KR20050019805A - Method for establishing a default connection in a network, and associated source and sink devices - Google Patents

Abstract

A sink device (CED-A, CED-D) for connection to the digital network 100, which displays a user interface for controlling a data source device (CED-B; CED-C) connected to the network. The sink device comprising means (102, 211) for: controlling network resource allocation (104, 214-216) and also establishing a connection between the data source device and the data sink device as a default destination device of the connection. Means for automatically establishing, in accordance with the selection 212, 213 of any function of the source device by the user using the user interface, wherein the sink device is configured to play data of the source device. It is characterized by including the performance.

Description

DEFAULT CONNECTION IN A NETWORK, AND ASSOCIATED SOURCE AND SINK DEVICES

The present invention relates to establishing a connection between a home network and devices in the network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a network of multiple electronic devices, such as consumer electronic video source and video display devices, interconnected using, for example, a digital data bus.

In a home network, electronic devices such as television receivers, display devices, video-cassette recorders (VCRs), direct broadcast satellite (DBS) receivers, and home control devices (such as security systems or temperature control devices) may be interconnected via a data bus. Can be. Communication using the data bus is in accordance with the bus protocol. Examples of bus protocols include a consumer electronic bus (CEBus) and an IEEE 1394 high performance serial bus.

Bus protocols generally support the communication of both control information and data.

Unlike analog connections between two devices, where the connection link itself defines the start and end points for communication between devices, the digital bus connection between devices may not explicitly define how devices will communicate with each other. Therefore, you need to explicitly set which devices will communicate with each other.

The international patent application published as publication number WO99 / 14946 relates to a consumer electronic device connected via a digital bus, ie an IEEE 1394 serial bus. Remote control commands given by the user via the display device are communicated to the controlled device via this serial bus. This display device can establish an isochronous connection.

The European patent application published under publication number EP1056021 A2 relates to electronic equipment for use in a communication system connected by a communication bus, such as an IEEE 1394 bus. Each device connected to the IEEE 1394 bus may include a register provided in RAM to thereby establish a transmit or receive default channel. If the channel used for transmission and reception is not set at the beginning of transmission, a default channel can be used.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a digital home network according to the present embodiment;

2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for establishing a data flow connection according to this embodiment.

The present invention relates to a sink device for connection to a digital network,

12. The sink device comprising means for displaying a user interface for controlling a data source device connected to the network:

Controlling network resource allocation and further establishing a connection between the data source device and the data sink device as a default destination device of the connection, according to the selection of any function of the source device by the user using the user interface, Means for automatically establishing, wherein the sink device has the capability of reproducing data of the source device.

The sink device becomes the default destination of data of this source device as soon as the source device is selected through the user interface of the sink device. Thus, the user does not need to explicitly select the display device he is viewing as a sink device for the data to be transmitted.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the connection is an isochronous transmit connection comprising allocation of channel and bandwidth.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the control means of the sink device checks for an existing connection from the source device to another sink device and, if positive, disconnects the connection between the source device and the sink device. Do not establish automatically.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the selected function is a playback function.

This is particularly advantageous if the source device is a storage device that needs to control playback through control of the start / stop type. Indeed, in this case, it is not necessary to establish a connection before the actual start of playback (instead of first establishing a connection when the source device is selected via the user interface, for example).

According to one embodiment, the function is a selection function of the source device. This case is more suitable for a device capable of continuously outputting data such as a tuner.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sink device comprises a memory for storing software downloaded from the source device, wherein the software is adapted to control automatic establishment of a connection between the source device and the sink device. Where the user interface is derived from the software.

As a result, different devices may include different software, making it easier to adapt the connection establishment process for the device type.

The invention also relates to a method for establishing a data stream connection in a digital network comprising a source device and a sink device,

Executing a user interface on the sink device;

Selecting any function of the source device via the user interface

In the above method comprising:

Establishing a connection for data transmission from the data source device to the data sink device as a default destination device of the connection, wherein the sink device has the capability of reproducing data of the source device; It features.

The invention also relates to a data source device for connection to a communication network comprising at least one sink device,

Wherein said data source device comprises software downloaded by a sink device, said software providing control functions of said data source device accessed by a user via said sink device;

The software is characterized in that it is adapted to a control which automatically establishes a connection for data transmission from the data source device to the sink device from which the playback function was selected as soon as the data playback function was selected by the user.

Non-limiting embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An example of a home network in which devices are connected via an IEEE 1394 digital bus is described in the HAVi Digital AV Networking proposal. HAVi is an industry standard that provides a home networking software specification for seamless interoperability among home electronic consumer devices, primarily digital audio and video devices. HAVi defines an operating-system-neutral middleware that manages multi-directional AV streams, event schedules, and registries. Furthermore, HAVi provides an application programming interface (API) for creating software applications.

As each device is added and connected to an HAVi network system, the device is automatically registered by the system so that other devices know the device's capabilities. The newly connected device may provide a graphical user interface (GUI) via a Havlet, a code module downloaded from this newly connected device by devices already connected on the network. More precisely, the newly connected device can be controlled through any other connected device that will execute the Havlet and possibly display the corresponding GUI.

For example, a newly connected DVCR may provide Havlet on a network that includes a DTV. After automatic registration of the DVCR in a HAVi network system, this DVCR can be selected on the screen of the DTV. The Havlet of the DVCR is then downloaded to the DTV. When the Havlet is executed, the corresponding GUI is displayed on the screen of the DTV. This GUI provides an opportunity to control the operation of the DVCR. The user can, for example, select the playback of available video information using DVCR via this GUI.

Havlet on the DTV first checks if there is an isochronous connection between the DVCR and a target / sink device other than this DTV. If such a connection exists, no additional isochronous connection is established automatically. Transmission on the existing channel and playback on the sink device may begin.

To play the video information from the DVCR, the Havlet on the DTV checks whether there is an isochronous data flow between the DVCR and the DTV. If it exists, playback starts.

If no isochronous data flow is established between the two devices, Havlet uses the stream manager of the DTV to send control information to the DVCR to establish an isochronous data flow connection between the two devices. The stream manager requests the allocation of the bandwidth corresponding to the assignment of the isochronous channel, and then modifies the DVCR's associated output plug control register by an asynchronous transaction on the IEEE 1394 serial bus. Thereby, the stream manager sets the oPCR of the DVCR to be transmitted on the determined channel and the iPCR of the DTV to be received on the determined channel. The stream manager also instructs each DCM of the DVCR and DTV to establish an internal connection in these devices between the FCM of the devices and the plug mentioned above. Once the isochronous connection is established, playback begins.

A process for automatically establishing isochronous data flows between a device to be controlled and a device that downloads and executes Havlets from the device to be controlled has been described. The process described ensures that, unless otherwise indicated, the device executing the Havlet is considered the default device for communication with the device that issued this Havlet. Note that the default playback device is not predetermined in Havlet, that is, the default playback device is a device that executes Havlet. The process eliminates the need to manually establish isochronous data flow between devices. The process also removes the device's initial default settings (settings that existed before the associated device was connected to the network) to use the default communication channel.

Or using Havlet to create a GUI that provides an opportunity to control the behavior of DVCR.

As an alternative, a proprietary GUI included in the DTV may provide a similar opportunity to control the operation of the DVCR. In this case, Havlet is not downloaded to DTV. However, Havlet solutions are preferred because Havlet itself can be controlled to establish a connection between the source device and the display device and adapt its behavior for each individual source device. That is, some DVCRs may include Havlets that automatically create the connection, while a second DVCR may include Havlets that do not create the connection.

Furthermore, the present invention applies to environments other than HAVi. That is, other downloadable and executable programs other than Havlet can perform similar functions in these environments.

Referring to FIG. 1, the digital home network 100 shown schematically includes a digital bus 101 to which a consumer electronic device A (CED-A) is connected. The CED-A may render audio and video type information, such as a movie or a sound record, for example. CED-A includes a display 102 and a memory 103 under the control of the microprocessor 104. The microprocessor 104 executes a program stored in the memory 103. CED-A is, for example, a digital television receiver (DTV). CED-B is a storage device having a playback function, such as a digital video cassette recorder (DVCR). CED-B includes Havlet 105 in memory (not shown) accessible by other devices in the network.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flow diagram illustrates the establishment of a default connection between CED-A and CED-B. After the CED-B is connected to the digital data bus, an event message is generated to notify the new software component (eg functional component module) of the new device. The CED-A now knows that the device CED-B is connected to the network and informs the user of its availability by displaying the CED-B in a list on the TV screen (box 202). If the user selects CED-B (box 203), CED-A will download Havlet 205 from CED-B. More precisely, CED-A sends a request to CED-B (box 206 and box 207, which CED-B returns Havlet 205 in response {box 209}}). Havlet 205 is received and processed by CED-A (box 209). The graphical user interface for CED-B is displayed by CED-A in accordance with the processing of Havlet 205 (box 210 and box 211). This GUI allows access to the services provided by the CED-B by creating a display of control functions accessible to the user in the CED-A. Accordingly, the user can send a control command from the CED-A to the CED-B, for example, to control the reproduction of the AV data.

The user instruction 212 selected on the GUI 211 instructs to reproduce the AV data from the CED-B. This indication is processed by the CED-A (box 213), and the necessary actions for establishing a data flow connection with the CED-B are made by sending control data 215 to the CED-B. The connection parameters are set in the CED-A and CED-B as appropriate to create the connection required by the CED-A (box 216). Once the data flow connection is established, the user indication is passed to the CED-B as a playback instruction 218 in the form of a format usable by the CED-B (ie, the appropriate API method call) (box 217). The playback instruction 218 is received and processed by the CED-B (box 219), which in turn outputs the requested AV data 221 (box 220). CED-A processes (box 222) and generates an AV output 223 to render this AV data.

Thus, if the CED-B is connected to a digital home network and the data rendering function from CED-B is selected via the GUI displayed by CED-A, any AV output from CED-B is automatically for rendering. To CED-A.

A process has been described in which a data flow connection is automatically established after being given instructions to play AV data from CED-B. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the data flow can also be established even before an instruction is given to play the AV data. In this case, the connection is automatically established as a result of processing the Havlet from CED-B in CED-A. Note that this alternative embodiment is more suitable for functional component modules that do not have a play start / play stop feature, such as tuners. In a functional component module having a start / stop feature, reservations should only be made when required (e.g., when playback of an A / V program is required) to avoid unnecessarily constraining isochronous resources. A reserved channel and its associated bandwidth cannot be reallocated until it is de-reserved, even if the bandwidth is not used at all or not fully used. For the tuner, the selection of the corresponding device (or the transmission of the corresponding Havlet) is sufficient to trigger automatic channel establishment, since there is no additional command that must be given by the user to begin data transmission. Again, the fact that Havlet controls the triggering of automatic connections is an advantage in this case.

The behavior related to tuner-type devices compared to DVCR-type devices is as follows:

(a) There is no connection to a display device (eg, DTV).

If the user selects a tuner, a connection from the tuner to the display device is created,

If the user activates the playback of the DVCR, a connection from the DVCR to the display device is created;

(b) A connection exists between the tuner type device and the display device.

If the user selects a tuner, another connection does not have to be created,

If the user activates the playback of the DVCR, the display device indicates that there is a connection with the tuner and asks the user if they want to cancel the existing connection. If the user wants to cancel, the existing connection is canceled and a new connection from the DVCR to the display device is established (and playback starts);

(c) A connection exists between the DVCR type device and the display device.

If the user selects a tuner, the display device indicates that there is a connection with the DVCR and asks the user if they want to cancel the existing connection. If the user wants to cancel, the existing connection is canceled and a new connection from the tuner to the display device is established.

If you enable the playback of DVCR, another connection does not need to be created,

If the user activates the stop function of the DVCR, the DVCR is disconnected from the DTV;

(d) A connection exists between another device and the display device.

If the user selects a tuner, the display device indicates that there is a connection with another device and asks the user if they want to disconnect from this other device. If the user wants to cancel, the existing connection is canceled and a new connection from the tuner to the display device is established.

If the user activates the playback of the DVCR device, the display device indicates that there is a connection with another device and asks the user if he wants to disconnect the device. If the user wants to cancel, the existing connection is canceled and a new connection from the DVCR to the display device is established.

The only work performed by the user is the selection of the function (tuner selection, playback ...), and the confirmation of the cancellation of the stream if necessary.

The example described in connection with FIG. 2 uses Havlet, which is downloaded from CED-B, in particular to display the GUI in CED-A. Alternatively, the GUI can also be created by running specific software in CED-A, not Havlet. The specific software may be provided by the manufacturer of the CED-A, for example, and is designed to make the functionality of the devices connected to the digital network available. The particular software makes the functionality of the CED-B available once the CED-B is registered with the CED-A. In the case of running this particular software rather than Havlet, the method of establishing a default data flow connection is made similar to the method described in connection with FIG. It is possible to adapt the behavior of the software according to the corresponding source type.

Referring again to FIG. 1, another device CED-C is connected to the digital home network. CED-C specializes in the playback of audio data. Processes similar to those described above for CED-B apply, so that the default data between CED-C and CED-A is used to use CED-A for rendering audio data when CED-C's playback function is activated. A flow connection can be established. In this case, the CED-C registers with the CED-A and the user can select the CED-C on the display of the CED-A. Havlet is downloaded from CED-C to CED-A and the GUI is displayed. This GUI allows the user to select the features of the CED-C. Any output from CED-C is automatically directed to audio rendering in CED-A through the default data flow connection, after user selection is made through CED-A, which also renders or Has display performance The same check for existing connections can also be made in this example.

Another device CED-D may be connected to the digital data bus 101 to extend the digital home network. CED-D specializes in high fidelity sound rendering.

If the CED-C is connected, a default data flow connection can be established between the CED-C and the CED-D to render the audio data. This data flow connection is established when the user selects the functionality of the CED-D through the appropriate user interface on the CED-D. The user interface may be the result of downloading and processing the Havlet from CED-C to CED-D. Alternatively, the CED-D may run another user interface that enables the functionality of the CED-C, such as a standardized user interface of the CED-D manufacturer, without downloading Havlet.

Another advantage of the present invention is that a second AV rendering device CED-AA is connected to this digital home network (not shown in FIG. 1) and the CED-AA is located in a room other than the room with CED-A in the house. When you do, it becomes obvious. In this case, the CED-B is also known to the CED-AA and can therefore be selected by the user of the CED-AA. If selected, the CED-B Havlet is downloaded to CED-AA to create the GUI. The user sends a playback instruction through this GUI and a default data flow connection is established between CED-B and CED-AA.

In this way, a default data flow is always automatically established between the rendering device and the CED-B device used by the user. The user can select the functionality of the CED-B on any rendering device, for example on any of a plurality of devices in different rooms in a house, without explicitly establishing a data connection. The latter is solved automatically by the present invention as described. The output of the CED-B is rendered on the device currently being used by the user.

Although the examples described herein relate to electronic equipment connected via an IEEE 1394 bus, the invention is similarly applicable to electronic equipment used in systems connected via other types of communication buses.

Although the reproduction type functions are mainly described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited only to these functions. If the user wants to record a stream on a recording device (such as the DVCR mentioned above), the user can allow automatic connection of the stream source to the display device so that it can be checked what is being recorded. . Similar conditions related to existing connections may apply. The connection between the source device and the recording device can be established through other means (eg, by selecting DVCR as a target using the user interface).

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to these detailed embodiments and that the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments.

As described above, the present invention can be used for establishing a connection between a home network and devices in the network. More specifically, the present invention is applicable to networks of multiple electronic devices, such as consumer electronic video sources and video display devices, for example, interconnected using a digital data bus.

Claims (16)

As a sink device (CED-A, CED-D) for connection to the digital network 100, Means (102, 211) for displaying a user interface for controlling a data source device (CED-B; CED-C) connected to the network; In the sink device comprising: Control of network resource allocation (104, 214-216) and further establish a connection between the data source device and the data sink device as the default destination device of the connection, by any of the source devices by the user using the user interface. In accordance with the selection of the function of 212 and 213, means for automatically establishing, wherein the sink device has the capability to reproduce data of the source device. Characterized in that the sink device for connection to a digital network. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the connection is an isochronous transmit connection comprising allocation of channel and bandwidth. The method of claim 1, wherein the control means of the sink device checks for an existing connection from the source device to another sink device and, if positive, a connection between the source device and the sink device. A sink device for connection to a digital network that does not automatically establish a connection. 4. A sink device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the function is a playback function. 5. The digital network of claim 4, wherein the source device comprises storage means for storing data to be transmitted, the storage means being responsive to control for starting reading from the storage means and controlling for stopping. Sink device for connection. 4. A sink device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said function is a selection function of said source device. The sink device of claim 6, wherein the source device comprises data generating means adapted to a continuous output of data. 8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a memory for storing software 105 downloaded from the source device, wherein the software is configured to automatically establish a connection between the source device and the sink device. Adapted to control establishment, wherein the user interface is derived from the software. 9. The sink device of claim 8 wherein the software is a HAVi Havlet (105) and the network is an HAVi network. A method of establishing a data stream connection in a digital network 100 including a source device (CED-B, CED-C) and a sink device, Executing a user interface (210, 211) on the sink device; Selecting any function of the source device using the user interface In the above method comprising: Establishing a connection for data transmission from the data source device to the data sink device as a default destination device of the connection, wherein the sink device has the capability to reproduce data of the source device; And establishing a data stream connection in the digital network. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising deriving the user interface from software downloaded by the sink device from the source device. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network is an HAVi network and the software is an HAVi Havlet. 13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the downloaded software controls the establishment of the connection. 14. The method of any of claims 10 to 13, further comprising verifying the existence of an existing connection between the source device and another sink device, prior to establishing the connection, wherein the connection is only negative. A method of establishing a data stream connection in a digital network, performing the establishing step. 15. The method of any of claims 10-14, wherein said function is a playback function and said source device is a data storage device. As a data source device (CED-B, CED-C) for connection to a communication network comprising at least one sink device (CED-A, CED-D), The data source device comprises software 105 downloaded by the sink device, the software providing control functions of the data source device accessed by the user through the sink device, In the data source device, The software is adapted to control to automatically establish a connection for data transmission from the data source device to the sink device from which the playback function was selected as soon as the data playback function was selected by the user. A data source device for connection to a communication network.