JPH0983534A - Network device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute the operation of time adjustment and channel presetting at once for plural electric apparatuses, to eliminate setting errors for the respective apparatuses and to improve operability. SOLUTION: Time data as an initial value is inputted from an input device 6 and an oscillator 9 generates a clock signal showing unit time with at least one electric apparatus. A clock device 10 counts the clock signal from the oscillator 9, adds counted time to initial time data inputted from the input device 6 and measures actual time. A microcomputer 12 transmits the measured data to a network cable 1 and supplies it to at least one other electric apparatus on a network. Thus, the time of time adjustment is received by the other apparatus connected to the network and the other apparatus can automatically be time-adjusted when the time of at least one apparatus is adjusted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network device connected to a network for the purpose of distributed control or centralized control, and more particularly to a network of consumer electric devices such as a television receiver and a video tape recorder (VTR). The present invention relates to a network device suitable for connecting to the above to share time data or channel information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Networks such as local area networks (LANs) are used in enterprises and joint facilities.
Is widespread. The LAN is intended to share various resources by connecting various electric devices to the network.

By the way, most of current electric devices are equipped with a clock function. In many cases, the setting method peculiar to each device is adopted for the time adjustment, and it is necessary to set each device by referring to the instruction manual of each device.

Specifically, referring to the time display,
There is a method of setting the time by operating the time setting button on the device body. For example, in the case of setting the time of a video tape recorder (VTR), the method of setting the time on the on-screen of the television receiver or the remote control transmitter There are methods such as setting the time on the LCD screen and transferring it to the device itself.

However, when the clock function is mounted on various electric devices, the setting method of time adjustment is different for each device, and all these devices must be set independently. Therefore, there is a problem that time and labor are required to set the time. Especially when you change the location of electrical equipment such as when you move or when there is a power outage,
Each time, I had to adjust the time for each electric product. In addition, the set time may be different for each device, and it has to be reset to correct the time error.

[0006] In a television receiver or VTR, the user can set the position channel (display channel of the television receiver), the real channel (carrier frequency channel of television broadcasting) and the guide channel (channel for G code reservation) to be associated with each other. Have to operate. Even in the case of this channel setting, since the setting method is different between the television receiver and the VTR, it is necessary to set each device individually. In addition, in case the power supply is stopped due to a power outage, etc., the channel setting information for each device is stored in a non-volatile memory, and when a volatile memory is used, the memory power is backed up by a battery or capacitor. There was a need.

[0007]

As described above, conventionally,
It has been necessary to perform operations such as time adjustment and channel setting individually for many electric devices, which is troublesome and troublesome.

In view of the above problems, the present invention can improve the operability by simultaneously performing operations such as time adjustment operation and channel preset operation on a plurality of electric devices and eliminating setting errors for each device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network device aiming at the above.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network device including an input unit for inputting initial time data,
While oscillating means for generating a clock signal indicating a unit time of time and counting the clock signal from the oscillating means, using the counted time, based on the initial time data input from the input means, Clock means for measuring actual time, control means for reading time data measured by the clock means, and time data read by the control means for supplying to at least one device connected on the network And means for transmitting on the network.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to the first aspect, receiving means for receiving data from the network, and control means for selecting time data from the data received from the receiving means. , Oscillating means for generating a clock signal indicating a unit time of time,
While counting the clock signal from the oscillating means,
The time data selected by the control means is used as an initial value of the time, and a clock means for measuring an actual time using the counted time is provided.

According to the first and second aspects of the invention, if the time of at least one device is adjusted, the time data is received by another device on the network and the time can be automatically adjusted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to the second aspect, based on the time data,
It is characterized in that at least one device other than its own device can be turned on and off.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to the second aspect, based on the time data,
It is characterized in that the tuning of a predetermined channel of at least one device other than the self device can be controlled.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the invention, the power supply control and channel selection control of other devices can be performed based on the time data.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to the second aspect, based on the time data,
It is characterized in that at least one recording / reproducing apparatus other than the self apparatus can start recording, end recording, select a recording channel, and control the recording medium.

According to the invention of claim 5, not only the recording / reproducing apparatus for the tape-shaped recording medium but also the disk-type recording / reproducing apparatus can be controlled based on the time data.

In the network device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the values of the carrier frequency channel of the television broadcast and the value of the display channel of the device are different. A control unit that reads the associated information, a storage unit that stores the associated information read by the control unit, and the associated information are supplied to at least one device connected to a network. In order to do so, a means for transmitting the associated information on the network is provided.

According to the invention described in claim 6, when the relational information of the position channel and the real channel is stored and set in one device, the channel information of other devices on the network can be automatically set. .

In the network device according to the invention of claim 7, since the values of the channel selection means capable of receiving the television broadcast and the carrier frequency channel of the television broadcast and the value of the display channel of the device are different from each other, they are associated with each other. While inputting information, input means capable of requesting tuning, and control means capable of controlling the tuning means while reading the associated information from the input means,
Storage means for storing the associated information read by the control means, and the associated information on the network for supplying the associated information to at least one device connected on the network. And means for transmitting information.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the relational information of the position channel and the real channel is stored and set in one device, the channel information of another device on the network can be automatically set. At the same time, the desired channel can be tuned by controlling the channel selection means in its own device in response to the channel selection request.

In the network device according to the present invention, the values of the carrier frequency channel of the television broadcast and the value of the display channel of the device are different. Therefore, a non-volatile storage means for storing one or more kinds of information for associating them with each other. An input means for inputting a signal for selecting one of the associated information from the storage means, and a control for reading one kind of the associated information from the storage means based on the selection signal. Means for transmitting the associating information on the network to supply the associating information read by the control means to at least one device connected on the network. To do.

According to the invention described in claim 8, only one channel information required at that time is selected from a plurality of channel information stored in advance in the non-volatile memory,
The same channel information can be set by sending it to another device on the network.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, there is provided a channel selection means capable of receiving a television broadcast, and a means for receiving data from the network. , A control means capable of selecting the associating information from the data received from the receiving means, and fetching the selected associating information as data of its own device to control the tuning means. It is characterized by having done.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the network device according to any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, a channel selection means capable of receiving a television broadcast and a means for turning on / off the power supply of the device. And a means for receiving data from the network, and when the power supply is turned on, as the initial operation, the receiving means is operated to select the associated information from the received data, and the selected information is used by its own device. And a control means capable of controlling the channel selection means.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Before describing the main part of the network device according to the embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a network connection example in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which each electric device is connected to the network. Reference numeral 1 is a communication medium of the network. This communication medium may be, for example, a network cable, or radio waves or infrared rays. The network cable may be a twisted pair wire or a commercial AC power supply (AC).
It may be a data communication line of alternating current (AC) superposition using the power cable of. In FIG. 3, a network cable 1 is used as a network communication medium, and a VTR as a network device is mounted on the network cable 1.
2, the case where the television receiver 3, the telephone 4 and the like are connected is described. In addition, from the VTR 2 to the television receiver 3
On the other hand, the baseband video signal and audio signal are sent through the signal lines 21 and 22.

The VTR 2 and the television receiver 3 shown in FIG.
A network device such as the telephone 4 has a network circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1 or a network circuit 200 shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the own device is, for example, a VTR, and one device on the receiving side is, for example, a television receiver.

First, referring to FIG. 1, as a first embodiment, a configuration of a network device relating to time setting will be described.

In the network circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, the network cable 1 is the same as the network cable 1 in FIG. The transceiver 5 is connected to the network cable 1 and the network cable 1
Data is transmitted to and received from the network cable 1 through the network cable 1. The input device 6 is a keyboard, a remote control transmitter, or another data transmitter, and can input, for example, initial time data (time data input by the user as an initial value). The tuner 7 selects and receives a television broadcast signal externally input from an antenna ANT or the like. The display device 8 displays the operation status of the input device 6. The oscillator 9 generates a clock signal indicating a unit time of time.

When transmitting time data, the clock device 10
While counting the clock signal from the oscillator 9, the actual time is measured based on the initial time data input from the input device 6 by using the counted time, and when the time data is received. While counting the clock signal from the oscillator 9, when the time data selected by the microcomputer 12 from the data received by the receiving unit of the transceiver 5 is given as the initial value of the time, the counted time is used. It measures the actual time. The microcomputer 12 is a CPU as a central processing unit.
And a ROM as a program memory and a RAM as a data memory. When transmitting time data, the time data measured by the clock device 10 is read and sent to the transmitter of the transceiver 5. When the time data is received, it has a function of selecting the time data from the data received by the receiving unit of the transceiver 5 and sending it to the timepiece device 10. The transmitter / receiver 5 transmits the time data sent from the microcomputer 12 to at least one device connected to the network cable 1, for example, the television receiver 3
The time data is transmitted on the network 1 in order to be supplied to the network. The receiver of the transceiver 5 receives data from the network cable 1.

Next, the user selects the VTR2 in FIG.
A procedure for setting the time will be described. The user operates the input device 6 in FIG. 1 to input time information as an initial value to the microcomputer 12 through the signal line 31. The operation status at this time is displayed on the display device 8 through the signal line 32. The time data input to the microcomputer 12 is sent to the timepiece device 10 through the data line 33, and the initial time is set. At the same time, the timepiece device 10 counts the clock signal indicating the unit time from the oscillator 9 sent through the signal line 34, and adds this count value to the preset initial time to measure the time. In addition,
Although the timepiece device 10 is described here as an independent means, it may be incorporated in a part of the function of the microcomputer 12. The time measured by the timepiece device 10 is read again by the microcomputer 12, sent to the transmitter of the transceiver 5 through the data line 35, and the time data is transmitted from the transceiver 5 to the network cable 1.
The time data thus placed on the network cable 1 is delivered to the receiving unit of the network device on the receiving side such as the television receiver 3 having the circuit of FIG.
The receiver of the transceiver 5 of the network device captures the time data on the network cable 1.

The time data fetched by the network device on the receiving side is sent to the microcomputer 12 through the data line 35.
Read in. The microcomputer 12 initializes the timepiece device 10 through the data line 33. At the same time, the timepiece device 10 counts the clock signal indicating the unit time from the oscillator 9, and adds the count value to the initially set time data to measure the time.

As described above, when the user sets the time of one device such as the VTR 2 connected to the network cable 1, the time is automatically set to the other device on the network such as the television receiver 3. Can be done on a regular basis.

As a second embodiment, the VTR 2 which receives the time data put on the network sends the control data to the television receiver 3 so that the user can operate the power source or the channel to the television receiver 3. It is also possible to perform control such that the change operation is not accepted. In this case, transmission / reception of control data on the network can be performed in the same manner as the case of the time data.

In the third embodiment, at least one device other than the self device takes in the time data sent on the network and sent to the time data to turn the device on and off. It can also be configured to be controlled based on. That is, if the time is set in advance in the device and the power is turned on and off at the set time, this can be easily realized.

The automatic setting of the time data has been described above. Next, the automatic setting of the channel information will be described. The channel setting means that the current TV system in Japan must store the relationship between the position channel (carrier frequency channel of television broadcasting) and the actual channel (display channel of the TV receiver) in the memory of the TV receiver. This is an operation to be performed because John broadcasting cannot be actually received.

Referring to FIG. 1, as a fourth embodiment,
The configuration of the network device related to channel setting will be described.

In FIG. 1, the network cable 1 is the same as the network cable 1 in FIG. The transceiver 5 is connected to the network cable 1,
Data is transmitted to and received from the network cable 1 through the network cable 1. The input device 6 is a keyboard or a remote control transmitter or other data transmitter,
For example, since the values of the carrier frequency channel of television broadcasting and the display channel of the television receiver are different, it is possible to input channel information for associating these and to make a channel selection request to select a desired channel. The tuner 7 selects and receives a television broadcast signal externally input from an antenna ANT or the like. The display device 8 displays the operation status of the input device 6.

As described above, the microcomputer 12 is composed of a CPU as a central processing unit, a ROM as a program memory, and a RAM as a data memory, and stores the associated channel information from the input device 6. While reading and storing in the external memory 11, the associated channel information is sent to the transmitter of the transceiver 5. The memory 11 is composed of a non-volatile memory that does not disappear even when the power is not supplied. Even when the power is cut off due to a power failure or the like, the user can re-register the associated information from the input device 6 to the memory 11. Do not need to set. The transmitter of the transceiver 5 transmits the associated channel information on the network cable 1 in order to supply the channel information to at least one device connected to the network, for example, the television receiver 3. The receiver of the transmitter 5 receives data from the network cable 1.

Next, the user selects the VTR2 in FIG.
The procedure for setting the channel will be described. The user
The input device 6 in FIG. 1 is operated to input information associating the carrier frequency channel (real channel) of television broadcasting and the display channel (position channel) of the television receiver to the microcomputer 12 through the signal line 31. The operation status at this time is displayed on the display device 8 through the signal line 32. The associating information read by the microcomputer 12 is stored in the memory 11 through the data line 36.
Is stored. Information relating the position channel and the real channel is read by the microcomputer 12,
The data is transmitted from the transmitter of the transceiver 5 onto the network cable 1. When the microcomputer 12 receives a channel selection request from the user through the input device 6, the microcomputer 12 controls the tuner 7 to answer the user's request and select a desired channel.

In this way, when the relationship information between the position channel and the real channel is put on the network cable 1, it reaches the receiving side network device such as the television receiver 3 having the circuit of FIG. In the network device on the receiving side, this time, the receiving unit of the transceiver 5 is
The relationship information on the network cable 1 is fetched.

The relationship information between the position channel and the real channel, which is taken into the receiving side network device, is read into the microcomputer 12 through the data line 35. At this time, the microcomputer 12 fetches the channel information into its own internal memory while the nonvolatile memory 1
Store in 1. As a result, the relationship information between the position channel and the real channel is also stored in the television receiver 3, and by utilizing this as the data of its own device, it is possible to execute the channel selection with the same channel setting as the VTR 2. Becomes

As described above, when the user sets the channel of one device connected to the network cable 1, the channel can be automatically set for other devices on the network.

As a fifth embodiment, with respect to the configuration of the network device for sending the channel information from one device to another device on the network and setting the same, the following other embodiments are also possible. is there. That is, one device on the network, for example, the nonvolatile memory 11 in the VTR 2
In advance, one or a plurality of types of channel information for associating the carrier frequency channel of the television broadcast and the value of the display channel of the device are stored in advance, and one of the plurality of channel information is selected from the input device 6. By inputting a signal, the microcomputer 12 reads out one type of the channel information from the non-volatile memory 11 based on the selection signal, sends the read out channel information to the transmitting unit of the transceiver 5, and transmits it to the network. It transmits to at least one device connected, for example, the television receiver 3.

According to such a configuration, only one channel information required at that time is selected from a plurality of channel information stored in advance in the non-volatile memory 11 in one device, and the other device on the network is selected. , And the same channel information can be set in the device.

As a sixth embodiment, when information relating a carrier frequency channel of a television broadcast and a display channel of the device is transmitted from one device on the network, for example, the VTR 2, on the network. When the power supply to another device, for example, the television receiver 3 is turned on, the microcomputer 12 operates the receiving unit of the transceiver 5 to select the associated information from the received data as the initial operation, and select the selected information. It can also be configured to be captured as data of its own device.

Further, as the seventh embodiment, when the VTR 2 receives the time data put on the network, the VTR 2 sends the control data to the television receiver 3 via the network, and the television receiver 3 receives the control data. It is also possible to perform control so as not to accept power operation and channel change operation by the user. The transmission / reception of control data on the network in this case can be performed in the same manner as in the case of the time data.

In addition, as an eighth embodiment, at least one device other than its own device fetches the time data sent on the network and sent to the device to select a channel predetermined. It is also possible to control so that. That is, if a preset channel is preliminarily set in the device together with the time, the channel selection can be executed by calling the information of the predetermined channel at the set time.

Further, as a ninth embodiment, at least one recording / reproducing apparatus other than the self-device captures the time data sent on the network and sent, so that the recording start, the recording end, It is also possible to enable control of recording channel selection, recording medium speed, and the like. Here, the recording / reproducing apparatus may be not only a recording / reproducing apparatus for a tape-shaped recording medium such as a VTR but also a disk-type recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a network device according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention.

In the network circuit 200 shown in FIG.
It shows a configuration in which the memory 11 does not exist in the circuit 100 of FIG. At least one of the devices connected to the network cable 1 needs to have a configuration having the nonvolatile memory 11 as shown in FIG. 1, but other devices on the network have the memory 11 as shown in FIG. The configuration may be omitted.

That is, the network device of FIG. 1, for example, VT
Data stored in the non-volatile memory 11 in the R2, for example, channel information indicating the relationship between the position channel and the real channel is transmitted and placed on the network cable 1, and this data is transmitted to the network device having the configuration of FIG. If it is taken into the memory (that is, RAM) in the microcomputer 12 of No. 3, the network device on the receiving side can hold necessary channel-related information and execute channel selection. Therefore, at least one is
With this configuration, the rest of the devices need not have the nonvolatile memory of FIG.

As described above, time data and channel information can be put on the network, and other devices can read this and use it for their own settings.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the cable 1 is used as the network, but the present invention is not limited to this mode, and a wireless network using no cable may be used. Good.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a plurality of devices that require time adjustment are connected on the network, if at least one device is set to the time, the other devices are The time can be adjusted automatically. Based on this time, it is possible to simultaneously perform power supply control and channel selection control for other devices.

Similarly, regarding the channel setting, if at least one device is set, the other devices can automatically set the channel.

Therefore, operations such as time adjustment setting and channel setting can be performed on a plurality of electric devices at once.
In addition, it is possible to eliminate setting errors for each device, improve operability, and improve reliability of electrical devices on the network.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network connection example according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Network cable 2 ... VTR 3 ... Television receiver 5 ... Transceiver 6 ... Input device 7 ... Tuner (tuning means) 9 ... Oscillator (oscillating means) 10 ... Clock device 11 ... Memory (storage means) 12 ... Microcomputer

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Input means for inputting initial time data, oscillating means for generating a clock signal indicating a unit time of time, and counting clock signals from said oscillating means,
Using the counted time, clock means for measuring the actual time based on the initial time data input from the input means, control means for reading the time data measured by the clock means, and the control Means for transmitting on the network to supply the time data read by the means to at least one device connected on the network. 2. Receiving means for receiving data from the network, control means for selecting time data from the data received from the receiving means, and oscillating means for generating a clock signal indicating a unit time of time. While counting the clock signal from the oscillating means,
2. The network device according to claim 1, further comprising clock means for measuring an actual time by using the counted time with the time data selected by the control means as an initial value of the time. 3. The network device according to claim 2, wherein at least one device other than the own device can be turned on and off based on the time data. 4. The network device according to claim 2, wherein tuning of a predetermined channel of at least one device other than the self device can be controlled based on the time data. 5. The recording start, the recording end, the recording channel selection, and the recording medium control in at least one recording / reproducing apparatus other than the self apparatus are possible based on the time data. Network equipment. 6. A carrier frequency channel of a television broadcast and a value of a display channel of a device are different from each other, and therefore input means for inputting information for associating them and control means for reading the associated information from the input means. Storage means for storing the associated information read by the control means; and the association on the network for supplying the associated information to at least one device connected on the network. And a means for transmitting the obtained information. 7. A channel selection request capable of receiving a television broadcast, and a carrier frequency channel of the television broadcast and a display channel value of the device are different from each other. Capable of controlling the channel selection means while reading the associated information from the input means, and storing the associated information read by the control means. A network device, comprising: storage means; and means for transmitting the associated information over a network to supply the associated information to at least one device connected over the network. . 8. A carrier frequency channel of a television broadcast and a value of a display channel of the device are different from each other. Therefore, non-volatile storage means for storing one or a plurality of types of information for associating them with each other, and the association from the storage means. When there is a plurality of pieces of information, input means for inputting a signal for selecting one of the pieces of information, control means for reading out one type of the associating information from the storage means based on the selection signal, and reading by the control means Means for transmitting the associating information on the network in order to supply the associating information to the at least one device connected on the network. 9. A channel selection means capable of receiving television broadcasting, a means for receiving data from the network, and selecting the associating information from the data received from the receiving means, while making a selected association. 9. The network device according to claim 6, further comprising: a control unit capable of fetching information as data of its own device and controlling the channel selection unit. 10. A channel selection means capable of receiving television broadcasting, a means for turning on / off a power supply of the apparatus, a means for receiving data from the network, and an initial signal when the power supply is turned on. As an operation,
And a control unit capable of operating the receiving unit to select the associated information from the received data, fetching the selected information as data of its own device, and controlling the channel selecting unit. The network device according to any one of claims 6 to 8.