JP2000175275A - Network control device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] Even when connected to a home bus, it is necessary to operate each device in order to operate each device. When a conversation starts between a front door intercom 200 and a central control 210, the central control 210 operates devices 220 to 27 connected to a bus.
If 0 has a silent or mute function, the mute function is enabled and the noise level is reduced. When the conversation is over, the devices for which the mute function is enabled are restored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network control apparatus and method for controlling a network system in which electronic equipment (hereinafter, equipment) is connected to a network capable of communicating a control signal and data in a mixed manner. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a home bus system for connecting various devices in a home to a network has been adopted. By adopting this home bus system, various audio and visual devices such as TVs and stereos in the home, kitchen equipment such as refrigerators and microwave ovens, and other household equipment such as baths and door horns can be connected. 2. Description of the Related Art Information communication in a home has been performed, and each device can be remotely controlled through a telephone line or the like.

[0003]

However, in the above-described home bus system, it is necessary to manually remotely control each device so that each device is in a desired state.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and does not manually operate each device individually, but achieves an intended purpose such as silencing the home. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network control device and a method for controlling each device connected to a bus. .

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following arrangement is provided. That is, a control device for controlling a device connected to a network, a first determination unit that determines that the control device has transitioned between predetermined states, and a case where it is determined that the predetermined state exists. A second determining unit that determines whether each of the devices connected to the network has a muffling function, a third determining unit that determines a current state of the control device, and a third determining unit. Switching means for switching between enabling and disabling the mute function for the device having the mute function according to the determined state.

[0006] Preferably, the network is an I-network.
The network conforms to the communication protocol of the EEE1394 standard.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a voice communication device, wherein the first determination means determines whether the voice communication device has transitioned from a call to a non-call or from a non-call to a call. When the third determining unit determines that the voice communication device is in a call state, the mute function of the device is enabled, and when the voice communication device is determined to be in a non-talk state, the device is disabled. Disable the mute function.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a telephone connected to a public telephone line, wherein the first determining means changes from a state in which there is no call request to the telephone to a state in which there is no read request. When the third determining means determines that the telephone has a read request, the switching means activates the mute function of the device and determines that there is no read request. If so, the mute function of the device is disabled.

[0009] Preferably, the apparatus further comprises setting means for allowing a user to set a mode, wherein the first judging means is set by the setting means from the first mode to the second mode or from the second mode to the second mode. It is determined whether the mode has transitioned to the first mode.
When it is determined that the mode is the first mode, the mute function of the device is enabled, and when it is determined that the mode is the first mode, the mute function of the device is disabled.

[0010] Alternatively, a control device for controlling a device connected to the network, a first determination means for determining that a state has transitioned between predetermined states, and a control apparatus for determining that the predetermined state exists. In this case, it is determined by the second determination unit that determines whether each of the devices connected to the network has a predetermined function, the third determination unit that determines a current state, and the third determination unit. Control means for controlling the device having the predetermined function to activate or deactivate the predetermined function according to the state.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment]
An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a network configuration of a home bus system. The telephone / room intercom / central control device 210 is connected to a public line telephone network,
It is connected to devices such as the entrance interphone 200 via an IEEE 1394 serial bus. Furthermore, TV 230 for living room, VTR 240, room air conditioner 250
And home appliances such as a washing machine 260 and a vacuum cleaner 270. The telephone / room interphone / central control 210 can not only communicate with the entrance interphone via the IEEE 1394 serial bus, but also exchange data with each home device to remotely control the status of each home device. You can know.

Here, in the home bus system according to the present embodiment, an IEEE 1394 serial bus, which is a digital I / F, is used to connect each device.
The E1394 serial bus will be described in advance.

<Overview of IEEE 1394 Technology> With the advent of home digital VTRs and DVDs, it is necessary to support real-time and high-information-volume data transfer of video data and audio data. In order to transfer such video and audio data in real time, and to transfer it to a personal computer (PC) or other digital devices, an interface capable of high-speed data transfer with the necessary transfer functions is required. The interface developed from such a viewpoint is IEEE 1394-1995 (High Per
formance Serial Bus) (hereinafter 1394 serial bus)
It is.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a network system configured using a 1394 serial bus. This system is provided with devices A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. A-B, A-C, B-D, D-E, C-F
, CG, and CH are connected by a twisted pair cable of a 1394 serial bus.
The devices A to H are, for example, PC, digital VTR, DV
D, digital camera, hard disk, monitor, etc.

[0015] The connection method between the devices is such that the daisy chain method and the node branch method can be mixed.
A highly flexible connection is possible.

Also, each device has its own unique ID, and by recognizing each other, forms a single network in a range connected by a 1394 serial bus. One 1394 connection between each digital device
Just by sequentially connecting with a serial bus cable, each device plays a role of relay, and constitutes one network as a whole. In addition, it has a function of automatically recognizing the device and recognizing the connection status when the cable is connected to the device by the Plug & Play function, which is a feature of the 1394 serial bus. In addition, in a system such as that shown in FIG. 7, when a device is deleted from the network or newly added, the bus is automatically reset, and the network configuration up to that point is reset. Rebuild the network. With this function, the configuration of the network at that time can be constantly set and recognized.

The data transfer rate is 100/200 /
It has a transmission rate of 400 Mbps, and a device having a higher transfer rate supports a lower transfer rate and is compatible.

The data transfer mode includes an asynchronous transfer mode for transferring asynchronous data such as a control signal (asynchronous data: hereinafter referred to as Async data), and synchronous data (isochronous data: hereinafter referred to as Iso data) such as real-time video data and audio data. The Async data and the Iso data are transmitted in each cycle (usually 1 cycle).
In the cycle 125 μS), following the transfer of the cycle start packet (CSP) indicating the start of the cycle, the transfer is performed in a mixed manner within the cycle while giving priority to the transfer of the Iso data.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the components of the 1394 serial bus.

The 1394 serial bus has a layer (hierarchical) structure as a whole. As shown in FIG.
The most hardware type is a 1394 serial bus cable, which has a connector port to which a connector of the cable is connected.
There are layers and link layers.

The hardware part is a substantial part of an interface chip. The physical layer performs coding and control related to connectors, and the link layer performs packet transfer and cycle time control.

The transaction layer of the firmware section manages data to be transferred (transacted), and issues commands such as Read and Write.
The serial bus management is a part that manages the connection status and ID of each connected device and manages the configuration of the network.

The hardware and firmware are substantially the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

The software application
The layer differs depending on the software used, and is a part that defines how data is placed on the interface.
It is specified by a protocol such as the V protocol.

The above is the configuration of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a diagram of an address space in the 1394 serial bus.

Each device (node) connected to the 1394 serial bus always has a 64-bit address unique to each node. By storing this address in the ROM, it is possible to always check the node address of the user and the other party, and perform communication specifying the other party.

The addressing of the 1394 serial bus is based on the IEEE 1212 standard, and the first 10 bits are used for specifying the bus number.
The next 6 bits are used for specifying the node ID number. The remaining 48 bits become the address width given to the device,
Each can be used as a unique address space. The last 28 bits store information such as identification of each device and designation of use conditions as an area of unique data.

The above is the outline of the technology of the 1394 serial bus.

Next, the technical portion which can be said to be a feature of the 1394 serial bus will be described in more detail.

<Electrical Specifications of 1394 Serial Bus> FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable. In the 1394 serial bus, a power supply line is provided in a connection cable in addition to two twisted pair signal lines. As a result, power can be supplied to a device having no power supply, a device whose voltage has dropped due to a failure, and the like.

The voltage of the power supply flowing in the power supply line is 8 to 40.
V and the current are specified as a maximum current DC of 1.5 A.

<DS-Link encoding> The data transfer format D, which is adopted in the 1394 serial bus,
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the S-Link coding scheme.

In the 1394 serial bus, DS-Lin
The k (DATA / Strobe Link) coding method is adopted. This DS-Link coding scheme is suitable for high-speed serial data communication,
Requires two signal lines. The main data is sent to one of the twisted pairs, and the strobe signal is sent to the other twisted pair.

On the receiving side, the clock can be reproduced by taking the exclusive OR of this communicated data and the strobe.

The advantages of using the DS-Link coding method include higher transfer efficiency compared with other serial data transfer methods, and the circuit scale of the controller LSI can be reduced because a PLL circuit is not required.
Since there is no need to send information indicating the idle state when there is no data to be transferred, the power consumption can be reduced by setting the transceiver circuit of each device to the sleep state.

<Bus Reset Sequence> In the 1394 serial bus, each connected device (node) is given a node ID and recognized as a network configuration.

When there is a change in the network configuration, for example, a change occurs due to an increase or decrease in the number of nodes due to insertion / removal of a node or turning on / off of a power supply, and it is necessary to recognize a new network configuration, the change is made. Each detected node sends a bus reset signal on the bus,
Enter the mode to recognize the new network configuration. The method of detecting the change at this time is performed by detecting a change in the bias voltage on the 1394 port substrate.

When a bus reset signal is transmitted from a certain node, the physical layer of each node transmits the bus reset signal to the link layer at the same time as receiving the bus reset signal, and transmits the bus reset signal to another node. . After all the nodes finally detect the bus reset signal, the bus reset is activated.

The bus reset is also activated by the above-described activation by hardware insertion / removal due to cable disconnection or network abnormality or the like, and also by directly issuing a command to the physical layer by host control from a protocol or the like.

Further, when the bus reset is activated, the data transfer is suspended, the data transfer during this period is waited, and after the end, the data transfer is resumed under a new network configuration.

The above is the bus reset sequence.

<Sequence of Node ID Determination> After the bus reset, each node starts an operation of giving an ID to each node in order to construct a new network configuration. The general sequence from the bus reset to the determination of the node ID at this time will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The flowchart of FIG. 19 shows a series of bus operations from the occurrence of a bus reset until the node ID is determined and data transfer can be performed.

First, as step S101, the occurrence of a bus reset in the network is constantly monitored. If a bus reset occurs due to power ON / OFF of a node, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, a parent-child relationship is declared between the directly connected nodes in order to know the connection status of a new network after the network has been reset. As step S103,
When the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, step S
One route is determined as 104. Until the parent-child relationship is determined between all nodes, the parent-child relationship is declared in step S102, and the route is not determined.

After the route is determined in step S104, the operation of setting a node ID for giving an ID to each node is performed in step S105. Node IDs are set in a predetermined node order, and I
The setting operation is repeatedly performed until D is given. When the IDs are finally set in all the nodes in step S106, the new network configuration is recognized in all the nodes. And data transfer is started.

In the state of step S107, a mode for monitoring the occurrence of a bus reset again is entered.
When the bus reset occurs, the setting operation from step S101 to step S106 is repeatedly performed.

The above is the description of the flowchart of FIG. 19. The flowchart from FIG. 19 shows the portion from the bus reset to the route determination and the procedure from the route determination to the end of the ID setting in a more detailed flowchart. Are shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, respectively.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 20 will be described.

When a bus reset occurs in step S201, the network configuration is reset once. The occurrence of a bus reset is constantly monitored in step S201.

Next, in step S202, the first operation of re-recognizing the connection status of the reset network is performed.
As a step, a flag indicating a leaf (node) is set in each device. Further, in step S203, each device checks how many ports it has are connected to other nodes.

According to the result of the number of ports in step S204, the number of undefined (undetermined parent-child) ports is checked in order to start the declaration of the parent-child relationship. Immediately after the bus reset, the number of ports = the number of undefined ports. However, as the parent-child relationship is determined, the number of undefined ports detected in step S204 changes.

First, immediately after a bus reset, only a leaf can declare a parent-child relationship. A leaf can be known by checking the number of ports in step S203. In step S205, the leaf declares "I am a child and the other is a parent" to the node connected thereto, and ends the operation.

A node which has a plurality of ports in step S203 and is recognized as a branch has a number of undefined ports> 1 in step S204 immediately after the bus reset.
Moving to step S206, a flag of branch is first set, and in step S207, the process waits for reception of "parent" in the parent-child relationship declaration from the leaf.

The leaf declares the parent-child relationship, and the branch that has received the declaration in step S207 appropriately returns to step S20.
Confirm the number of undefined ports of 4 and find that the number of undefined ports is 1
If it becomes, it becomes possible to declare “I am a child” in step S205 for the node connected to the remaining port. After the second time, step S204
Even if the number of undefined ports is checked in step S207, for a branch having two or more ports, the process waits again in step S207 to accept a "parent" from a leaf or another branch.

Finally, if any one branch or exceptional leaf (because it did not operate quickly to allow child declaration) becomes zero as a result of the number of undefined ports in step S204, In this case, the declaration of the parent-child relationship of the entire network has been completed, and the only node for which the number of undefined ports has become zero (all are determined as parent ports) is flagged as a root in step S208, and the root is flagged in step S209. Is recognized.

Thus, the process from the bus reset shown in FIG. 20 to the declaration of the parent-child relationship between all the nodes in the network is completed.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 21 will be described.

First, in the sequence up to FIG.
Since the information of the flag of each node such as branch and route is set, classification is performed in step S301 based on this.

As a task of assigning an ID to each node, an ID can be first set from the leaf. The IDs are set in ascending order of leaf → branch → route (node number = 0).

In step S302, the number N (N is a natural number) of leaves existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S303, each leaf requests the root to give an ID. If there are a plurality of such requests, the route performs arbitration (operation of arbitration into one) in step S304, and proceeds to step S3.
As 05, an ID number is given to one winning node, and a failure result is notified to the losing node. In step S306, the leaf whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again, and repeats the same operation. In step S307, the ID information of the node is transmitted to all the nodes by broadcasting from the leaf having obtained the ID. One node I
When the broadcasting of the D information is completed, step S30
As 8, the number of remaining leaves is reduced by one. here,
In step S309, when the number of the remaining leaves is one or more, the operation from the ID request in step S303 is repeatedly performed, and finally, when all the leaves broadcast the ID information, N = 0 in step S309, and the next Moves to the branch ID setting.

The setting of the branch ID is performed in the same manner as in the leaf setting.

First, as step S310, the number M (M is a natural number) of branches existing in the network is set. Thereafter, in step S311, each branch requests the root to give an ID. On the other hand, for the route, arbitration is performed in step S312, and the branch is given in order from the winning branch to the next youngest number given to the leaf. In step S313, the root notifies the branch that issued the request of ID information or a failure result, and in step S314, the branch whose ID acquisition has failed fails issues an ID request again and repeats the same operation. In step S315, the ID information of the node is broadcast and transferred to all the nodes from the branch where the ID has been obtained. When the broadcast of the one node ID information ends, the number of remaining branches is reduced by one in step S316. Here, step S3
When the number of the remaining branches is 1 or more, the operation from the ID request in step S311 is repeated until all branches finally broadcast ID information. When all the branches have acquired the node IDs, M = 0 in step S317, and the branch ID acquisition mode ends.

At this point, since only the root node has not obtained the ID information at the end, step S
The largest number among the numbers not given as 318 is set as the own ID number, and the ID information of the route is broadcast at step S319.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 21, the procedure from the determination of the parent-child relationship to the setting of the IDs of all the nodes is completed.

Next, the operation in the actual network shown in FIG. 12 will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 12, the (root) node B
Are directly connected to node A and node C,
Further, a node D is directly connected below the node C, and a node E and a node F are directly connected below the node D in a hierarchical structure. The procedure for determining the hierarchical structure, the root node, and the node ID will be described below.

After the bus reset, first, in order to recognize the connection status of each node, a parent-child relationship is declared between ports directly connected to each node. The parent and child can be said to be such that the parent is higher in the hierarchical structure and the child is lower.

In FIG. 12, the node A first declares the parent-child relationship after the bus reset. Basically, a node (called a leaf) having a connection to only one port of the node can declare a parent-child relationship. Since the user can first know that only one port is connected, it recognizes that this is the edge of the network, and the parent-child relationship is determined from the node that operates earlier in the network. In this manner, the port on the side that has declared the parent-child relationship (node A between AB) is set as a child, and the port on the other side (node B) is set as a parent.
Thus, a child-parent is determined between nodes AB, a child-parent is determined between nodes ED, and a child-parent is determined between nodes FD.

Further up in the hierarchy, among nodes having a plurality of connection ports (branches), the parent-child relationship is declared further higher in order from the node that received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from another node. To go. In FIG. 12, after the parent-child relationship between the node D and DE and between DF is determined,
The parent-child relationship is declared for node C, and as a result, child-parent is determined between nodes D and C.

The node C that has received the declaration of the parent-child relationship from the node D becomes the node B connected to another port.
Declares a parent-child relationship. As a result, a child-parent is determined between the nodes C and B.

In this way, a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 12 is formed, and the node B that has become the parent in all finally connected ports is determined as the root node. There is only one route in one network configuration.

In FIG. 12, node B is determined to be the root node. This is because node B, which has received the parent-child relationship declaration from node A, makes a parent-child relationship declaration for other nodes at an early timing. If so, the root node may have moved to another node. That is, any node may become a root node depending on the transmission timing, and the root node is not always constant even in the same network configuration.

When the root node is determined, the process enters a mode for determining each node ID. Here, all nodes notify their determined node IDs to all other nodes (broadcast function).

The self ID information includes its own node number, information on the connected position, the number of ports it has, the number of connected ports, information on the parent-child relationship of each port, and the like.

As a procedure for assigning node ID numbers, first, nodes can be started from nodes (leaves) connected to only one port, and node numbers = 0, 1, 2, and so on are assigned in this order. .

The node that has obtained the node ID broadcasts information including the node number to each node. As a result, it is recognized that the ID number is “assigned”.

When all the leaves have acquired their own node IDs, the next step is to move to the branch and the node ID number following the leaf is assigned to each node. Similarly to the leaf, the node ID information is broadcast sequentially from the branch to which the node ID number is assigned, and finally, the root node broadcasts its own ID information. That is, the root always owns the maximum node ID number.

As described above, the assignment of the node IDs of the entire hierarchical structure is completed, the network configuration is reconstructed, and the bus initialization operation is completed.

<Arbitration> In the 1394 serial bus, arbitration (arbitration) of the right to use the bus is always performed prior to data transfer. Since the 1394 serial bus is a logical bus-type network in which each device connected individually relays the transferred signal to transmit the same signal to all devices in the network, packet collision occurs. Arbitration is necessary to prevent This allows only one node to transfer at a given time.

As a diagram for explaining arbitration, FIG. 13A shows a bus use request diagram, and FIG. 13B shows a bus use permission diagram.

When arbitration starts, one or a plurality of nodes issue a bus use right request to the parent node. Nodes C and F in FIG. 13A are nodes that have issued a bus use right request. The parent node (node A in FIG. 13) which has received the request further issues (relays) a bus use request toward the parent node. This request is finally delivered to the arbitration route.

The root node that has received the bus use request determines which node is to use the bus. This arbitration work can be performed only by the root node, and the node that has won the arbitration is given permission to use the bus. FIG.
In (b), use permission is given to the node C, and use of the node F is rejected. A DP (data prefix) packet is sent to the node that has lost the arbitration to notify that the node has been rejected. The rejected node use request waits until the next arbitration.

As described above, the node that has won the arbitration and obtained the permission to use the bus can start transferring data thereafter.

Here, a series of arbitration flows will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In order for a node to be able to start data transfer, the bus must be idle. In order to recognize that the data transfer that has been performed earlier is completed and that the bus is currently idle, a predetermined idle time gap length (eg, a subaction / sequence) that is individually set in each transfer mode. Each node determines that its own transfer can be started by passing the gap.

In step S401, it is determined whether a predetermined gap length corresponding to each data to be transferred, such as Async data and Iso data, has been obtained. Unless the predetermined gap length is obtained, the request for the right to use the bus required to start the transfer cannot be made, so the process waits until the predetermined gap length is obtained.

If a predetermined gap length is obtained in step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether there is data to be transferred. If so, a request for a bus use right is issued in step S403 to secure a bus for transfer. Emit to the route. At this time, the transmission of the signal indicating the request for the right to use the bus is finally delivered to the route while relaying each device in the network, as shown in FIG. If there is no data to be transferred in step S402,
Wait as it is.

Next, at step S404, when the route receives one or more bus use requests at step S403, the route checks at step S405 the number of nodes that have issued use requests. If the selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes = 1 (the number of nodes that issued the use right request is one), the immediately subsequent bus use permission is given to that node. The selection value in step S405 is the number of nodes> 1
If (the number of nodes requesting the use is plural), the root performs an arbitration operation of deciding one node to which use permission is given in step S406. This arbitration work is fair, and the same node does not always obtain permission each time, and the right is equally given.

As step S407, step S40
In step 6, a selection is made to divide the route into one node whose route has been arbitrated and the use of which has been granted, and another node which has lost the route. Here, for one node that has been arbitrated and has obtained use permission, or a node that has obtained use permission without arbitration with the number of use request nodes = 1 from the selection value in step S405, the route is set to that node as step S408. A permission signal is sent to it. The node that has received the permission signal starts transferring data (packets) to be transferred immediately after receiving the permission signal. Further, the nodes that have been defeated in the arbitration in step S406 and have not been permitted to use the bus are given step S406.
At step 409, a DP (data prefix) packet indicating an arbitration failure is sent from the root, and the node that has received the packet returns to step S401 to issue a bus use request for performing the transfer again, until the predetermined gap length is obtained. stand by.

The flow of arbitration has been described above with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

<Asynchronous (Asynchronous) Transfer> The asynchronous transfer is an asynchronous transfer. FIG. 14 shows a temporal transition state in the asynchronous transfer. The first sub-action gap in FIG. 14 indicates the idle state of the bus. When the idle time reaches a certain value, the node desiring transfer determines that the bus can be used and executes arbitration for acquiring the bus.

When the use of the bus is obtained by arbitration, data transfer is executed in packet format.
After the data transfer, the receiving node sets ack (reception confirmation return code) of the reception result for the transferred data to a.
After a short gap of ck gap, the transfer is completed by returning and responding or sending a response packet. The ack is composed of 4-bit information and a 4-bit checksum, and includes information such as success, busy status, and pending status, and is immediately returned to the source node.

Next, FIG. 15 shows an example of the packet format of the asynchronous transfer.

The packet has a header in addition to the data part and the data CRC for error correction, and the header part has the destination node ID, the source node ID, the transfer data length and the like as shown in FIG. Various codes and the like are written and transferred.

Asynchronous transfer is one-to-one communication from a self-node to a partner node. The packet transferred from the transfer source node is distributed to each node in the network, but the address other than its own address is ignored, so that only one destination node reads the packet.

The above is the description of the asynchronous transfer.

<Isochronous (Synchronous) Transfer> Isochronous transfer is synchronous transfer. This isochronous transfer, which can be said to be the greatest feature of the 1394 serial bus, is a transfer mode suitable for transferring data that requires real-time transfer, such as multimedia data such as VIDEO video data and audio data.

Also, when the asynchronous transfer (asynchronous) is 1
Unlike the one-to-one transfer, the isochronous transfer is uniformly transferred from one transfer source node to all other nodes by the broadcast function.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a temporal transition state in the isochronous transfer.

The isochronous transfer is executed at fixed time intervals on the bus. This time interval is called an isochronous cycle. The isochronous cycle time is 125 μS. A cycle start packet indicates the start time of each cycle, and plays a role of adjusting the time of each node. A node called a cycle master transmits a cycle start packet, and after a transfer in a previous cycle is completed, a predetermined idle period (subaction gap) is passed, and then the start of this cycle is announced. Send a Sakuru start packet. The time interval at which this cycle start packet is transmitted is 125 μS. Further, as shown in FIG. 16 as channel A, channel B, and channel C, a plurality of types of packets can be distinguished and transferred by being given channel IDs in one cycle. This allows real-time transfer between a plurality of nodes at the same time, and the receiving node fetches only the data of the channel ID desired by itself. This channel ID
Does not indicate a destination address, but merely gives a logical number for data. Therefore, the transmission of a certain packet is transmitted by broadcast, which is distributed from one source node to all other nodes.

Prior to the packet transmission in the isochronous transfer, arbitration is performed as in the asynchronous transfer. However, since the communication is not one-to-one communication as in the asynchronous transfer, there is no ack (reception confirmation reply code) in the isochronous transfer.

The iso gap (isochronous gap) shown in FIG. 16 indicates an idle period necessary for recognizing that the bus is empty before performing the isochronous transfer. After the predetermined idle period has elapsed, a node that wishes to perform isochronous transfer determines that the bus is free, and can perform arbitration before transfer.

Next, an example of a packet format for isochronous transfer will be described with reference to FIG.

Each packet divided into each channel has a header portion in addition to a data portion and data CRC for error correction, and the header portion has a transfer data length and a channel length as shown in FIG. NO and other various codes and a header CRC for error correction are written and transferred.

The above is the description of the isochronous transfer.

<Bus Cycle> In an actual transfer on the 1394 serial bus, isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer can coexist. FIG. 18 shows a temporal transition of the transfer state on the bus in which the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer are mixed at that time.

The isochronous transfer is executed prior to the asynchronous transfer. The reason is that after the cycle start packet, the isochronous transfer can be started with a gap length (isochronous gap) shorter than the gap length (subaction gap) of the idle period required to start the asynchronous transfer. . Therefore, the isochronous transfer is executed with priority over the asynchronous transfer.

In the general bus cycle shown in FIG. 18, at the start of cycle #m, a cycle start packet is transferred from the cycle master to each node. As a result, each node adjusts the time, and after waiting for a predetermined idle period (isochronous gap), the node that should perform isochronous transfer performs arbitration and starts packet transfer. In FIG. 18, the channel e and the channel s are sequentially subjected to isochronous transfer.

After the operations from the arbitration to the packet transfer are repeatedly performed for the given channel, when all the isochronous transfers in the cycle #m have been completed, the asynchronous transfer can be performed.

When the idle time reaches the subaction gap in which asynchronous transfer is possible, it is determined that the node that wishes to perform asynchronous transfer can shift to execution of arbitration. However, the period during which the asynchronous transfer can be performed is the time (cy) at which the next cycle start packet should be transferred after the end of the isochronous transfer.
This is limited to a case where a sub-action gap for activating asynchronous transfer is obtained before cle sync).

In cycle #m of FIG. 18, two packets (packet 1 and packet 2) of isochronous transfer for three channels and then asynchronous transfer (including ack) are transferred. After this asynchronous packet 2, a time (cycle) to start cycle m + 1
e sync), the transfer in cycle #m ends here.

However, the time (c) at which the next cycle start packet should be transmitted during the asynchronous or synchronous transfer operation
If (cycle synch) is reached, a cycle start packet of the next cycle is transmitted after waiting for an idle period after the transfer is completed without forcibly interrupting the transfer. That is, when one cycle continues for 125 μS or more, it is assumed that the next cycle is shortened by that much from the reference 125 μS. As described above, the isochronous cycle can be exceeded or shortened on the basis of 125 μS.

However, the isochronous transfer is always executed if necessary every cycle to maintain the real-time transfer, and the asynchronous transfer may be transferred to the next and subsequent cycles due to the shortened cycle time.

A cycle including such delay information
Controlled by the master.

The above is the description of the IEEE 1394 serial bus. In the following description, IEEE 1394
The serial bus may simply be called 1394.

<Configuration of Home Bus System> Next, FIG.
A specific configuration of the home bus system of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a main structure of the entrance interphone, 201 denotes a 1394 interface, 202
Is a selector for selecting data exchanged with the 1394 interface, 203 is an audio decoder for decompressing compressed audio data, 204 is an audio encoder for compressing and encoding audio data, and 205 is digital audio data and analog audio data. An interphone control unit that controls the entire interphone by performing conversion, reading the state of the switch 208, and controlling the microphone 206 and the speaker 207.

Reference numeral 210 denotes the main configuration of the telephone / room interphone / central control unit;
394 interface unit, 212 is a data selector,
213 is an analog telephone section for connecting to a public line, 2
14 is an audio decoder for decoding compressed audio data, 21
Reference numeral 5 denotes a voice encoder for decoding voice data, and 216 denotes a microphone 2 which converts analog voice and digital voice data.
A control unit for controlling the entire telephone / room interphone / central control unit by controlling the analog telephone unit and controlling the speaker 17 and the speaker 218, reading the keyboard 219, and 220 is a central control unit of the home bus system.

When the customer first presses the switch 208 at the entrance interphone 200, the switch information is read by the interphone control unit 205. The switch information passes through the data selector 202 and is converted into a 1394 packet by the 1394 I / F unit 201.
0 to the telephone / room intercom / central control. When the resident picks up the telephone to answer the telephone / room interphone / central control 210 and responds to it, response information is transmitted and passed through the control unit 216 and the selector 212 to the 1394 I / F unit 211. The serial bus 280, the 1394 I / F unit 201,
The information is transmitted to intercom control section 205 via selector 202. When the response information is transmitted, the entrance intercom 200 and the telephone / room interphone / central control 2
10 is in a call state.

After entering this state, the sound from the entrance intercom is input from the microphone 206, converted into digital audio data by the interphone control unit 205, compressed by the audio encoder 204, passed through the data selector 202, and transmitted to the 1394I. / F unit 201, 1349 packetized telephone / room intercom / central control unit 21
Sent to 0. The telephone / room intercom / central control unit 210 receives this packet data, and the 1394 I / F unit 211 interprets and decomposes the packet. The decomposed data passes through a data selector 212,
The data is decoded into uncompressed data by the audio demultiplexer 214, converted into an analog signal by the control unit 216, and sounded by the speaker 218.

On the other hand, telephone / room intercom /
The sound from the central control unit 210 is the microphone 2
The data is input from the controller 17, is converted into digital audio data by the control unit 216, is compressed by the audio encoder 215, passes through the data selector 212, is converted into a packet of 1349 for the entrance intercom by the 1394 I / F unit 211, and is sent to the entrance intercom 200. The entrance intercom 200 receives the packet data, and the 1394 I / F unit 201 interprets and decomposes the packet. The decomposed data passes through the data selector 202, is decoded into uncompressed data by the audio demultiplexer 203, is converted into an analog signal by the control unit 205, and is sounded by the speaker 207. Thus, a two-way voice conversation is performed.

The telephone / room intercom / central control 210 has a telephone function for connecting to a public line and a central control function for a home bus, in addition to the above-described intercom function. In the telephone function, microphone 217,
A speaker 218 and a keyboard 219 are connected to the analog telephone unit 213 via the control unit 216, and are connected to an analog public line. The keyboard 219 also serves as an interface for central control of the home bus, and the keyboard information read by the control unit 216 is sent to the central control unit 220, where
Various instructions for controlling with the home bus are passed through the data selector 212, converted into a 1394 packet in which the target node of the device controlled by the 1394 I / F unit 211 is set, and transmitted.

Numeral 230 indicates the main structure of the living TV,
231 is a 1394 interface unit, 232 is a data selector, 233 is a decoder for decoding digital video / audio data, 234 is a TV tuner, 235
Is a selector, 236 is a control unit for controlling the entire living TV, 237 is a display device such as a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal, or plasma, 238 is an amplifier for amplifying audio, 23
9 is a speaker.

Reference numeral 240 denotes the main structure of the VTR,
1 is a 1394 interface unit, 242 is a selector,
244 is a recording / reproducing device for recording / reproducing a VTR,
A VTR control unit 243 controls the entire VTR. The video data reproduced by the recording / reproducing device 244 passes through the data selector 242 and passes through the 1394 I / F unit 241.
Is transmitted to the living TV 230, which is the destination node, by isochronous transfer. Living TV23
In the case of 0, the data transmitted by isochronous is received and the video is displayed on the display device 237 and the sound is sounded by the speaker 239.

Reference numeral 250 denotes a main configuration of a room air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as an air conditioner).
Reference numeral 94 denotes an interface unit, reference numeral 252 denotes a selector, reference numeral 253 denotes an air conditioner control unit for controlling the entire air conditioner, reference numeral 254 denotes a heat exchanger mainly placed outside the room, and reference numeral 255 denotes a blower for sending out air-conditioned air to the room.

Reference numeral 260 denotes the main structure of the washing machine.
1 is a 1394 interface unit, 262 is a selector,
A washing machine control unit 263 controls the entire washing machine.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a washing tub for actually performing washing and dehydration, and 265 a motor for driving a part or all of the washing tub.

Reference numeral 270 denotes the main structure of the vacuum cleaner,
1 is a 1394 interface unit, 272 is a selector,
273, a vacuum cleaner control unit for controlling the entire vacuum cleaner;
Reference numeral 4 denotes a vacuum mechanism for creating a negative pressure of air for sucking dust, and 275 denotes a motor for driving the vacuum mechanism.

Next, the operation of the home bus system shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
Phone / Intercom / Central Control 21
It is a figure explaining operation | movement of 0.

First, the operation starts in S301, and in S302
Then, it is determined whether the operation of the telephone or the intercom connected to the public line is a transition from a call to a non-call or a change from a non-call to a call. The determination of the switching point can be made, for example, by storing the state. That is, each time the state is determined in S302, whether the state is the non-talking state or the talking state at that time is stored. In S302, the current state is compared with the state stored at the time of the immediately preceding determination, and if they do not match, it can be determined that the call has been switched from non-call or from non-call.

If it does not correspond to this switch, the process proceeds to S302 again, and if it does, the process proceeds to S303. S
At 303, an internal variable “access node number”
Is set to 0. Next, in S304, it is determined whether or not the “access node number” matches its own node number. If they match, the process proceeds to S311. If they do not match, S30.
Go to 5. In step S305, the target node number of the IEEE 1394 packet is set to the current “access node number”, and in step S306, a packet asking whether the mute mode can be set is transmitted. In step S307, the process waits for a response from the device of the target node. If the device cannot be set to mute, the process proceeds to step S311; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S308. In S308, it is determined whether or not a call is currently in progress. If a call is currently in progress, the process proceeds to S310. S
At 310, first, the current state of the device (whether or not the device is in the mute mode) is inquired and stored, and thereafter, a packet of a command for setting the device of the target node number to the mute mode is transmitted, and the process proceeds to S311.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S308 that no call is in progress, the flow advances to step S309. In step S309, the state of the device having the target node number stored in step S310 is returned to the non-communication state before the mute mode is set, and the process proceeds to step S311. In S311, the "access node number" is incremented by one, and in S312, it is determined whether the "access node number" is the same as the root node number + 1. If the “access node number” is the same as the root node number + 1, S3
02, and if different, the process returns to S304 and repeats the following steps to perform mute setting for all devices connected to the home bus.

On the other hand, among the devices that have received the packet asking whether this mute setting is possible, the entrance intercom and the VTR do not have the function, so a reply indicating that the function is not provided is returned. For those, TV23 for living
0, room air conditioner 250, washing machine 260, vacuum cleaner 2
Since 70 has a mute mode (silent mode), respectively, a reply indicating that setting can be made is returned. Further, when receiving the mute setting command, the living room TV 230 controls the amplifier 238 to lower the volume of the speaker 239 to a predetermined amount. Upon receiving the mute command, the room air conditioner 250 controls the blower 255 to change the control so that the blow sound cannot be heard (is difficult). For example, when the wind is blowing strongly, the wind is weakened to reduce the wind noise to a level where it is difficult to hear the wind noise. In addition, washing machine 2
At 60, when the mute command is received, the control of the motor 265 is changed to change the control so that the motor sound cannot be heard (is difficult). For example, to stop temporarily,
Turn it weakly. In the vacuum cleaner 270, like the washing machine,
When the mute command is received, the control of the motor 275 is changed so that the sound of the motor cannot be heard (is difficult). In this way, all devices connected to the bus can be set to a desired state without operating individual devices.

According to the above procedure, the volume of each device connected to the home bus can be reduced at the same time as the conversation by the interphone is started, so that the conversation is not hindered.
Further, at the end of the conversation, the mute devices can be returned to the original state.

In this embodiment, all the mute-settable devices are set to the mute mode. However, if only the devices that are close to the telephone / room intercom / central control 210 are set to mute, the conversation by the interphone can be performed. The effect of not disturbing can be achieved, and the effect is further enhanced by increasing the degree of silencing for devices closer to the telephone / room intercom / central control 210 and reducing the degree of silencing for devices farther away. By doing so, it is not necessary to lower the original performance of the device that is apart from the control 210 and does not need to mute the sound, such as lowering the volume or the number of rotations of the motor. Further, in the present embodiment, a device having a mute mode triggered by a change of a call / non-call is investigated.
All the connected devices may be checked at the time of the IEEE 1394 bus reset.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a home bus system according to a second embodiment will be described. Note that the configuration of the home bus system of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the description is omitted, and the telephone / room intercom / central control 210 which is a feature of the second embodiment
Only the operation flow of will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of telephone / intercom interphone / central control. S
Beginning at 401, the telephone / room intercom / central control at S402 issues a ringing request or a ringing tone from a public line or entrance intercom in the absence of a ringing request. Determine whether the request to ring while the request is coming has ceased. This determination can be made, for example, by storing the state. That is, each time the state is determined in S402, it is stored whether there is a request for ringing at that time or not at each time. In step S402, the current state is compared with the state stored at the time of the immediately preceding determination. If the two do not match, the state changes from a state in which there is a request for a ringing tone to a state in which there is a request for a ringing tone. It can be determined that it has been switched to a state where it does not come out.

If it does not correspond to this switch, the process proceeds to S402 again, and if it does, the process proceeds to S403. S
In 403, an internal variable “access node number”
Is set to 0. Next, in S404, it is determined whether or not the “access node number” matches its own node number. If they match, the process proceeds to S411, and if they do not match, S40.
Go to 5. In step S405, the target node number of the 1394 packet is set to the “access node number”, and in step S406, a packet asking whether the mute mode can be set is transmitted. In step S407, the process waits for a response from the device of the target node. If the device cannot be set to mute, the process proceeds to step S411; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S408. In S408, it is determined whether or not a request to sound a ringing tone is present, and if there is a calling request at present, the process proceeds to S410. At S410, the current state of the device (whether or not the device is in the mute mode) is read and stored, and thereafter, a command packet for setting the device of the target node number to the mute mode is transmitted, and the process proceeds to S411.

On the other hand, if there is no call request in S408, the flow advances to S409. In S409, based on the mode of the device stored in S410, the device of the target node number is returned to the non-communication state before the device is set to the mute mode,
Proceed to S411. In S411, the “access node number” is incremented by one, and in S412, it is determined whether the “access node number” is the same as the root node number + 1. If the “access node number” is the same as the root node number + 1, the process returns to S402. If the “access node number” is different, the process returns to S404 and repeats the following steps to mute all the devices connected to the home bus. The correspondence of each device receiving a packet asking whether this mute setting is possible is the same as in the first embodiment.

As described above, when the ringing tone sounds, the device having the mute function is set to the mute mode, and when the ringing tone ends, the device returns to the previous mode. It is possible to prevent the sound from being difficult to hear. In this way, all the devices connected to the bus can be set to a desired state without operating individual devices.

[Third Embodiment] Finally, a home bus system according to a third embodiment will be described. The configuration of the home bus system according to the present embodiment is described in the first section.
The description is omitted because it is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the telephone / room intercom / central control 2
Only the operation flow of No. 10 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the telephone / intercom / central control. S
Starting at 501, it is determined at S502 whether the telephone / room intercom / central control has been set from the normal mode to the visitor mode or from the visitor mode to the normal mode. The switching of the mode can be performed from the keyboard 219, for example. The determination that the mode has been switched can be made, for example, by storing the mode. That is, each time the state is determined in S502, the mode at that time is stored each time. In S502, the current mode is compared with the mode stored at the time of the immediately preceding determination, and if they do not match, it can be determined that the mode has been switched.

If it does not correspond to the switch, the process proceeds to S502 again, and if it does, the process proceeds to S503. S
In 503, an internal variable “access node number”
Is set to 0. Next, in S504, it is determined whether or not the “access node number” matches its own node number. If they match, the process proceeds to S511, and if they do not match, S50.
Go to 5. In step S505, the destination node number of the 1394 packet is set to the “access node number”, and in step S506, a packet asking whether the mute mode can be set is transmitted. In step S507, the process waits for a response from the device of the target node. If the device cannot be set to mute, the process proceeds to step S511; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S508. In S508, it is determined whether or not the current mode is the visitor mode. If the current mode is the visitor mode, the process proceeds to S510 and S510.
Then, after transmitting the packet of the command to set the device of the target node number to the mute mode, the process proceeds to S511.

On the other hand, if the mode is not the visitor mode in S508, the flow advances to S509. In S509, the state of the device of the target node number is returned to the non-communication state before the mute mode is set, and the flow advances to S511. In S511, the “access node number” is incremented by one, and in S512, it is determined whether the “access node number” is the same as the root node number + 1. If the “access node number” is the same as the root node number + 1, the process returns to S502. If the “access node number” is different, the process returns to S504 and repeats the following steps to mute all the devices connected to the home bus. The correspondence of each device receiving a packet asking whether this mute setting is possible is the same as in the first embodiment.

As described above, when an incoming call makes a ringing tone, when a telephone call is in progress, when a call is made from the outside or inside with the interphone, or a call with the outside or inside is made with the interphone. In addition, when the visitor mode is set by the central controller of the home bus system or the like, an inquiry is made as to whether or not each device in the home has a silent or mute function via the home bus. By immediately switching to the quiet or mute mode for the necessary devices among the household devices that you have, you can prevent the household devices from being loud and unable to hear the ringing sound of the phone, and the household devices being loud and disturbing you from making calls That the home equipment is noisy and you cannot hear the ringing sound in the interphone, or that the home equipment is noisy and The way to be or become a call on a Hon, there is an effect that it is possible to solve the problems, such as home appliances gets in the way of customer service and noisy.

[0146] By setting these settings for the entire network, all the devices connected to the bus can be set to a desired state, that is, a mute mode, without operating individual devices.

The household equipment connected in FIG. 1 is not limited to a VTR, TV, room air conditioner, washing machine, or vacuum cleaner, but may be a radio, a stereo, a refrigerator, a ventilation fan, a juicer, a mixer, a gas heater, Dishwashers, etc., can be anything that can have a mute / silent function.

[0148]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a system or an apparatus with a storage medium storing a program code reflecting the procedures of FIGS. 4 to 6 and realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment. It is also achieved by a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the device reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The case where the CPU of the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing.

[0154]

As described above, it is possible to perform the setting according to the instruction for the entire device only by giving one instruction without setting the individual device connected to the network. . The setting can be made when a ringing tone of a telephone is generated or when a telephone call or interphone is used, or when a user selects a predetermined mode. In addition, the content of the instruction can be set to mute the device, and in that case, the home device having the mute function can be immediately shifted to the silent or mute mode.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a home bus system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a home bus system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a home bus system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a control operation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a control according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of control according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration connected using a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating components of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an address map of a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a 1394 serial bus cable.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a DS-Link coding scheme.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a topology setting for determining an ID of each node on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining arbitration on a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 14 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating temporal state transition of asynchronous transfer.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a format of an asynchronous transfer packet.

FIG. 16 is a basic configuration diagram illustrating a temporal state transition of isochronous transfer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a packet for isochronous transfer.

FIG. 18 is an example of a bus cycle showing a state of a packet transferred on an actual bus in a 1394 serial bus.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a flow from a bus reset to a determination of a node ID.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a flow of parent-child relationship determination in a bus reset.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state after a parent-child relationship is determined in a bus reset.
It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow until a node ID is determined.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining arbitration.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A control device for controlling a device connected to a network, comprising: first determination means for determining that the control device has transitioned between predetermined states; and determining that the predetermined state exists. The second determination means for determining whether or not each of the devices connected to the network has a mute function; a third determination means for determining a current state of the control device; A network control device, comprising: a switching unit that switches between a device having the mute function and a device that has a mute function, in accordance with a state determined by the determination unit. 2. The network according to claim 1, wherein said network is IEEE 1394.
2. The network control device according to claim 1, wherein the network is a network conforming to a standard communication protocol. 3. The apparatus further comprises a voice communication device, wherein the first determination means determines whether the voice communication device has transitioned from a call to a non-call or from a non-call to a call, and the switching means includes: If the voice communication device is determined to be in a call state by the third determination means, the mute function of the device is enabled, and if the voice communication device is determined to be in the non-talk state,
The network control device according to claim 1, wherein a mute function of the device is invalidated. 4. A telephone connected to a public telephone line, wherein the first determining means switches from a state in which there is no call request to the telephone to a state in which there is no readout request. It is determined whether or not a transition has been made, and if the third determination means determines that the telephone has a read request, the switching means activates the mute function of the device and determines that there is no read request. 2. The network control device according to claim 1, wherein, in the case, the mute function of the device is invalidated. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for allowing a user to set a mode, wherein said first determination means is configured to switch from the first mode to the second mode or from the second mode to the first mode by the setting means. It is determined whether or not the mode has transitioned to the mode, and the switching unit activates the mute function of the device when the third determination unit determines that the mode is the second mode,
The network control device according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the mode is the first mode, the mute function of the device is invalidated. 6. A control device for controlling a device connected to a network, comprising: first determining means for determining that a state has transitioned between predetermined states; and determining that the predetermined state exists. In this case, the determination is made by the second determination unit that determines whether each of the devices connected to the network has a predetermined function, the third determination unit that determines the current state, and the third determination unit. A control unit that controls the device having the predetermined function to enable or disable the predetermined function according to the state of the network control device. 7. A method for controlling a device connected to a network by a control device, comprising: a first determination step of determining that the control device has transitioned between predetermined states; A second determination step of determining whether or not each of the devices connected to the network has a muffling function; a third determination step of determining a current state of the control device; 3. A network control method, comprising: switching a device having the mute function to enable or disable the mute function according to the state determined in the determination step of 3. 8. A computer-readable storage medium for storing, by a computer, a program for controlling a device connected to a network, wherein the program determines that the computer has transitioned between predetermined states. A first determining step; a second determining step of determining whether each of the devices connected to the network has a mute function when the predetermined state is determined; and determining a current state of the computer. A third determining step of performing, and, in accordance with the state determined in the third determining step, a switching step of switching between enabling and disabling a mute function for the device having the mute function A storage medium comprising: a storage medium;