KR19990074769A - Serial Communication Device and Method of PC - Google Patents

Abstract

The serial communication apparatus and method of a PC and a VCR according to the present invention connect a serial communication port of a PC and a plurality of VCRs through a multi-input / output board to enable transmission of control commands between the PC and the plurality of VCRs. You can test the communication status and operation status.

Therefore, by using the serial communication device and method of the PC and the VCR according to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously test several devices such as a VCR supporting the RS-232C serial communication method through the serial communication port of the PC. It is possible to easily determine whether the communication state and the operation state.

Description

Serial Communication Device and Method of PC

The present invention relates to a serial communication device and a method of a PC and a VCR, and more particularly, to a serial communication of a PC and a VCR, which is capable of testing whether or not to perform serial communication for a plurality of VCRs through a serial communication port of a PC. A communication device and method are disclosed.

In general, in order to communicate data signals between data terminals, lines must be physically connected. However, there are many different types of computers or data devices that require communication, so the way they connect can be different. In order to solve this problem, standardization of interface specifications between devices is required. These interface specifications include physical connection methods such as the number and size of connecting connector pins, electrical specifications such as impedance and signal level of connection circuits, and the like. Regulations on the function and operating conditions and procedures of the connection circuits are required.

These physical interfaces are the definitions of physical and electrical specifications for connecting DTEs and DCEs or DTEs and DTEs. The serial port (COM port) in most PCs or the terminal port of the host computer meets the RS-232C specification and is called an RS-232C interface.

On the other hand, in the method of testing the operation state of the VCR by serial communication with the VCR using the conventional PC using the RS-232C interface, only 1: 1 communication between the PC and the VCR was possible. That is, the serial communication port that can be used in the conventional PC has 4 ports from COM1 to COM4, but each port is always used in the PC. Therefore, the number of VCRs that can be directly connected to the serial communication port of the PC is limited. there was. Therefore, it was not possible to check the operation status of several devices at the same time through a PC that supports the RS-232C communication method such as a VCR.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to check whether RS-232C communication with a plurality of VCR via the serial communication port of the PC, and transmit and receive a control signal for performing serial communication It is an object of the present invention to provide a serial communication device and a method of a PC and a VCR.

In order to achieve the above object, a serial communication apparatus of a PC and a VCR according to the present invention performs serial data communication with a plurality of VCRs supporting an RS-232C interface, and the plurality of VCRs, and communicates with the VCR. And a multi-input / output board for connecting the PC and the plurality of VCRs and selectively switching the connected communication lines to enable one-to-one data communication between the PC and the VCR.

In addition, the serial communication method of the PC and the VCR according to the present invention is a method for testing the operation status and communication availability of the VCR connected through the PC and the serial communication port, the classification of commands transmitted from the PC to the VCR by type Select the command group set up, select the control command to be transmitted among the commands belonging to the selected command group, and select the serial communication port connected to the specific VCR to be tested among the plurality of VCRs to communicate and operate the VCR. Characterized in that it is to check.

1 is a system configuration showing a communication system between a PC and a VCR according to the present invention;

2 shows a main screen of a system for implementing the present invention;

3 is a view showing a screen displayed when the port setting view button is selected in the main screen shown in FIG.

4 is a view illustrating a port setting screen displayed when the modify button is selected in FIG.

5 is a view showing a result of performing an automatic check function in a serial communication method according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen displayed when a timeout setting button is selected on the main screen shown in FIG. 1.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

10: PC, 20: multiple input / output board,

30: VCR, 11: command group selector,

12: Detailed command selection section, 13: Result display window,

14: port selector, 15: parameter input,

16: Send button, 17: View port settings button,

18: Auto check button, 19: Timeout setting button.

Hereinafter, a serial communication apparatus and method for a PC and a VCR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic communication system between a PC and a VCR for implementing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a system for implementing the present invention includes a plurality of VCRs 30 supporting an RS-232C interface and a PC 10 for performing serial communication with the plurality of VCRs 30. And a multiple input / output board 20 for connecting the PC and the plurality of VCRs to enable one-to-one data communication between the PC 10 and the VCR 30 and for selectively switching the connected communication lines. .

In this case, the multi-input / output board 20 is mounted inside the PC, and configured to recognize each port of the multi-input / output board 20 in the PC 10, for example, the multi-input / output board 20. In the case of using the 8 port set), each port of the multi-input / output board 20 recognized by the PC 10 is set from port 5 to port 12.

As an interface specification between a PC and a VCR for implementing the present invention, a D-SUB DCE is used as a jack type for connecting a communication line, and a communication type between the PC and the VCR is used in both directions between the PC and the VCR. Use two-way communication that can be sent at the same time. In the synchronous method, an asynchronous method of synchronizing using a start bit and a stop bit is used. An ASCII code is set as a character code. Meanwhile, RS-232C serial communication parameters set in the VCR may be set as shown in Table 1 below.

parameter Set Initial value BAUD RATE 1200,2400,4800,9600 9600 Data length 8-bit, 7-bit 7 bit PARITY NONE, ODD, EVEN ODD STOP BIT 1 bit, 2 bits 1 bit

2 shows a main screen of a program for performing serial communication between a PC and a VCR according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a main screen for performing a serial communication method between a PC and a VCR according to the present invention includes a command group selector 11 for command transmission and a detail to be transmitted among commands belonging to the selected command group. A detailed command selector 12 for selecting and displaying a command, a port selector 14 for selecting a communication port for transmitting the selected command to a specific VCR, and a parameter for receiving a parameter according to the parameter requirement of the selected command The input unit 15, the transmission button 16 for receiving the transmission of the selected command, the port setting view button 17 for confirming the setting information of the port currently set in the system, and communication for a specific serial communication port Automatic check button 18 for automatically checking whether or not, a timeout setting button 19 for setting data writing and reading time in communication and command And a result display window 13 for displaying a message at the time of transmission / reception of the instruction word.

In the above-described configuration, first, a command to be transmitted to a corresponding VCR is selected to test an operation state of the VCR, in which a command group is selected first, and then a command group is to be performed. The actual detailed command will be selected. At this time, the format of the command transmitted to the VCR 30 is as follows.

STX COMMAND GROUP COMMAND COMMAND ETX

In the above command format, STX is a transmission control character that indicates the start of the text. It is set to the character code 02H and must be added to the beginning of the data, and ETX is used to end the text. End of TeXt character) is a transmission control character. It is set as character code 03H and must be added to the end of data.

In addition, the command group divides commands for controlling the VCR by specific items, which may be divided as shown in Table 2 below.

Command group Contents Command group Contents O-- Basic operation L-- Time Lapse Motion P-- Power D-- Display R-- User settings V-- video T-- timer Q-- Lookup C-- counter R-- Communication

Next, a serial communication apparatus and method for a PC and a VCR of the present invention will be described. First, in the case of testing the communication capability and operation state of a specific VCR by the serial communication test program according to the present invention, after selecting a command group to be transmitted to the corresponding VCR in the main screen shown in FIG. Select the detailed command belonging. In this case, if the selected command is a command that does not require parameter input, the communication port in which connection with the corresponding VCR is established through the port selector 14 is selected, and then a send button 16 for command transmission is selected. The command will be sent to the VCR.

On the other hand, in the case of a command that requires input of a parameter, the parameter is input to the parameter input unit 15. At this time, the parameter and the command are separated by a colon (:), and when the input of the required parameter is completed, the send button 16 is also selected to transmit the command.

3 illustrates a screen displayed when the port setting view button 17 is selected on the main screen illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, when the user selects the port setting view button 17 on the main screen of FIG. 2, information about each communication port currently connected to the PC on the system is displayed. Information displayed at this time includes baud rate, data length, parity bit, stop bit, etc. of each port, and this information is initialized and set to a default value when the program starts.

At this time, if you want to modify the information for each port displayed on the port information screen, select the port to change the setting value in the port information screen and then select the modify button.

4 illustrates a port setting screen displayed when the modify button is selected in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, when the port setting is to be modified, the port setting may be modified by pressing the apply button after changing the setting for each item. On the other hand, when the default button is selected, the baud rate is set to 9600, the data bit is 7 bits, the parity bit is odd parity, and the stop bit is set to a default value of 1 bit.

In addition, when a user wants to perform an automatic check on whether a specific port can be communicated, the user selects a port to be automatically checked in the port selector 14 of the main screen and then selects an automatic check button 18. In this case, the automatic check is performed by sending the 'RCK' command twice to the port selected by the user, and when the 'RCK' command is received from the receiver, it determines that communication is successfully performed and outputs a continuous alarm sound for 2 seconds. If it is determined that communication has failed, it automatically checks for communication by turning on / off the alarm sound twice at 0.5 second intervals. This automatic check result is displayed through the result display window 13 of the main screen, as shown in FIG. In addition, the contents displayed through the result display window 13 will be stored as a log file, and the stored log file can check the contents stored in an existing program, such as a notepad or word pad, which can view a text file. With these programs, you can print the results of sending and receiving commands through the printer.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen displayed when a timeout setting button is selected on the main screen shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 6, when the timeout setting button 19 is selected, the input time when the read button is selected after receiving the read time and the write time to set the time of reading and writing data during communication. Will be applied.

The serial communication apparatus and method of a PC and a VCR according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be variously modified and implemented within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

As described above, the apparatus and method for serial communication between a PC and a VCR according to the present invention connects a serial communication port of a PC with a plurality of VCRs through a multiple input / output board to transmit control commands between the PC and the plurality of VCRs. It is possible to test the communication status and operation status of each VCR.

Therefore, the serial communication apparatus and method of the PC and the VCR according to the present invention can simultaneously test several devices such as a VCR supporting the RS-232C serial communication method through the serial communication port of the PC. It provides an effect that can easily determine whether the communication state and the operating state.

Claims (3)

Multiple VCRs with RS-232C interface, A PC which performs serial data communication with the plurality of VCRs to test a communication state with the VCRs and an operation state of each VCR; And a multiple input / output board connecting the PC and the plurality of VCRs and selectively switching the connected communication lines to enable one-to-one data communication between the PC and the VCR. In the method of testing the operation status and communication of the VCR connected to the PC through the serial communication port, Select a command group that is set by dividing the commands transmitted from the PC to the VCR by type, select a control command to be transmitted among the commands belonging to the selected command group, and then connect the serial connected to a specific VCR to be tested among a plurality of VCRs. A serial communication method between a PC and a VCR, wherein the communication port is selected to check a communication state and an operation state of the VCR. The method of claim 2, further comprising: a parameter input function for receiving a parameter according to whether a parameter of the selected command is required; Port setting function to check and modify the setting information of the communication port currently set in the system, An automatic check button for automatically checking whether or not communication is performed for a specific serial communication port; And a timeout setting function for setting a time for writing and reading data during communication.