KR20050015817A - Unite control device for numerous controlled device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An integrated control device and a method for controlling plural controlled apparatuses are provided to conveniently control plural controlled apparatuses according to state information of the apparatuses and an inputted key, and to check state information on a currently used apparatus by using a mapping table, thereby conveniently controlling the corresponding apparatus without changing. CONSTITUTION: A receiver(100) receives a key code value selected by a user, and transmits the received key code value to a controller(200). A state decider(400) checks state information on controlled apparatuses. A memory(300) stores apparatus information and the state information on the apparatuses, and includes a mapping table which determines a control operation. The controller(200) controls the apparatuses according to an inputted key and the state information on the apparatuses, based on the mapping table.

Description

Unified control device and method for controlling multiple controlled devices {UNITE CONTROL DEVICE FOR NUMEROUS CONTROLLED DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an integrated control device and method for controlling a plurality of controlled devices, and more particularly, to an integrated control device and method for controlling a controlled device according to a user's key input and status information of the controlled device.

In general, the remote control can be roughly divided into device-specific remote control and integrated remote control. The remote controller for each device is provided with a remote controller separately for each device and each model, and may be used only for the originally intended model. The integrated remote controller is configured to control a plurality of devices, and includes a device type selection button and a manufacturer selection button, and the devices that can be controlled are preset in the remote controller.

1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional remote controller and a controlled device for each device, and each of the remote controller for each device should be provided according to a device to be controlled.

For this reason, since the user must operate a plurality of devices (for example, DTV, DVD, STB, VCR, AV-Receiver, etc.) using separate remote controllers, it is inconvenient to manage all the remote controllers and learn how to operate them. Is generated.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conventional integrated remote controller and a controlled device, and a product which can be controlled by the integrated remote controller is preset, and a user may control a device of each target by changing a mode of the remote controller.

As a result, a user may experience inconvenience in using the remote controller after changing the mode of the remote controller each time.

In addition, since the integrated remote controller cannot control a newly added controlled device other than the already controlled device, when a new device is purchased, a separate remote controller needs to be provided.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to integrate a plurality of controlled devices that can control the controlled device according to the user's key input and status information of the controlled device. It is to provide a control apparatus and method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a receiving unit for receiving a user's key input, a state determining unit for checking state information of the controlled devices, and corresponding controlled devices according to the state information of the controlled devices and the key input. It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for performing a control for.

The controller may be further configured to control the controlled device based on a mapping table in which the controlled device and the control operation are determined according to state information and key input of the controlled device, and the control of the controlled device is controlled. And transmitting a control signal according to a control operation stored in the mapping table to the control device using wireless communication, and further comprising a recognition unit for checking device information and connection information of the controlled devices existing on the network. It is characterized by.

And receiving a key input of the user, checking state information of the controlled devices, and controlling the controlled device according to the state information of the controlled devices and the key input. do.

The status information may be information regarding a signal input to a display device, and the method may further include creating a mapping table in which control target devices and control operations are determined according to the status information of the controlled device and the key input. And controlling the corresponding controlled device based on the mapping table.

The process of creating the mapping table may include collecting device information of the controlled devices, collecting connection information about the controlled devices, and based on the collected device information and the connection information. And setting a remote control key to be provided to.

In addition, the device information and the connection information of the controlled device is characterized in that the user selects and collects a list of the controlled device stored in the memory unit, the method of collecting the connection information for the controlled device is a recognition unit It is characterized by automatically collecting information on the controlled device existing in the network.

And collecting the device information of the controlled devices includes sequentially activating a plurality of controlled devices and collecting device information of the activated controlled devices. Collecting connection information for the devices includes identifying the controlled devices having an output plug and an input plug, sequentially activating a controlled device having the output plug, and outputting the activated controlled device. And checking the controlled device received through the input plug.

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

3 is a view showing a remote control and a controlled device control according to the present invention, it is possible to control a plurality of controlled devices 20 with one remote control.

That is, the user can conveniently control the device of the screen currently being watched by the user without using the device change function of the remote control or the respective remote control, wherein the TV 10 is in charge of processing the entire remote control keys. For example, the TV 10 retransmits a control command input by a user to a device that provides a broadcast signal on the screen of the TV 10.

Figure 4 is a view showing an embodiment of a remote control according to the present invention, Figure 4 (a) shows a general TV remote control, Figure 4 (b) is a diagram mapping the DVD remote control function to the general TV remote control, 4 (c) is a diagram mapping the VCR remote control function to a general TV remote control, FIG. 4 (d) is a diagram mapping the STB remote control function to a general TV remote control, and FIG. 4 (e) is an AV-Recevier to the general TV remote control. This is a map of remote control function.

In the present invention, by adding a remote control function of a specific device to the general TV remote control function, it is possible to control other devices through the TV remote control, and to control each controlled device 20 with one remote control without device switching. To make it possible. Here, the remote control keys of the TV 10 and the remote control keys of the controlled device 20 are used in common, and processing for the input remote control keys according to the states of the TV 10 and the controlled device 20 is performed by the TV ( 10), the respective controlled devices 20 can be controlled by the remote control of the TV 10.

As shown in the figure, a common key that can be commonly used by the TV 10 and each device (eg, DTV, DVD, STB, VCR, AV-Receiver, etc.) on a general TV remote controller is used to control each device. Individual keys can be set. Here, the common key may be understood as a key that can be used as a remote control key for a plurality of controlled devices 20 including the TV 10, such as a volume control key and a channel selection key, and the individual keys may be a TV screen mode or a TV. It can be understood as a remote control key assigned to a specific device such as surround.

On the other hand, when the user selects the common key, the TV 10 determines the processing for the input common key according to the state of the TV 10 and the peripheral device. That is, in order for the user to select a common key and the TV 10 performs the process of controlling the controlled device 20 of itself or the surroundings according to the current situation, the controlled device 20 to be controlled by the TV 10 first. Must have information about In addition, based on the device information, it is necessary to grasp how each controlled device 20 is actually connected to the TV 10, for example, connection information regarding an input / output relationship of a video signal, an input / output relationship of a voice signal, and the like. Finally, it is necessary to grasp the state information on the current operating state of each controlled device 20. The TV 10 performs processing on the common key based on the device information, the connection information, or the status information of the controlled device 20 as described above.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an integrated control apparatus for controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiver 100, the control unit 200, the memory unit 300, and the state determination are shown. It is configured to include a unit 400 and a transmitter 500. Here, the user selects a device held by the user from among the controlled devices 20 databased in the memory unit 300 to obtain the information of the controlled device 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a means for recognizing a separate controlled device 20 is not necessary. On the other hand, when the user sets the device information and the connection information of the controlled device 20 by using a list that is databased in the memory unit 300, the database is used in the memory unit 300 without any query. By immediately finding the remote control key of the controlled device 20 or the user can directly input through a predetermined UI.

The receiver 100 receives a user's key input. When the user selects a remote control key, the receiver 100 receives a key code value selected by the user and transmits the key code value to the controller 200.

The state determination unit 400 checks state information of the controlled devices 20, and the state information refers to an operating state of the TV 10 and the controlled device 20.

The memory unit 300 stores device information and status information of the TV 10 and the controlled devices 20, and determines a controlled operation and a controlled operation to which a control command should be transmitted with respect to a user's key input. It includes a mapping table. Here, the mapping table is generated using the device information of the controlled device 20 and the remote control keys of each controlled device 20, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

The controller 200 controls the corresponding controlled device 20 according to the state information of the TV 10 and the controlled devices 20 and a user's key input, and the mapping table stored in the memory unit 300. Control based on

The transmitter 500 transmits a signal according to the control operation determined by the controller 200 to the controlled device 20, and the signal may be transmitted through wireless communication or a predetermined wired network.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an integrated control device for controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to another embodiment of the present invention, and includes a receiver 100, a controller 200, a memory unit 300, and a state determination. It comprises a unit 400, a transmitter 500 and the recognition unit 600. Here, unlike FIG. 5, the apparatus further includes a recognition unit 600 for automatically identifying the controlled device 20 existing on the network.

The recognition unit 600 checks device information and connection information of the controlled devices 20 existing on the network, and brings a remote control key of the controlled device 20 into the memory of the TV 10 when necessary. Perform. In this case, the recognition unit 600 queries the remote control keys to the controlled device 20, and the controlled device 20 makes the remote control keys into a table that the TV 10 can understand and transmit. Here, the network may use various physical layers such as RS-232C, Ethernet, power line communication (PLC), IEEE1394, and the like.

As a method for recognizing information of the controlled device 20 by using a network, there is a method of assigning an ID to the controlled device 20. Here, the ID granting method is a method of assigning a fixed ID and using a network. The method of automatically assigning ID may be applied. A method for recognizing information of the controlled device 20 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7 and will be omitted below.

Meanwhile, the integrated control device for controlling the plurality of controlled devices 20 of the present invention may be provided separately from the TV 10, and may be installed inside a specific controlled device 20 such as the TV 10. It may be.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a method for acquiring device information of a controlled controlled device by FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 (a) illustrates a method of assigning a fixed ID. FIG. FIG. 7 (c) is a diagram illustrating whether to delete an controlled device in a network in a method of automatically assigning an ID of a controlled device.

First, referring to a method of assigning a fixed ID shown in FIG. 7A, there are devices such as a DVD, a VTR, and an AV-Receiver in the illustrated network. Fixed ID is set.

Device DVD VTR Combo AV-Receiver SD-STB HD-STB ID 0x01 0x02 0x03 0x04 0x05 0x06

Referring to the program 1 shown, when the TV 10 queries each of the controlled devices 20 for device status, each of the controlled devices 20 informs the TV 10 of its status information. . Thereby, the TV 10 can grasp the controlled device 20 existing in the network by the response of the controlled device 20. Since the fixed ID is set in each controlled device 20, the TV ( 10 may obtain the ID of each controlled device 20.

On the other hand, the method of automatically assigning the ID of the controlled device 20 shown in FIG. 7B can be processed when the controlled device 20 overlaps if the ID of the controlled device 20 is fixed. It is proposed to overcome the disadvantages, for example, when the ID of the controlled device 20 is fixed, if there are two DVDs, it cannot be processed. Therefore, by automatically assigning IDs, even when duplicated devices exist, they are recognized as different devices so that users can use them differently.

First, a method of assigning an ID using a separate buffer control circuit among methods of automatically assigning an ID of the controlled device 20 will be described. Here, the buffer control circuit is used to disconnect the lower network so that only one device can communicate in the process of assigning the ID of the device. That is, the buffer of the network device to which the ID is assigned has its own buffer ( By disabling 30), communication with the lower network is interrupted so that only the TV 10 can communicate with itself so that a unique ID can be given.

Referring to the program 2 shown, when the TV 10 sends a command to disable the buffer 30 to all controlled devices 20 in the network, the controlled device 20 directly connected to the TV 10. Only) becomes available for communication. Accordingly, the TV 10 communicates with the first controlled device 20 and assigns an ID to the communicated controlled device 20. Then, the controlled device assigned the ID enables the buffer 30 for the controlled device to be communicated next.

Accordingly, the TV 10 can communicate with the controlled device having the ID and the controlled device without the ID, and the TV 10 communicates with the controlled device without the ID and allocates a new ID.

Then, the newly-controlled controlled device also enables the buffer 30 for the next controlled device, and through this method, a plurality of controlled devices and IDs not assigned to the network. Only controlled devices of are connected.

Thereafter, after the TV 10 assigns an ID to the last controlled device, there is no controlled device that is not assigned an ID anymore, and thus, the controlled device 20 in the entire network in the TV 10 exists. The process of assigning an ID to is terminated. Here, the TV 10 sends a "Who Are You" (A) packet to find out the controlled device 20 that is not assigned an ID, and only the controlled device 20 having no ID transmits a "Who". Reply with I Am "(B) packet.

Next, a method of determining whether to add a new controlled device in a network will be described. In the RS-232C network, the TV 10 does not automatically know whether to add a new device in the network. Therefore, in order to know whether a new device has been added, it is necessary to check whether there is a controlled device 20 that is not assigned an ID on the network. In this case, since a plurality of controlled devices 20 can be registered at a time, the controlled device 20 without ID disables the buffer, and the controlled device to which the ID is assigned is not registered by enabling the buffer. The registered controlled devices 20 can be registered one by one.

However, when the controlled device 20 newly added to the current network is assigned an ID by another network, a problem occurs in which the controlled device 20 cannot be controlled in the current network, and the controlled device 20 If the ID of) is an ID currently assigned to another controlled device, the TV cannot control it. Therefore, in the RS-232C network, when the controlled device 20 is newly added, it is preferable to reconfigure the entire network.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a method for acquiring connection information of a controlled device by the recognition unit of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 (a) is a view for explaining a method of examining only an external input of a TV, and FIG. 8 (b). Is a view for explaining a method of examining the relationship between the external input / output of various devices other than the TV. Here, the recognition unit 600 examines the connection information so that the TV 10 can know the connection information about how the controlled device 20 is currently connected to other controlled devices 20 including the TV 10. In this way, the TV 10 may control the controlled device 20.

First, a method of irradiating only an external input of a TV shown in FIG. 8A will be described. Here, assuming that all controlled devices 20 participating in the network are output devices having only output plugs, output plugs of all controlled devices 20 are connected to the TV 10, and the TV ( In 10), the connection configuration of the controlled device 20 can be inspected one by one to find out.

Referring to the illustrated program 4 and the schematic diagram, the TV 10 turns on the signals of the controlled device A, the controlled device B, and the controlled device C in turn, so that each controlled device is connected to the target of the TV 10. Check if it is connected to external input. That is, the TV 10 transmits MSG_SIG_ON 40 and MSG_SIG_OFF 50 signals to each controlled device, and each controlled device turns on / off its output signal according to the transmitted signal. Here, the MSG_SIG_ON (40) and the MSG_SIG_OFF (50) signals are commands to turn on / off the output signals that can be output to the controlled device, respectively. Can be implemented. That is, when the power of the controlled device is turned off, the controlled device does not output a signal. When the power of the controlled device is turned on, the controlled device outputs its own signal. Thus, the TV 10 can obtain connection information for each controlled device.

Next, a method of investigating the relationship between external input / output of various devices other than the TV shown in FIG. 8 (b) will be described. Here, in addition to an output device, various controlled devices may exist in the network. That is, when constructing a network in which an input / output device having both input / output plugs, a sink device having only an input plug, and an isolated device having no input / output plugs exist, this should be considered. There is a need. In the case of the independent device, since the device supports only control in the network and there is no input / output plug, it is not necessary to understand the signal cable connection state between the devices.

9 is a diagram illustrating a mapping table according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 (a) illustrates a mapping table when the external input is a DVD combo, and FIG. 9 (b) illustrates the case where the external input is an STB. Represents a mapping table. The control operation according to the state information of the controlled device 20 is set in the mapping table. When the keycode value is input, the controlled device 20 is controlled according to the set control operation.

Referring to the method of creating the mapping table, first, a process of acquiring device information of the controlled devices 20 is performed. Here, in order to obtain the device information of the controlled device 20, a method for acquiring device information of the controlled device 20 existing on the network by automatically assigning an ID using a network, or by a user. By selecting a device owned from the controlled devices 20 which are databased at 300, a method of obtaining device information of the controlled device 20 is used.

Next, the connection information of the controlled devices 20 is determined, that is, how the controlled device 20 is currently connected to other controlled devices including the TV 10.

Accordingly, the mapping table is generated based on the device information or the connection information of the controlled device 20.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an initialization process for controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the network or memory unit 300 is controlled to control an operation of the controlled device 20. The device information about the controlled device 20 which is made into a database is acquired (S100).

Next, to determine how the controlled device 20 is currently connected with other controlled devices 20 including the TV 10 (S102), the control device 20 according to each controlled device 20 Set the remote control key (S104).

Next, a mapping table is generated based on the collected device information and the connection information of the controlled device 20 (S106). Here, the mapping table includes control commands for each controlled device generated based on the device information or the connection information.

In this case, steps S100 to S104 may be performed by the user directly selecting a list of the controlled devices 20 stored in the memory 300 or may be automatically performed by the recognition unit 600.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, when the receiver 100 receives a user's key input (S200), the controller 200 is a user. The state information of the controlled device 20 according to the key input is checked (S202). That is, the key code value according to the input key input is searched in the mapping table, the state information of the controlled device 20 to be considered in the key code value is checked, and the control command is extracted accordingly.

Next, the controller 200 transmits the extracted control command through the transmitter 500 (S204). Thus, the controlled device 20 which has received the control command can be controlled.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of controlling a controlled device according to a key input according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the user selects a volume control key of the remote controller (S300), the controller 200 is illustrated in FIG. 9 (b). The volume control key code and the control command for each device state displayed in the mapping table of FIG. 9 determine where the audio output of the TV 10 is currently set (S304).

As a result of the determination, if the audio output is the TV 10, the volume of the TV 10 is adjusted to output the voice (S306). (S308).

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may variously modify the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. It is apparent that the present invention may be modified or modified. Therefore, a simple change according to an embodiment of the present invention will not be possible without departing from the technology of the present invention.

According to the present invention made as described above, it is possible to conveniently control the controlled device according to the user's key input and the state information of the controlled device.

In addition, by checking the state information of the device currently used by the user using the mapping table and transmitting the corresponding control signal, the user can conveniently control the device without changing the device of the remote controller.

1 is a view showing a conventional device-specific remote control and the controlled device.

2 is a view showing a conventional integrated remote control and the controlled device.

3 is a view showing a remote control and a controlled device control according to the present invention.

4 is a view showing an embodiment of a remote control according to the present invention;

5 is a schematic block diagram of an integrated control device for controlling a plurality of controlled devices in one embodiment according to the present invention;

6 is a schematic block diagram of an integrated control device for controlling a plurality of controlled devices in another embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method for acquiring device information of a controlled device by the recognition unit of FIG. 6; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of obtaining, by the recognizer of FIG. 6, connection information for a controlled device; FIG.

9 illustrates a mapping table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an initialization process for controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for controlling a plurality of controlled devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for controlling a controlled device according to a key input according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

100: receiver 200: controller

300: memory unit 400: state determination unit

500: transmitting unit 600: recognition unit

Claims (16)

Receiving unit for receiving a user's key input; A state determination unit which checks state information of the controlled devices; And And a controller configured to perform control on the controlled device according to the state information of the controlled devices and the key input. The method of claim 1, The control unit, And controlling the plurality of controlled devices based on a mapping table in which the controlled device and the control operation are determined according to state information and key input of the controlled devices. The method of claim 2, The control of the controlled device is And a control signal according to a control operation stored in the mapping table by using wireless communication to the controlled device. The method of claim 1, And a recognizing unit which checks device information and connection information of the controlled devices existing on the network. A display apparatus for controlling a plurality of controlled devices, Receiving unit for receiving a user's key input; A state determination unit checking state information of the controlled devices and their own; And And a controller configured to control the controlled device according to the controlled devices, their own state information, and the key input. The method of claim 5, The control unit, And controlling the controlled device based on the mapping table in which the controlled device and the control operation are determined according to the controlled devices and their own state information and key input. The method of claim 6, The control of the controlled device is And a control signal according to a control operation stored in the mapping table by using wireless communication to the controlled device. The method of claim 5, And a recognizing unit which checks device information and connection information of the controlled devices existing on the network. Receiving a key input of a user; Checking state information of the controlled devices; And And controlling the controlled device according to the state information of the controlled devices and the key input. The method of claim 9, And the status information is information about a signal input to a display device. The method of claim 9, The method may further include creating a mapping table in which the control target device and the control operation are determined according to the state information of the controlled device and the key input, wherein the control of the controlled device is based on the mapping table. A method of controlling a plurality of controlled devices. The method of claim 11, The process of creating the mapping table, Collecting device information of the controlled devices; Collecting connection information about the controlled devices; And And setting a remote control key to be provided to the controlled device based on the collected device information and the connection information. The method of claim 12, Device information and connection information of the controlled devices, A method for controlling a plurality of controlled devices, wherein the user selects and collects a list of controlled devices stored in a memory unit. The method of claim 12, Device information and connection information of the controlled devices, And controlling the plurality of controlled devices to automatically collect information on the controlled devices in the network using the recognition unit. The method of claim 12, Collecting device information of the controlled devices, Sequentially activating a plurality of controlled devices; And And collecting device information of the activated controlled device. The method of claim 12, Collecting connection information for the controlled devices, Identifying controlled devices having an output plug and an input plug; Sequentially activating a controlled device having the output plug; And And checking the controlled device receiving the output of the activated controlled device through the input plug.