KR20040059629A - Multimedia system integrated computer and multimedia function and it's method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multimedia system unifying a computer and a multimedia function, and an operating method thereof are provided to minimize power consumption with shorten system booting time and simplified operation for using the multimedia function. CONSTITUTION: A computer hardware(20) performs the function of the general computer. A plurality of multimedia hardware(51-5N) is independent from the computer hardware on a hardware basis. An operation controller(40) turns on/off the operation by controlling the power of the computer hardware and the multimedia hardware. A user interface(30) provides an A/V(Audio/Video) and user I/O(Input/Output) function used by each hardware.

Description

MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM INTEGRATED COMPUTER AND MULTIMEDIA FUNCTION AND IT'S METHOD}

The present invention relates to a multimedia system incorporating a computer and a multimedia function and a method of operating the multimedia system. In particular, a multimedia device such as a television, a radio, a DVD player, a CD player, etc. is implemented to integrate all functions in a state independent of the computer. The present invention relates to a multimedia system incorporating a computer and a multimedia function and a method of operating the same, which allow the user to efficiently configure and operate the entire system for the convenience of a user.

Modern people are exposed to multimedia using one or more expression media such as text, sound, image, and video, and the devices for playing the multimedia are being integrated into one device.

In general, a multimedia computer system is a system in which multimedia functions such as a television, a radio, a DVD player, and a CD player are integrated into a general computer. A typical multimedia computer is to integrate a number of multimedia functions under the computer functions in hardware and use the multimedia functions through multimedia applications installed in the computer.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional multimedia computer, as shown therein, a plurality of multimedia hardware (11 ~ 1N) having a function adapted to the characteristics of various expression media; Computer-specific hardware 20 connected to the plurality of multimedia hardware 11 to 1N in accordance with a predetermined standard and controlling the operation thereof; And a user interface 30 for displaying the operation result of the multimedia hardware driven by the computer-specific hardware 20 to the user.

A plurality of multimedia hardware (11 ~ 1N) is coupled to the computer dedicated hardware 20 to perform the user input / output function and the A / V function of the user interface 30.

A plurality of multimedia hardware (11 ~ 1N) is composed of hardware having different multimedia functions. For example, the present invention may be configured with various application applications such as hardware having a function related to image editing and playback, hardware having a function related to audio editing and playback, and hardware having a function related to image editing and playback.

The multimedia hardware is a device having unique functions according to the characteristics of the expression medium, and is connected to the hardware dedicated to the computer according to a certain standard.

The computer-specific hardware 20 operates a plurality of multimedia hardware by driving corresponding application applications, and outputs the operation results to the user through the user interface 30.

Accordingly, a user can experience various expression media and can use his or her own special multimedia computer by integrating multimedia hardware related to the field of interest.

However, in the prior art as described above, the multimedia computer integrates all functions under the computer so that the system is easy to implement, but the user must wait for the boot time since the user must operate the computer to use the individual multimedia functions. After starting, there is an inconvenience in using due to the operation to find and perform the corresponding application, and the battery life is reduced when implemented as a portable device due to the additional power consumed by operating the computer even when using the multimedia function.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the multimedia system incorporating a computer and multimedia functions to keep the power consumption to a minimum because the system has a short startup time and a simple operation when using a multimedia function, and The purpose is to provide a method of operation.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional multimedia computer.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a multimedia system incorporating a computer and multimedia functions according to the present invention.

3 is a state transition diagram showing an operating state transition in a method of operating a multimedia system incorporating a computer and multimedia functions according to the present invention.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

11 ~ 1N: Multimedia Hardware 20: Computer Hardware

30: user interface 40: operation control

The present invention for achieving the above object, and dedicated computer hardware for performing the functions of a general computer; A plurality of multimedia hardware independent of the computer-specific hardware in hardware; An operation controller configured to turn on / off an operation by controlling a power supply of the computer-specific hardware and the multimedia hardware; A user interface providing the A / V and user input / output functions used by the respective hardware is characterized in that the configuration.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is a multimedia system in which a computer and a multimedia function are hardware independent, instead of the conventional method for implementing a computer.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a multimedia system incorporating a computer and multimedia functions according to the present invention, as shown in the computer dedicated hardware 20 for performing the functions of a general computer; A plurality of multimedia hardware (51 to 5N) independent of the computer-specific hardware 20 in hardware; An operation controller 40 for controlling the power supply of the computer-specific hardware 20 and the multimedia hardware 51 to 5N to turn on / off an operation; It is composed of a user interface 30 that provides A / V and user input / output functions used by the respective hardware.

The operation control unit 40 includes a power button for turning on and off each function; A mode selector for selecting a computer and individual multimedia functions; It is composed of an operation state control unit that determines the function of the power button is pressed and the mode selection unit to control the power supplied to each device on / off and transition to the computer power saving state if there is no input for a certain time in the computer operation state It features.

The computer-specific hardware 20 is provided with a basic device necessary to provide a user with various various application software like a general computer. For example, a hard disk that stores application software, a temporary storage device required when the application software runs, a central processing unit that executes data processing commands loaded on the hard disk or memory, and displays the processing result as an image. And a graphics processing device.

The multimedia hardware 51 to 5N may operate independently of the computer-specific hardware 20 and operate according to the characteristics of various expression media such as text, images, sound, and video in hardware configurations having different functions. For example, it may be a television, a radio, a DVD player, a CD player, or the like.

The operation controller 40 basically processes the signals of the power button and the mode selector to control the operation of the entire multimedia system. The power button is pressed and the multimedia hardware corresponding to the power button is checked, and the computer or multimedia operation is executed or stopped according to the signal of the mode selection unit.

The user interface 30 provides A / V and user input / output functions that each hardware function uses. The user input / output function plays a role of outputting the operation result of the system when a user gives a command to the multimedia system by pressing a button. Each of the multimedia hardware 51 to 5N outputs an audio and video signal according to an operation to a user interface so that a user can see or hear it.

Hereinafter, the operation of the operation controller according to the pressing of the power button and the function selection of the mode selection unit will be described.

The operation control unit 40 determines whether the power is supplied, and when the power is supplied, the operation control unit 40 transitions from the 'power off' state in which the power is not supplied to the 'soft off' state in the initial state of power supply and waits.

Subsequently, the operation control unit 40 determines whether the power button is pressed, and when it is pressed, the function selection unit and the current operation mode selected by the mode selection unit determine which of the following operation modes to transition to.

3 is a state transition diagram illustrating a transition state of an operation mode of a multimedia system incorporating a computer and a multimedia function according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. A first step of transitioning from the state 'S11' to the 'softoff' state S12 which is an initial state of the power supply; A second step of transitioning to a 'multimedia' state (S13) when the user selects a desired multimedia function in a mode selection unit and presses a power button in the 'soft off' state (S12); A third step of transitioning to a 'multimedia / computer' state (S14) when a user selects a desired computer function from a mode selection unit and presses a power button in the 'multimedia' state (S13); A fourth step of transitioning to the 'multimedia / computer power saving' state (S15) when the computer is not used for a predetermined time in the 'multimedia / computer' state (S14); When the user selects the multimedia function in the mode selection unit and presses the power button in the 'multimedia / computer power saving' state (S15), the power supplied to the multimedia device is cut off, thereby transferring to the 'computer power saving' state (S16) and pressing the power button. Pressing again to transition to the 'multimedia / computer power saving' state (S15); When the user selects the computer function in the mode selection unit and presses the power button in the 'computer sleep' state (S16), the user enters the 'computer' state (S17), and if the computer is not used for a predetermined time, the 'computer sleep' state ( A sixth step of transferring to S16); In the 'computer' state (S17), when the user selects the computer function in the mode selection unit and presses the power button, the user transitions to the 'soft off' state (S12), selects the multimedia function and presses the power button, the 'multimedia / computer' state A seventh step of transitioning to S14 is performed.

When the power is supplied to the multimedia system, the power is transitioned from the power-off state S11, which is the initial state of no power supply, to the soft-off state S12, which is the initial state of power supply. In this 'soft off' state S12, only the operation control unit operates.

In the 'soft off' state (S12), when the user selects the desired multimedia function in the mode selection unit and presses the power button, the user can transition to the 'multimedia' state (S13) and use the multimedia function without a separate computer boot. In this 'multimedia' state (S13) there is no power consumption by the computer function, it is possible to use the minimum power for the function.

If the user wants to use additional computer functions in the 'multimedia' state (S13), select the computer function in the mode selector and press the power button to switch to the 'multimedia / computer' state (S14) and do not need to press the additional power button. By switching the mode selector, you can switch between multimedia and computers, or use multiple A / V ports simultaneously.

However, since the 'multimedia / computer' function consumes a lot of power, if there is no input for a certain time in a portable multimedia computer, it switches to the 'multimedia / computer power saving' state (S15) to reduce power consumption or It is also possible to use a method such as preventing the computer 'state (S14) from transitioning.

When the user selects the multimedia function in the mode selection unit and presses the power button in the 'multimedia / computer' state (S14), the user enters the 'computer' state (S17) and the multimedia function is turned off.

Therefore, it can be seen that the next operation state is determined according to the function mode selected by the mode selection unit and the current operation state. The on / off of the power is switched according to the toggle of the power button and the transition from the 'computer' state (S17) to the 'computer sleep' state (S16) is performed when there is no input for a predetermined time.

The operation controller memorizes the current operation state and always determines whether the power button is pressed, and determines whether to transfer to the next operation state by determining the function selected by the mode selection unit when there is a press.

Pressing the power button turns on / off the operation by turning the power on / off for the function mode selected in the current mode selector, and when the current operation state is 'computer save', it switches from power saving to normal state.

As described in detail above, the present invention has the effect of enabling the construction of an efficient multimedia system that has a short start-up time for using the multimedia function, simple operation during use, and minimum power consumption.

Claims (4)

Hardware dedicated to a computer to perform general computer functions; A plurality of multimedia hardware independent of the computer-specific hardware in hardware; An operation controller configured to turn on / off an operation by controlling a power supply of the computer-specific hardware and the multimedia hardware; A multimedia system incorporating a computer and a multimedia function, comprising a user interface providing A / V and user input / output functions used by the respective hardware. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operation controller comprises: a power button for turning on and off each function; A mode selector for selecting a computer and individual multimedia functions; It is composed of an operation state control unit that determines the function of the power button is pressed and the mode selection unit to control the power supplied to each device on / off and transition to the computer power saving state if there is no input for a certain time in the computer operation state Multimedia system with integrated computer and multimedia features. Determining whether the power is supplied by the operation control unit, and when the power is supplied, transitioning from the initial power-off state, 'power off' state, to the initial state of power supply, to the 'soft off' state; Determining whether the power button is pressed, and when pressed, the mode selection unit determines the selected function and the current operation mode to determine which of the following operation modes to transition to the multimedia system integrated computer and multimedia functions Way. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transition of the operation mode comprises: storing a current operation state and determining whether the power button is pressed at all times; Turning on / off an operation by turning on / off power for a function mode selected by a mode selector when the power button is pressed; Determining whether there is no input for a predetermined time when the current operation state is a 'computer' state and transitioning to a 'computer power saving' state when there is no input; And when the power button is pressed when the function mode of the mode selector is the computer mode, transitioning to the “computer” state.