KR20000021397A - Method for displaying signalling state of ieee 1394 compatible electronic device and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device is provided to inform a signaling state of an electronic device for an IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 serial bus. CONSTITUTION: A device for displaying a signaling state of an IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) compatible electronic device comprises: an electronic device for using a cable for a serial bus as a communication medium, to display a transmitting state of data processed in a network of electronic devices which are connected to an IEEE 1394 cable, a supplying state of power supply, and whether the power supply is supplied to the cable; a first displayer for informing that the power supply is supplied to the cable; a second displayer for informing whether other electronic device, which is in process of transmitting/receiving by being formed on connector circumference of the electronic device, is connected or not; a third displayer for informing that the electronic device is transmitting data by being formed on the connector circumference; and a fourth displayer for informing that the electronic device is receiving data by being formed on the connector circumference.

Description

Signal status display method of iEI 1394 compatible electronic device and device

The present invention relates to displaying a state between electronic devices, and more particularly, to a signal state display method of an electronic device and a device for informing a user of a signal state such as a data flow between electronic devices connected by a serial bus. will be.

Recently, after the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has established the IEEE 1394 serial bus as a standard, it supports communication devices, computers, home appliances, semiconductors, cables, and connectors. Product development is accelerating, making it a new industry standard.

In addition, IEEE 1394 serial bus is recognized as a technology that will lead the multimedia era because it is more bidirectional than Universal Serial Bus (USB) and supports both asynchronous transmission and synchronous transmission. It is expected to become the standard for breaking down walls.

Hereinafter, a general IEEE 1394 serial bus compatible electronic device will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, which is a block diagram showing a general tree in which IEEE 1394 compatible electronics are connected in series by a cable, the first channel of the computer 10 is connected to one channel of the hard disk 12 through the first cable C1. do. The other channel of the hard disk 12 is connected to one channel of the printer 14 through the second cable C2, and the other channel of the printer 14 is connected to the scanner 16 through the third cable C3. Is connected to the channel.

In addition, the second channel of the computer 10 is connected to the channel of the digital camera 18 via the fourth cable C4, and the third channel of the computer 10 is connected to the HDTV via the fifth cable C5. It is connected to one channel of 20. The other channel of the HDTV 20 is connected to one channel of the VCR 22 via the sixth cable C6, and the other channel of the VCR 22 is connected to the channel of the camcorder 24.

As described above, the cables connecting the electronic devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 are compatible with the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard.

IEEE cables are conceptually divided into strobe signals, data signals, and cable power supplies, and are physically made up of six pins. That is, the first pin is for positive DC power supply, the second pin is for grounding, the third pin is for strobe signal reception, the fourth pin is for data transmission, the fifth pin is for data reception, and the sixth pin is for strobe signal transmission. Each is used for credit. When each electronic device is connected with such an IEEE 1394 serial bus cable, a bus reset occurs at the same time that the device is connected to the bus, and each device connected to the bus has a unique physical address as a node. Is given. In other words, in a network in which each electronic device is connected with a cable as described above, each node searches for another node and puts its own node information on the bus so as to have a node ID. do. As shown in the upper left of FIG. 1, the hard disk 12 is node 0 (# 0), the printer 14 is node 1 (# 1), and the scanner 16 is node 2 (# 2). ), Digital camera 18 is node 3 (# 3), HDTV 20 is node 4 (# 4), VCR 22 is node 5 (# 5), camcorder 24 is node 6 (# 6), the computer 10 recognizes the node number as node # 7, respectively.

As described above, one device connected to the IEEE 1394 serial bus describes the internal structure of one device recognized as one unique node with respect to another device.

Referring to FIG. 2, which is a block diagram schematically illustrating a connector portion and an internal structure of a general IEEE 1394 compatible electronic device, a physical layer 32 for performing a predetermined communication with another electronic device is provided in one node 30. There is an upper layer 34 that controls the electronic device using the physical layer 32. Here, the upper layer 34 includes a link layer and a transaction layer, and the physical layer 32 is connected to the upper layer 34 as an interface 36.

In addition, the electronic device 30 operates as a local host with respect to the corresponding node 38, not only has a plurality of channels ch1-ch3, but also performs various communication between nodes including one or more registers, It has a unique physical address.

As described above, electronic devices connected to the IEEE 1394 serial bus support both asynchronous and synchronous transmission. Therefore, synchronous transmission is used when continuity is important, such as video, and asynchronous transmission using time without synchronous transmission is used when continuity is not important.

At this time, the synchronous transmission refers to transmission in a state where the time until the data transmitted by the individual nodes connected to the network can transmit the data is constant. In other words, the channel is transmitted in one direction within a certain time so that data can be continuously transmitted in real time. This synchronous transmission is a necessary technique for transmitting time-sensitive data such as digital video.

In addition, the electronic device for the IEEE 1394 serial bus supports hot plugging so that the electronic device connected to the serial bus and the new electronic device do not have to be turned off to connect the new electronic device. In other words, the new electronic device can be provided with a physical address at the same time as it is connected to the serial bus, and hot plugging means that the existing device and new electronic device connected to the bus can be connected to the bus without disconnecting power. This is a recently developed technology.

On the other hand, it is through the reconfiguration process of the serial bus that the electronic device can be given a unique physical address. The reconfiguration of the serial bus occurs when a new node is connected to the serial bus, or when a node already connected to the serial bus and a node with a node ID is removed from the serial bus, that is, disconnecting the existing node. In other words, whenever a serial bus needs to be reconfigured, the node generates a bus reset signal, which starts the reconfiguration. As such, a node of a serial bus that detects a new connection of an electronic device or removal of an existing node causes a three-step bus reconfiguration process to be performed by requesting a bus reset signal. The three-step configuration process consists of a bus initialization step, a tree ID step, and a self ID step, which requires several hundred ms.

However, in the conventional IEEE 1394 compliant device as described above, when a user connects a new device, a bus reset for reconfiguring the bus is generated throughout the serial bus. There is a problem that data loss occurs. In other words, when the bus reset occurs, the synchronized data between the transmitting and receiving nodes can be retransmitted after the self ID step, that is, 125 ms, but the data loss for 125 ms may have a significant effect on the entire operation. For example, when the broadcast signal received by the HDTV 20 is recorded by the VCR 22, the broadcast signal is not continuously recorded, thereby causing a problem of degrading the overall recording quality. In addition to this case, even when producing a variety of products and creations of the multimedia will be a fatal problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for notifying a user of a signal state of an electronic device for an IEEE 1394 serial bus.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a network of typical IEEE 1394 compliant electronic devices connected by cable;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a connection portion and an internal structure of a general IEEE 1394 compatible electronic device and a cable. FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a network of IEEE 1394 compliant electronic devices equipped with display means for indicating various states according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of an IEEE 1394 compliant electronic device equipped with a plurality of display means according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing electrical connection of first to fourth display means installed in an IEEE 1394 compliant electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another electrical connection of display means installed in an IEEE 1394 compliant electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

10-Computer 30-Node

32-Physical Layer 34-Upper Layer

36-Interface D1-First Light Emitting Diode

D2-Second Light Emitting Diode D3-Third Light Emitting Diode

D4-fourth light emitting diode

As described above, the status display electronic device of the present invention includes a serial bus cable; An electronic device using the serial bus as a communication medium; A connector mounted to the electronic device, the connector being a connection point for connecting the cable to the electronic device; First display means for indicating whether power is supplied to the cable; Second display means installed near a connector of the electronic device to inform the user that data is being transmitted or received via the cable; And third display means which is installed near the connector of the electronic device and informs the user whether another device is connected to the serial bus.

Another feature of the present invention is a communication state between an electronic device including a plurality of electronic devices compatible with the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard, each having a unique node ID, and an IEEE 1394 serial bus cable connecting the electronic devices. CLAIMS 1. A method for displaying a method, the method comprising: informing a user as first display means whether power is applied to a power pair of a cable; Informing a user as a second display means whether a counterpart device transmitting / receiving is connected to the IEEE 1394 serial bus cable; It provides a status display method of the electronic device comprising the step of notifying the user with the third to fourth display means that the electronic device is in data communication.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the detailed description of the present embodiment, parts having the same functions as the above-described prior art are given the same reference numerals.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a tree structure in which IEEE 1394 compatible electronic devices are connected by cable according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a first channel of the computer 50 is connected to the external hard disk 52 through the first cable C1. Connected with. The second channel of the external hard disk 52 is connected to the first channel of the printer 54 through the second cable C2, and the second channel of the printer 54 is connected to the scanner via the third cable C3. It is connected to the channel of 56. In addition, the second channel of the computer 50 is connected to the channel of the digital camera 58 through the fourth cable C4, and the third channel of the computer 50 is connected to the HDTV (the fifth cable C5). 60, the first channel. The second channel of the HDTV 60 is connected to the first channel of the VCR 62 via the sixth cable C6, and the second channel of the VCR 62 is connected to the camcorder 64 via the seventh cable C7. ) Is connected to the channel.

A plurality of display means L for informing various signal states to each connected electronic device is installed near the connector. In addition, the IEEE 1394 compatible electronic device is designed to have a plurality of connectors in one device, the IEEE 1394 serial bus is all connected by a cable, the effective length of the cable is 4.5M.

On the other hand, since a newly connected electronic device does not have a physical address, a bus reset signal for reconfiguring a serial bus is generated.

In other words, the reconfiguration of the serial bus occurs when the new node is coupled to the serial bus, or when an existing node on the serial bus is removed from the bus. When connecting or removing a new electronic device, each node reconfigures the serial bus through a three-step process, which consists of a bus initialization step, a tree ID step, and a self ID step. That is, a bus reset signal is generated to make the serial bus an initial state, and it detects which device is connected to the serial bus. Each node ID is given, and each device requests self-confirmation. Each device that receives this request passes its summary information to the serial bus, and each node that receives it completes the reconfiguration of the serial bus by storing it in its register. At this time, the time required for reconfiguration of the serial bus is about 125 ms.

After this serial bus reconfiguration is complete, a bus transaction, such as read or write, involves sending data packets, which use many point to point transactions. Spreads throughout the serial bus. During the transmission of the data packet, the source node sends a data prefix signal, the address of the source and destination nodes, a transaction code, a transaction label, a retry code, data, an error detection code, and a packet transmission signal. If a bus reset occurs while the bus transaction is being processed, the address of the destination node sent by the source node is no longer valid.

On the other hand, internal calculations in the digital system are synchronized by clock pulses generated by the pulse generator. Clock pulses are applied to all registers in the device, and all data transfers between internal registers occur simultaneously while clock pulses are generated.

To achieve data transfer between two independent devices, control signals must be exchanged between the two devices to indicate when the data will be transferred. Strobe, a kind of clock signal, is generated by a transmitter or a receiver. The serial bus carries binary information from the transmitter to the receiver and the strobe signal is a signal that informs the destination device that useful data is on the bus.

If the start of the strobe signal is a transmitting device, the transmitting device first places the data on the serial bus, and then generates a strobe signal shortly after the data is stable. The information and strobe signals on the data bus will remain active for enough time for the receiver to accept the data.

If the start of the strobe signal is a receiving device, the receiving device generates a strobe signal to inform the transmitting device to provide data. The transmitting device responds by placing the binary information requested on the data bus. At this point, the data must remain on the bus long enough for the receiving device to accept the information.

On the other hand, when a user connects a new device to the serial bus or removes an existing device, it is necessary to know what data transmission is being performed on the serial bus. A preferred embodiment of a method and apparatus for notifying a user of data transmission between electronic devices, whether a power supply of a cable serving as a medium thereof, supply of a neighboring electronic device, and the like are as follows.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the data state of a cable in an IEEE 1394 serial bus compatible electronic device, wherein the connector 42 of the IEEE 1394 serial bus of one electronic device 40 is provided, and the first to third displays are shown in the vicinity thereof. The means (L1, L2, L3, L4) is arranged to be visible to the user.

The first display means (L1) is for informing the user whether the power is supplied to the cable, the second display means (L2) is for indicating whether the electronic device on the other end of the transmission and reception is connected, the third display The means L3 is for indicating the transmission of data being performed in one electronic device 40. The fourth display means L4 is for displaying data reception being performed in the electronic device 40. The first to fourth display means L1 to L4 may be light-emitting or non-light-emitting according to a voltage of a predetermined electric signal.

Referring to FIG. 5 and Tables 1 and 2, a circuit using a light emitting diode (LED) as a representative display means will be described below.

As shown in Table 1, when the common mode input voltage of the twisted pair B (TPB) is lower than or equal to 0.6V is not connected, and when the common mode input voltage of the TPB is higher than 1V, it is connected. At this time, a voltage higher than 0.6V but lower than 1V becomes an undefined value.

In addition, as shown in Table 2, Vp of the six-pin cable connector is for a positive DC power supply, and VG is for grounding. The first TPB is for strobe signal reception and the second TPB is for data transmission. The first twisted pair A (hereinafter referred to as TPA) is for data reception and the second TPA is used for strobe signal transmission.

Port status Condition Disconnected TPB common mode input ≤ 0.6V Undefined 0.6V <TPB Common Mode Input <1.0V Connected TPB common mode input ≥ 1.0 V

Pin number Signal name Explanation One V _P Positive DC power 2 V _G grounding 3 First TPB Strobe Receive Terminal 4 Second TPB Data transmission terminal 5 First TPA Data receiving terminal 6 2nd TPA Strobe transmission terminal

Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram showing the circuit connection of the first to fourth display means installed in the IEEE 1394 compatible electronic device, wherein the cable is a positive DC power terminal Vp, a ground terminal VG, and a strobe receiving terminal (first TPB). ), A data transmission terminal (second TPB), a data reception terminal (first TPA), and a strobe transmission terminal (second TPA). One end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the positive DC power terminal Vp, and the other end thereof is connected to the anode of the first light emitting diode D1, and the cathode thereof is connected to the ground terminal. One end of the second resistor R2 is connected to the first TPB, and the other end thereof is connected to one end of the fourth resistor R4, and the third resistor R3 is connected between the other end of the second resistor R2 and the first TPA. ) Is implemented. The other end of the fourth resistor R4 is connected to the anode of the second light emitting diode D2, and the cathode thereof is connected to the ground terminal.

The data transmission terminal is connected to one end of the fifth resistor R5, and the other end thereof is connected to the anode of the third light emitting diode D3. In addition, the cathode of the third LED D3 is connected to the ground point, the data receiving terminal is also connected to one end of the sixth resistor R6, and the other end thereof is connected to the anode of the fourth LED D4. . The cathode of the fourth light emitting diode D4 is connected to the ground terminal.

The operation of the circuit having the connection configuration as described above is as follows.

First, since the cable power is supplied when the power is more than a predetermined voltage to the cable, the first light emitting diode D1 emits light to inform the user, and the second light emitting diode D2 is connected to the strobe receiving terminal and the data transmitting terminal. If the common voltage is 1V or more, the other device is transmitting and receiving, so it emits light to inform the user. In addition, when the voltage of the data transmitting terminal is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the third light emitting diode D3 emits light to inform the user of the data transmission.

In addition, when the voltage of the data receiving terminal is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the fourth light emitting diode D4 emits light to inform the user of the data being received.

When it is necessary to display the data communication between the electronic devices more precisely, the first to fourth LEDs may be driven using a transistor as a switching element.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating another electrical connection of the display means illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein one end of a seventh resistor R7 is connected to a data transfer terminal, and the other end thereof is connected to a base of the first transistor Q1. The emitter is connected to the ground terminal. The collector of the first transistor Q1 is connected to the cathode of the fifth LED D5, the anode of which is connected to one end of the eighth resistor R8, and the other end thereof is connected to a positive DC power terminal.

One end of the ninth resistor R9 is connected to the data receiving terminal, the other end thereof is connected to the base of the second transistor Q2, and the emitter is connected to the ground terminal. The collector of the second transistor Q2 is connected to the cathode of the sixth light emitting diode D6, and the anode thereof is connected to one end of the tenth resistor. The other end of the tenth resistor R10 is connected to the positive DC power terminal.

The function and operation of the circuit elements connected in this way are as follows.

The seventh and ninth resistors R7 and R9 are elements provided to apply a base voltage to the first and second transistors Q1 and Q2 by dropping the voltage of the transmission / reception signal, and the eighth and tenth resistors R8. , R10 is provided to apply driving voltages to the fifth and sixth light emitting diodes D5 and D6. That is, the data transmission terminal of the serial cable during data transmission has a predetermined voltage level, and the voltage dropped while passing through the seventh resistor R7 connected thereto is supplied to the base of the first transistor Q1, and the collector and emitter are interposed therebetween. To conduct. Accordingly, the voltage dropped by the eighth resistor is applied to the fifth light emitting diode D5 to emit the fifth light emitting diode D5.

Similarly, the serial cable receiving the data has a predetermined voltage level, and supplies the dropped voltage to the base of the second transistor Q2 while passing through the ninth resistor R9 connected thereto to conduct a connection between the collector and the emitter. . Accordingly, the voltage dropped by the tenth resistor R10 is applied to the fifth light emitting diode D6 to emit the sixth light emitting diode D6. In the same manner as above, the first to fourth light emitting diodes D1, D2, D3, and D4 emit light with the transistors Q1 and Q2, thereby achieving stable switching.

As such, when a new electronic device is connected to an IEEE 1394 serial bus that supports hot plugging, data flow between the electronic devices can be seen at a glance.

The central idea of the present invention as described above is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, it should be seen that the modified embodiment of the present invention inferred also belongs to the scope of the present invention.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention as described above has the following advantages.

First, in order to prevent data loss due to the bus reset signal, the data signal state is displayed to the user to implement continuous data transmission and reception.

Second, the user's convenience is increased by visually showing the signal state of the electronic device to the user.

Claims (8)

Cable for serial bus, An electronic device using the serial bus as a communication medium; A connector mounted to the electronic device, the connector being a connection point for connecting the cable to the electronic device; First display means for indicating whether power is supplied to the cable; Second display means which is installed near the connector of the electronic device and informs whether the other electronic device being transmitted and received is connected; Third display means installed near a connector of the electronic device to inform the electronic device that data is being transmitted; And fourth display means which is located near a connector of the electronic device and informs that the electronic device is receiving data. The method according to claim 1, The electronic device and the cable is a status display device of the electronic device compliant with the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard. An electronic device having an IEEE 1394 serial bus as a communication bus, A connector of a cable consisting of a positive DC power terminal, a ground terminal, a strobe receiving terminal, a data transmitting terminal, a data receiving terminal, and a strobe transmitting terminal to become a communication medium between the electronic devices; A connector of the electronic device installed in the electronic device and connected to the cable connector; A first light emitting diode in which an anode is electrically connected to the positive DC power terminal of the cable, and a cathode thereof is electrically connected to the ground terminal of the cable, indicating whether power is supplied to the cable; A second light-emitting diode for indicating whether a common connection point of the strobe receiving terminal and the data transmitting terminal is connected to the anode, the cathode of which is electrically connected to the ground terminal, and indicating whether the other electronic device being transmitted and received is connected; A third light emitting diode for connecting the data transmission terminal to the anode, the cathode of which is connected to the ground terminal to indicate that the device is transmitting data; And a fourth light emitting diode for indicating that the anode is connected to the data receiving terminal and the cathode thereof is connected to the ground terminal to indicate that the corresponding device is receiving data. The method according to claim 3, A state display device of an electronic device configured to stably switch the first to fourth light emitting diodes as a transistor. The method according to claim 3, A first resistor connected to one end of the positive DC power supply terminal of the cable and the other end connected to an anode of the first light emitting diode to apply a predetermined voltage to the first light emitting diode; . The method according to claim 3, A first resistor connected to the common connection point of the strobe receiving terminal and the data transmission terminal of the cable, and the other end thereof to the anode of the second light emitting diode, and including a fourth resistor for applying a predetermined voltage to the second light emitting diode. Status display device of the electronic device. The method according to claim 3, And a fifth resistor connected to one end of the data transmission terminal of the cable and the other end of the cable to an anode of a third light emitting diode to apply a predetermined voltage to the third light emitting diode. A method of displaying communication status between an electronic device including a plurality of electronic devices compliant with the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard, each having a node ID, and an IEEE 1394 serial bus cable connecting the electronic devices in series. Displaying as first display means whether power is applied to the power pair of the cable; Displaying as a second display means whether a counterpart device connected to the IEEE 1394 serial bus cable to transmit and receive is connected; Displaying as third display means that the electronic device connected with the cable is transmitting data; And displaying to the user as a fourth display means that the electronic device connected via the cable is receiving data.