TWI501645B - Image apparatus control system, image apparatus concatenation apparatus, and image apparatus control method - Google Patents

Description

Image device control system, image device serial device and image device control method

The present invention relates to the control of a video device, and more particularly to an image device control system and a video device string capable of controlling a plurality of devices compatible with a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) specification through a handheld device. Connect equipment and video device control methods.

In recent years, as multimedia audio and video technology has developed rapidly, there are various video transmission devices and video playback devices with different functions on the market. For example, video transmission devices and video playback devices compatible with high-resolution multimedia interface specifications. It has been widely used by general consumers.

The high-resolution multimedia interface also contains a control command that is a two-way channel that naturally forms a link when connecting all devices with high-resolution multimedia interfaces, allowing all devices to communicate with each other. The protocol is called the Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocol. Through the consumer electronics control commands, users can operate a single remote control to control independent audio and video devices with high-resolution multimedia interfaces, such as DVD players, amplifiers, game consoles, set-top boxes, TVs, monitors, etc. Very convenient.

However, since each manufacturer designs and manufactures various devices with high-resolution multimedia interfaces, the data formats of the consumer electronic product control instructions used are different, and they are incompatible with each other, resulting in the actual use of the user. inconvenient. For example, suppose that the DVD player, amplifier, and TV set in the user's home are produced by A, B, and C manufacturers respectively, and the consumer electronic product control used by the three. The data format of the command is different, which makes it impossible for the user to remotely control the DVD player, the amplifier and the TV through a single remote controller. Instead, the three remote controllers are used to remotely control each other, which is very troublesome.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image device control system, a video device serial device, and a video device control method to solve the above problems encountered in the prior art.

One aspect of the present invention is to propose an image device control system. In one embodiment, the image device control system includes at least one image providing device, at least one image receiving device, a handheld device, and a video device serial device. The image providing device is used to provide an image signal. The image providing device is compatible with high resolution multimedia interface specifications. The image receiving device is configured to receive an image signal. The image receiving device is compatible with high resolution multimedia interface specifications. The handheld device is configured to provide at least one control signal including at least one specific data. The image device serial device is coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The image device serial device receives at least one control signal provided by the handheld device according to the communication protocol, and transmits at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device according to the at least one specific data of the at least one control signal and transmits at least one image providing device A second packet is sent to the corresponding at least one image receiving device. The at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device respectively perform corresponding functions according to at least one consumer electronic product control command respectively included in the at least one first packet and the at least one second packet.

In practical applications, at least one specific data contains information set or selected by the user. The information includes the brand or model information of at least one image providing device or at least one image receiving device. At least one specific data is selected from a plurality of data stored in a database. The handheld device executes an application to provide at least one control signal and displays an operation screen corresponding to at least one image providing device or at least one image interface Receiving device. The handheld device is a wired or wireless handheld device and communicates with the video device serial device according to the network communication protocol.

The functions performed according to the consumer electronics control instructions are selected from one touch play, system standby, preset transfer, one touch record, and timer programming. (timer programming), system information, deck control, tuner control, on-screen display control (OSD control), device menu control ), routing control, remote control pass through, device OSD name transfer, system audio control, and vendor-specific-defined At least one of the functions of the group formed.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an image device serial device. The image device serial device is coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The at least one image providing device is compatible with the at least one image receiving device in a high-resolution multimedia interface format. The image device serial device includes at least a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is configured to receive at least one control signal from the handheld device according to the communication protocol. At least one control signal includes at least one specific data. The processing module is coupled to the communication module, the at least one image providing device, and the at least one image receiving device. The processing module sends the at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and the at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device according to the at least one specific data of the at least one control signal. The at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device respectively perform corresponding functions according to at least one consumer electronic product control command respectively included in the at least one first packet and the at least one second packet.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an image device control method. In a specific embodiment, the image device control method controls the image loading through the handheld device The serial device is arranged to control at least one image providing device and at least one image receiving device. The at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device are compatible with the high resolution multimedia interface format. The image device serial device is coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The image device control method comprises the following steps: (a) executing an application to send at least one control signal including at least one specific data from the handheld device; (b) transmitting at least one control signal to the image device serial device according to the communication protocol; Transmitting at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and transmitting at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device according to at least one specific data of the at least one control signal; (d) according to at least one Each of the first package and the at least one second package respectively includes at least one consumer electronic product control command to perform a corresponding function.

Compared with the prior art, the image device control system, the image device serial device and the image device control method of the present invention can control a plurality of devices compatible with a high-resolution multimedia interface through a handheld device (such as a smart phone). To effectively solve the compatibility problem of data formats of different consumer electronic product control instructions for devices with high resolution multimedia interfaces produced by different manufacturers. In addition, since the user only needs to operate his smart phone and connect to the network through his application to control a plurality of devices compatible with the high-resolution multimedia interface specification, there is no need to additionally set an infrared module, which can save costs. Easy to operate.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is an image device control system. In this embodiment, the image device control system is configured to control a plurality of devices compatible with the high-resolution multimedia interface specifications through the handheld device.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of the image device control system of this embodiment. Schematic diagram. As shown in FIG. 1, the video device control system 1 includes at least one image providing device (input device) 10, at least one image receiving device (output device) 12, a handheld device 14, and a video device serial device 16. The image device serial device 16 is coupled between the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12. Handheld device 14 communicates with video device serial device 16 over network N in accordance with a network communication protocol. In addition, the handheld device 14 can also communicate with the video device serial device 16 via a non-network communication protocol. In practical applications, the video device serial device 16 may be a matrix video switcher, a video distributor, or a KVM switch, but is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, at least one image providing device 10 and at least one image receiving device 12 are compatible with a high-resolution multimedia interface specification, and the handheld device 14 may be a smart phone with an Internet-enabled and executable application (APP). Or a tablet, etc., or a wired handheld device, but not limited to this. It should be noted that the number of the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12 may be one or more, that is, the image device control system 1 may include an image providing device 10 and an image receiving device 12, One image providing device 10 and a plurality of image receiving devices 12, a plurality of image providing devices 10, a single image receiving device 12 or a plurality of image providing devices 10 and a plurality of image receiving devices 12 are disposed according to actual needs.

The image providing device 10 is for providing the image signal IM, and the image receiving device 12 is for receiving the image signal IM. The handheld device 14 is for providing a control signal CS containing a specific data D. In fact, the specific data D may be selected from a plurality of data stored in a database (not shown), and the specific data D may include information set or selected by the user, such as an image providing device (input device) 10 and image receiving. Information on the brand and model of the device (output device) 12, but not limited to this. Information such as the brand of the device can be obtained by analyzing the "Vendor Specific Commands" data in the Consumer Electronic Product Control (CEC) Protocol Specification.

The video device serial device 16 receives from the network N via a wired or wireless communication protocol The control signal CS provided by the handheld device 14 transmits the corresponding first packet P1 to the image providing device 10 and the second packet P2 to the image receiving device 12 according to the specific data D in the control signal CS. It should be noted that the control signal CS sent by the handheld device 14 can be a single control signal CS or multiple control signals CS, and each control signal CS can include one or more specific data D, depending on the actual application. Depending on the needs of the time. The image device serial device 16 then sends the corresponding one or more first packets P1 to one or more image providing devices 10 according to one or more specific data D of one or more control signals CS and correspondingly transmits One or more second packets P2 to one or more image receiving devices 12. In addition, the first packet P1 and the second packet P2 of the present invention respectively include at least one consumer electronic product control command CEC1 and CEC2. For the same operation, the first packet P1 and the second packet P2 may have different corresponding data according to user settings, for example, to start playing a game for turning on the video game machine, and the second packet P2 has information for turning on the power of the display, first. The packet P1 has data for turning on the video game machine and executing a game program to output the game screen to the display.

When the image providing device 10 receives the first packet P1 including the consumer electronic product control command CEC1, the image providing device 10 performs a corresponding function according to the consumer electronic product control command CEC1 of the first packet P1. Similarly, when the image receiving device 12 receives the second packet P2 including the consumer electronic product control command CEC2, the image receiving device 12 performs the corresponding function according to the consumer electronic product control command CEC2 of the second packet P2. .

In this embodiment, the functions performed by the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12 according to the consumer electronic product control commands CEC1 and CEC2 may be one touch play, system standby, and preset transfer. (preset transfer), one touch record, timer programming, system information, deck control, tuner control, screen display control ( On-Screen Display Control, OSD control), device menu control, routing control, remote control pass through, device OSD name transfer, system audio control Or one or more of the functions of vendor-specific-defined, but not limited to.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of the handheld device 14 in the image device control system 1. As shown in FIG. 2, when the handheld device 14 executes the application APP, the screen M of the handheld device 14 will display an operation screen ON, and the operation screen ON corresponds to the image providing device 10. That is to say, when the video providing device 10 is a DVD player produced by the A brand, the handheld device 14 executes the operation screen displayed by the application APP, which corresponds to the DVD player of the A brand. Similarly, the operation screen ON may also correspond to the image receiving device 12. That is to say, when the image receiving device 12 is an LCD display produced by the B brand, the operation screen ON displayed by the handheld device 14 executing the application APP corresponds to the LCD display produced by the B brand.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram of the image device serial device 16 in the image device control system 1 . As shown in FIG. 3, the image device serial device 16 is coupled between the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12. It should be noted that, in FIG. 3, only the image device serial device 16 is coupled between an image providing device (DVD player) 10 and an image receiving device (display) 12, but actually, the image is The device serial device 16 is coupled between the plurality of image providing devices 10 and the plurality of image receiving devices 12, between one image providing device 10 and the plurality of image receiving devices 12, or between multiple images, as needed for actual application. The device 10 is connected to an image receiving device 12.

In this embodiment, the image device serial device 16 includes a communication module 160, a processing module 162, a detection module 164, and a switching module 166. The processing module 162 is coupled The communication module 160, the image providing device 10, and the image receiving device 12. The detection module 164 is coupled between the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12 and coupled to the processing module 162. The switching module 166 is coupled between the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12 and coupled to the processing module 162.

The communication module 160 is configured to receive the control signal CS from the handheld device 14 from the network N via a wired or wireless communication protocol. In addition, the communication module 160 can also receive the control signal CS from the handheld device 14 through a non-network communication protocol. The control signal CS is provided by the handheld device 14, and the control signal CS contains the specific data D. In fact, the communication module 160 can be an Ethernet module for communicating with the handheld device 14 via the Ethernet N, but not limited thereto.

The processing module 162 sends the corresponding first packet P1 and second packet P2 to the image providing device 10 and the image receiving device 12 according to the specific data D in the control signal CS. The processing module 162 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro processing unit (MCU), etc., and has a computing function, but is not limited thereto. It should be noted that the first packet P1 and the second packet P2 of the present invention respectively include at least one consumer electronic product control command CEC1 and CEC2. For the same operation, the first packet P1 and the second packet P2 may have different corresponding data according to user settings, for example, playing the content of the optical disc in the DVD player, and the second packet P2 has the information for turning on the power of the display, A package P1 has the power to turn on the DVD player and play the disc.

In more detail, it is assumed that the image providing device (DVD player) 10 and the image receiving device (display) 12 in FIG. 3 are respectively produced by the A brand and the B brand, so that the applicable consumer electronic product control instruction is applicable. The processing module 162 outputs the image providing device 10 including the first packet P1 to the A brand of the consumer electronic product control command CEC1 corresponding to the A brand, so that the image providing device 10 connects the image device to the device. 16 is regarded as the image receiving device 12 of the same A brand, that is, The image device serial device 16 is modeled as an image receiving device 12 of the A brand. Similarly, the processing module 162 outputs the image receiving device 12 including the second packet P2 to the B brand corresponding to the consumer electronic product control command CEC2 of the B brand, so that the image receiving device 12 views the image device serial device 16 As the image providing device 10 of the same B brand, that is, the image device serial device 16 is simulated as the image providing device 10 of the B brand.

When the image providing device 10 receives the first packet P1 including the consumer electronic product control command CEC1, the image providing device 10 performs a corresponding function according to the consumer electronic product control command CEC1 of the first packet P1. Similarly, when the image receiving device 12 receives the second packet P2 including the consumer electronic product control command CEC2, the image receiving device 12 performs the corresponding function according to the consumer electronic product control command CEC2 of the second packet P2. .

In fact, these functions can be one-click playback, system standby, preset transfer, one-click recording, timer programming, system information, play/fast-forward, channel selection control, screen display control, device menu control, routing control, One or more of the functions of remote transmission, device screen display name transfer, system sound control or vendor specific definition, but not limited to.

The detection module 164 is configured to detect physical location information of all the image providing devices 10 and all the image receiving devices 12 to obtain physical positions of all the image providing devices 10 and all the image receiving devices 12. In fact, the detection module 164 can be composed of a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), but is not limited thereto.

The switching module 166 is configured to switch between the signals according to the control signal CS generated by the user operating the handheld device 14 to correctly transmit the image signal IM from the image providing device 10 to the corresponding user according to the needs of the user. Image receiving device 12. In fact, when the switching module 166 performs signal switching, high-speed transmission can be adopted. Data technology, such as Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS), for high-resolution multimedia interface (HDMI) specification image transmission.

For example, a label menu of all controllable image devices can be displayed on the screen of the handheld device 14 for the user to select. When the user selects the image device label to be controlled from the menu, the handheld device 14 transmits the image device label to be controlled to the image device serial device 16. Then, the image device serial device 16 connects the physical location of the image device label to be controlled with the image device to be controlled, and transmits the consumer electronic product control command according to the physical location of the image device to be controlled. .

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a video device control method. In this embodiment, the image device control method controls the image device serial device through the handheld device to control the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device are compatible with the high resolution multimedia interface format. The image device serial device is coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The handheld device is a wired handheld device or a wireless handheld device, and communicates with the video device serial device according to a wired or wireless network communication protocol. Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flow chart showing a method for controlling an image device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S10, the method executes an application to send at least one control signal including at least one specific data from the handheld device. The handheld device can display an operation screen, and the operation screen corresponds to at least one image providing device or/and at least one image receiving device. At least one specific data may be selected from a plurality of data stored in an application database. At least one specific data may include information set or selected by the user, such as a label of the input device and the output device, model information, and the like.

In step S12, the method transmits at least one control signal to the image device serial device according to a wired or wireless communication protocol. In the step S14, the method sends the at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and the at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device according to the at least one specific data of the at least one control signal. The at least one first packet and the at least one second packet comprise consumer electronic product control commands. For the same operation, the first packet and the second packet may have different corresponding data according to user settings. In step S16, the method separately performs a corresponding function according to at least one consumer electronic product control instruction included in each of the at least one first packet and the at least one second packet.

In practical applications, at least one consumer electronic product control command may include functions selected from one-click playback, system standby, preset transfer, one-touch recording, timer programming, system information, playback/fast-forward, and channel selection control. At least one of a group consisting of a screen display control, a device menu control, a route control, a remote control transfer, a device display name transfer, a system sound control, and a vendor specific definition.

Compared with the prior art, the image device control system, the image device serial device and the image device control method provided by the present invention can control a plurality of compatible high resolutions through a handheld device (such as a smart phone or a tablet computer). The multimedia interface device effectively solves the compatibility problem of data formats of different consumer electronic product control instructions for devices with high resolution multimedia interfaces produced by different manufacturers. In addition, since the user only needs to operate his smart phone and connect to the network through his application to control a plurality of devices compatible with the high-resolution multimedia interface specification, there is no need to additionally set an infrared module, which can save costs. Easy to operate.

The features and spirit of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. Rather, it is intended to cover a variety of variations and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the claimed invention Inside.

S10~S16‧‧‧ process steps

1‧‧‧Video Device Control System

10‧‧‧Image providing device (input device)

12‧‧‧Image receiving device (output device)

14‧‧‧Handheld devices

16‧‧‧Video device serial device

IM‧‧‧ video signal

CS‧‧‧Control signal

D‧‧‧Specific information

P1‧‧‧ first bag

P2‧‧‧ second package

ON‧‧‧ operation screen

CEC1, CEC2‧‧‧ Consumer Electronics Control Directive

160‧‧‧Communication Module

162‧‧‧Processing module

164‧‧‧Detection module

166‧‧‧Switch Module

APP‧‧‧App

N‧‧‧Network

M‧‧‧ screen

1 is a schematic diagram of a video device control system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the handheld device in the image device control system.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the image device serial device in the image device control system.

4 is a flow chart showing a method of controlling an image device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Video Device Control System

N‧‧‧Network

10‧‧‧Image providing device (input device)

12‧‧‧Image receiving device (output device)

14‧‧‧Handheld devices

16‧‧‧Video device serial device

IM‧‧‧ video signal

CS‧‧‧Control signal

D‧‧‧Specific information

P1‧‧‧ first bag

P2‧‧‧ second package

APP‧‧‧App

CEC1, CEC2‧‧‧ Consumer Electronics Control Directive

Claims (19)

An image device control system comprising: at least one image providing device for providing an image signal, the image providing device being compatible with a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification; and at least one image receiving device for Receiving the image signal, the image receiving device is compatible with the high-resolution multimedia interface specification; a handheld device for providing at least one control signal including at least one specific data; and a video device serial device coupled to the Between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device, the image device serial device receives the at least one control signal provided by the handheld device according to a communication protocol, and according to the at least one of the at least one control signal Transmitting at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and transmitting at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device, wherein the at least one image providing device and the at least one image Receiving, according to the at least one first packet and the at least one second packet At least one consumer electronics control (CEC) is included and each performs a corresponding function. The image device control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one specific data comprises a user setting or selecting one of the information, the information comprising the at least one image providing device or the at least one image receiving device Card or model information. The image device control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one specific data is selected from a plurality of pieces of data stored in a database. The image device control system according to claim 1, wherein the function performed according to the consumer electronic product control instruction is selected from one touch play, system standby, and preset transfer. (preset transfer), one touch record, timer programming, system information, deck control, tuner control, screen display control ( On-Screen Display control (OSD control), device menu control, routing control, remote control pass through, device OSD name transfer, system sound control At least one of a group consisting of (system audio control) and vendor-specific-defined. The image device control system of claim 1, wherein the handheld device executes an application to provide the at least one control signal and displays an operation screen corresponding to the at least one image providing device or The at least one image receiving device. The image device control system of claim 1, wherein the handheld device is a wired or wireless handheld device, and communicates with the image device serial device according to a network communication protocol. An image device serial device is coupled between at least one image providing device and at least one image receiving device, wherein the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device are compatible with a high-resolution multimedia interface format, and the image device The serial device includes at least: a communication module for receiving at least one control signal from a handheld device according to a communication protocol, wherein the at least one control signal is provided by the handheld device And the at least one control signal includes at least one specific data; and a processing module coupled to the communication module, the at least one image providing device, and the at least one image receiving device, wherein the processing module is based on the at least one The at least one specific data in the control signal sends the at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and the at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device, the at least one image providing device And the at least one image receiving device respectively performs a corresponding function according to the at least one consumer electronic product control instruction included in the at least one first packet and the at least one second packet. The image device serial device of claim 7, wherein the at least one specific data comprises one of a user setting or selecting information, the information comprising the at least one image providing device or the at least one image receiving device Label or model information. The image device tandem device of claim 7, wherein the at least one specific data is selected from a plurality of pieces of data stored in a database. The image device tandem device of claim 7, wherein the at least one consumer electronic product control command comprises a function selected from the group consisting of: one-click play, system standby, preset transfer, one-touch video, and timer At least one of a group consisting of programming, system information, play/fast forward, channel control, screen display control, device menu control, routing control, remote control transfer, device display name transfer, system sound control, and vendor specific definitions A feature. The image device serial device of claim 7, further comprising: a detection module coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device and coupled to the processing module And detecting physical location information of the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The image device serial device of claim 7, further comprising: a switching module coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device and coupled to the processing module, And performing signal switching according to the at least one control signal to transmit an image signal from the at least one image providing device to the corresponding at least one image receiving device. The image device serial device according to claim 7, wherein the handheld device is a wired handheld device or a wireless handheld device, and communicates with the image device serial device according to a network communication protocol. An image device control method for controlling an image device serial device to control at least one image providing device and at least one image receiving device through a handheld device, wherein the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device are compatible with high resolution The image device serial device is coupled between the at least one image providing device and the at least one image receiving device. The image device control method comprises the following steps: (a) executing an application to receive from the handheld device Transmitting, by the device, at least one control signal including at least one specific data; (b) transmitting the at least one control signal to the image device serial device according to a communication protocol; and (c) determining the at least one specific data according to the at least one control signal Transmitting at least one first packet to the corresponding at least one image providing device and transmitting at least one second packet to the corresponding at least one image receiving device; and (d) according to the at least one first packet and the at least one The two packages each include at least one consumer electronic product control command and each performs a corresponding function. The image device control method according to claim 14, wherein the at least The specific data includes a user setting or selecting one of the information, wherein the information includes the brand or model information of the at least one image providing device or the at least one image receiving device. The image device control method of claim 14, wherein the at least one consumer electronic product control command comprises a function selected from the group consisting of: one-click playback, system standby, preset transfer, one-touch recording, and timer programming. At least one of a group consisting of system information, play/fast forward, channel control, screen display control, device menu control, routing control, remote control transfer, device screen name transfer, system sound control, and vendor specific definitions Features. The image device control method according to claim 14, wherein the handheld device displays an operation screen corresponding to the at least one image providing device or the at least one image receiving device. The image device control method according to claim 14, wherein the at least one specific data is selected from a plurality of pieces of data stored in a database. The image device control method according to claim 14, wherein the handheld device is a wired handheld device or a wireless handheld device, and communicates with the image device serial device according to a network communication protocol.