Multiplex communications – Fault recovery
Utility Patent
1998-10-30
2001-01-02
Olms, Douglas W. (Department: 2732)
Multiplex communications
Fault recovery
C370S259000, C370S431000, 36, 36, C348S552000
Utility Patent
active
06169725
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to audio/video systems. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for the restoration of internal connections in a home audio/video system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical home audiovisual equipment set up includes a number of components. For example, a tuner, a radio receiver, a CD player, a pair of speakers, a television, a VCR, a tape deck, etc. Each of these components are connected to each other via a set of wires. One component is usually the central component of the home audiovisual system. This is usually the tuner, or the receiver. The tuner has a number of specific inputs for coupling the other components. The tuner has a corresponding number of control buttons or control switches which provide a limited degree of controllability and interoperability for the components. The control buttons and control switches are usually located on the front of the tuner. In many cases, some, or all, of these buttons and switches are duplicated on a hand held remote control unit. A user controls the home audiovisual system by manipulating the buttons and switches on the front of the tuner, or alternatively, manipulating buttons on the hand held remote control unit. This conventional home audiovisual system paradigm has become quite popular.
However, as the number of consumer electronics devices for the home audiovisual system have grown and as the sophistication and capabilities of these devices have increased, a number of problems with the conventional paradigm have emerged. One such problem relates to the management of the connections between the various components. Often, users will upgrade old equipment with a newer model according to the users' budgets and tastes. Other times, users will add brand new devices which hitherto had not been available. In any case, the user has to somehow rewire the interconnections so as to accommodate the new devices. In the past, making the proper connections was trivial. The newly purchased devices are simply “plugged” into their home audiovisual systems according to the instructions provided. The new device (e.g., a DVD player) is simply plugged into the system alongside the pre-existing devices (e.g., television, stereo system, etc.). Typically, the new device is plugged into an open input on the back of the tuner, or some other device couple to the tuner. But with the introduction of highly sophisticated digital devices coming to market (e.g., digital cameras, set-top boxes, personal computers, color printers, cable modems, digital camcorders, digital audio tape recorders, satellite transceivers, etc.), knowing how to connect the various devices has now become a fairly sophisticated and quite challenging endeavor for the casual consumer.
There are other factors which further complicate how devices are to be connected. First, there may be one or more internal connections within a specific device which have to be made in order to fully realize that device's capabilities. When one device is coupled to another device through a cable or wire, the electronics and various components within each of these devices must have the proper connections in order to share processing resources and/or audio-visual data streams. For example, the infamous “flashing clock on the VCR” can be solved by having the VCR set its clock to that of another device on the home network (e.g., a digital TV receiver which obtains time signals via a digital satellite or CATV broadcast). In this example, the receiver in the TV would have to receive and demodulate the signal containing the current time information, pass the time information to a transmitter within the TV which forwards this time information to the VCR over a wire or cable; a receiver within the VCR picks up the time information and forwards it to the processor which then sets the clock display according to the received time information. In, Home Audio/Visual (HAVI), the setting of a clock on one component to that on another is accomplished by messaging rather than isochronous connections (these are used for streaming-ic A/V stream). Consequently, not only does one have to make the proper external connections between devices, but the appropriate connections within each of the devices must also be made.
Another factor which makes it difficult for establishing a home audio-video system is that devices are often incompatible. Consumer electronic devices from one manufacturer often have different electrical characteristics, interfaces, and standards than that of similar devices from another manufacturer. For example, a tuner made by one manufacturer may not properly couple with a television set sold by another manufacturer. In addition, were one device is much newer than another device additional incompatibilities may exist. For example, a new device might incorporate hardware (e.g., specific inputs and outputs) which enables more sophisticated remote control functions. This hardware may be unusable with older devices within the system. Or, for example, older tuners may lack suitable inputs and internal components/connections for some newer devices (e.g., mini-disc players, VCRs, etc.), or may lack enough inputs for all devices of the system. Along these same lines, another problem is the lack of functional support for differing devices within an audio/visual system. For example, even though a television may support advanced sound formats (e.g., surround sound, stereo, etc.), if an older less capable tuner does not support such functionality, the benefits of the advanced sound formats can be lost.
While the emergence of networking and interface technology (e.g., IEEE 1394 serial communication bus and the wide spread adoption of digital systems) offers prospects for correcting these problems, there is still no coherent, open, extensible architecture which can provide for intelligent, self configuring, easily extensible devices or AV systems. For example, while various solutions involving the use of IEEE 1394 as the basis of an AV system, none provide for the extensibility of the AV system over its life time, as new devices are added whose capabilities and features are unknown. None of these systems guarantee that all devices can be seemlessly intercoupled, communicated with and controlled and enjoyed by the user.
Thus, there exists a need for an apparatus and method which automatically monitors and establishes the proper interrial/external connections in response to changes made to a home audio/visual system. The present provides a novel solution to this problem which is transparent to the user and requires minimal effort and knowledge on the part of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for the restoration of internal connections in a home audio/video system. When several consumer electronic devices are coupled together, they can share their respective resources (e.g., processing, data, memory, etc.). This imparts enhanced functionality, flexibility, and capability with minimal cost. However, in order to achieve this, the proper connections must be made. Not only must each of the devices be physically connected together by wires or cables, but the proper connections between each of the internal components residing within the devices must also be made. When a device is removed from the system, it might have been using a component residing within a different device. With the removal of the device, the connection within the other device need not be made; that connection may now be dropped. Likewise, when a new device is added to the network, it might advantageously utilize a component or data from a pre-existing device on the network. This would entail making the proper internal connections within the new device, coupling the new device to the network, and making the proper internal connections within the pre-existing device.
The present invention automatically maintains and manages the internal connections for each of the devices on the network. In the currently pr
Gibbs Simon J.
Lea Rodger J.
Zou Feng
Hom Shick
Olms Douglas W.
Sony Corporation of Japan
Wagner , Murabito & Hao LLP
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