failed state. In a karaoke device that is a terminal of a communication karaoke system, by downloading music data and a performance program to two music data storage external storage devices A and B almost at the same time, one of the external storage devices fails after the download. Also, the music data is surely stored in the other external storage device. Therefore, there is no delay in adding new songs or upgrading programs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke device given as a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke device given as an example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the contents of data stored in each of the three hard disk devices equipped in the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b Karaoke device 2 Central control unit 3, hard disk device A / B / C hard disk device 16 communication control unit 17 video decoding unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G10K 15/04 302 G06F 3/06-3/08 G11B 20/10 H04N 5/765 H04N 5/781

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A karaoke device comprising three external storage devices A, B and C and a central control unit (2), wherein the karaoke database comprises music generation data, lyrics extraction data and video script data. A collection of music data including attribute information, which is stored in duplicate in two external storage devices A and B, and a video database is a collection of material video data divided into a large number of 2 The external storage devices B and C are separately stored, and the performance program is redundantly stored in the two external storage devices A and B. The central control unit (2) determines which external storage device If there is no abnormality, the normal performance mode is executed, if the external storage device A is abnormal, the backup A mode is executed, if the external storage device B is abnormal, the backup B mode is executed, and the external storage device C is executed. If something is wrong, In the normal performance mode, the music data read from the external storage device A or B is reproduced based on the performance program read from the external storage device A or B, and the video script data of the music data is executed in the normal performance mode. According to the external storage device B
In the backup A mode, the music data read from the external storage device B is reproduced based on the performance program read from the external storage device B, and the video script of the music data is reproduced. The material video data read from the external storage devices B and C is reproduced in accordance with the data, and the backup B mode reproduces the music data read from the external storage device A based on the performance program read from the external storage device A. The material video data read from the external storage device C is reproduced according to the attribute information of the music data, and the backup C mode is based on the performance program read from the external storage device A or B.
Alternatively, the music data read from B is reproduced, and the external storage device B is reproduced according to the attribute information of the music data.
A karaoke device that plays back the material video data read from the. 2. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the central control unit (2) executes an investigation program stored in an internal ROM at the time of start-up to perform an abnormality investigation of the three external storage devices A, B and C. . 3. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the central control unit (2) records the abnormality investigation result by the investigation program in the external storage device A, B or C different from the investigation target.