JPH0744291A - Control system for multi-media equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow a user to exactly grasp a connecting state between a multi- media controller and each multi-media equipment without being conscious of it, and to improve the efficiency of an entire system. CONSTITUTION:Multi-media equipments 102-1-102-3 are equipped with a first control unit which operate communication with a multi-media controller 1, and the first control unit is equipped with interface controllers 107-1-107-3 which control communication, and first system controllers 106-1-106-3 which perform communication and control with the multi-media equipments 102-1-102-3. The multi-media controller 1 is equipped with a second control unit 103 which controls communication with each multi-media equipment, and the second control unit 103 is equipped with a signal processing means which informs of the connection/disconnection of the multi-medial equipments storage means which stores an equipment connection management table to be updated based on the signal processing means, and second system controller 106-0 which performs communication and control with the multi-media controller 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multimedia device control system having a multimedia device and a multimedia controller for managing the multimedia device. A system for checking, managing, and operating the off state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digitization has been actively performed in various fields including AV equipment such as VTRs and CDs. There is a demand for such devices to be digitized to be regarded as so-called multimedia devices and to be used by integrating information such as video, audio, and characters. Conventionally,
The connection of such devices was managed by the user under the responsibility of the user himself, but in order to handle each information in an integrated manner, a device for managing and controlling those devices is required.

A system similar to this is a system in which an information processing device such as a computer and a printer are connected via a network. Even in such a system, in order to manage and operate the connected devices accurately and efficiently, an information processing device that manages and controls those devices (hereinafter referred to as multimedia controller)
However, it is necessary to properly confirm the status of the device connected to the system. The following methods are used as confirmation methods. [1] A method in which the identification information of each device connected to the system is manually input to the storage device of the multimedia controller in advance, and the multimedia controller reads and confirms it when the power is turned on. [2] A method in which the identification information of each device connected to the system is manually input to the storage device of each device and the multimedia controller reads and confirms it by communication when the power is turned on. [3] A method of allocating the identification information of each device connected to the system to the storage device of each device by investigating the connected device according to the operation of the user by the multimedia controller.

[0004]

However, the prior art is a computer system technology,
There is a problem that it requires a certain amount of technology and knowledge about a computer system and is difficult for general users such as VTRs and CD players to use at home.

For example, in the above-mentioned technique [1] of the prior art, it is necessary to manually input the information of the device connected to the device into the multimedia controller beforehand, and what kind of identification information is assigned to which device. The administrator who made the input had to manage Taka and the like. Therefore, the administrator needs to manage them accurately, and malfunctions due to input mistakes are unavoidable. Further, when a new device is to be connected to the system, it has been troublesome to request the administrator to newly allocate the identification information and input it to the multimedia controller.

[0006] Next, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional technique [2], even if the multimedia controller allocates to each device, each device is manually connected to the system in advance with each identification information. I had to enter, and I was inevitable of a malfunction due to an input error.

Further, in both [1] and [2], when a new device is added to or disconnected from the system while the system is still running, it cannot be recognized, and the system is once shut down and then re-established. I could not recognize those devices accurately without restarting.

Further, in the case of the technique [3] of the above-mentioned conventional technique, the above-mentioned problem has been solved considerably, and even if a new device is added to or detached from the system while the system is in the startup state, the system is once You can recognize them without going down and restarting again, but the system user has to issue a command to the multimedia controller to instruct the confirmation operation of the devices connected to the system. This has to be done, and the user must constantly be aware of the fact that a new device has been connected to or disconnected from the system, and must perform the command issuing work each time.

Due to the above-mentioned problems, the conventional system has a problem that it is difficult for general users who do not have the computer system technology and knowledge to accept it.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and is characterized by a multimedia device and a multimedia device for collectively managing the multimedia device. Multimedia media connected to the media controller via a communication line
In the system, the multimedia device is provided with a first interface control unit that integrally functions for communication with the multimedia controller, and the first interface control unit is configured to perform communication physically or logically at a lower level. And a first system controller for communicating with the main body functional unit of the multimedia device and for controlling the first interface control unit. A second interface control unit that controls the communication of the interface controller, and the second interface control unit detects the interface controller and the interface controller. In the device connection / disconnection signal processing means for processing the device connection notification signal for notifying the connection of the multimedia device or the device disconnection notification signal for notifying the disconnection of the multimedia device, and the device connection / disconnection signal processing means. A multimedia device including storage means for storing a device connection management table to be referred to and updated, and a second system controller for communicating with the main body functional unit of the multimedia controller and controlling the second interface control unit. Control system.

[0011]

As a result, the connection state between the multimedia controller and each multimedia device can be accurately grasped without the user being aware, and even when the multimedia device is added or disconnected, The overall efficiency can be improved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the system control method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First, a description will be given of a multimedia device environment which is made into an object and connected by a network.

FIG. 1 shows a logical connection form of a multimedia controller and multimedia equipment, which incorporates the object-oriented concept of the present invention. Centered on the multimedia controller 1, the multimedia devices 2 have communication channels established so that they can directly interact with each other on a one-to-one basis, and messages are mutually communicated through the communication channels. It is controlled by things. The multimedia device specifically targets all devices that handle multimedia data, such as CD players, digital VTRs, digital cameras, AV devices such as digital TVs, OA devices such as digital fax machines, digital copiers and printers. There is.

Although the controller is assumed to be a dedicated device here, it can be realized by mounting a dedicated OS and application software on a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a word processor WS.

Next, FIGS. 2A to 2C show physical connection forms for establishing a bidirectional communication path between the multimedia controller and the multimedia equipment.

FIG. 1A shows a SCSI bus (ANSI X3.131-1986).
The daisy chain connection method used in
Shows the star type connection method adopted in Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) 10BaseT, and Fig. 6 (c) shows the serial type connection method adopted in Ethernet 10Base2 / 5.

In the connection form, GPIB (IEEE 488)
(A) ~ (c) mixed method, and Ethernet (b),
There is a mixing method of (c). Also, as for the communication method, various combinations and selections other than those shown in FIG.

In the present invention, no particular reference is made to the method of establishing this bidirectional communication path and which one to select. However, physical restrictions due to differences in communication methods (transfer rate, number of connected units, connection length, connector shape, etc.) do not pose a problem because the protocol layers are different for mutual communication of messages. In order to reliably perform, it is necessary to have at least one kind of physical (mechanical and electrical) common interface.

In order to realize high-speed data communication such as moving images, FDDI (Fiber Distrib
uted Data Interface) or B-ISDN optical communication, but for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that Ethernet 10Base2 (/ T), which is cheap and popular, is used as a common communication connector. I will proceed with the explanation.

Next, FIG. 3 shows an internal block diagram of a general multimedia device in terms of hardware.

Each of the plurality of multimedia devices is connected to the controller via four LANs. LA now
N is Ethernet, so its communication protocol (TCP / IP)
An interface unit 20 for processing the is provided.
This can be realized by using a dedicated LSI. Here, the sent message itself is taken out, or conversely, the message is sent out to the controller. As an example of a message, in Objective-C, the general form is represented below.

[Target object method name: argument]
The expressions are different in other languages, but basically the same, and the following specifications are made.

(1) Designation of target object (2) Designation of method (process to be executed) (3) Designation of argument (parameter) if present The handling of this message will be described in the software flow of FIG.

Inside the multimedia device, 11 CPUs that perform all software processing and hardware control via 12 internal buses, and 12 ROMs that store programs, initial values, and unique information, 13 RAMs that are used as a work area for storing internal parameters such as temporary data and device status, and for executing programs
14 data I / Os that access 15 multimedia data stored on internal or external media
There are 16 mechanical system drive parts for controlling mechanical parts such as 17 motors, and 18 electric system drive parts for controlling electrical parts of the display system such as 19 switches SW and LEDs. Also, 15
The multimedia data of is the part that stores digital data such as images, sounds and characters.
There may be various forms such as an optical disk such as a magnetic tape medium such as DCC / DAT, or a semiconductor memory card.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an internal block diagram of the multimedia controller in terms of hardware. In the figure, it is connected to a multimedia device via a LAN 4. Since the LAN is Ethernet now, there is an interface unit 31 that processes the communication protocol (TCP / IP). This can be realized by using a dedicated LSI or the like. The message itself sent here is retrieved, or conversely, the message is sent to the multimedia device.

Inside the multimedia controller,
All software processing via 30 internal buses
21 CPUs that control hardware, 22 ROMs that store programs, initial values and unique information, and 23 ROMs that store internal parameters such as temporary data and device status, and that are used as work areas when executing programs. R
I have AM. The multimedia filing apparatus 25 stores, retrieves, reproduces, edits multimedia data regardless of whether it is an internal medium or an external medium. 24 data I / Os perform the access control.
Then, 28 electric system drive units for controlling electric parts of the display system such as 29 switches SW and LEDs, 27 displays for configuring a man-machine interface, and 26 display controllers for controlling the display, There is a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).

FIG. 6 is a system hierarchy diagram in terms of software of multimedia equipment. The internal block diagram shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the hardware 57. 58 OSs perform the basic control for controlling these hardware
Is. The OS itself is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to have a multitasking function for executing a plurality of programs in parallel at the same time as real time. On this OS, a class library 59 unique to each multimedia device is provided in order to realize the objectization of the multimedia device.

Although not shown in the figure, it has its own control panel for controlling from the controller and a library relating to the control, and by transmitting this when connecting to the controller, the control peculiar to the multimedia equipment is performed on the controller side. To realize from. There is also a C function 60 that performs timers and arithmetic operations.

At the highest level, there are 61 application softwares for controlling the multimedia device main body and for communicating with the multimedia controller and a user interface. With this application, the multimedia device main body can perform various controls and executions by exchanging messages from the controller as one object, and internal parameters can be read and changed as instance variables.

FIG. 5 shows a system hierarchy diagram in terms of software of the multimedia controller. The internal block diagram shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to 50 pieces of hardware. It is 5 to perform the basic control for controlling these hardware.
It is the first OS. Here too, the OS itself is not particularly limited, but it is desirable that it has real-time characteristics and multitasking functions.

On this OS, a general GUI (Graphical Users Interface) such as display of control screens of a plurality of connected multimedia devices, display of the overall system connection state, control, and switching of data input / output is performed. There is Window Server. The common class library 53 stores basic and common parts (objects) that are prepared in advance on the controller side and are related to user interfaces and controls such as buttons, slide volumes, and text display areas.

On the contrary, the 55 unique class library stores a group of parts (object group) relating to panel display and control unique to the connected multimedia device. As described above, each time a multimedia device is connected to the system, this unique library is sent from the device and increases. These specific procedures will be described later. There is also a C function 54 that performs timers and arithmetic operations. At the highest level, 56 controls all the connected multimedia devices and is responsible for communication with the multimedia devices and user interface.
There is application software.

A specific control flow and message exchange between the controller and the multimedia device will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state before the multimedia device is connected to the multimedia controller. In FIG. 7, 4 is an LA for communication of digital data.
N and 1 are multimedia controllers for controlling the operation of the entire system. 2 is a generalized structure of the multimedia device connected to the LAN 4. Reference numeral 205 denotes a system director object which is a software object (hereinafter abbreviated as an object) resident in the multimedia controller 1 and managing the entire system.

Reference numeral 1064 denotes a multimedia device object which is an object that functions as a multimedia device that is an object for other objects on the LAN 4. Multimedia device object 10
64 is three more objects 1065, 1066.
It is composed of 1067.

Reference numeral 1065 denotes a multimedia device controller object that controls the hardware to realize most of the functions of the multimedia device 2, and 1066 denotes a multimedia device that receives input of digital data from another device via the LAN 4. Device data input object, 1067 is a LAN4 for digital data to other devices
It is a multimedia device data output object that is in charge of output via.

Reference numeral 1061 denotes a multimedia device proxy object description file which describes the specifications of the multimedia device proxy object generated in the multimedia controller 1 when the multimedia device 2 is connected to the multimedia controller 1 via the LAN 4. is there. Multimedia device proxy object description file 106
Reference numeral 1 denotes a multimedia device control panel object description unit 1062 that describes the specifications of the operation panel of the multimedia device 2 and data input / output that describes the specifications of a data input / output proxy object that acts as a proxy for data input / output to / from the multimedia device 2. Proxy object description part 1063
It consists of Especially, multimedia device control panel object description part is multimedia device 2
It realizes the function of the GUI description language that describes the control panel for performing the operation of GUI with the GUI.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the state when the multimedia device 2 is connected to the LAN 4. In FIG. 8, 1068 is an object generated in the multimedia controller 1.
It is a multimedia device proxy object 1068 that functions as a proxy for the multimedia device 2 inside.
The multimedia device proxy object 1068 is a multimedia device control panel object 10 that functions as a control panel for the multimedia device 2.
69, a multimedia device data input proxy object 1070 which functions as a proxy for the multimedia device data input object 1066 at the time of data input, and a multimedia device data output proxy object 1071 which similarly functions as a proxy for the multimedia device data output object 1067. Composed of.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the structure of a general class library. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1079 is a first class which is one of the classes that defines common properties and functions for objects having similar properties and functions as a template for object generation. A class library 1086 is a collection of p classes from the first class 1079 to the p-th class 1085 as a library, and all objects belong to a specific class. Reference numeral 1080 is a class definition unit that defines the data type and name of an internal variable of an object belonging to a class, the data type and name of an internal function (generally called a class method) that represents a data processing unit, and 1081 is an access to the class method. A class method table in which pointers to the respective code of the class method are made into a table in order to enable the above, and a code portion 1082 stores the function codes of k class methods from the first function code 1083 to the kth function code 1084. Is.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the structure of a general object. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 234 denotes an object, which is a pointer storage unit 2 for the class method table.
44, message communication means 245, processing search means 24
6, a method section 239, and an internal data section 235. The method unit 239 is the first data processing means 24.
0, the second data processing means 241 and the m-th data processing means 242 are constituted by m data processing means. Reference numeral 235 denotes an internal data section, which is composed of n pieces of internal data up to the nth internal data 238 including the first internal data 236 and the second internal data 237.

Since each internal data forming the internal data part 235 is unique to each object, it is held inside the object, but the data processing means of the method part can be shared between objects if the class is the same. The data processing means from the first data processing means 240 to the mth data processing means 242 are managed for each class by the class method table 243 and shared by a plurality of objects belonging to the same class. The class method table 243 is referred to from each object by the pointer stored in the class method table pointer storage unit 244.

The message communication means 245 receives a message from another object and sends it to the processing search means 246. The processing search means 246 analyzes the message and determines the data processing means corresponding to the message as the method part 239.
It is searched (actually from the class method table 243) and executed. The data processing means executes a predetermined process on the data attached to the message, the internal data existing in the internal data section 235, and the external data. Depending on the processing, there is one that sends a message to another object. In that case, the message is sent by the message communication means 24.
5 to another object.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the structure of the system director object 205. In the figure, 1072
Is a pointer storage section for the class method table, and points to the system director class class method table 1073. Reference numeral 1047 is a multimedia device proxy object generation means for generating a multimedia device proxy object 1068 based on the description of the multimedia device proxy object description file 1061. Reference numeral 343 is a data input / output management means for managing data input / output between objects, and 380 is an application object generation means for generating application objects for various purposes. Reference numeral 1074 is a message communication unit, 342 is a process search unit, and 1075 is a method unit. Reference numeral 1076 denotes an internal data section, which is an object I
D, 344 is inter-device link information management data when a certain operation is performed using a plurality of multimedia devices, 107
Reference numeral 8 is object registration information regarding the connected multimedia device and the created object.

System Director Object 205
Is a multimedia device proxy object generation means 104
When the multimedia device 2 is connected to the LAN 4 using 7, the multimedia device proxy object description file 1061 is read and the class to which the object to be generated belongs is selected from the information described in the multimedia device proxy object description file 1061. , Class definition part 1 of the corresponding class in the class library 1081
Multimedia device proxy object 1 based on 080
068 is generated.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the structure of the control panel description part of the proxy object description file. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 247 denotes a control panel object description section, which is composed of i pieces of object description information from the first object description information 248 to the i-th object description section 249. One piece of object description information is composed of object recognition information 250, object drawing information 254, and object link information 260.

The object recognition information 250 includes a class name 251 indicating a class to which the object belongs, an object ID 252 that is an ID unique to the i-th object, and an i-th object.
It is composed of a belonging object ID 253 indicating the ID of the object to which the object directly belongs.

The object drawing information 254 is information for drawing an object such as a button that constitutes the control panel display screen 231, and includes the first object drawing information 255 to the jth object drawing information 259.
Up to j object drawing information. 1
One object drawing information is drawing position / size information 25
6, shape / color information 257, and an object image 258.

The object link information 261 is a description for providing link information with objects corresponding to the objects constituting the control panel object such as the controller object 207. The first object link information 261 to the kth object link information 2
It is composed of up to 64 pieces of object link information. One object link information is the corresponding object ID 262 and the message 26 sent to the corresponding object.
It consists of 3.

FIG. 13 shows the structure of the data input / output proxy object description part of the proxy object description file. In FIG. 13, 650 is a data input / output proxy object description part, 651 is first input proxy object information, and 655 is m-th input proxy object information.
Each input proxy object information is its own object ID
652, link destination corresponding data input object ID 653 indicating the ID of the data input object of the link destination, and a matching file type list 654 which is a list of file types that can be input. 65
Reference numeral 9 is first output proxy object information, and 663 is nth output proxy object information. Each output proxy object is composed of its own object ID 660, a corresponding data output object ID indicating the ID of the corresponding data output object, and a matching file type list 662 that is a list of file types that can be output.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described by taking a digital VTR as an example of a concrete control system of the multimedia device 2 based on the above system control method.

FIG. 14 shows an objectized digital V
It is a figure which shows the state before connecting TR to a multimedia controller. In FIG. 14, 203 is a digital V
The TRs and 206 are resident in the digital VTR 203 and are digitalized as an object as seen from other devices on the LAN.
It is a digital VTR object that functions as R.
The digital VTR object 206 is further composed of three objects. 207 is a digital VTR
A digital VTR controller object that controls the hardware of 203.

Reference numeral 208 is a digital VTR data input object which is in charge of inputting digital data from another device via the LAN 4. 209 is a digital V that is in charge of output of digital data to another device via the LAN 4.
It is a TR data output object. 210 is a digital VTR 203 is a multimedia controller 1 LAN
Multimedia controller 1 when connected via 4
It is a digital VTR proxy object description file which describes the specifications of the digital VTR proxy object generated in the file.

The digital VTR proxy object description file 210 is a specification of the digital VTR control panel object description section 211 which describes the specifications of the operation panel of the digital VTR 203, and the specifications of the digital VTR data input / output proxy object that proxy data input / output to the digital VTR 203. , Which is a digital VTR data input / output proxy object description section 212.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the structure of the VTR controller object 207. In the figure, reference numeral 1009 denotes a pointer storage unit for a class method table, which stores a pointer for the class method table 1018. Class method table 1018 is a digital VTR
Playback executing means 1019 for controlling the hardware of 203 to execute the playback operation, and recording execution means 1 for executing the recording operation
It is composed of many data processing means such as 020. 1
Reference numeral 010 is a message communication means, and 1011 is a processing search means. 1012 is a method part, but the actual data processing means is indicated by the class method table 1018. Reference numeral 1015 denotes an internal data section, which is composed of a number of variables and status information necessary for controlling the digital VTR 203, such as the tape running state 1016 and the tape current position 1017.

First, the operation when the digital VTR 203 is connected to the LAN 4 will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a flow of operations when the digital VTR 203 is connected to the LAN 4. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a screen of the multimedia controller 1. 228 in FIG.
Is the display of the multimedia controller 1, 22
Reference numeral 9 is an icon display indicating that the digital VTR 203 is connected, and reference numeral 230 is a cursor indicating a position designated by a pointing device such as a mouse. Although the pointing device is not shown, the pointing device is provided with a button, and the operation of the user pressing and releasing the button is generally referred to as clicking.
A double-click operation is called a double-click operation.
As other connected devices, various devices such as a camera (still image input), a tuner, a television, various databases, and a CD can be connected.
Control can also be performed by displaying icons on the screen 228.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a state when the objectized digital VTR 203, which is an example of a multimedia device, is connected to the LAN 4. In FIG. 18, 220 is an object generated in the multimedia controller 1
It is a digital VTR proxy object 220 that functions as a proxy for the digital VTR 203 inside. The digital VTR proxy object 220 is the digital VTR 20.
Digital VTR that functions as a control panel for 3
A control panel object 221, a digital VTR data input proxy object 222 that functions as a proxy for the data input object 208 at the time of data input,
Similarly, a digital VTR data output proxy object 223 that functions as a proxy for the data output object 209.
Composed of.

LAN4 according to FIGS. 16, 17 and 18.
The operation when the objectized digital VTR 203, which is an example of a multimedia device, is connected to the device will be described below. When the digital VTR 203 is connected to the LAN (63
6) The system director object 205 recognizes the connection of the digital VTR 203 (637). Next, the system director object 205 is a digital VTR.
The device ID is sent to 203 (638).

Next, the system director object 2
Reference numeral 05 is a multimedia device proxy object generation means 1
Digital VT from Digital VTR 203 using 047
The R proxy object description file 210 is loaded (639). Next, System Director Object 2
Reference numeral 05 is a multimedia device proxy object generation means 1
A digital VTR proxy object 220 is generated in the multimedia controller 1 based on the digital VTR proxy object description file 210 by using 047 (640). As a result, the connection state shown in FIG. 18 is obtained.
Next, the digital VTR proxy object 220 displays the icon display 229 of the digital VTR 203 on the display 228 of the multimedia controller 1 (64
1). After that, it waits for the user's instruction (642).

After that, the operator operates the digital VTR based on the operation screen displayed based on the digital VTR control panel object 221 of the multimedia controller, whereby the digital VTR proxy object 220 in the multimedia controller 1 is operated. The digital VTR can be controlled via.

Next, the relationship between the description of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210 and the generated object will be described in more detail.

FIG. 19 shows an icon of the digital VTR 203, and FIG. 20 shows an example of the control panel display screen. FIG. 19 shows an icon 229 displayed when the digital VTR 203 connects to the LAN 4.
FIG. 20 shows a default display screen drawn by the digital VTR control panel object 221. In FIG. 20, 232 is a control panel display selection menu displayed on the display, and 265 is a time counter display for displaying the elapsed time of the tape. Reference numeral 266 denotes a control mode selection unit 267 for selecting the control mode of the digital VTR 203, and 1st switch button display for setting the default control mode, and 268 second switch button for selecting a more detailed control mode. Display 269 is a rewind button display, 270 is a reverse playback button display, 271 is a pause button display, 272 is a playback button display, 273 is a fast forward button display, 274 is a stop button display, and 275 is a recording button display.

FIG. 21 shows the class to which the object belongs and the digital VTR control panel object 221.
It is a figure explaining correspondence of the component of. The class to which each basic component belongs is defined in advance in the class library 1081 and is held in the multimedia controller 1. As shown in FIG. 21, each constituent element of the digital VTR control panel object 221 functions as an object forming the digital VTR control panel object 221.

In FIG. 21, the frame of the control panel display screen 231 corresponds to the panel class VTR control panel object 284 (ID = 1). The display selection menu 232 of the control panel corresponds to the panel view setting menu object 285 (ID = 2) of the menu class. The time counter display 265 corresponds to the time counter object 286 (ID = 3) of the form class. The rewind button display 269 corresponds to the rewind button object 287 (ID = 4) of the button class. The reverse playback button display 270 corresponds to the reverse playback button object 288 (ID = 5) of the button class. The pause button display 271 corresponds to the pause button object 289 (ID = 6) of the button class. The play button display 272 is the play button object 2 of the button class.
It corresponds to 90 (ID = 7). Fast forward button display 2
73 is a fast forward button object 291 of the button class
It corresponds to (ID = 8). The stop button display 274 is a stop button object 292 (ID =
9), the record button display 275 corresponds to the record button object 293 (ID = 10) of the button class.

The control mode selection unit 266 corresponds to the control mode switching object 294 (ID = 11) of the button group class. The first switch button 267 corresponds to the default button object 295 (ID = 12) of the radio button class. The second switch button 268 corresponds to the advanced button object 296 (ID = 13) of the radio button class.

Next, of the objects forming the digital VTR control panel object 221 shown in FIG. 21, the generation of a play button object play button object 290 will be described as an example.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram regarding the generation of the play button object 290. In FIG. 22, 297 and 2
98, 299, 300, 601, 602, 603, 60
4, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 61
Reference numerals 0 and 611 denote elements described in the object control panel object description part 247 of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210.

Reference numeral 297 is object recognition information, which includes a class name 298, an object ID 299, and a belonging object ID 300. Reference numeral 601 denotes the first object drawing information, which includes drawing position / size information 602, shape / color information 603, and an object image 604. Reference numeral 605 denotes second object drawing information, which includes drawing position / size information 606, shape / color information 607, and an object image 608. Reference numeral 609 denotes object link information, which is a link destination object ID 610.
And a send message 611.

A button object playback button object 290 is generated from the information of the class and the object control panel object description section 247 of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210.
Reference numeral 613 denotes a pointer storage unit for a class method table, which stores a pointer pointing to the button class class method table 625. The button class class method table has a button initialization means 626 for initializing the internal variables of the button object when the button class object is generated, a button drawing means 627 for drawing the display of the button object, and a user drawing the button object. When a click operation is performed by instructing a position with the cursor 230 of a pointing device such as a mouse, the button display is temporarily changed to indicate that the button object is clicked in response to the operation, and other objects are displayed. It consists of a click reaction means for sending a message to.

The definition of each data processing means held by these button class method tables is described in the class, and is commonly referred to not only by the playback button object 290 but also by all objects belonging to other button classes. 614 is a message communication means, 6
Reference numeral 15 is a processing search means. 616 is a method part, and 620 is an internal data part. Internal data section 620
Is an object ID 621, button state data 622,
It is composed of drawing parameters 623 and link data 624. The type of internal data that not only the playback button object 290 but also all button objects belonging to the button class should have is described in the class.

System Director Object 205
Is a digital VTR proxy object description file 210
22 is generated and each object is generated, but in the example of FIG. 22, the button class object is generated by the description of the class name 298 of the object recognition information 297. When the system director object 205 generates the play button object 290, the button initialization means 62.
6 initializes the internal data section 620. According to the example of FIG. 22, the object ID is the object I
ID = 7 is set by the description of D299. According to the description of the belonging object ID 300, the system director object 205 becomes the play button object 29.
0 is digital VTR control panel object 2
It turns out that it belongs to 21. Based on the belonging object information of each object, the system director object 205 knows the inclusive relation between objects and creates an object composed of a plurality of objects as a composite object.

The button drawing means 627 draws the drawing parameter 6
The play button object 290 is drawn based on the 23 and the button state data 622. Button drawing means 627
Is automatically executed when the button object is created and the belonging object is moved.

The first object drawing information 601 describes the button drawing information 625 when the button is not pressed.
The drawing position / size information 602 describes rectangular frame information indicating the drawing position and size in the digital VTR control panel object 221 when the play button object 290 is drawn. The rectangular frame information is (X1, Y1) of the drawing information 625 of the button when not pressed,
It is represented by coordinate information that defines the rectangular information in the coordinate system of the digital VTR control panel object 221 such as (X2, Y2), for example, upper left and lower right coordinates. The drawing of the playback button object when it is not pressed is performed based on the shape / color information 603 or the object image 604. Shape / color information 603
Is written in a language for drawing objects such as how to draw lines and how to paint colors. The object image 604 is represented by bitmap data. In general, the former expresses less data, but the latter expresses more freedom.

The second object drawing information 605 describes button drawing information 626 when the button is pressed in the same manner as the first object drawing information 601. First object drawing information 601 and second object drawing information 60
Based on 5, the drawing parameter 623 is determined. The link data 624 is set on the basis of the object link information 609, and is'play 'as a transmission message.
However, the link destination object ID is set as the link destination object ID, but when the message is sent, the object of the recipient is uniquely determined in the entire system, and the system director when the digital VTR 203 is connected to the LAN4. The object ID is set by adding the device ID assigned to the digital VTR by the object 205 to the link destination object ID.

Therefore, the message can be correctly transmitted even if the IDs in which the objects are duplicated between the devices are used. The button state data holds the state of whether or not the button is pressed.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a flow chart showing an operation when the user positions the cursor 230 on the icon display 229 of the digital VTR 203 and double-clicks it, and a flow chart showing an operation when the user operates the control panel. .

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a display screen of the multimedia controller 1 when the user double-clicks the icon display 229 of the digital VTR 203. Figure 2
In FIG. 4, 231 is a default control panel display screen of the digital VTR 203, and 272 is a play button.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of a panel class digital VTR control panel object and the object description information.

In FIG. 29, reference numeral 1401 denotes a pointer storage section for a class method table, which is a panel class class method table 1402. The panel class method table is composed of a panel initialization means 1403 for initializing a panel object, a panel drawing means 1404 for drawing a panel, and a click reaction means 1405 for indicating an operation when a panel is double-clicked.
Reference numeral 1406 is a message communication unit, 1407 is a process search unit, 1410 is an internal data section, 1411 is an object ID, 1412 is panel state data, and 1413 is a drawing parameter. The internal data part 1410 is initialized according to the description of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210, but the digital VTR control panel object description part 211 of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210 has object recognition information 1414 and an icon image 142 of the digital VTR 203.
6 and the second object drawing information 1422 indicating the frame 1427 of the control panel of the digital VTR. The object recognition information 1414 includes a class name 1415 (panel class), an object ID 1416 (ID = 1), and a belonging object ID. The first object drawing information 1418 includes drawing position / size information 1419, shape /
It is composed of color information 1420 and an object image 1421. The second object image 1422 includes drawing position / size information 1423, shape / color information 1424, and object image 1425.

Digital VT according to FIGS. 23 and 29.
A method of instructing the control panel display operation and the reproduction operation of R203 will be described. In the operation described in FIG. 16, the system director object 205 is the digital VTR.
Digital VT when proxy object 220 is generated
The R proxy object 220 displays the icon display 229 based on the icon image 1426, but when the user points to the icon 230 of the digital VTR with the cursor 230 and double-clicks (643), the control panel object of the digital VTR proxy object 220 is displayed. Reference numeral 221 sends a message instructing drawing to all the objects forming the control panel object 221. According to the message, FIG.
All objects shown in 1 execute the drawing means,
The control panel object then draws the frame of the control panel of the digital VTR based on the second object drawing information. As a result, digital V
A digital VTR control panel display 231 for operating the TR203 is displayed as shown in FIG. 24 (64
4) Wait for the user's instruction (645). In this state, when the user designates and clicks the play button 272 of the control panel 231 with the cursor 230 (646),
The control panel object 221 is a digital VT
The message'PLAY 'is sent to the controller object 214 of R203 (647). Accordingly, the controller object 214 of the digital VTR 203
Responds to the message and activates the playback executing means (6
48). The digital VTR 2 is activated by activating the reproduction executing means.
03 playback operation is started.

As described above, according to the present invention, the multimedia device proxy object necessary for operating the multimedia device is automatically connected to the multimedia controller only by connecting the multimedia device to the multimedia controller via LAN. The control panel required for operating the multimedia device is automatically displayed on the display of the multimedia controller, and when the user operates the control panel, an appropriate message is displayed in the controller object of the multimedia device. Is transmitted and desired operation can be performed. Since the information required to generate the multimedia device proxy object required to operate the multimedia device is obtained from the multimedia device proxy object description file read from the multimedia device, the multimedia controller has a basic class live. You just need a rally and you don't have to have any information about a particular multimedia device in advance.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of the digital VTR data input proxy object and the object description information. In FIG. 25, 222 is a digital VTR
A data input proxy object, 668 is a pointer storage unit for a class method table, and shows a data input proxy class class method table 679. The data input proxy class class method table 679 includes data input proxy object initialization means 680, link information update means 681, and matching file type response means 678.

Reference numeral 669 is a message communication means, 670 is a processing search means, and 671 is a method section. Reference numeral 674 is an internal data section, 675 is an object ID, and 676 is a corresponding data input object ID which is the ID of the corresponding data input object. 677 is a matching file type indicating the file type of the data that can be input, and 1006 is link information with the data output object.

Although the digital VTR data input proxy object is generated based on the digital VTR data input / output proxy object description part 212 of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210, 682 is the digital VT.
The input proxy object information described in the R data input / output proxy object description part 212 is the object I
D (ID = 1 in this example) 683, corresponding data input object ID (ID = 1 in this example) 684, and matching file type list 685 (in this example, a format called AV1, AV2). With these descriptions, the input proxy object initialization means 680 initializes the data of the internal data part 674.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of the digital VTR data output proxy object and the object description information. In FIG. 26, 223 is a digital VTR
A data output proxy object, 690, is a pointer storage unit for a class method table, and shows a data output proxy class class method table 1048. The data output proxy class class method table 1048 includes a data output proxy object initialization means 694, a link information update means 695, and a consistent file type response means 700.

Reference numeral 691 is a message communication means, 692 is a processing search means, and 693 is a method section. Reference numeral 696 is an internal data section, 697 is an object ID, and 698 is a corresponding data output object ID which is the ID of the corresponding data output object. 699 is a matching file type indicating the file type of data that can be output, and 688 is link information with the data output object.

A digital VTR data output proxy object is generated based on the digital VTR data input / output proxy object description part 212 of the digital VTR proxy object description file 210, but 1001 is the digital VTR.
This is the data output proxy object information described in the TR data input / output proxy object description part 212, which is an object ID (ID = 1 in this example) 1002, a corresponding data output object ID (ID = 1 in this example) 1003,
Matching file type list 1004 (AV1 in this example,
The format is called AV2).
With these descriptions, the data output proxy object initialization means 694 initializes the data in the internal data part 696.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the structure of a digital VTR data input object. In FIG. 22, 20
8 is a digital VTR data input object, 1022
Is a pointer storage part to the class method table, and is a data input class class method table 1031
Indicates. Data input class Class method table 10
31 comprises a file writing means 1032, a data receiving means 1033, and a link information updating means 686.
Reference numeral 1023 is a message communication unit, 1024 is a process search unit, and 1025 is a method unit. 1028 is an internal data part, 1029 is an object ID, and 1030 is link information.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the structure of a digital VTR data output object. In FIG. 28, 20
9 is a digital VTR data output object, 1035
Is a pointer storage part to the class method table, and is a data output class class method table 1044.
Indicates. Data output class Class method table 10
Reference numeral 44 is composed of a file reading means 1045, a data transmitting means 1046, and a link information updating means 687.
Further, 1036 is a message communication unit, 1037 is a process search unit, and 1038 is a method unit. 1041 is an internal data part, 1042 is an object ID, 104
3 is link information.

Data input proxy object 222 and data output proxy object 223 of digital VTR 203
Are generated in the multimedia controller and function as if they were digital VTR data input objects 208 and digital VTR data output objects 209. For example, when copying files from another multimedia device to a digital VTR, the system director object 205 queries the digital VTR data input proxy object 222 for the types of files that can be input. In response to the inquiry of the system director object 205, the matching file type reply means of the digital VTR data input proxy object 222 returns the file type that the digital VTR 203 can accept.

Digital VTR data input proxy object 22 from the output proxy object of the multimedia device having the file to be copied if the file type of the file to be copied is present therein.
The link to 2 is set. The link information updating means 681 of the digital VTR data input proxy object 222 sends a message to the digital VTR data input object 208 to send the digital VTR data input object 2
The link updating means 08 is activated to update the link information 688 of the digital VTR data input object 208.

At the same time, the multimedia output having the file to be copied has a file to be copied by the data output proxy object of the multimedia device sending a message to update the link information of the data output object. A link between the device data output object and the digital VTR data input object 208 is set.

Then, the data transmitting means of the data output object of the multimedia device having the file to be copied is activated, and the data output object of the multimedia device having the file to be copied sends a message to the digital VTR data input object. The file is copied by sending and activating the data receiving means 1033 and the file writing means 1032. That is, when the data input proxy object and the data output proxy object in the multimedia controller are instructed to copy, etc., the data input proxy object and the data output proxy object respectively send a message to the data input object and the data output object of the multimedia device body. It is not necessary for the multimedia controller to be directly involved in the actual copying of data and the like for sending and setting the data link between the multimedia devices.

As described above, according to the present invention, when controlling the entire system to which a plurality of multimedia devices are connected, the device driver and the device driver for performing the control in advance as before are provided. There is no need to install and prepare application software, just connect the multimedia device to the LAN and the control panel and device status will be automatically displayed on the controller screen, power ON / OFF, control of the main unit.・
It has a great effect that it is easy to switch the input and output on the screen.

Further, in the control panel parts group sent from the multimedia device to the controller side, the parts group defined in the controller side and having the same definition can be replaced by the user's preference. It is possible to unify different user interfaces for different manufacturers. Further, it has become possible to transparently perform control from a remote controller and access to multimedia equipment via a LAN.

Next, a specific example of the case where the above multimedia control system is used and a plurality of multimedia devices are actually connected to the multimedia controller to control them will be described. FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment.

As can be seen from the figure, the first embodiment of the present invention is a multimedia controller 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 and a multimedia controller 1 for operating and managing these multimedia devices. It consists of and.

In FIG. 30, three multimedia devices 102-1, 102-2 and 102-3 are shown. Of course, the number of the multimedia devices may be one or more. However, it is assumed that there is an optimum maximum number of connections from the load of the entire system. The multimedia controller is a multimedia controller function unit 103 for realizing the function of the multimedia controller, an interface controller 107-0 for controlling communication at a physical or logical lower level, a main power supply circuit 108-0 and a sub-controller. Storage device 10 that stores a table for managing the connection status of the power supply circuit 109-0, the timer circuit 105, and each multimedia device 10
I own 4 and the system controller 106-0 that controls them. The main power supply circuit 108-0 supplies power to the interface controller 107-0, the timer circuit 105, the system controller 106-0, and the storage device 104, and may be supplied with power from a battery, or a power supply line to a communication line. May be attached and supplied from there. The sub power supply circuit 109-
0 is configured to be turned on / off by a user operating the main switch of the multimedia controller 1 or by a request from the system controller 106-0, and the multimedia controller functional unit 103
Is supplied to. The sub power supply circuit 109-0 is supplied from, for example, a household outlet, and the main power supply circuit 1
08-0 is supplied from a power supply of another system.

As described above, the power is supplied from the two systems so that the power of the mechanical drive system, which generally consumes a large amount of power, is turned on only when necessary, and when not needed, only communication is performed. It becomes possible to supply the possible power.

Further, the multimedia devices A, B, C
Each multimedia device functional unit 111-1
, 111-2, 111-3 and interface controller 1
07-1107-2, 107-3 and main power supply circuit 108-1, 108-2, 10
8-3, sub power supply circuits 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, and system controllers 106-1, 106-2, 106-3.
The interface controllers 107-1, 107-2, 10
7-3, main power supply circuits 108-1, 108-2, 108-3, sub power supply circuits 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, and system controller
106-1, 106-2, 106-3 are equivalent to the interface controller 107-0, main power supply circuit 108-0, sub power supply circuit 109-0, and system controller 106-0 of the multimedia controller 1 described above. .

FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital VTR as a specific example of the multimedia devices A 1, B 2, and C 3. The multimedia device functional unit
Digital VTR which is a concrete example of 111-1, 111-2, 111-3
The functional unit 111 includes an analog output terminal 113, an analog input terminal 114, a D / A conversion circuit 115, an A / D conversion circuit 116,
Frame memory 117, signal processing circuit 118, encoding circuit 11
9, decoding circuit 120 tape deck unit 122, tape interface controller 121, high-speed data bus 123
, Control bus 124.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 32 shows the multimedia controller 1
5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main event loop of FIG. First, it is determined whether there is an event in which the user operating the multimedia controller operates the multimedia controller or an event sent from each multimedia device through communication (s10
1). If there is an event, the processing of that event is executed (s107). If there are no events, counter gCheckT
It is determined whether ime = 0 holds (s102).

This counter gCheckTime is a counter that manages the cycle in which the multimedia controller performs a series of connection state check operations, and the timer circuit 105
Is counted in. Result of the judgment (s102) gCheckTime =
If 0 is established, the connected device status is checked.
(s103), device IDs are assigned to the multimedia devices described in the created connection status management table (s104). The device ID is like an IP address in TCP / IP protocol, and is a so-called logical address of a device. By allocating this, it is possible to communicate between the multimedia controller and each multimedia device without being aware of the physical address.

Further, when a new device is connected to the system or a device which is already connected is disconnected from the system, the device ID is automatically reassigned, so that transmission / reception addresses can be managed in a unified manner. By referring to the connection status management table created as described above, the connected device status display is rewritten (s105), and the PreSet value is set in gCheckTime (s10
6). The structure of the connection status management table described above is shown in FIG.
3 shows.

The unique number column in FIG. 33 is a number unique to each multimedia device and is also used as a physical address. It is also assumed that this unique number includes attribute information of each multimedia device, such as a digital VTR or a CD player. The names are distinguished and stored in the device name column of the management table 33. For example, in the case of FIG. 33, digital VT
In the example where two R are connected, they are stored as DigitalVTR1 and digitalDigitalVTR2. The object information storage address column in FIG. 33 stores the display of each multimedia device, a pointer to the area in which the operation object is stored, and the like. This will be described in detail later. The device ID column in FIG. 33 stores the device ID described above, and the power on / off column and the connection confirmation column will be described later.

Next, the processing of the connection device status check (s103) will be described in detail. FIG. 34 is a flowchart of this connection device status check. First, initialize the variable WaitTimer that counts the communication timeout (s107).
The multimedia controller 1 sends a connected device status confirmation message to each multimedia device (s108).
Then, the WaitTimer is incremented (s109), and the
It is judged whether the WaitTimer exceeds the timeout time Limit (s110). If the WaitTimer does not exceed the Limit, it is confirmed whether the reply message from each multimedia device has arrived (s111), and if it has not arrived, the process returns to s109. If it has arrived, it is checked whether or not the multimedia device that has transmitted the reply message is already stored in the connection status management table (s11
2) If the device is already stored, check the confirmation in the connection confirmation column of the connection status management table (s
115). If the device is not yet stored in the connection status management table, the multimedia device is registered in the connection status management table and the confirmation is checked in the connection confirmation column (s114).

Then, the WaitTimer is initialized (s11
6) Return to S109 and wait for a reply from another multimedia device. If it is determined in s110 that the timeout value Limit has been exceeded, among the multimedia devices stored in the connection status management table, those that are not checked for confirmation in the connection confirmation column of the connection status management table. It is determined whether there is any (s117), and if not, the processing ends.

If it is judged that there is a device whose confirmation is not checked in the connection confirmation column, the WaitTimer is initialized (s118) and the device whose connection confirmation column is not confirmed is reconnected. A device status request message is sent (s119) and the WaitTimer is incremented (s
120) It is judged whether or not the WaitTimer exceeds the timeout value Limit (s121).

If the result of the determination in s121 is that the WaitTimer exceeds the timeout value Limit, it is determined that the multimedia device is not connected and it is deleted from the connection state management table (s125). As a result of the judgment in s121, if the WaitTimer does not exceed the timeout value Limit, it is checked whether a reply message from the multimedia device has arrived (s122). It waits for a reply message from the multimedia device until it determines that the WaitTimer has exceeded the timeout value Limit.

If it is determined in s122 that a reply message is received, it is determined whether the reply matches the expected device (s123). If they match, the connection confirmation column of the connection status management table is checked. Check (s124).
If they do not match, it is determined that there is something abnormal and the multimedia device is deleted from the connection status management table.
Perform warning action (s125). Then, returning to s117, the above processing is repeated until there is no device whose confirmation is not checked in the connection confirmation column. This series of processing (s107 ~ s1
By performing step 25) regularly, the connection status management table is updated, and the multimedia device connected to the system can be grasped.

FIG. 35 shows a means for presenting each multimedia device whose connection has been confirmed in this way to the user of the multimedia controller. Figure 35 (A)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the user executes a connected device confirmation display command and displays a connected device confirmation panel 126 on the display device 125 of the multimedia controller 1.
The 127 panel in the figure is a certain application panel displayed before the user executes the connected device confirmation display command.

On the connected device confirmation panel 126, the icon (128, 129) of each multimedia device whose connection is confirmed is displayed.
, 130, 131, 132, 133) are displayed. The icon of the multimedia device in which the sub power supply is turned on is displayed in reverse video, edging display, etc. on the icon to clearly indicate to the user that the power is on. In the example of FIG. 35 (A),
An icon 130 indicates that the sub power supply is off.

When the icon of the multimedia device is clicked with the cursor 134 operated by a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), the operation panel 135 of the multimedia device indicated by the icon is displayed as shown in FIG. 35 (B). Is displayed. By operating each switch displayed on the operation panel 135 using the cursor, the multimedia device can be operated. The example of FIG. 35 (B) shows that the sub power supply is turned on by clicking the power on / off button. FIG. 35 (C) shows this state reflected on the connected device confirmation panel 126.

36 to 40 are flow charts showing the operation of the power on / off operation described above. 36 shows the multimedia controller side, and FIG. 37 shows the multimedia device side. First, when the user turns on the power, the multimedia controller sends a power on message to the device to be operated (s126), and a timer Cmd that counts the timeout for waiting for a reply.
Reset WaitCounter (s127) and wait for a reply. Upon receiving the power-on message, the target device performs a power-on operation (s134) and determines whether it has operated normally (s134).
135), if it is operating normally, a normal completion message is sent to the multimedia controller (s136), and if there is an error, an abnormal end message is sent (s137).
When the multimedia controller receives the reply message and determines that there is a reply in s128, the multimedia controller determines whether the operation is completed normally (s131), and if normal, turns on the power on / off column of the connection status management table. (S133). If there is an error, notify the error (s132).

It is also possible to automatically turn on / off the power supply. 38, 39 and 40 are flowcharts showing the processing in this case. FIG. 38 shows the multimedia controller side, and FIG. 39 shows the power-on operation accompanying the operation of each multimedia device side. Further, FIG. 40 shows an automatic power-off operation on each multimedia device side.

First, the multimedia controller issues a message requesting an operation to a certain multimedia device (s190), and the multimedia device concerned receives the message and whether the sub power supply is turned on at that time. Judge whether it is (s199), if it is off state, turn on the power (s500) and confirm that the power is turned on normally.
(s501).

If the power is turned on normally, or s199
If it is determined that the power is already turned on, the operation requested by the multimedia controller is executed (s502), and it is confirmed whether the operation is completed normally (s503). As a result, if it is completed normally, a normal completion message is sent to the multimedia controller, and if an error occurs or it is determined in s501 that the power did not turn on normally, the sub power Is turned off (s505), and an abnormal termination message is sent to the multimedia controller (s506).

On the other hand, on the multimedia controller side, after sending a message to the corresponding multimedia device in s190, it waits for the reply. First, clear the counter CmdWaitCounter that measures the timeout of the reply.
(s191), it is checked whether there is a reply (s192). If there is no reply, the CmdWaitCounter is the timeout value Limit
It is determined whether or not it exceeds (s193). As a result, if the timeout value Limit is not exceeded, the above CmdWaitCounter
Is incremented (s194), and the process returns to s192 and waits for a reply.

If it is determined that there is a reply message as a result of the judgment in s192, it is confirmed whether the reply is a normal completion message (s195), and if normal, the corresponding multimedia device of the connection status management table is checked. Check the power on in the power on / off column (s197).

If it is determined that the reply message is an abnormal termination message as a result of the determination in s195, and if the CmdWaitCounter is the timeout value Limi as a result of the determination in s193.
If it is judged that t is exceeded, an error message is sent to the user (s197), and the power on / off column of the corresponding multimedia device in the connection status management table is turned off (s198).

In addition, in the operation of automatic power-off of each multimedia device, it is first confirmed whether or not an event has occurred (s507), and if there is an event, the processing of the event is executed (s513). Then, preset the counter PowerDownCounter that measures the time to execute the auto power off operation (s
514), the flag PowerDownCounterEnableFlg indicating whether or not the PowerDownCounter is valid is set to True (s515). The PowerDownCounter is a counter that is decremented by a software timer or a hard timer.
werDownCounterEnableFlg indicates whether or not the PowerDownCounter is enabled, and is a flag that refers to the PowerDownCounter only when this flag is set to true to execute auto power off.

If there is no event as a result of the determination in s507, it is checked whether the PowerDownCounterEnableFlg is True (s508). If True, the PowerDow is further determined.
The value of nCounter is checked (s509), and if the value is 0, the operation of turning off the sub power supply is executed (s510), and a power off message is sent to the multimedia controller (s511). And the PowerDownCounterEnableFlg
Set to False (s512) and wait for the next event. If the s50
8, as a result of the judgment of s509, the above PowerDownCounterEnableFlg
If is False or PowerDownCounter is not 0, it waits for the next event. Also, the multimedia controller receives the power off message and turns off the power on / off column of the corresponding multimedia device in the connection status management table.

As described above, by automatically controlling the turning on / off of the sub power source, it is possible to supply the power to the required multimedia equipment only when necessary, and it is possible to suppress the power consumption.

Also, instead of the user requesting the connected device confirmation panel 126 as shown in FIG. 35 (A), the icon of the multimedia device confirmed to be connected on the display device 125 as shown in FIG. 35 (D). Is constantly displayed, and when the device is disconnected, the icon of the device is deleted,
It is also possible to display the connected multimedia devices in real time.

[Other Embodiments] FIG. 41 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 41, the second embodiment of the present invention basically has the same configuration as the first embodiment, but the timer circuit 1 (136-1, 136-2) is provided in each multimedia device. , 136-3). In addition, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment in that the condition of the connected multimedia equipment is checked periodically, but in the first embodiment, the periodic cycle is set in the multimedia controller. In contrast to the control by a certain timer circuit, the timer circuit 1 (136-1, 136-2, 136-3) provided in each multimedia device in the second embodiment is used.
It is different in that it is managed by.

The connection status management table used in the second embodiment is shown in FIG. The difference from the connection state management table used in the first embodiment is that a column for existence check counter is added to the table, and this existence check counter is added to each multimedia device registered in the table. It is provided for each and is counted by the timer circuit 2 in the multimedia controller. In the second embodiment of the present invention, since each multimedia device is supposed to announce its existence by periodically transmitting a device connection status notification message to the multimedia controller, When the status notification message is received, the existence confirmation counter is reset.

As described above, the presence check counters are constantly counted by the timer circuit 2. Therefore, if a multimedia device does not send the device connection status notification message, the presence check counter is incremented. When a certain threshold value is exceeded, the device is judged to be not connected or in an abnormal state.

FIG. 43 shows the multimedia controller.
FIG. 44 is a flow chart showing the processing of 1 event loop, and FIG. 44 is a flow chart showing the event loop of each of the multimedia devices. This FIG. 43, FIG.
The operation of confirming the connection according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described using.

First, each multimedia device determines whether there is an event in which the user operates the operation panel of each multimedia device or an event sent by communication from the multimedia controller (s149). If there is, execute the process according to the event (s
149), the counter fRefreshCounte if there are no events
It is judged whether r = 0 holds (s150). This counter fRefreshCounter is a counter that manages the cycle in which each multimedia device sends a connection status notification message to the multimedia controller, and is counted by the timer circuits 136-1 and 136-2 136-3, respectively. s1
If it is determined that fRefreshCounter = 0 is satisfied in 50, a connection status notification message is sent to the multimedia controller (s151) and fRefreshCounter is reset. Then return to s148 and wait for the next event.

On the other hand, the multimedia controller judges whether there is an event in which the user operates the operation panel of the multimedia controller or an event sent by communication from each multimedia device (s13).
8) If there is an event, determine whether the event is the connection status notification message sent from each multimedia device (s141), and if it is another event, execute the process according to the event. Yes (143). If it is determined that the event is the connection status notification message, it is checked whether or not the multimedia device that has transmitted the message is already stored in the connection status management table (s142). The multimedia device is newly stored in the connection state management table (s145), and the existence confirmation counter gRefreshCounter_X of the corresponding multimedia device is cleared to zero. If it is determined in s142 that the relevant multimedia device is already stored in the connection status management table, the presence confirmation counter gRefre
Clear shCounter_X to 0.

The connected device is displayed based on the connection state management table updated in this way (s147), and the process returns to s138 to prepare for the next event. If it is determined that there is no event in s138, the existence confirmation counter gRefreshCounter_X
Check each (s139), and if there is a multimedia device that exceeds the limit value Limit, delete that device from the connection status management table (s140) and based on the updated connection status management table. Connected device display (s14
7).

With regard to the display of the icon of the multimedia device whose operation and connection have been confirmed when the power is turned on / off, the same means and effects as those of the above-described first embodiment of the present invention can be realized.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 45, the third embodiment of the present invention basically has the same configuration as the first embodiment,
The timer circuit 105 in the multimedia controller 1 of the first embodiment is not needed, and a repeater 137 is provided between the multimedia controller and each of the multimedia devices. . The repeater includes a network line connection terminal for connecting at least one or more of the multimedia devices and a line connection detection circuit (138-
1, 138-2, 138-3), an interface controller 107-4 similar to the multimedia controller and the multimedia devices, a power supply circuit 108-4, and a control device 139 for controlling them. The line connection detection circuit is a circuit that detects whether a communicable device is connected to the communication line by observing the state of the line, for example, the traffic volume of communication.

The third embodiment of the present invention, unlike the first and second embodiments, does not check the state of the multimedia equipment connected to the system at a certain cycle, and newly adds it to the system. When a multimedia device is connected to, or when a multimedia device that is already connected to the system is disconnected, a message to that effect is sent from the repeater to which the corresponding multimedia device is connected to the multimedia controller. By doing so, the multimedia controller is characterized by recognizing multimedia devices connected to the system. The connection status management table used in the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as the table of FIG. 33 described in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 47 shows the multimedia controller 1
48 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main event loop of FIG. 48, FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing the processing of the relay device sending a connection confirmation message of each multimedia device to the multimedia controller, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process in which a multimedia device sends a disconnected message to the multimedia controller.

First, the operation of the repeater will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The repeater checks the output of the line connection detection circuit that corresponds to the number of its own port (s153) and detects whether a multimedia device is connected to each port (s154). If it is determined that the connection is established, a message notifying the connection is sent to the multimedia controller (s155), and the counter AckCounter for waiting for a reply from the multimedia controller is cleared (s156). And from the multimedia controller
It is determined whether or not an Ack has been returned (s157), and if there is no reply yet, the AckCounter is incremented (s15).
8) Determine if the timeout time Limit is exceeded.
(s159). As a result, if the timeout time has not been exceeded yet, the process returns to s157 and waits for a reply from the multimedia controller. If the time-out period is exceeded in the determination of s159, the user is notified that an error has occurred (s160). If it is confirmed in s157 that the reply from the multimedia controller has returned normally, a normality confirmation process is performed (s161), and the connection confirmation process ends.

Further, each multimedia device is the repeater.
The operation of the repeater when disconnected from will be described with reference to FIG.

The repeater checks the output of the line connection detection circuit corresponding to the number of its own port (1), and detects whether the multimedia device connected to each port is disconnected (s189). . If it is determined that the connection is established, a message notifying disconnection is sent to the multimedia controller (s190), and the processing ends. On the other hand, the processing on the multimedia controller side will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether there is an event from the user or an event by communication (s162), and if there is, it is determined whether the event is the device disconnection message (s163). As a result, if it is determined that the message is the device disconnection message, the RetryCounter is cleared (s16
9), AckCounter is cleared (s170), and a message equivalent to the connected device status message used in the first embodiment of the present invention is transmitted to the multimedia device which seems to be disconnected (s171). The AckCounter is a timer for measuring a timeout in which the response of the connected device status message is sent from the corresponding multimedia device to the multimedia controller, and the RetryCounter is the number of retries when a reply does not come back within the timeout period. It is a counter that counts. Then, it waits for the reply of the connection device status message (s172), and if the reply comes, it judges that the multimedia device is still connected and waits for the next event. If there is no reply, the AckCounter is incremented (s173) and it is judged whether the time-out time has been exceeded (s174). If not, the process returns to s172 and waits for a reply. If the timeout time has been exceeded, the Re
The tryCounter is incremented (s175) and it is determined whether the number of retries has exceeded a predetermined number (s176). As a result, if it is determined that the number has not exceeded, return to the processing of s170,
Issue the connected device status message again.

When the value of the RetryCounter exceeds the predetermined number of retries, it means that there is no reply from the multimedia device, that is, it is determined that the multimedia device is disconnected, and the multimedia device is disconnected. Information from the connected device management table (s177),
The connected device management table is updated.

If it is determined in s163 that the message is not the device disconnection notification message, it is determined whether the message is the device connection notification message (s164). As a result, if it is determined that the message is a device connection notification message, it is confirmed whether the corresponding multimedia device is a device already stored in the connected device management table (s165), and if the device is already stored. If so, the connected device management table is not rewritten. If it is determined that the multimedia device has not been stored yet, it is newly registered in the connected device management table and the table is updated.

The device ID is redistributed by using the connection device management table updated as described above (s178), and the state of the connection device is displayed by the icon of each multimedia device (s
179). In addition, regarding the display of the icon of the multimedia device whose connection has been confirmed and the operation associated with the turning on / off of the power source, the same means and effects as those of the first embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 46 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 46, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is basically the same as the first embodiment of the present invention, but the multimedia controller 1 of the first embodiment is
The timer circuit 105 in 1) is unnecessary, and each multimedia device has at least two line connection terminals, and the line connection detection circuit (183-4, (183-5), (183-6, 183-7), (183-
8, 183-9) and each multimedia device is connected to the line connection terminal in a chain shape as shown in FIG. That is, the repeater portion of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 45 is included in each multimedia device. The operation will be described.

As an example, consider a case where the multimedia device C in FIG. 46 is newly connected to the multimedia device B. In this case, the multimedia device B is the first of the present invention.
When the multi-media device B line connection circuit 183-7 detects that the multi-media device C is connected, it plays the role of the repeater described in the third embodiment, and the multi-media controller connects the device to the multi-media controller. Send a notification message.

Consider also the case where the multimedia device C of FIG. 46 is separated from the multimedia device B. Also in this case, the multimedia device B functions as the repeater described in the third embodiment of the present invention, and the line connection circuit 183-7 of the multimedia device B is disconnected from the multimedia device C. When it is detected, the device disconnection notification message is transmitted to the multimedia controller.

The process flow for transmitting the device connection notification message of the multimedia device B is shown in FIG. 48, and the process flow for transmitting the device disconnection notification message is shown in FIG.
The processing flow of the multimedia controller is shown in FIG. 47 and is the same as the case of the third embodiment of the present invention described above.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 52, the fifth embodiment of the present invention basically has the same configuration as the first embodiment, but the timer circuit 105 in the multimedia controller 1 of the first embodiment is It is no longer necessary, and each multimedia device is characterized by having a line connector detection circuit 138-10, 138-11, 138-12 and a cable connector having a switch for both cable lock release / cable pull-out detection. . The line connection detection circuit is the same as that described in the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention. A cable connector having a switch for both unlocking and pulling out the cable is shown in FIG. When the line cable is inserted into this connector, it is locked by the lock mechanism and the cable cannot be pulled out as it is. To remove this cable, push the cable lock release / cable pull-out detection / combined use switch to release the cable lock and then pull out. At this time, a cable pull-out detection signal is transmitted to the line connection detection circuit before the cable is pulled out to notify that the line is about to be pulled out.

In response to this, the line connection detection circuit transmits a device disconnection notification message to the multimedia controller as in the case of the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention described above. When a cable is inserted to add a new multimedia device to the system, the line connection detection circuit detects the connection and sends a device connection notification message to the multimedia controller.

As an example, consider a case where the multimedia device C in FIG. 52 is newly connected to the multimedia device B. In this case, when the line connection circuit 183-12 of the multimedia device C 1 detects that the multimedia device C 1 is connected to the communication line, it sends the device connection notification message to the multimedia controller.

Further, consider a case where the multimedia device C of FIG. 52 is separated from the multimedia device B. In this case, as described above, the cable lock release / cable pull-out detection switch of multimedia device C is pressed to release the cable lock before pulling it out, so the cable pull-out detection signal is sent before the cable is pulled out. It is transmitted to the line connection detection circuit 183-12,
The line connection detection circuit 183-12 sends a device disconnection notification message to the multimedia controller.

As described above, the connected devices are checked and the connection status management table is created to manage each multimedia device. The process flow for sending the device disconnection notification message is 49th, and the device connection notification message is sent. The processing flow to be carried out is shown in FIG. 48, and the operation of the multimedia controller is shown in FIG. 47, which is similar to the third, fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. A feature of the sixth embodiment of the present invention is that each multimedia device has an identification name display device 141 as shown in FIG. Although any of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention may be used, the connection for managing each multimedia device connected to the system by any method Create a device management table. It is the first embodiment of the present invention that a unique identification name corresponding to each multimedia device is assigned to each multimedia device when a newly connected device or a disconnected device is recognized. As explained, send this unique identifier to each multimedia device,
It is configured to display on the identification name display device provided in each multimedia device.

As an example, the operation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking the case of the configuration of FIG. 30 described in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 shows the multimedia controller.
It is a flowchart showing the processing of the main event loop of 1. First, it is determined whether there is an event in which the user operating the multimedia controller operates the multimedia controller or an event sent from each multimedia device by communication (s
180). If there is an event, the processing of that event is executed (s182). If there are no events, counter gChec
It is determined whether kTime = 0 holds (s181). This counter gCheckTime is a counter that manages the cycle in which the multimedia controller performs a series of connection status check operations, and is counted by the timer circuit 105. If gCheckTime = 0 is satisfied as a result of the judgment (s181), the connected device status is checked (s183), and the device ID is assigned to the multimedia device described in the created connection status management table (s184).

The connection status display table is rewritten by referring to the connection status management table created as described above (s185), and gC
Set the PreSet value to heckTime (s186). Also, the identification name stored in the device name column of the connection status management table shown in FIG. 33 described above is transmitted to each corresponding multimedia device (s187). For example, in the case of Fig. 33, two digital VTRs are connected.
Since the names are stored in the device name field such as lVTR1 and DigitalVTR2, the name is transmitted to each device, and the transmitted identification name is displayed on the identification name display device of each device.

Although the above description has mainly described the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention, the sixth embodiment of the present invention can be applied to any of the second, third, fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention. The examples apply.

[0156]

As described above, with the configuration as described above, the device connected to the system can be accurately grasped without the user being aware, and a new device can be added to or disconnected from the system. Even in such a case, the user does not need to perform any troublesome work, and can recognize those devices with the system started up.

Further, since the power supply of each multimedia device can be centrally managed and operated, the power supply can be turned on and off efficiently, and the system can be operated efficiently.

Further, on the display section of each multimedia device,
By displaying the identification name identified by the multimedia controller, the user can easily visually judge the device he / she wants to use, and the general use without special knowledge or skill of the computer system. It is possible to build a system of multimedia equipment that is easily accepted by people.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a logical connection form of a multimedia controller and multimedia equipment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a physical connection form of a multimedia controller and multimedia devices.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal structure of an object-type multimedia device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal structure of an object-type multimedia controller.

FIG. 5 is a system hierarchy diagram of a multimedia controller.

FIG. 6 is a system hierarchy diagram of multimedia equipment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state before the multimedia device is connected to the multimedia controller.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state when a multimedia device is connected to a LAN.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a general class library.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a structure of an object.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a structure of a system director object.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control panel description part of a proxy object description file.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data input / output object description part of a proxy object description file.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state before an objectized digital VTR is connected to a multimedia controller.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a structure of a VTR controller object.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the operation when the digital VTR is connected to the LAN.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a screen of the multimedia controller.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which a digital VTR that is an object as a multimedia device is connected to a LAN.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an icon of a digital VTR.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a control panel display screen.

FIG. 21: Class to which the object belongs and Digital V
It is a figure explaining correspondence of the component of a TR control panel object.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram related to generation of a reproduction button object.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of the operation when the control is selected by placing the cursor on the icon display of the digital VTR.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a display screen of the multimedia controller when the operator selects control from the icon display of the digital VTR.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of a digital VTR data input proxy object and the object description information.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of a digital VTR data output proxy object and the object description information.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the structure of a digital VTR data input object.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the structure of a digital VTR data output object.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the relationship between the structure of a panel-class digital VTR control panel object and the object description information.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital VTR as a specific example of multimedia equipment that appears in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an event loop of the multimedia controller of the first and sixth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a conceptual diagram of a connection status management table of the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a process of checking the status of the connection device according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 35 is a conceptual diagram expressing means for presenting each multimedia device, the connection of which is confirmed according to the embodiment of the present invention, to the user of the multimedia controller.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller side of the power on / off operation of the present invention.

[Fig. 37] Fig. 37 is a flowchart showing the operation on the connected device side of the power on / off operation of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing an operation on the controller side when an operation command is generated.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the operation on the connected device side when an operation command is generated.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the control of the event loop for each connected device, which is related to the power-on / off operation.

FIG. 41 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a conceptual diagram of a connection status management table according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing an event loop of the multimedia controller according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing an event loop of each multimedia device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing the process of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth embodiments of the present invention.

48 is a flowchart showing a process when a connection is confirmed in the flow chart of FIG. 47.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing the processing when the separation is confirmed in the flow chart of FIG. 47.

FIG. 50 is a conceptual diagram showing an appearance of a multimedia device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart showing an event loop of the multimedia controller according to the sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a conceptual diagram showing an appearance of a cable connector according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 multimedia controller 102, 103, 104 multimedia device 104 connection state management table storage memory 105 multimedia controller timer circuit 106 system controller 107 interface controller 108 main power supply circuit 109 auxiliary power supply circuit 110 network interface unit 111 function of multimedia device Unit 112 Network line cable 113 Analog output terminal 114 Analog input terminal 115 D / A converter 116 A / D converter 117 Image storage memory 118 Signal processing circuit 119 Encoding circuit 120 Decoding circuit 121 Tape interface controller 122 Tape deck unit 123 High-speed data bus 124 Control bus 125 Multimedia controller Display device 126 Connected device confirmation panel 127 Operation panel for other applications 128 Database device icon 129 CD player icon 130 Digital VTR icon 131 Digital camera icon

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akira Suga 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hideaki Kawamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Kenji Hatori 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A multimedia system in which a multimedia device and a multimedia controller that collectively manages the multimedia device are connected via a communication line, wherein the multimedia device communicates with the multimedia controller. A first interface control unit that integrally functions with respect to the above, the first interface control unit, an interface controller that controls communication at a physical or logical lower level, and a main unit functional unit of the multimedia device. And a second system controller for controlling communication with each of the multimedia devices, the system controller including a first system controller for controlling communication between the multimedia device and the first interface control unit. And a device connection notification signal for notifying the second interface control unit of the connection between the interface controller and the multimedia device detected by the interface controller or a device for notifying disconnection of the multimedia device. A device connection / disconnection signal processing unit that processes a disconnection notification signal, a storage unit that stores a device connection management table that is referred to and updated by the device connection / disconnection signal processing unit, and a main unit of the multimedia controller. A control system for multimedia equipment, comprising a second system controller for performing communication and controlling the second interface control unit. 2. A first timer circuit for starting operation of the multimedia controller in synchronization with power-on of the multimedia controller, and a multimedia device periodically according to an output of the first timer circuit. A connection confirmation message transmitting means for transmitting a connection confirmation message to the multimedia device, the multimedia device transmits the device connection notification signal in response to the connection confirmation message, and the multimedia controller obtains from the device connection notification signal. The control system for multimedia equipment according to claim 1, further comprising means for updating the management table on the basis of the state information of the obtained multimedia equipment. 3. When the multimedia controller confirms the connection status of the system by the connection confirmation message sending means, it is already registered in the management table in the device connection notification signal returned from the multimedia device. There is a re-transmitting means for re-transmitting the connection confirmation message to the multimedia device when there is no signal from the multimedia device, and as a result of the re-transmitting device, there is no reply from the multimedia device. The control system for multimedia equipment according to claim (2), further comprising means for deleting an area corresponding to the multimedia equipment from the management table. 4. A multimedia device having a second timer circuit which starts operation in synchronization with power-on of the multimedia device, and the multimedia controller which is periodically operated in response to an output of the second timer circuit. And a means for transmitting the device connection notification signal, wherein the multimedia controller comprises means for updating the management table based on the status information of the multimedia device obtained from the device connection notification signal. The multimedia device connection system according to claim 1. 5. The device connection notification signal returned from the multimedia device when the multimedia controller confirms the system connection status by the device connection notification signal returned from each of the plurality of multimedia devices. When the multimedia controller receives the signal and determines that the signal is from a multimedia device that is not yet registered in the management table, a counter corresponding to each multimedia device on a one-to-one basis is provided in the management table. When it is determined that the signal is from a multimedia device already registered in the management table, means for resetting the counter corresponding to the multimedia device, which is already provided, and each counter are independently provided. The increment is synchronized with the output of the first timer circuit. Means for retransmitting the connection confirmation message to the multimedia device at least once more when the value of the counter exceeds a preset threshold value; 5. The multimedia device according to claim 4, further comprising means for deleting an area corresponding to the multimedia device from the management table when there is no reply from the multimedia device as a result of the transmitting device. Control system. 6. Each multimedia device has at least two or more network line connection terminals, a line connection detection circuit corresponding to each line connection terminal on a one-to-one basis, and an output from the line connection detection circuit. It has means for transmitting the device connection notification signal or the device disconnection notification signal to the multimedia controller when a change in the connection / disconnection state is detected, and is newly added to the first multimedia device among the multimedia devices. When the second multimedia device is added, the first multimedia device notifies the multimedia controller of the device connection according to the output of the line connection detection circuit of the connected first multimedia device. When the second multimedia device is disconnected from the first multimedia device by transmitting a signal, the first multimedia device is disconnected. The first multimedia device transmits the device disconnection notification signal to the multimedia controller according to the output of the line connection detection circuit of the media device, and the multimedia controller notifies the device connection notification signal or the device disconnection notification. The system of multimedia equipment according to claim 1, further comprising means for receiving the signal and updating the management table in the equipment connection / disconnection signal processing means. 7. When the multimedia controller receives the device disconnection notification signal, a retransmitting unit that retransmits the connection confirmation message to the multimedia device that has transmitted the device disconnection notification signal; 7. The multimedia device according to claim 6, further comprising means for deleting an area corresponding to the multimedia device from the management table when there is no reply from the multimedia device as a result of the transmitting device. Connection system. 8. A relay device is provided between the multimedia controller and each of the multimedia devices, and a network line connection terminal for connecting the multimedia device to the relay device and one to one for each line connection terminal. And a means for transmitting the device disconnection notification signal or the device connection notification signal to the multimedia controller according to the output from the line connection detection circuit, the interface controller, and 3. The control means for controlling the whole, wherein the multimedia controller comprises means for receiving the device disconnection notification signal or the device connection notification signal and updating the management table. ) A control system for the multimedia device described. 9. The multimedia controller issuing the device disconnection notification signal or the device connection notification signal in the means for receiving the device disconnection notification signal or the device connection notification signal and updating the management table. Re-transmitting means for re-transmitting the connection confirmation message to the media device, and deleting the area corresponding to the multimedia device from the management table when there is no reply from the multimedia device as a result of the re-transmitting means. 9. The control system for multimedia equipment according to claim 8, further comprising: 10. The multimedia when the line connection detection circuit corresponding to each line connection terminal of each multimedia device and a connection / disconnection state which is an output from the line connection detection circuit are detected. The controller has means for transmitting the device connection notification signal or the device disconnection notification signal, and the multimedia controller receives the device connection notification signal or the device disconnection notification signal, and in the device connection / disconnection signal processing means 4. The control system for multimedia equipment according to claim 2, further comprising means for updating the management table. 11. A switch that is turned on when a line cable is inserted into the line connection connector section of each of the multimedia devices, the multimedia controller, and the repeater, a mechanism for locking the line cable, and the locked line cable. 7. An operating member configured to release the switch and turn off the switch at the same time, and configured to transmit an output signal of the switch to the line connection detection circuit. ) To (10)
A control system for the described multimedia device. 12. The multimedia controller, a first power supply circuit for supplying power to the first and second interface control units of each multimedia device, and the multimedia controller,
A second power supply circuit that supplies power from a system different from the first power supply circuit, in which the user operates the main switch of each multimedia device or turns the power on / off by messaging from the multimedia controller. The control system for multimedia equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: 13. When the multimedia controller receives the device connection notification signal or the device disconnection notification signal, updates the management table, and recognizes each multimedia device connected to the system, And a means for allocating a unique identification name corresponding to the multimedia device on a one-to-one basis, and a means for notifying each of the corresponding multimedia devices of the allocated identification name. 13. The control system for multimedia equipment according to claim 1, wherein the multimedia equipment is configured to have a display device for displaying the notified identification name.