JPH03172089A - Av selector device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and surely connect an AV equipment as the transmission source of a remote control signal with an AV equipment to respond this remote control signal by a line without fail by connecting one AV equipment with the other AV equipment to transit a positive response by the line out of the plural AV equipments. CONSTITUTION:A remote control signal monitor part 12 is equipped with four remote control signal repeating terminals 121-124 to respectively receive the remote control signals to be sent from AV equipments AV1-AV4. These four remote control repeating terminals are commonly connected to a remote control signal monitoring terminal 140 of a CPU 14. The CPU 14 recognizes that one AV equipment, for example, the AV1 executes the transmission according to the remote control signal transmitted by the AV1, and one of the other AV equipments AV2-AV4 makes the response. Then, the positive response transmitted to positive response transmission/reception terminals 132-134 is received and the positive response is transmitted to one AV1. This AV1 is connected to the AV transmitting the positive response by the line out of the other AV2-4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an AV selector device that enables efficient line connection of a plurality of AV devices. [Prior Art] An AV selector device is effective when it is desired to connect two arbitrarily selected out of a large number of AV (audio/visual) devices without switching the connection line. As these devices have become more widespread, these AV selector devices have come to be commonly used in households. The AV selector device 1 shown in FIG. 4 connects each line output terminal 3 and line input terminal 4 of a plurality of AV devices 2 constituting an AV system to line input terminals 5 and line output terminals provided on the device 1 side, respectively. 6, and one AV device 2 serves as the transmission source of the video signal or audio signal.
When the AV equipment 2 receiving the video signal or audio signal from the transmission source is remotely specified using, for example, the remote control transmitter 7, the selector circuit 8 inside the device W1 selects between the specified AV equipment 2. Line connections can be made in any combination. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above conventional AV selector device Wl1 has a line input terminal 5.
and line output terminal 6, for example, for TV and VTR, respectively.
Normally, a specific AV device 2 is specified in advance as a connection target, such as AV device 2, LD device, CD device, or DAT device. Therefore, depending on the combination of AV devices 2 used, connection may be difficult due to lack of terminals. There have been cases where some AV devices 2 that cannot be used have been left unused, or conversely, unused terminals have been left because there is no compatible AV device. Also, when this type of AV selector device 1 is remotely operated using the remote control transmitter 7, a judgment circuit is added to the selector circuit 8 to decode the remote control signal and specify the AV device 2 to be connected. This requires a relatively high level of judgment ability in the judgment circuit, making it difficult to reduce manufacturing costs.Also, regarding remote control operation, it is difficult to connect the AV equipment 2 to the transmitting source and receiving side. Not only do you have to specify them one by one, but even if the line connection is completed by remote control operation, the AV equipment 2
It was necessary to use another remote control transmitter, such as 9.10, to issue remote control commands to the . In fact, for example, when trying to play back images recorded on a video tape on a television receiver, first use the remote control transmitter 7 attached to the AV selector device It to connect multiple AV
It is necessary to specify the VTR and TV from Device 2, then turn on the television receiver and video tape recorder using the same remote control operation, and then set the video tape recorder to playback mode. Ta. In addition, in order to eliminate complicated remote control operations using multiple remote control transmitters 7, 9, and 10, for example, a single remote control transmitter with a learning function can be used to learn the functions of the remote control transmitters attached to each AV device. However, even if such a remote control transmitter with a learning function is introduced, the AV selector device 1 and the plurality of AV devices 2 will have to be adjusted accordingly. It was necessary to rely on the remote control signals, and as a result, there was a problem in that there was no significant difference in the procedure or number of times the remote control was operated, including operability. [Means for Solving the Problems] This invention solves the above problems, and includes a plurality of A
A plurality of remote control signal relay terminals that individually receive remote control signals sent from the V equipment are commonly connected to an internal remote control signal monitoring terminal, and a remote control signal monitoring section that monitors whether or not a remote control signal is being transmitted; It has a plurality of acknowledgment transmission/reception terminals provided corresponding to a number of AV devices,
The first AV device receives an acknowledgment sent to the acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal in response to the remote control signal sent by the other AV device via the remote control signal monitoring unit, and
The present invention is characterized in that it includes a selector section that transmits an acknowledgment to the AV device and connects this one AV device and another AV41 device that has transmitted the acknowledgment through a line. [Function] The present invention provides a system in which one AV device among a plurality of AV devices connected to each other so that remote control signals can be exchanged by the remote control signal monitoring section responds to a remote control signal transmitted via the remote control signal monitoring section. The acknowledgment sent by another AVllI device is received by the dedicated acknowledgment transmitting/receiving terminal, and one AV
By transmitting an acknowledgment to the device and connecting this one AV device to the other AVIII device that has sent the acknowledgment, the content of the remote control signal can be transmitted without restricting the line connection mode at all. Enables free line connections between multiple AV devices without any involvement. [Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the AV selector device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the AV selector device shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the AV selector device 1l has multiple AV devices! ,l:. 1m Te 41111 (7) AV
It mediates the free line connection between the II devices AVI, AV2, AV3, and AV4, and centralizes the judgment functions of each part of the remote control signal monitoring part 12 and selector part l3, which are the core of the circuit configuration. They are connected via a CPU (central processing unit) 14. The remote control signal monitoring unit l2 has four remote control signal relay terminals 121, 122123, and 124 that individually receive remote control signals sent from the AV machines WAVI to AV4, and these four remote control signal relay terminals 121 -124 is CPU1
It is commonly connected to the remote control signal monitoring terminal 140 of 4.
Therefore, the four AV1I devices AVI-AV4 can mutually communicate remote control signals via the common connection line in the remote control signal monitoring section 12, and the CPU 1.
4 can constantly monitor the presence or absence of remote control signal transmission. The selector section l3 includes four acknowledgment transmission/reception terminals 1, 31, 13 provided corresponding to each AV device AVI-AV4.
2,133,134, and these acknowledgment transmission/reception terminals 131-134 are connected to corresponding ACK terminals 141-144 of the CPU 14, respectively.
The CPU 14 receives a remote control signal transmitted from one AV device, for example, AVI, via the remote control signal monitoring unit 12,
One of the V devices AV2 to AV4 responds and receives the acknowledgment transmitted to the acknowledgment reception terminals 132 to 134, and transmits the acknowledgment to the one AV device AVI. is connected by line to the other AV device AV~4 that sent the acknowledgment. The four AV devices AVI to AV4 are each equipped with a remote control signal transmission/reception terminal 15 and an acknowledgment method reception terminal 16, and the AV selector device fil and each AV device A
When connecting VI to AV4, in addition to the video cable and audio cable, a stereo cable is required in which the three lines of the remote control signal line, acknowledgment signal line, and ground line are covered in one cable. In this embodiment, based on the judgment of the CPU 14 in the AV selector device ll,
ACK terminal 141 that takes low level with acknowledgment
AVQ devices AVI to AV4 corresponding to 144 are connected to each other by line. The operation leading to line connection will be explained below with reference to Figure 2.
However, here, for example, AV equipment such as a VTR, AVI
as a command center, and other 3 AV devices including TV
We will explain the remote control operation when tAV1 to AV4 are under its control. Here, when the power of the AV device AVI is turned on, the AV device AVI first sets its acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal 16 to a high level in order to confirm whether the AV selector device 11 is connected. On the other hand, upon receiving this, the CPU 14 in the AV selector device 11 keeps the corresponding ACK terminal 141 at a high level and sends the AV device IAVI via the acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal 131.
Send a presence response to . Next, when the remote control transmitter 17 dedicated to the All device AVI is operated to give a remote control command such as a playback command to the AV device IAVI, the AVIII device AVI transmits the acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal 1.
Switch 31 to low level and notify that you are ready to send a remote control signal. At this time, in response to the change of the ACK terminal 141 to low level, the AV selector device 11 selects other AV devices AV 2 to AV 4 .
G: Set all corresponding t6AcK terminals 142 to 144 to low level. This allows other AV devices AV2 to AV4 to
The respective acknowledgment reception terminals 132 to 134 are set to a low level, and the AV selector device 11 is ready to receive a remote control signal via the remote control signal monitoring section 12. In this way, when preparations for remote control signal communication are completed, the AV device I
AVI transmits remote control signals. The transmitted remote control signal immediately passes through the AV selector device 11 and is sent to another A.
The information is transmitted to the V devices AV2 to AV4, and the AV device AVI, which has finished transmitting the remote control signal, switches its own acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal 131 from low level to high level, and notifies the CPU 14 that the remote control signal transmission has been completed. Therefore, upon receiving the notification from the ACK terminal 141↓ indicating that the remote control signal has been transmitted from the AV device AVI, the CPU14 immediately sends the message to the other AV devices AV2~A■
4, the t6AcKR pins 142 to 143 are switched to high level, and the device is now ready to receive acknowledgments from other AV devices AV2 to AV4. Among the other AV devices AV2 to AV4 that have received the remote control signal from the AV device AVI, the AV device IAV2, such as a TV, which responds to the command contents of the remote control signal, outputs an affirmative response within a certain period of time and The acknowledgment transmitting/receiving terminal 16 of is set to low level for a predetermined time interval. the result. The CPU 14, which receives a low-level affirmative response at the ACK terminal 142, switches the ACK terminal 141 to a low level in order to notify the AV device I that the AV device IAV2 has responded to the remote control signal. Upon receiving this, the AV device BAVl, which is the source of the remote control signal, completes communication of the remote control signal. 15. The CPU 14 switches the selector unit 12 to connect the AV devices 11tAV1 and AV2 corresponding to the ACK terminals 14 1, 1 4 2 to each other by line, so that the AV
The video signal lines and audio signal lines of devices Av1 and AV2 are electrically connected via an AV selector device 1111. During this time, the AV selector device 11 is not concerned with the command content of the remote control signal, but simply monitors the transmission of the remote control signal, and easily adjusts the signal levels of the ACK terminals 141 to 144 before and after that. All you have to do is perform monitoring operations according to the appropriate sequence. Note that even when a remote control signal such as a fast forward command is issued following a reproduction command, the remote control signal and acknowledgment communication are performed in the same manner as described above. Even when the power of the AV device AVI is finally turned off, communication of remote control signals and related acknowledgments is carried out in the same way. However, the power supply of the AVg device AVI and the power supply of the other AVQ device AV2
~ Since it is expected that there will be requests from users that interlocking with each power supply of AV4 is unnecessary, we will leave some room for choice regarding the interlocking of power supplies on the AV machine WAVl-AV4 side so that we can meet these demands. It is a good idea to leave it there. In this way, the AV selector device l1 responds to the remote control signal with the AV device AVI, which is the source of the remote control signal, by simply monitoring the transmission of the remote control signal and the subsequent acknowledgment. AV equipment AV2 can be easily and securely connected via line.
In addition, the AV selector device l1 itself does not need to be concerned with the contents of commands of the remote control signal, and only needs to monitor that the remote control signal has been transmitted.
It is not necessary to have advanced judgment functions. Furthermore, the line terminals and output terminals prepared assuming the line connection of multiple AV devices AVI to AV4 are connected in advance to each terminal.
Since there is no need to specify the type of equipment, AV equipment 2S
The connection mode of AV1-A4 can be left to the user's discretion. Therefore, for example, as with the conventional AV selector device w1, this may lead to a situation where there are AV devices that lack line terminals and output terminals, while there are AV devices that cannot be connected due to a lack of line terminals and output terminals. It is possible to construct an extremely flexible AV system that allows the connection of AV equipment that maximizes the number of prepared lines and output terminals. In the above embodiment, the number of AV devices to be connected to the AV selector device 11 may be three or more than five, for example, when a remote control transmitter 22 is used, as in the AV selector device 21 shown in FIG. In addition to the TV 23, which is designated as a dedicated input device for remote control signals, there are three VTRs 24 and 2.
5.26, BS tuner 27 and ghost canceller 28
Furthermore, an LD player 29, a CD player 30, and a DA
Various video and audio equipment such as T31 can be connected. In this case, remote control commands for all AV devices 23 to 31 can be given via the TV 23. Therefore, a single remote control transmitter 22 prepared for the TV 23 is sufficient, and no special learning function is required. [Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention provides a method in which one AV device among a plurality of AV devices connected by the remote control signal monitoring section so that remote control signals can be communicated with each other via the remote control signal monitoring section. A positive response transmitted by another AV device in response to the transmitted remote control signal is received by a dedicated acknowledgment transmitting/receiving terminal, and the positive response is transmitted to the first AV device, and the acknowledgment is transmitted to the first AV device. Other AVs that sent responses
Since the device is configured to be connected via line, all that is required is to monitor that the remote control signal has been transmitted and the subsequent acknowledgment, and the AV device that is the source of the remote control signal should respond to this remote control signal. AV devices can be easily and reliably connected via line, and the device itself does not need to be concerned with the command contents of remote control signals; it only needs to monitor that the remote control signals have been transmitted. , it is not necessary to have a sophisticated judgment function, and the line terminal/output terminal prepared assuming line connection of multiple AV devices does not need to specify the AV device for each terminal in advance, so the AV device The connection mode can be left to the user's discretion, allowing line personnel and
Maximize the number of prepared line terminals and output terminals without causing a sticky situation where some AV devices lack output terminals while others cannot be connected due to a lack of line terminals and output terminals. It has excellent effects, such as making it possible to construct a highly flexible AV system that allows connection of AV equipment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the AV selector device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the AV selector device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the AV selector device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing an example of the conventional AV selector device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of remote control signal relay terminals that individually receive remote control signals sent from a plurality of AV devices are commonly connected to an internal remote control signal monitoring terminal, and a remote control signal monitoring unit that monitors the presence or absence of remote control signal transmission. , having a plurality of acknowledgment transmission/reception terminals provided corresponding to the plurality of AV devices, the other AV device responding to a remote control signal transmitted by one AV device via the remote control signal monitoring unit. Receives the acknowledgment transmitted to the acknowledgment transmission/reception terminal, transmits the acknowledgment to the one AV device, and transmits the acknowledgment to the one AV device and the other AV device that sent the acknowledgment.
An AV selector device comprising a selector section that connects a device with a line.