KR20060064830A - System and method for controlling communication between two devices using serial interface - Google Patents

Abstract

In the present invention, when configuring a system designed with two or more processors or controllers in a DVD, a DVR, a digital broadcast receiver, or a new system by connecting two different systems, one device is connected through a serial interface. A system and method for controlling communication between two devices using a serial interface for communicating to control other devices, comprising: connecting two different devices through a serial interface and transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between the two devices, wherein It is characterized in that the transmission and reception through the data packet (DATA Packet) having a variable length (Byte) or more (Byte) or more (REQUEST) packet, and the response packet (RETURN Packet) having a fixed length of 5 bytes,

The two devices can be used as one device through the serial interface without adding a new module, and even if the operating system between the two devices can be controlled communication with each other, there is no need to have a separate device for communication between the two devices It is a very advantageous invention.

Serial Interface, DVD, DVR, Digital Broadcast, Packet, Header, Variable Length

Description

Communication Controlling System and Method Using by Serial Interface Between One System and the Other System}             

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a communication control system 100 between two devices using a serial interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a data packet applied in the communication control via the serial interface between the two devices according to an embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a header in the packet configuration.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: communication control system between two devices 110: set-top box

102: tuner 104: analog switch

106: digital converter 108: MPEG-2 encoder

112: main control section 114: audio converter

120: DVD Player 122: DVD Loader

124: DVD control unit 126: audio converter

130: serial interface 140: switch matrix

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling communication between two devices using a serial interface, and more particularly, to a system designed with two or more processors or controllers in a DVD, a DVR, a digital broadcasting receiver, or to connecting two different systems. The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling communication between two devices using a serial interface, in which one device communicates to control another device using a serial interface without adding a new module.

Recently developed digital playback systems are very complicated in their function and various products are being released. For example, there are many products with multifunction devices that perform two or more main functions, such as VDR combined with DVD player, digital broadcast receiver combined with DVD player, and digital broadcast receiver combined with DVR. It is becoming popular among consumers.

In order to perform such diverse and complex functions, the system has a very complicated structure, and the parts used are also used to perform many functions.

Therefore, one might use a powerful processor or controller to specify the specifications of the product to be developed for the first time, and to determine the functions and operations that the system will provide, or design the system to divide the roles between the two processors.

In particular, when the processor to be used does not fully satisfy the function to be provided, several processors may be used to share the function. For example, for a product that can decode and encode high definition digital video, one processor is dedicated to decoding and encoding video and audio, and the other processor It's about controlling the display, input and output, and doing other basic things.

However, according to the specifications of the currently developed and commercially available processors, there may or may not be one-chip processors that encode and decode high-definition digital images to perform the functions of the basic processors. Even if the stability test or the price is not suitable, there is a problem to choose a structure using two processors.

In addition, when a product is developed in the past and a new multifunction device is added to a function, two processors are used to control each function. This is because the cost of development is too high to design and develop a new multifunction device, which uses the existing one. For example, in the case of a multifunction device that combines a DVD player and a VDR, the existing VCR has already been developed and has various know-hows. In this case, two processors are used to control the VCR function and the DVD function.

Therefore, although operating systems of the two systems may be different, a communication interface between two processors that connect and control the two systems is urgently required.

In order to meet the above requirements while solving the above problems, the present invention provides a system designed with two or more processors or controllers in a DVD, a DVR, a digital broadcasting receiver, or a new system by connecting two different systems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication control system and method between two devices using a serial interface, in which one device communicates to control another device through a serial interface without adding a new module.

In the communication control system between two devices using a serial interface according to the present invention for achieving the above object, in a communication control system between two devices for performing communication between two different devices, by receiving a broadcast signal from the outside to digital data A first device for converting and storing or displaying; A second device for recording video and audio signals on a recording medium or reproducing and outputting the video and audio signals recorded on the recording medium; And a serial interface for transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between the first device and the second device, wherein the transmission and reception between the two devices includes a data packet and a request packet having a variable length of 5 bytes or more, and a fixed length of 5 bytes. It is characterized by having through the response packet having.

In addition, a communication control method between two devices using a serial interface according to another object of the present invention, in a communication control method between two devices for performing communication between two different devices, the two devices are connected through a serial interface And transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between the two devices, via a data packet and a request packet having a variable length of 5 bytes or more, and a response packet having a fixed length of 5 bytes.

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

First of all, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings.

In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a communication control system 100 between two devices using a serial interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The communication control system between two devices according to the present invention includes a digital broadcast receiver that receives a broadcast signal from an external source, converts it into digital data, stores it, or displays the video and audio signals on a recording medium such as an optical disk, A digital recording player for reproducing and outputting video and audio signals, and a serial interface for transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between two devices by connecting a digital broadcasting receiver and a digital recording player to each other.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a set-top box is described as an example of a digital broadcast receiver, and a DVD is described as an example of a digital recorder.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication control system 100 between two devices according to the present invention includes an analog A received an analog broadcast signal or recorded by a camcorder or an image captured from an external device such as a CCTV camera or a video camera. The set-top box 110 receives / V signals, converts them into digital streams, and displays the data from recording media such as DVD titles and MP3 CDs, video CDs, audio CDs, CD-DAs, and CD-RWs. DVD player 120 for reading and reproducing digital A / V signals, serial interface 130 for transmitting and receiving communication signals between set-top box 110 and DVD player 120, and set-top box 110 Or a switch matrix 140 that implements S / PDIF (Sony Philips Digital Interface) or RGB or CVBS signal, which is standard format data of an audio transmission file, from the DVD player 120 as an analog signal. All.

In addition, the set-top box 110 is a tuner 102 that tunes and detects a broadcast signal input from an antenna to a channel set by a user, a signal output from the tuner 102, or an A / V signal input from an external input. An analog switch 104 for selecting a desired signal, a digital converter 106 for converting an analog A / V signal selected by the analog switch 104 into a digital A / V signal, and a digital A converted from the digital converter 106 MPEG-2 encoder 108, which encodes a / V signal and converts it into an MPEG-2 transport stream, receives the MPEG-2 transport stream converted by the MPEG-2 encoder 108 and stores it on a hard disk or the like, The main control unit 112 controls the decoding of the MPEG-2 transport stream to be output on the screen as the main video signal, and the digital audio signal is analyzed in accordance with the control signal from the main control unit 112. It has a configuration including an audio converter 114, which converts the output to the audio signal.

In addition, the DVD player 120 controls the operations of the DVD loader 122 and the DVD loader 122 that load media such as playable DVD, MP3 CD, Video CD, CD-DA, CD-RW, and the like. And a DVD control unit 124 for calling the stored data to reproduce data of the reproducible medium, and an audio converter 126 for converting the reproduced digital audio signal into an analog audio signal and outputting the same. Of course, SDRAM, FLASH RAM, EEPROM, and the like, which temporarily store data, are included, but are omitted since they are common.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a data packet applied when controlling communication through a serial interface between two devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a packet transmitted and received between two devices includes a data packet, a request packet, and a response packet.

2 (a) shows the configuration of a data packet, which is used as a basic unit of communication between two devices, each of which has a variable length as a data size required by the two devices. This is ideal under the assumption that there are few errors in serial communication between the two devices. That is, the overhead of making data into a uniform packet size can be reduced, and only the amount of data required for transmission and reception is required. In (a) of FIG. 2, the data packet is allocated 5 bytes in the form of a header for the protocol, 1 byte of packet start, 2 bytes of packet length, and packet header. It consists of one byte and one packet ID (Packet ID), and consists of a number of data in addition to the header. Here, the packet length is divided into one byte high in the packet length and one byte low in the packet length.

2 (b) shows the configuration of a request packet. In the set-top box 110, the main controller 112 requests the DVD player 120 to request information required by the main controller 112, or the DVD controller ( 124 is used when required by the set-top box (110). Therefore, indication information indicating which data is requested (Pointing) is included. The request packet is a packet start 1 byte, a packet length 2 bytes, a packet header 1 byte, and a packet ID 1 byte, and has a fixed length of 5 bytes.

FIG. 2C shows the structure of a RETURN packet. When the DVD control unit 124 requests data in the REQUEST packet from the DVD player 120, the corresponding data is in the RETURN packet. To carry through the serial interface 130. In addition, the DVD player 120 returns the instruction information upon request so that the response packet can be easily classified. The index number received when the request packet is received is returned. The response packet also has a variable length of 5 bytes or more similarly to a data packet. Therefore, a 5 byte header including 1 byte of packet start, 2 bytes of packet length, 1 byte of packet header, 1 byte of packet ID, and many It consists of data.

3 shows the detailed configuration of the header in the packet configuration.

3 (a) shows the configuration of Packet Start in the header of the packet, which indicates the start of the packet and is determined as “0xAA” which is a pattern that is easy to test.

FIG. 3 (b) shows the configuration of Packet Length in the header of the packet. Packet length 2 bytes is based on 5 bytes of Packet Start, Packet Header, Packet ID, Packet Length H, and Packet Length L. Including the total bytes of data to be transmitted. That is, the maximum "0xFF" may represent 65536 bytes, and the minimum "0x0005" may represent 5 bytes of Packet Start, Packet Header, Packet ID, Packet Length H, and Packet Length L.

FIG. 3 (c) shows the structure of a packet header among headers of a packet, 2 bits of which are a packet type, 5 bits of a reserved type, and 1 bit of a packet check sum. . Here, the packet type represents the type of packet, '00' represents a data packet, '01' represents a request packet, and '10' represents a response packet. If the checksum is '1', the checksum byte is added to the last byte of the packet. If the checksum is '0', the checksum byte is not added. It is added to verify the serial interface 130 in the initial situation to connect the set-top box 110 and the DVD player 120 can be used during debugging. In all verification, the checksum bit can be set to '0' and excluded from the packet so that the checksum calculation overhead can be reduced. In this case, the packet length means a packet size up to the checksum byte when the checksum byte is included.

Meanwhile, the packet ID indicates a unique index number assigned to the data. There are a maximum of 256 data packet IDs, which specify what data the packet contains.

As described above, according to the present invention, when configuring a system designed with two or more processors or controllers in a DVD, DVR, digital broadcasting receiver, or the like, or when connecting two different systems to form a new system, one without adding a new module A communication control system and method between two devices using a serial interface can be realized in which the device of the device communicates to control another device through the serial interface.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments.

The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the two devices can be used as one device through the serial interface without adding a new module, and communication between the two devices can be controlled even if the operating systems between the two devices are different. There is no need to have a separate equipment. Thus, it is possible to perform a test of stability between the two devices, which does not cost extra for communication.

Claims (12)

In a communication control system between two devices performing communication between two different devices, A first device which receives a broadcast signal from an external source, converts it into digital data, and stores or displays the digital signal; A second device for recording video and audio signals on a recording medium or reproducing and outputting the video and audio signals recorded on the recording medium; And A serial interface for transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between the first device and the second device, Transmission and reception between the two devices is performed through a data packet having a variable length of 5 bytes or more and a request packet, and a return packet having a fixed length of 5 bytes. Communication control system between two devices using a serial interface, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The response packet includes a packet start 1 byte, a packet length 2 bytes, a packet header 1 byte, and a packet ID 1 byte. Communication control system between two devices. The method of claim 1, The data packet and the request packet, A header consisting of 1 byte of packet start, 2 bytes of packet length, 1 byte of packet header, 1 byte of packet ID, Communication control system between two devices using a serial interface, characterized in that consisting of a plurality of data. The method of claim 2 or 3, The packet length 2 bytes, the packet length of the high (High) byte and the packet length (Low) of 1 byte (Low), characterized in that the communication device between the two devices using a serial interface. The method according to claim 1 or 3, The request packet, the communication control system between the two devices using a serial interface, characterized in that the indication (Pointing) indicating what data to request (Pointing). The method of claim 2 or 3, The packet header 1 byte includes a 2-bit packet type and a 1-bit packet check sum. The packet type represents a packet type, '00' represents a data packet, '01' represents a request packet, and '10' represents a response packet. And the checksum byte is added to the last byte of the packet when the checksum is '1', and the checksum byte is not added when the checksum is '0'. In the communication control method between two devices performing communication between two different devices, Connecting the two devices through a serial interface and transmitting and receiving a communication control signal between the two devices; Transmitting / receiving through a data packet having a variable length of more than 5 bytes (Variable Length) and a request packet, and a RETURN packet having a fixed length of 5 bytes How to control communication between two devices using serial interface. The method of claim 7, wherein The response packet includes a packet start 1 byte, a packet length 2 bytes, a packet header 1 byte, and a packet ID 1 byte. How to control communication between two devices. The method of claim 7, wherein The data packet and the request packet, A header consisting of 1 byte of packet start, 2 bytes of packet length, 1 byte of packet header, 1 byte of packet ID, Communication control method between two devices using a serial interface, characterized in that consisting of a plurality of data. The method according to claim 8 or 9, The packet length 2 bytes, the packet length of the high (High) byte and the packet length (Low) 1 byte, characterized in that the communication control method between the two devices using a serial interface. The method according to claim 7 or 9, The request packet, the control method of the communication between the two devices using the serial interface, characterized in that the indication (Pointing) indicating what data to request (Pointing). The method according to claim 8 or 9, The packet header 1 byte includes a 2-bit packet type and a 1-bit packet check sum. The packet type represents a packet type, '00' represents a data packet, '01' represents a request packet, and '10' represents a response packet. If the checksum is '1', adds a checksum byte to the last byte of the packet; if the checksum is '0', the checksum byte is not added.

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