JPH0229820A - Interface - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to drive many peripheral devices by using a display device for connecting/coupling respective peripheral devices and providing each peripheral device with a device capable of receiving and deciding displayed information/signals. CONSTITUTION:When optical reaction elements such as phototransistors in a signal checking device are regularly arrayed like gratings, signals or characters are displayed on a CRT with comparatively large size and the signal checking device is fixed so as to cover the CRT to receive the signals, the signal current of each optical reaction element can be allowed to appear/ disappear or strengthened/weakened in accordance with brightness on the CRT. Consequently, the same luminescent spots of as that of the signals/characters displayed on the CRT can be reproduced also on a display filled with LEDs. The signal checking device can reproduce also signals/characters on other displays having different brightness values in addition to the CRT.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" Conventional interfaces used to connect computers and peripheral devices are used only to connect specific devices (general standardization such as R8-232G) There were some problems with the software, and it was difficult to use it for devices with different software systems.

Even if the interfaces (1) to (6) above are devices with different software systems, the display, audio, and RF ratio outputs have already been standardized in accordance with the standards for general TV broadcasting and stereo. By taking advantage of the fact that the sending software can freely change and arrange the specifications within the standard, and that it is easy to have commonality in the output signal format, the above interface can newly handle signal conversion due to differences in software and systems. It has the characteristic that the transmission can be read without the need for it.

"Problems that the invention is trying to solve" The problems that this invention is trying to solve are: display, audio, R
How to input the signals necessary for peripheral devices into the F output signal, and how to input the signals necessary for the peripheral device, and the display, audio, etc.
The problem is how to extract the signals necessary for peripheral devices from the RF multiplied signal.

"Example" An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Conventional display devices are used as visual confirmation devices for software creation, signal display, video simulation, etc., and the display area is quite large depending on the need. For example, the dot size is 256 dots (height) x 212 dots (width), and the form and display location of signals and characters can be freely set by software.

An explanation will now be given by taking a CRT display device as an example. Declare an area dedicated to interface display on the CRT display (it may be placed anywhere), and display interface signals (signals to peripheral devices) in that area. Set the area as necessary. It is assumed that the signals output to this area have the meaning of commands and transmission to a plurality of peripheral devices and a single peripheral device. For example, a specific location vertically 220 to 22 within an area.
Set aside 7 dots x 20 to 27 dots horizontally for ON/OFF commands for motor B of peripheral device A, and when motor B is ON, character C is 8 x 8 dots (all dots are lit), OFF. When , the signal is defined as all lights off (characters erased). At this point, in order to turn on motor B, software is assembled to output character C to a predetermined dot on the CRT display. There is a clear difference in brightness from the area on the display where no character is displayed, and character C can be confirmed. A photoreactive element such as a 7-ot transistor D as an interface signal receiving device is placed on the CRT displaying this character so as to cover the CRT. When C is output, a signal current flows to the base due to the light entering from the light intake part of phototransistor D, and a current flows between the collector and emitter of phototransistor D, and the current is set so that it becomes saturated. The phototransistor D is kept conductive. If motor B cannot rotate due to insufficient capacity with the saturation current of phototransistor D, the current of phototransistor D is applied as a drive current to a high-grade transistor or cyrisk and mechanical relay, and motor B is turned on and rotated. shall be taken as a thing. Assume that when light enters phototransistor D, motor B is turned on. To stop the rotation of motor B, it is defined that character C must be turned off from the display, and in order to turn off character C from the display, software is created to turn character C off.
The light is turned off, light is stopped entering the photoreactive element, the base current is stopped, the power supply circuit of motor B is cut off, and rotation of motor B is stopped. Alternatively, a thyristor flip-flop circuit can be installed in the switching circuit of motor B using character C.
The lighting time may be set to the time required for motor B to switch. In short, character C becomes a switching character for motor B by being displayed at a predetermined location.

Signal confirmation of the light receiving device Attach a color filter to the photoresponsive element or install a photoresponsive element that only responds to a specific color on the CRT.
It is also possible to separate the signal contents according to the color of the displayed character on the display. It is also possible to use a plurality of phototransistors D for character confirmation, and to change the signal content depending on the shape, size, and display location of the character. If you want to make a more complex signal, in addition to the above transmission method, it is also possible to make the characters blink and output it as a language such as ASCII code via an optical fiber cable. In order to prevent deviations due to positional differences in the received signal, characters for point setting and characters for displaying the transmission status are provided between the CRT and the signal confirmation device, and when these characters are not received accurately, the signal is not transmitted to peripheral devices. It is also good as a safety measure to prevent it from being transmitted. It is also possible to perform feedback control such as reception confirmation and command change request from the peripheral device via the R8-232C or by using a joystick terminal or the like. As described above, by combining a display device attached to a computer, etc., and a photoreactive element such as a phototransistor, it is possible to easily incorporate any software/system equipment as a peripheral device and connect it to equipment outside the system. It is possible to link with

Next, an example of peripheral equipment will be given. Traditionally, computer-controlled LEDs have been used for signboards and message boards.
A board covered with C is used as a display, making it look like C.
There are some that display characters by blinking LEDs, such as displaying characters as a collection of dots on the RT. The principle behind this is that the information of each dot on the CRT is collected by VRA.
It is stored in the address on M and when creating a CRT image, extracts the information and displays the brightness and color on the CRT, and it performs the same operation to judge and display the brightness of each LED. It is.

In our invention, rather than directly controlling the LEDs with a computer, we use the interface signal verification device described above. The photoreactive elements such as phototransistors of this signal confirmation device are arranged regularly like the eyes of the board, the signals, characters, and letters on the CRT are displayed in a larger size, and the signal confirmation device is placed over it. Installation will be received. The number of photoreactive elements is set to be a sufficient number so that the characters displayed on the CRT can be read. Then, as explained above, the presence and strength of the signal current of the photoreactive element can be determined depending on the brightness on the CRT. An element through which a current greater than a preset signal current flows is set to be ON. The method of tensioning the LEDs on the board with LEDs is the same as the arrangement of the photoreactive elements of the signal confirmation device.
It is assumed that the photoreactive element and the LED located at opposing positions are electrically connected. Therefore, the same bright spots as the signals, characters, and characters displayed on the CRT will be reproduced on the display packed with LEDs. Further, this signal confirmation device can reproduce not only CRT but also other devices with brightness differences. For example, if characters are drawn with light-impermeable paint on a transparent glass plate and illuminated from the opposite direction and read by a signal verification device, the characters can also be displayed on an LED display. When the content displayed on the CRT changes, the LED display changes accordingly, and has exactly the same capabilities as conventional computer-controlled LED displays.

Next, an embodiment using an audio signal will be described. Computer equipment such as personal computers can output audio. This audio output is used for computer game sound effects and synthesizer sound equipment. This audio output allows you to freely set the pitch, strength, and length of the sound within the specified limits using software. Here, a sound of a predetermined frequency and a predetermined intensity is declared as a signal to the peripheral device. Although the sound for this signal can be a combination of various sounds, in this explanation, it is assumed to be a sound of a single frequency. Here, an embodiment will be described in which the motor E of the peripheral device F is controlled by an audio signal. Motor E
Let the switching ON be the 0 frequency of the audio signal, and the switching OFF be the H frequency. In order to switch on the motor E at this moment, we will create software and output an electrical signal of zero frequency within the audio signal.

A normal audio amplifier can be used as the receiving device.
Receive and amplify. This amplified electrical signal is passed through the next audio filter.

This audio filter has sufficient band characteristics to suppress electrical signals of adjacent frequencies, and is designed to allow a comparison circuit to identify only a predetermined frequency. Therefore, the electrical signal of a predetermined frequency created by the software will be confirmed by the receiving device. When the receiving device confirms the signal, a drive current flows through the switching circuit of the motor E, as set in advance, and the motor E rotates. Rotation of motor E is stopped in the same manner as above. In order to ensure control, it is preferable to use a combination of multiple tone signals. If the peripheral device is an audio device, it may be unpleasant if other sounds are mixed with the music, so ultrasonic waves that cannot be heard by humans may be used as a signal.

This signal may be transmitted from the computer to the interface by wire, or it may be transmitted as sound by a reproducing device such as a speaker to the receiving device and converted into an electrical signal again by a microphone.

This operation is similar to how a digital telephone connects to another telephone using multiple tone signals.

Next, an example of the RF output signal will be described. The RF output signal attached to a personal computer, etc. modulates the video signal and audio signal for display display into the original RF multiplied signal, and the television receiver of the commercial broadcasting receiver can be used as a display device and an audio device. This is how it was done. Therefore, a general television receiver can be used as the interface receiver. The method for inputting and outputting signals to peripheral devices is the same as that described above, and the display standards are adjusted to the standard for general television, computer software is assembled, and signals are output. This RF
As for the output characteristics, it can be output in the form of radio waves as antenna power, can be transmitted over a wide area, and can be easily received and reproduced on general television. Assume that there is an environment monitoring computer here, and it is being monitored by various sensors. One of these sensors detects an abnormality, a computer analyzes the data, and outputs an RF multiplied signal. This RF multiplied signal is received by a general TV in a wide area, and through media such as audio signals, the signal/command is identified and transmitted to a system that incorporates a general TV reception device as an interface, and peripheral devices are activated to improve the environment. It executes a predetermined operation.

``Effects of the Invention'' As explained above, signals and commands issued from devices such as computers can be received regardless of the computer software on the sending side, and the signals can be used for general purposes, and a single computer can handle a large number of peripheral devices. It becomes possible to operate.

In an interface using a display device, a large number of peripheral devices can be operated while visually checking the interface. In addition, by linking with an LED display, signals and characters can be greatly enlarged, making them easier to confirm.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) Information displayed on a display device (CRT, liquid crystal, etc.) attached to information, signal, and calculation processing equipment such as a personal computer is used for the purpose of communicating and connecting peripheral devices. - An interface that includes a device that allows peripheral devices to receive and interpret signals. (2) The signal from the audio output terminal attached to the information/signal/computation processing device such as a personal computer includes a signal to the peripheral device, and the audio signal includes a command transmission signal to the peripheral device. An interface that includes equipment that reads and transmits signals to peripheral devices. (3) Signals from RF (high frequency) output terminals attached to information/signal/calculation processing devices such as personal computers (antenna/wire signals including video/audio) include signals to peripheral devices; An interface that includes a device that reads commands and transmission signals to peripheral devices from the RF signal and transmits the signals to the peripheral devices. (4) Personal information including (1), (2), and (3) above.
Information/signal/calculation processing equipment such as computers. (5) An interface including the above (1), (2), and (3). (6) An interface including a device that can read the brightness, contrast, color, shape, output time interval, output location, etc. of the signals output and displayed on the display device of (1) above.