JP4007349B2 - Set-top box connected to IEEE 1394 serial bus and controller device connected to IEEE 1394 serial bus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a controller device such as a set top box or a digital television receiver that can be connected to a hard disk recorder (so-called AVHDD) for IEEE 1394 via an IEEE 1394 serial bus.

  In recent years, there has been an increase in hard disk recorders (so-called AVHDDs) that are connected to controller devices such as set top boxes and digital television receivers using an IEEE 1394 serial bus cable. When using this type of hard disk recorder, the user usually accumulates program files until there is no remaining storage capacity on the hard disk in the hard disk recorder, and then one program file to be deleted from the controller device side. A method of selecting and deleting the program files one by one or selecting the program files to be deleted one by one from the controller device side and then deleting the selected program files at a time is adopted. However, such a deletion method is good when the number of program files to be deleted is small, but when the number of program files to be deleted exceeds 100, an unnecessary program file is selected. And deleting it can take over an hour. When the remaining storage capacity of the hard disk in the hard disk recorder runs out, almost all recorded program files are often unnecessary for the user. Even if the user intends to delete all program files in the hard disk recorder using the format command, the format command from the controller device to the hard disk recorder is only valid between devices of the same manufacturer. If the hard disk recorder and the hard disk recorder are different manufacturers, all program files in the hard disk recorder cannot be erased at once by the format command.

By the way, in the field of a hard disk recorder integrated with a tuner, whether or not the content data recorded in the hard disk of its own device can be erased is controlled based on the record erasure availability information corresponding to each content data. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, in the field of this type of device, there is known one that can copy recorded data to another recording device without making duplicate data (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, in the field of this type of apparatus, it is known that a broadcast program recorded on a hard disk is erased from a broadcast program that deviates from the record holding condition (see, for example, Patent Document 3). . However, these inventions are inventions in the field of a hard disk recorder integrated with a tuner. Therefore, these inventions are often connected to hard disk recorders from different manufacturers, and cannot solve the above-mentioned problems peculiar to controller devices that can only use commands common among the manufacturers. .
JP 2001-331372 A JP 2002-314924 A JP 2003-289490 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus capable of deleting all unnecessary program files in the hard disk recorder in a short time with a simple operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a controller device connected to a set top box and an IEEE 1394 serial bus.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an arbitrary program in a program file connected to a hard disk recorder capable of transmitting and receiving control commands for IEEE 1394 via an IEEE 1394 serial bus and stored in the hard disk recorder. A control command for IEEE 1394 and transmission / reception of a response signal between the operation means for performing various instruction operations for the own device and the hard disk recorder, including a lock processing instruction operation for preventing deletion of the file, and a hard disk recorder; In a set-top box connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus having an IEEE 1394 interface for transmitting and receiving stream data and a control means for controlling each part of the apparatus, a hard disk is connected via the IEEE 1394 interface. A program total number obtaining means for obtaining the total number of program files stored in the hard disk recorder based on data received from the disk recorder, a program total number counter having an initial value for the total number of program files obtained by the program total number obtaining means, A decrement means for subtracting 1 from the value of the total number of programs, a designated program number storage means for storing a designated program number that is the number of a program file to be deleted at that time among the program files stored in the hard disk recorder; And determining means for determining whether or not the corresponding program file has been deleted based on a return code for the delete command for each program file, and the control means is stored in the hard disk recorder by the user using the operation means. To delete all program files At this time, the deletion command for each program file is repeatedly transmitted to the hard disk recorder until the total program counter value becomes 0, and the determination unit determines each time the deletion command is transmitted. As a result of the determination, when the corresponding program file can be deleted, 1 is decremented from the value of the program total counter by the decrementing means, and when the corresponding program file cannot be deleted as a result of the determination by the determining means, the corresponding program file is It is determined that the program is locked, the designated program number stored in the designated program number storage means is incremented by 1, the program file to be deleted is changed, and then the decrement means calculates 1 from the value of the program total counter. Is reduced.

The invention of claim 2 is connected to a hard disk recorder capable of transmitting and receiving control commands for IEEE 1394 via an IEEE 1394 serial bus, and is a lock for preventing deletion of an arbitrary program file in program files stored in the hard disk recorder. Transmission / reception of IEEE 1394 control commands and response signals, and transmission / reception of stream data between the hard disk recorder and operation means for performing various instruction operations on the own device and the hard disk recorder , including processing instruction operations In a controller device connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus having an IEEE 1394 interface for controlling each part of the apparatus, the data is received from the hard disk recorder via the IEEE 1394 interface. A program total number obtaining means for obtaining the total number of program files stored in the hard disk recorder, a program total number counter having an initial value for the total number of program files obtained by the program total number obtaining means, Decrement means for subtracting 1 from the value, designated program number storage means for storing a designated program number that is a number of a program file to be deleted at that time among program files stored in the hard disk recorder, and each program file And determining means for determining whether or not the corresponding program file has been deleted based on the return code for the deletion command, and the control means uses the operating means to control all the data stored in the hard disk recorder by the user. when the deletion of the program file is instructed, program total counter Until the value becomes 0, transmission of the delete command for each program file to the hard disk recorder is repeated, and each time this delete command is transmitted, determination by the determination means is performed. When the file can be deleted, the decrementing unit subtracts 1 from the value of the total number of programs, and when the determination unit determines that the corresponding program file cannot be deleted, it is determined that the corresponding program file is locked. The designated program number stored in the designated program number storage means is incremented by 1, the program file to be deleted is changed, and then the decrement means decrements 1 from the value of the program total counter. It is.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the user simply performs a simple operation of instructing deletion of all program files stored in the hard disk recorder by using the operation means, and the transmission result of the previous deletion command is related. First, transmission of the delete command for each program file is repeated to the hard disk recorder until the value of the program total counter becomes zero. As a result, it is shorter than a case in which it is checked whether or not each program file in the hard disk recorder has been locked, and then a delete command is transmitted to each of these program files. All unnecessary (unlocked) program files in the hard disk recorder can be deleted over time.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention relates to a controller device connected to a hard disk recorder via an IEEE 1394 serial bus. In the following embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a set top box will be described. In addition, embodiment described below does not cover this invention, and this invention is not limited only to the following form.

  FIG. 1 shows an electrical block configuration of a set top box according to the first embodiment and a hard disk recorder connected to the set top box via an IEEE 1394 serial bus. This set top box (hereinafter referred to as STB) 1 outputs a broadcast signal of a channel selected by a user from broadcast signals received via an antenna 4. The hard disk recorder 2 is a so-called AVHDD type hard disk recorder capable of transmitting and receiving control commands for IEEE1394.

  The STB 1 includes a microprocessor 7 (control means, program total number acquisition means, decrement means, determination means in claims) that controls the entire apparatus. The microprocessor 7 is connected with a tuner 5, a demodulator 6, an IEEE 1394 interface 8 (hereinafter referred to as an interface), an infrared signal receiver 9, a display unit 10, a RAM 11, and a ROM 12.

  The tuner 5 extracts the broadcast signal of the channel selected by the user from the broadcast signals received by the antenna 4. The demodulator 6 demodulates the broadcast signal extracted by the tuner 5 according to the broadcast system. The interface 8 is an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices on the IEEE 1394 serial bus 3 (hereinafter abbreviated as “bus”). Data is exchanged with the hard disk recorder 2 via the bus 3. Send and receive. The infrared signal receiving unit 9 receives the instruction signal in the infrared signal format transmitted from the remote controller 20, converts the instruction signal into a normal digital signal, and sends it to the microprocessor 7. The display unit 10 displays a list of program names of program files stored in the hard disk recorder 2 and displays various messages. The RAM 11 (designated program number storage means) stores various data such as a program total counter, designated program number, which will be described later. The ROM 12 stores various control programs.

  The remote controller 20 (operation means) has a key unit 24 composed of various keys and an infrared signal transmission unit 21. The key unit 24 is provided with a menu key 22 for displaying various menus in addition to the power key 23, the numeric input key 25, the cursor key 26, and the confirmation key 27. Each key in the remote controller 20 is used for an instruction operation for deleting all program files stored in the hard disk recorder 2 (hereinafter referred to as “all delete”), or for any arbitrary program file stored in the hard disk recorder 2. It is used to perform various instruction operations on the STB 1 and the hard disk recorder 2, including a lock processing instruction operation for preventing deletion of program files.

  The hard disk recorder 2 includes a microprocessor 31 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 30 that stores a control program for the microprocessor 31, and control commands, stream data, and the like from the STB 1 via the bus 3. It has an IEEE 1394 interface 33 (hereinafter abbreviated as an interface) for receiving data. The hard disk recorder 2 includes a plurality of hard disks 35 as recording media, a plurality of magnetic heads 36 that record and read data on these hard disks 35, and a head drive unit 34 that drives the magnetic heads 36. A buffer memory 32 for temporarily storing data to be recorded or read data.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3 in addition to the flowchart of FIG. 2, processing on the STB 1 side in the case where the above-described all deletion instruction operation is performed by the user using the remote controller 20 will be described. The user wants to keep the program file stored in the hard disk recorder 2 using the remote controller 20 while checking the list of program names of the program files in the hard disk recorder 2 displayed on the display unit 10. When instructed to lock the program file, the STB 1 transmits a lock command on the IEEE 1394 protocol to the hard disk recorder 2 via the bus 3. Thereby, the corresponding program file stored in the hard disk recorder 2 is locked. For example, when the user uses the remote controller 20 to instruct the program files of programs A, D, E, and G stored in the hard disk recorder 2 to be locked one by one, these program files Is locked. This state is the state shown on the left side of FIG. In this state, when the user uses the remote controller 20 to instruct to delete all the above, the microprocessor 7 on the STB 1 side calculates the total number of program files stored in the hard disk recorder 2 via the bus 3. When the data is received (S1), the total number of the program files is set as the initial value of the total program counter, and the initial value 1 is set to the designated program number that is the number of the program file to be deleted at that time. (S2). This designated program number is used as a pointer indicating the position of the program file to be deleted. The microprocessor 7 transmits a delete command to the program file corresponding to the designated program number (S3). As a result, if the deletion of the program file is successful (YES in S4), the above-mentioned program total counter 1 is subtracted from (S5).

  If the deletion of the program file fails in the determination process of S4 (NO in S4), the microprocessor 7 determines that the corresponding program file is locked (locked) and stores it in the RAM 11. The stored designated program number is incremented by 1, the program file to be deleted is changed (S6), and 1 is subtracted from the value of the program total counter indicating the total number of remaining program files to be deleted (S6). S7). Then, the processes of S3 to S7 are repeated until the value of the program total counter becomes 0 (NO in S8). In the case of the example shown in FIG. 3, by performing the above processing, among the eight program files 41 of the programs A to H stored in the hard disk recorder 2, the programs A, D, All program files 41 except E and G program files 41 are automatically deleted in a short time. Further, when the number of program files 41 to be deleted is large, a message “deleting” may be displayed on the display unit 10.

  As described above, according to the STB 1 of the first embodiment, the user simply performs a simple operation of instructing to delete all the program files 41 stored in the hard disk recorder 2 using the remote controller 20. The microprocessor 7 on the STB 1 side repeats the deletion command transmission process for each program file to the hard disk recorder 2 until the value of the program total counter becomes 0, regardless of the transmission result of the previous deletion command. Thus, all unnecessary program files 41 in the hard disk recorder 2 can be deleted in a short time with a simple operation.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the processing of the STB 1 of the second embodiment when the user performs an all delete instruction operation using the remote controller 20 will be described. The STB 1 of the second embodiment has an electrical block configuration similar to that of the STB 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. When the user uses the remote controller 20 to instruct to delete all, the microprocessor 7 on the STB 1 side performs the same processing as S1 and S2 in the case of the first embodiment (S11 and S12). ), Data (lock information) indicating whether or not the program file 41 corresponding to the designated program number in the hard disk recorder 2 is locked is acquired from the hard disk recorder 2 via the bus 3 (S13). When the corresponding program file 41 is not locked (NO in S14), the microprocessor 7 of the STB 1 transmits a delete command to the corresponding program file 41 (S15) and decrements 1 from the total number of programs. (S16).

  In the determination process of S14, when the corresponding program file 41 is in a locked state (YES in S14), the microprocessor 7 increments the designated program number stored in the RAM 11 and deletes the program file to be deleted. Is changed (S17), and 1 is subtracted from the value of the program total counter indicating the total number of remaining program files to be deleted (S18). Then, the processes of S13 to S18 are repeated until the value of the program total counter becomes 0 (NO in S19).

  As described above, according to the STB 1 of the second embodiment, the user simply performs a simple operation of instructing deletion of all the program files 41 stored in the hard disk recorder 2 using the remote controller 20. The microprocessor 7 on the STB 1 side repeats the deletion command transmission process for all the program files 41 except for the program file 41 in the locked state among the program files 41 in the hard disk recorder 2. Thereby, all unnecessary program files 41 in the hard disk recorder 2 can be deleted by a simple operation.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in each of the above embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to the STB 1 has been shown, but the application target of the present invention is not limited to this, and other controller devices such as a digital television receiver may be used. Good. In the first embodiment, a list of program names of program files in the hard disk recorder 2 is displayed on the display unit 10, but a list of program names is displayed on the digital television receiver on the bus. You may make it do.

FIG. 2 is an electrical block configuration diagram of the STB according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a hard disk recorder connected to the STB. The flowchart which shows a process when instruction | indication operation of all deletion is performed in said STB. The figure which shows the process result of the said all deletion. 10 is a flowchart showing processing when an instruction to delete all is performed in the STB according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 STB (Set Top Box)
2 Hard disk recorder 3 Bus (IEEE1394 serial bus)
7 Microprocessor (control means, program total number acquisition means, decrement means, determination means)
11 RAM (designated program number storage means)
20 Remote control (operating means)
41 Program files

Claims (2)

It is connected to a hard disk recorder capable of sending and receiving control commands for IEEE1394 via an IEEE1394 serial bus,
Operation means for performing various instruction operations on the own apparatus and the hard disk recorder, including an instruction operation of lock processing for preventing deletion of an arbitrary program file in the program files stored in the hard disk recorder;
IEEE 1394 interface for transmitting / receiving IEEE 1394 control commands and their response signals to / from the hard disk recorder, and transmitting / receiving stream data;
In a set top box connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus having control means for controlling each part of the device,
Program total number obtaining means for obtaining the total number of program files stored in the hard disk recorder based on data received from the hard disk recorder via the IEEE 1394 interface;
A program total counter with an initial value of the total number of program files obtained by the program total number acquisition means;
Decrement means for subtracting 1 from the value of the program total counter;
Among the program files stored in the hard disk recorder, designated program number storage means for storing a designated program number that is the number of a program file to be deleted at that time,
Determination means for determining whether or not the corresponding program file has been deleted based on a return code for the deletion command for each program file;
The control means includes
When deletion of all program files stored in the hard disk recorder is instructed by the user using the operation means,
Until the value of the total program counter reaches 0, the delete command for each program file is repeatedly transmitted to the hard disk recorder, and each time this delete command is transmitted, the determination unit performs determination.
As a result of determination by the determination means, when the corresponding program file can be deleted, the decrement means subtracts 1 from the value of the program total counter,
As a result of determination by the determination means, if the corresponding program file cannot be deleted, it is determined that the corresponding program file is locked, and one designated program number stored in the designated program number storage means is determined. A set-top box connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus, wherein the program file to be deleted is changed and the program file to be deleted is changed, and the decrement means subtracts 1 from the value of the total number of programs. It is connected to a hard disk recorder capable of sending and receiving control commands for IEEE1394 via an IEEE1394 serial bus,
Operation means for performing various instruction operations on the own apparatus and the hard disk recorder , including an instruction operation of lock processing for preventing deletion of an arbitrary program file in the program files stored in the hard disk recorder;
IEEE 1394 interface for transmitting / receiving IEEE 1394 control commands and their response signals to / from the hard disk recorder, and transmitting / receiving stream data;
In a controller device connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus having control means for controlling each part of the device,
Program total number obtaining means for obtaining the total number of program files stored in the hard disk recorder based on data received from the hard disk recorder via the IEEE 1394 interface;
A program total counter with an initial value of the total number of program files obtained by the program total number acquisition means;
Decrement means for subtracting 1 from the value of the program total counter;
Among the program files stored in the hard disk recorder, designated program number storage means for storing a designated program number that is the number of a program file to be deleted at that time,
Determination means for determining whether or not the corresponding program file has been deleted based on a return code for the deletion command for each program file;
The control means includes
When deletion of all program files stored in the hard disk recorder is instructed by the user using the operation means,
Until the value of the total program counter reaches 0, the delete command for each program file is repeatedly transmitted to the hard disk recorder, and each time this delete command is transmitted, the determination unit performs determination.
As a result of determination by the determination means, when the corresponding program file can be deleted, the decrement means subtracts 1 from the value of the program total counter,
As a result of determination by the determination means, if the corresponding program file cannot be deleted, it is determined that the corresponding program file is locked, and one designated program number stored in the designated program number storage means is determined. A controller device connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus , wherein the program file to be deleted is changed and the program file to be deleted is changed, and 1 is subtracted from the value of the total number of programs by the decrementing means .

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