WO2001030027A1 - Information device having time correcting function and clock correcting method - Google Patents

Abstract

The clock of a device connected to a 1394 serial bus is set correctly. A time information transmitting device for providing time information transmits relative time information relative to the real time with reference to the cycle time representing the cycle time of the 1394 serial bus and cycle time information serving as the reference of the relative time to a time information receiving device of which the time is to be set correctly. The time information receiving device calculates the correct time from the relative time information received and the value of the cycle time which the time information receiving device has acquired and correct the time. The time range that the cycle time can exhibit is from 0 second to less than 128 seconds. This restriction is relaxed by setting up synchronization with the cycle time and making the use of the bus time that has a wider time range to exhibit.

Description

 Specification

Information equipment with time adjustment function and time adjustment method

 The present invention relates to an AV device and an information processing system using a data transmission path that enables transmission of data by isochronous communication (communication for continuously transmitting and receiving data in a fixed communication cycle) and transmission of control signals by asynchronous communication. In a network system that connects devices such as devices and communicates with each other,

 It relates to a method of correcting time information in each device using information on a clock function in the device and / or information on a cycle time indicating a communication cycle.

BACKGROUND ART 1 ..,

 Video recorders (hereafter, VTRs), satellite broadcast receivers (hereafter, IRDs), personal computers (hereafter, PCs), audio equipment, etc. There is a system in which communication is performed between the devices by connecting using a 1394 serial bus, which enables transmission of control signals by asynchronous communication. 13

The 94 serial bus is standardized as "IEEE Std 1394-1995" as "Sta n d a r d f o r a H i g e P e r f o r m a n c e S e r i ai l Bus." 1 394 In a serial bus, each device can continuously transmit and receive data in a fixed communication cycle by using a common “cycle time” in the network (wireless communication). .

Also, regarding the control signals for controlling AV equipment using the 1394 serial bus, see “AVZC Digital Interface Co mm and Set "published by" 1394 Trade Association ".

 On the other hand, as a technique for correcting the time information of the device, for example, in a VTR, a set time signal broadcast channel is received before a predetermined time, and the time pattern is detected by detecting the sound pattern of the time signal. Techniques for making corrections are well known.

 The time correction technology such as the above-mentioned conventional technology does not consider the form of a network system using a 1394 serial bus or the like, and is performed by each device independently. As for the above-mentioned “AVZC DigitalIntErntAcceCommandSet”, the technology for correcting the time information of other devices on the network is not considered at present.

 Therefore, at present, each device in a network system using a 1394 serial bus or the like operates based on different time information. In this case, for functions that use two or more devices in the network system, there is a possibility that inconvenience may occur in the cooperation operation between devices based on time information. For example, in the case of the timer recording function, which starts recording on the VTR at the same time when the IRD starts receiving a program, the VTR records even if the IRD starts receiving the program because the time information is different. There can be situations such as not starting.

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses the transmission and reception of time information enabled by connecting to a network, and connects the most accurate time information between devices to the network. The purpose is to transmit to devices and correct the time information on the current time managed by the clock function of each device.

For this reason, the device itself maintains the management information on the clock function of each device, which is necessary for efficient time adjustment, so that it can be connected to the network. The purpose is to provide each connected device.

 As a method of transmitting time information, a method using the above-mentioned “AV / CD igita 1 Interface Comm and Set” or a method using a “cycle time” common in the above network The purpose is to provide. Disclosure of the invention

 The present invention employs the following representative configuration in order to solve the above problems.

 (1) Information equipment connected to a network system that enables isochronous eggplant communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals by connecting multiple devices. And

 Clock attribute information acquisition means for acquiring clock attribute presence / absence information on the presence / absence of a clock function of the first other device connected to the network system, and clock attribute information comprising accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function When,

 Selecting means for selecting one of the devices other than the first other device connected to the network system as the second other device that provides time information when performing time correction; and ,

 An information device, comprising: a time adjustment unit configured to adjust the time of the first other device.

 (2) A network system that enables two-way communication between devices by transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication by transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, the time information management means being configured to manage time information by a clock function;

 Means for extracting the time information;

Time information is sent to the first other device connected to the network system. Time information transmitting means for transmitting information,

 Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,

 An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a publishing unit that publishes the clock attribute information.

 (3) By connecting multiple devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication that transmits data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication that transmits control signals between the devices A connected information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,

 Time information management means for managing time information by a clock function;

 Time information receiving means for receiving time information from a second other device connected to the network system;

 Time information correction means for correcting the time information of the clock function;

 Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,

 An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a publishing unit that publishes the clock attribute information.

 (4) Connect multiple devices to connect to a network system that enables both asynchronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device,

 The time information receiving device that corrects the time

 Get the current cycle time,

 From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, differential time information that is a difference between the cycle time from the actual time and a reference cycle time that is a reference of the differential time are obtained,

The sum of the current cycle time and the difference time information is calculated as an actual time, Using the calculated real time, correcting the time.

 (5) A network system that enables isochronous communication that transmits data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication that transmits control signals by connecting multiple devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device connected to the

 The time information receiving device that corrects the time

 Get the current bus time,

 From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtain the difference time information that is the difference between the actual time and the bus time, and the reference bus time that is a reference for the difference time,

 A time correction method comprising: calculating a sum of the current bus time and the difference time information as a real time; and correcting the time using the calculated real time.

 (6) By connecting multiple devices, it is connected to a network system that enables both asynchronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device,

 The time information receiving device that corrects the time

 Get the current cycle time,

 From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtains first real time information and a reference cycle time that is a reference of the first real time, and obtains the first real time information from the first real time information. The difference between the reference cycle time and the sum of the current cycle time is calculated as a second actual time,

 Correcting the time using the calculated second real time.

(7) By connecting multiple devices, certain communication services can be established between the devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of a device connected to a network system capable of isochronous communication for transmitting a data signal in a vehicle and asynchronous communication for transmitting a control signal.

 The time information receiving device that corrects the time

 Get the current bus time,

 From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtains first real time information and a reference bus time that is a reference of the first real time, and obtains the first real time information from the first real time information. The sum of the reference bus time difference and the current bus time is calculated as a second actual time,

 Correcting the time using the calculated second real time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device, a time information transmitting device, and a time information receiving device.

 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of clock attribute information held by a control device, a time information transmitting device, and a time information receiving device, which are devices connected to the network system.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of data holding time information.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structure of data for storing an address in the network system.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of an asynchronous communication command used when controlling a device connected to the network system via the 1394 serial bus.

Fig. 6 shows the structure of an asynchronous communication response used to send a response such as an execution result to an asynchronous communication command that controls devices connected to a network system via a serial bus. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of data used in iso-mouth eggplant communication.

 FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the overall control processing when correcting the time information of the time information receiving device.

 FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the control device or the time information transmitting device having the function of the control device when acquiring the clock attribute information of the time information receiving device.

 FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control and data transmission process when selecting a time information transmitting device by a control device or a time information receiving device having the function of the control device.

 FIG. 11 is a flow chart of control and data transmission when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the isochronous communication.

 FIG. 12 is a control and data transmission flow chart when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the isochronous communication and the control device and the time information transmitting device are the same device.

 FIG. 13 is a flow chart of control and data transmission when the control device and the time information receiving device are the same device when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the isochronous communication.

 FIG. 14 is a flowchart of control and overnight transmission when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the asynchronous communication command.

 Fig. 15 is a flow chart of control and data transmission when the control device and the time information transmitting device are the same device when correcting the time information of the time information receiving device by the asynchronous communication command. .

 Fig. 16 is a flow chart of control and data transmission when the control device and the time information receiving device are the same device when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the asynchronous communication command. .

Fig. 17 shows the time information of the time information receiving device by the asynchronous communication response. This is a flow chart of control and data transmission in the case where is modified.

 Fig. 18 is a flow chart of control and data transmission when the control device and the time information transmitting device are the same device when correcting the time information of the time information receiving device by the asynchronous communication response. .

 FIG. 19 is a flowchart of control and data transmission when the control device and the time information receiving device are the same device when the time information of the time information receiving device is corrected by the asynchronous communication response.

 FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a time information transmitting device and a time information receiving device having the functions of a control device.

 FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time information receiving device having functions of a time information transmitting device and a control device.

 FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the time information transmitting device, the time information receiving device, and the cycle master device.

 FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an outline of communication using the 1394 serial bus.

 FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cycle start packet used for transmitting cycle time data.

 FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the structure of cycle time data.

 FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a time adjustment command used for time adjustment.

 FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a process of a time information transmitting device for transmitting a time correction command using relative time information and reference cycle time data.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a process of the time information receiving device for correcting the time using the relative time information and the reference cycle time data. FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the processing of the time information receiving device to deal with the problem due to the limitation of the cycle time data. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a structure of the bus time data.

 FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a time adjustment command used for time adjustment.

 FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a process of a time information transmitting device for transmitting a time correction command using relative time information, reference cycle time data, and reference bus time data.

 FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a process of the time information receiving device for correcting the time using the relative time information, the reference cycle time data, and the reference bus time data.

 FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a time adjustment command used for time adjustment.

 FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a process of a time information transmitting device for transmitting a time correction command using relative time information and reference bus time data.

 FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing a process of the time information receiving device for correcting the time using the relative time information and the reference bus time data. FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a time adjustment command used for time adjustment.

 FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing processing of a time information transmitting device for transmitting a time correction command using real time information and reference cycle time data.

 FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the processing of the time information receiving device for correcting the time using the real time information and the reference cycle time data. FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time information transmitting device having a built-in cycle master function.

Fig. 41 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a time information receiving device with a built-in cycle master function. FIG. 42 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device. FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing processing of the control device for transmitting the time correction command acquired from the time information transmitting device to the time information receiving device.

 FIG. 44 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control device having a built-in cycle master function. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the first embodiment, a network system connected to AV devices, information processing devices, and the like using a 1394 serial bus that enables transmission of data by asynchronous communication and transmission of control signals by asynchronous communication is described. Use form.

 Then, between the devices connected to the network system, the time information of the device having the clock function is referred to the time information managed by another device having the clock function connected to the network system. The method for correction is described below.

 The isochronous eggplant communication used for transmission of time information described below is standardized as `` IEEE Standards for For Hi-Performance Serial Bus '' in `` IEEE Standards 1394-1995 ''. Please refer to that for details.

Regarding the method of controlling the devices connected to the network system, first, regarding the bucket structure of asynchronous communication used for transmission of the control signal and the method of using the same, a description is given in the following. ighPerformance Serial Bus ”is standardized in“ IEEE Std 1394-1995 ”, and the method of control and status information acquisition for AV equipment using asynchronous communication is described in "AV / It is published by CD “igital Interface Comm and 56”, “13 94 Trade Association”, so please refer to it for details.

 1 to 7, 70 and 21, 100 is a network system, 110 is a control device, 120 and 210 are time information transmitting devices, 130 , 211 0 is a time information receiving device, 101, 102, 103, 2001, 2101 is a 1394 serial bus, 11, 1 2 1, 1 3 1, 2 0 1 1, 2 1 1 1 is a communication control unit, 1 1 2, 1 2 2, 1 3 2, 2 0 1 2, 2 1 1 2 is a communication circuit, 1 1 3, 1 2 3, 1 3, 2 0 1 3, 2 1 1 3 are asynchronous communication control units, 1 1, 1 2 4, 1 3 4, 2 1 4, 2 1 1 4 are isochronous communication control units, 1 1 5 , 1 25, 1 3 5, 2 0 1 5, and 2 1 1 5 are attribute data processing units, 1 1 6, 1 2 6, 1 3 6, 2 16 and 2 1 16 are device control Software, 1 17, 1 2 7, 1 3 7, 2 0 7, 2 1 1 7 are system control units, 1 2 8, 1 3 8, 2 1 8, 2 1 1 8 are clock control units , 1, 2, 209 are time data transmission processing sections, 139, 219 are time data reception processing sections, 200 are Total attribute information, 300 is time data, 400 is network address data-evening, 500 is asynchronous communication command, 600 is asynchronous communication response, and 700 is isochronous eggplant communication data. Represent.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the network system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 20 and FIG.

The network system 100 is configured by connecting AV devices, information processing devices, and the like using a 1394 serial bus. The control device 110 according to the present invention, the time information transmitting device 1 20, the time information receiving device 130, the time information transmitting device 210, and the time information receiving device 2110 are also one of the devices constituting the network system 100. The devices that make up the network system 100 are connected to other devices using a 1394 serial bus to transmit data by the isochronous communication. It is possible to transmit control signals by transmission and asynchronous communication.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the control device 110, the time information transmitting device 120, the time information receiving device 130, the time information transmitting device 210, and the time information receiving device 210 according to the first embodiment. This will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 20 and FIG.

 The control device 110 is a device that transmits a control signal by a user's operation or a function of the device itself and controls a device connected to the network system. The time information transmitting device 120 is a device that provides time information when correcting the time information managed by the time information receiving device 130. The time information receiving device 130 is a device that corrects time information to be managed. The time information transmitting device 210 is a device having both functions of the control device 110 and the time information transmitting device 120. The time information receiving device 2110 is a device having both functions of the control device 110 and the time information receiving device 130.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the control device 110 will be described.

 The control device 110 transmits an asynchronous communication command 5 to the other devices connected to the network system 100 in order to transmit control commands and receive transmitted status information. This is a device that transmits “0” and receives an asynchronous communication response “600” corresponding to the communication command “500”. The asynchronous communication command 500 and asynchronous communication response 600 will be described later.

As the configuration of the control device 110, first, a communication control unit 111 that manages communication with another device connected to the network system 100 is provided. The communication control unit 111 is an essential component for connecting to the network system 100, and is used for controlling devices (other than on the network system) and acquiring status information. An asynchronous communication control unit 113 that performs control related to asynchronous communication used for communication, and an isochronous communication control unit 114 that performs control related to isochronous communication used for transmission and reception of data, etc. Communication circuit 1 1 2

 Further, in the control device 110, the attribute data processing unit 115 extracts the attribute information of the clock function stored in the memory of the control device 110, and controls the entire control device 110. System control unit 117, a device control software that processes requests for control and status information acquisition of other devices using the asynchronous communication, and / or that processes requests for control and status information acquisition from other devices. G 1 16 are provided.

 By connecting the control device 110 having the above configuration to the network system 100 via the serial bus 101, the time information transmitting device 120 and the time information It is possible to transmit and receive a control command, a status information acquisition command, and the like to and from other devices such as the receiving device 130.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the time information transmitting device 120 will be described.

 The time information transmitting device 120 transmits time data 300 (described below) to the device that corrects the time information, and provides the time information managed in the device. Equipment.

 As for the configuration of the time information transmission device 120, first, as in the case of the control device 110, the asynchronous communication control unit 123, the isochronous communication control unit 124, and the communication circuit 122 A communication control unit 1 2 1 to be configured is provided.

 Further, the time information transmitting device 120 includes an attribute data processing unit 125 for extracting attribute information of the clock function stored in the memory of the time information transmitting device 120, and a time information transmitting device 1 20 System control unit 127 that performs overall control, processes requests for control of other devices and status information acquisition using the asynchronous communication, and / or requests control and status information acquisition from other devices. The device control software 1 26 that processes the request, the clock control unit 1 28 that manages the time information, and the time data transmission processing unit 1 29 that extracts the time data 300 from the clock control unit 128 Be provided.

The time information transmission device 1 20 with the above configuration is converted to 1 3 9 4 serial By connecting to the network system 100 using the bus 102, isochronous communication and / or asynchronous communication with the time information receiving device 130 is performed according to the control command of the control device 110. It is possible to transmit time data 300 using communication.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the time information receiving device 130 will be described.

 The time information receiving device 130 is a device that corrects the time information managed by the own device based on the time data 300 received via the network system 100.

 As for the configuration of the time information receiving device 130, first, as in the case of the control device 110 and the time information transmitting device 120, the asynchronous communication control unit 133 and the asynchronous communication control unit 134 A communication control unit 131, which is composed of a communication circuit 132, is provided.

 The time information receiving device 130 further includes an attribute data processing unit 135 for extracting attribute information of the clock function stored in the memory of the time information receiving device 130, and a time information receiving device 1 30 A system control unit 13 7 that performs overall control, and processes requests for control and status information acquisition of other devices using the asynchronous communication, and / or controls and obtains status information from other devices. Request control Device control software 1 36, Clock control unit 1 38 that manages time information, Received time data 3 00 Set clock control unit 1 3 8 to correct time information An hour data reception processing unit 13 is provided.

 By connecting the time information receiving device 130 having the above configuration to the above-mentioned network system 100 by using the serial node 103, the control device 110 In accordance with the control command of (1), the time data 300 transmitted from the time information transmitting device 120 using the isochronous eggplant communication and / or the asynchronous communication is received, and the time information managed by the clock control unit 138 is corrected. It is possible to do.

As described above, the control device 110 according to the first embodiment, the time information transmitting device 120, Although the configuration example of the time information receiving device 130 has been described, the control device 110, the time information transmitting device 120, and the time information receiving device 130 described above have their respective functions. The configuration is the minimum required for this, and other components are omitted. Therefore, for example, a device having the function of the control device 110 can also have the function of the time information transmitting device 120 at the same time, and the device having the function of the control device 110 can simultaneously have the function of the time information. It is also possible to have a function as the receiving device 130.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the time information transmitting device 210 will be described.

 The time information transmitting device 201 is asynchronous with the other devices connected to the network system 100 in order to transmit control commands and receive transmitted status information. Transmission of communication command 500 ゃ Reception of asynchronous communication response 600 to this communication command 500, and transmission of time data 300 to the device that corrects time information. This is a device that provides time information managed in the device.

 As for the configuration of the time information transmitting device 210, first, as in the case of the control device 110, etc., the asynchronous communication control unit 201, the isochronous communication control unit 210, and the communication circuit 2 There is provided a communication control unit 201 which is composed of 0112. Further, the time information transmitting device 210 has an attribute data processing unit 21015 for extracting attribute information of the clock function held in the memory of the time information transmitting device 210, A system control unit 201, which controls the entire information transmitting device 210, processes requests for control of other devices and status information acquisition using the asynchronous communication, and / or requests from other devices. Device control software 210 to process requests for control and status information acquisition, clock control unit 210 to manage time information, and time to extract time data 300 from clock control unit 210 A data transmission processing unit 201 is provided.

The time information transmission device 201 having the above configuration is connected to the above network system 100 using the 1394 serial bus 201. With this, it sends and receives control commands and status information acquisition commands to and from other devices such as the time information receiving device 130, and communicates with the time information receiving device 130 by wireless communication and / or asynchronous communication. It is possible to transmit the time data 300 using the data.

 Hereinafter, a configuration example of the time information receiving device 2110 will be described.

 The time information receiving device 210 is asynchronous with other devices connected to the network system 100 in order to transmit control commands and receive transmitted status information. Transmission of communication command 500 ゃ Reception of asynchronous communication response 600 to this communication command 500, and reception of time data 3000 via the above network system 100 Is a device that corrects the time information managed by its own device.

 As for the configuration of the time information receiving device 211, first, as in the case of the control device 110, the asynchronous communication control unit 211, the isochronous communication control unit 211, and the communication circuit 211 2 is provided with a communication control unit 2 1 1 1. Further, the time information receiving device 2 110 includes an attribute data processing unit 2 1 15 for extracting attribute information of the clock function stored in the memory of the time information receiving device 2 11 0, A system control unit 211 7 for controlling the entire information receiving device 2111; a request for control of another device and a status information acquisition request using the asynchronous communication; and / or another device Device control software for processing control and status information acquisition requests from the Internet, clock control unit for managing time information, and received time data 300 for clock control unit 2 1 1 8 And a time data reception processing unit 211 for correcting time information.

 By connecting the time information receiving device 2110 having the above configuration to the above network system 100 using the 1394 serial bus 2101,

It sends and receives control commands and status information acquisition commands to other devices, such as the time information transmitting device 120, and performs isochronous communication from the time information transmitting device 120. It is also possible to receive the time data 300 transmitted by using asynchronous communication and / or to correct the time information managed by the clock control unit 211.

 Hereinafter, the clock attribute information 200 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

 The clock attribute information 200 is held in each device connected to the network system 100, and holds attribute information relating to the clock function of the device. Ideally, the clock attribute information 200 is held by all devices connected to the network system 100. However, even if the device does not hold the information, the device is not covered by the present invention. It just becomes. By referring to the information 200, it is possible to obtain information on the clock function of the device that holds the information.

 The clock attribute information 200 is used when the user wants to know the characteristics of the clock function of the time information transmitting device 120 or the time information receiving device 130, or when the control device 110 selects the time information transmitting device 120. Can be used as comparison conditions.

 The information 200 includes transmission / reception capability information 210, accuracy information 220, and use unit information 230.

 Hereinafter, the transmission / reception capability information 210 will be described.

The transmission / reception capability information 210 indicates the transmission / reception capability of the time data 300 of the device holding the information 210. By referring to the information 210, it is possible to know the time data transmission / reception capability of the device holding the information 210. The information 210 has an asynchronous communication transmission flag 211 indicating that it has a transmission capability of time data 300 by asynchronous communication, and has a transmission capability of time data 300 by iso-mouth communication. It has an isochronous communication transmission flag 2 1 2 indicating that it has the ability to receive time data 3 0 0 by asynchronous communication.It has an ability to receive time data 3 0 0 by asynchronous communication. The flag is composed of an iso-mouth eggplant communication reception flag 2 14. However, in the description of the present invention, the expression “flag” It is used to represent information in a binary manner, and it is used when the element related to the flag name exists, and when it does not exist, it is used as invalid.

 For example, in the information 210, if the isochronous communication transmission flag 2 12 held by a certain device is valid, it indicates that this device can transmit the time data 300 by isochronous communication. The same can be said for the other flags.

 This concludes the description of the transmission / reception capability information 210.

 Hereinafter, the accuracy information 220 will be described.

 The precision information 220 holds information relating to the precision of the clock control units 128 and 138 that manage time information inside the device. By referring to the information 220, it is possible to know the precision of the clock control units 128, 138 of the device holding the information 220.

 The information 220 provides an accuracy flag that divides the accuracy of the clock control unit in the device according to the magnitude of the error that occurs after a certain period of time, and provides time information when the time is finally corrected. It consists of information about the devices that have been used.

In this embodiment, the accuracy level is set to eight, and the flag that is expected to have the highest accuracy is determined by the time signal of terrestrial broadcasting or the time information transmitted from satellite broadcasting or cable television. Level 1 flag 2 2 1 indicating that the device can automatically correct the time information by itself at an arbitrary time or at a fixed time every day, and is divided into stages according to the numerical value of the monthly error guarantee of the clock control unit. The accuracy flag is composed of the level 2 flag 2 2 to the level 7 flag 2 2 7 and the level 8 flag 2 2 8 which indicates that there is no clock control unit. However, for the level 2 flag to the level 7 flag, the level 2 flag indicates that the error is the smallest and the accuracy is high, and the error value is set to increase as the level numerical value increases. For example, in this embodiment, the level 2 flag 2 2 2 indicating that the monthly error guarantee is 0.5 seconds or less, Similarly, Level 3 flag 2 2 3 indicating that the error is less than 1 second, Level 4 flag 2 2 4 indicating that the error is less than ± 2 seconds, Level 5 flag 2 indicating that the error is less than ± 3 seconds 2 5, Level 6 flag indicating less than ± 4 seconds 2

26, consisting of level 7 flag 2 27 indicating greater than ± 4 seconds. For example, when referring to the accuracy information 220 of a certain device, the level 1 flag 2

If 21 is valid, the time information managed by the clock control unit in the device has been corrected by the device itself, and the accuracy of the time information is guaranteed to be high.

 Also, if the level 4 flag 2 24 is enabled when referring to the accuracy information of another device, the time information managed by the clock control unit in this device will be less than 2 seconds It can be seen that the error is guaranteed.

 Also, the information 220 is the last correction date 229, which is information about the time when the time was last adjusted, and the provider accuracy 240, which is information about the accuracy of the device that provided the time information. have. With this information, it is possible to know the information about the time at which the time was adjusted last of the time information managed by the internal clock control unit, and the information about the device that provided the time information.

 This concludes the description of the accuracy flag 220.

 Hereinafter, the usage unit information 230 will be described.

 Usage unit information 230 is information for indicating a time unit that can be managed by a clock control unit that manages time information inside the device.

By referring to 30, it is possible to know the time unit that can be transmitted and received by the clock control unit as time data 300.

 In the present embodiment, the information 230 is a year flag 231, a month flag 233, a day flag 233, an hour flag 234, a minute flag 235, a second flag 236, It consists of a second flag 237 and a microsecond flag 238.

For example, if you refer to the usage unit information 230 of a certain device and the hour flag 234, minute flag 235, and second flag 236 are enabled, It can be seen that the clock control unit in the device manages the hour, minute, and second information, and does not manage year, month, day, millisecond, and microphone mouth second units.

 This concludes the description of usage unit information 230.

 This concludes the description of the clock attribute information 200 according to the first embodiment.

 Next, the time data 300 will be described with reference to FIG.

 The data 300 is a data structure used for transmitting and receiving time information of year, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, and microsecond in asynchronous communication and isochronous communication. By using the data 300, data related to time can be transmitted and received between devices connected to the network system 100.

 The data 300 stores year data 301 storing year information, month data 302 storing month information, day data 303 storing day information, and hour unit information. Hour data 304, minute data 3005 storing minute unit information, second data 3006 storing second unit information, millisecond data 300 storing millisecond unit information, microphone mouth second unit It consists of microphone mouth second data 308, which stores information.

 This concludes the description of time data 300.

 Next, the network address data 400 will be described with reference to FIG.

 The data 400 is used to store address data that can uniquely designate each device in the network system 1003 connected by the 1394 serial bus. Things. By using the data 400, network address information can be transmitted and received between devices of the network system 100.

This concludes the description of the network address data 400. Next, the asynchronous communication command 500 will be described with reference to FIG. The communication command 500 is a data structure used when transmitting a control command, a status information acquisition command, or the like to a device (within the network system 100) using asynchronous communication. As described above, the method of controlling the AV device and acquiring the status information using the asynchronous communication is described in “AV / CD Digital Interface C omm and Set”, 13 9 4 T It is published by "rade A ssociation", so please refer to that for details.

 The communication command 500 is a sender ID 501 indicating a sender of the command, a receiver ID 502 indicating a receiver of the command, and a command type 5 indicating a type of the command. 03, an operation code 504 of the command, and an auxiliary code 505 of the operation code 504.

 For example, as the type of the command stored in the command type 503, there is a control / status information acquisition Z notification and the like. For example, if source ID 501 is control device 110, receiver ID 502 is time information transmission device 120, and command type 503 is control, operation code 504 is asynchronous communication. In this case, a request to start or end transmission of time data 300 by means of the isochronous communication is made, and the attached code 505 stores the network address data 400 of the time information receiving device 130, etc. You.

 By using the command 500, a command of a control command or a status information acquisition command can be transmitted between devices connected to the network system 100.

 This concludes the description of the communication command 500 for asynchronous communication. Next, the asynchronous communication response 600 will be described with reference to FIG. The communication response 600 is a data structure used when a device that has received the asynchronous communication command 500 returns an execution result for the command 500 using the same asynchronous communication.

The communication response 600 is a transmission source indicating the transmission source of the response 600. Corresponds to ID 601, source ID 602 indicating the source, response code 603 indicating the type of response 600, operation code 504 of the received asynchronous communication command 500. It consists of an operation code 604 and an accessory code 605 of the operation code 604.

 For example, as the type of the response 600 stored in the response code 603, there are success / failure / Z not executable. In the operation code 604, the same data as the data of the operation code 504 in the corresponding reception asynchronous communication command 500 is stored. As the contents of the attached code 605, data requested by the receiving command 500, such as clock attribute information 200, time data 300, network address data 400, etc., is stored. .

 By receiving the communication response 600, the device that has transmitted the asynchronous communication command 500 can obtain the execution result of the command content and the requested information.

 This concludes the description of the communication response 600 of the asynchronous communication. Next, the iso-mouth eggplant communication system 700 will be described with reference to FIG.

 The communication data 700 is a data structure used when transmitting data to a device connected to the network system 100 by isochronous communication. As mentioned above, the isochronous communication has been standardized as “IEEE Standards for High-Performance Serial Bus” in “IEEE Std 1394—1995”. Please refer to.

The communication data 700 includes a channel number 7001 used for the communication, a band width 7202 used for the communication, and transmission data 703. The time information transmitting device 1 0 0 and the time information transmitting device 2 0 1 0 store the time data 3 0 0 in the transmission data 7 0 3 and the communication data 7 0 0 using the isochronous eggplant communication. To the time information receiving device 130 Time information can be transmitted.

 This concludes the description of the iso-mouth eggplant communication data 700. Next, each process will be described with reference to the drawings.

 The process of correcting the time information of the time information receiving device 130 or the time information receiving device 210 will be described with reference to FIG.

 The processing for correcting the time information of the time information receiving device 1 30 or the time information receiving device 2 110 is performed by the control device 1 10 or the time information transmitting device.

Acquisition of clock attribute information 2 0 0 of time information receiving device 1 3 0 by 2 0 1 0 (step 8 0 1), and then time information by control device 1 1 0 or time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 Selection of transmitting device 120 (step 8002), and then time data from time information transmitting device 120 or time information transmitting device 210

The time correction of the time information receiving device 130 or the time information receiving device 2110 by transmitting 300 (step 803) can be roughly divided into the above three steps. However, when the time information is corrected using the time information transmitting device 210, the processing of step 802 can be omitted. Further, when the time information of the time information receiving device 211 is corrected, the process of step 801 can be omitted.

 First, the clock attribute information 2 of the time information receiving device 130 by the control device 110

The 00 acquisition process (step 8001) will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, the processing of the control device 110 is represented by steps 911 to 913, and the processing of the time information receiving device 130 is represented by steps 921 to 923.

By this step 8001, the control device 110 obtains the clock attribute information 200 of the device that corrects the time, that is, the time information receiving device 130, so that the control device 110 Information on the presence / absence and processing capability of the clock control unit 138 and the presence / absence and processing capability of the time data reception processing unit 139 can be obtained. The control device 110 refers to this information and uses the isochronous communication. The ability to transmit the time data 300, whether to transmit the time data 300 by asynchronous communication, the required accuracy, and the conditions as the time information transmission device 120 can be set. .

 First, in order to obtain the clock attribute information 200 of the time information receiving device 130, the device control software 1 16 in the control device 110 generates an asynchronous communication command 500, and obtains the time information. The data is transmitted to the receiving device 130 (step 911). In the communication command 500, the command type 503 is "acquire status information", and the operation code 504 is "request to transmit the clock attribute information 200 to the control device 110". Content.

 The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 1330 receives and analyzes the command 500 (step 921), and as an attached code 600, the attribute data processing unit 1 An asynchronous communication response 600 storing the clock attribute information 200 extracted from step 3 (step 922) is generated and transmitted to the control device 110 (step 922).

 The device control software 1 16 inside the control device 1 10 receives and analyzes the communication response 6 0 0 (step 9 12), and acquires the clock attribute information 2 0 0 of the time information receiving device 1 3 0. (Step 9 13).

 By performing the above processing, the control device 110 can acquire the clock attribute information 200 of the time information receiving device 130.

 As described above, the power to end the description of the clock attribute information 2 0 0 acquisition processing of the time information receiving device 1 3 0 by the control device 1 1 0 The processing of the control device 1 1 0, the time information transmitting device 2 By doing so, the time information transmitting device 210 can acquire the clock attribute information 200 of the time information receiving device 130.

Next, the process of selecting the time information transmitting device 120 by the control device 110 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, the processing of the control device 110 is represented by steps 101 to 115, and the above network system The processing of an arbitrary device (assumed to be device A) connected to the system 100 is represented by steps 1021 to 1023.

 The control device 110 may select one of the time information transmitting devices 120 as a method of selecting one device as the time information transmitting device 120 without performing a search. Perform a search on all connected devices, and select one of the devices selected by the search that is deemed to be the most suitable as the time information transmission device 120. (Step 1 0 1 1).

 First, a process of performing a search from all devices connected to the network system 100 and selecting the time information transmitting device 120 will be described.

 The control device 110 searches for the entire network system 100 in order to find out the device that is most suitable as the time information transmission device 120 from all devices connected to the network system 100. Perform a search for devices, and select the time information transmission device 120 from devices that match the conditions.

 The device control software 1 16 in the control device 110 generates an asynchronous communication command 500 using the broadcast method and sends it to all devices connected to the network system 100. (Step 1 0 1 2). The command 500 has an ID value prepared for indicating the broadcast source system as the reception source ID 502, a control instruction as the command type 5003, and an operation command 500. As the time information receiving device 130, a code for requesting an appropriate inspection as the time information transmitting device 120, and the attached code 505, the time information The clock attribute information 2000 acquired from the receiving device 130 is stored.

The device control software in device A (equivalent to 116, 126, 136) that has received the command 500 performs analysis of the command 500 (step 1021). , Clock attribute information 200 extracted from attribute data processing section in device A (corresponding to 115, 125, 135) and clock attribute information 2 extracted from command 500 Compare 0 0 (step 1022). Specifically, in this step, the following comparison processing is performed. First, the transmission / reception capability information 210 is compared, and whether the asynchronous communication transmission flag 2 11 of the device A and the asynchronous communication reception flag 2 13 of the time information receiving device 130 are both valid, or the device A Confirm that both the isochronous eggplant communication transmission flag 2 12 of the time information receiving device 13 0 and the isochronous communication reception flag 2 14 of the time information receiving device 1 30 are valid, or that at least one of the conditions is satisfied. If neither of the two conditions is satisfied, it means that the condition as the time information transmitting device 130 with respect to the time information receiving device 130 is not satisfied, and the comparison process is interrupted. If at least one of the two conditions is satisfied, the accuracy information 220 is compared. If the accuracy is equal or lower than the accuracy information 220 of the time information receiving device 130, the process is interrupted if the accuracy is low, and if the accuracy is high, the process proceeds to the next use time unit information 230 comparison process. In the comparison of the use time unit information 230, it is checked whether all the time units used by the time information receiving device 130 can be transmitted. The time information transmitting device 120 needs to be able to transmit as all the units used by the time information receiving device 130 as time data 300.

 If all of these conditions are met, the device control software in device A (corresponding to 116, 126, 136) generates a response 600 for the command 500 and generates control device 600 The data is sent to 110 (step 1023). At this time, the attribute code 605 stores the clock attribute information 200 of the device A.

 The control device 110 that has received the response 600 (step 1103) selects the time information transmitting device 120 from the devices that have transmitted the response 600 (step 1101). Four ) .

The control device 1 10 · internal device control software 1 16 analyzes the received response 6 0 0 and extracts the clock attribute information 2 0 0. The extracted clock attribute information 200 is analyzed, and one of the devices that satisfies the condition as the time information transmitting device 120 is selected from among them, and is set as the time information transmitting device 120. By performing the above operation, it is possible to select a device that meets the conditions as the time information transmitting device 120.

 This concludes the description of the process of performing the search and selecting the time information transmitting device 120.

 As described above, the control device 110 can select the time information transmission device 120 without performing a search. The control device 110 specifies the time information transmission device 120 to the user by the network address data 400 or the name that uniquely designates the device in the network system 100. Let it. In this case, the user who operates the control device 110 or the control device 110 must directly or indirectly know the address information of the device designated as the time information transmission device 120. There is. By performing this process, the time required for the search can be shortened. However, if incorrect address information is specified, the time correction of the time information receiving device 130 performed later will not be performed correctly.

 As described above, the control device 110 can also select the time information transmitting device 120.

 This concludes the description of the operation of selecting the time information transmitting device 120 by the control device 110.The processing of the control device 110 is performed using the time information receiving device 211. Thus, the time information transmitting device 210 can select the time information transmitting device 120.

 Next, a process for correcting the time information of the time information receiving device 130 will be described with reference to FIG. 11 to FIG.

 As for the method of correcting the time information, the method using the “cycle time” described in the above-mentioned problem will be described in detail not in the first embodiment but in a second embodiment.

In order to correct the time information of the time information receiving device 130, the time information transmitting device 1200 sends the time information receiving device 1 via the network system 100 described above. The time data 300 is transmitted to 300, and the time information receiving device 130 uses the time data to correct the time information. The method of transmitting the time data 300 is transmission using the isochronous eggplant communication data 700, transmission using the asynchronous communication command 500, transmission using the asynchronous communication response 600, Can be considered.

 First, a process for transmitting the time data 300 using the iso-mouth eggplant communication data 700 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, the processing of the control device 110 is performed from step 111 to step 111, and the processing of the time information transmitting device 120 is performed from step 111 to step 111. , And the processing of the time information receiving device 130 is represented by the steps 1 1 3 1 to 1 3 4.

 The method includes a clock attribute information 200 of the time information transmitting device 120, an asynchronous communication transmission flag 210 in the time information transmitting device 120, and a clock attribute information 200 of the time information receiving device 130 in the isochronous eggplant communication. This can be used when both reception flags 2 1 and 4 are valid.

 First, the device control software 1 16 in the control device 1 10 sends an asynchronous communication command 5 0 0 to the time information transmitting device 1 2 0, and the time data 3 0 0 Request transmission (step 1 1 1 1).

The device information control software 126 inside the time information transmitting device 1202 that has received the command 500 performs analysis (step 1121), and transmits the isochronous eggplant communication data 7000 The time data 300 is stored in 3 and transmission of the time data 300 by the isochronous communication is started (step 1 122). The time data 300 is obtained by continuously extracting time information managed by the clock control unit 128 by the time data transmission processing unit 129, and performing asynchronous communication. During this time, the time information stored in the time data 300 is appropriately updated. The above device control software 126 is used as attached code 605 as channel number 701 used and band width 702 Is stored and a response 600 is returned to the control device 110 (Step 1 1 2 3) o

 When the device control software 1 16 in the control device 1 10 receives the response 6 0 0 and confirms that the transmission of the time data has started, the control code 1 6 The stored channel number 701 and band width 702 are extracted (step 111), and the data is stored in the attached code 505 to the time information receiving device 130, and the asynchronous communication is performed. A command 500 is transmitted, and a request is made to receive the time data 300 through the iso-mouth communication and to correct the time (step 11 13).

 The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 130 that received the command 500 is analyzed, and the channel number in which the time data 300 is transmitted by isochronous eggplant communication Extraction of data relating to 7001 and band width 720 is extracted (step 113), the reception of iso-mouth eggplant communication data 700 is started (step 123), and the extracted time The data 300 is passed to the time data reception processing unit 139. The time data reception processing unit 1339 sets the received time data 300 in the clock control unit 1338, and corrects the time information (step 113). When the time information has been corrected, the device information control software 1336 inside the time information receiving device 130 sends a response 600 to the control device 110 to notify that the time correction has been completed. (Step 1 1 3 4)

 When the device control software 1 16 in the control device 1 10 receives the communication response 6 0 0 from the time information receiving device 1 3 0 and confirms that the time correction has been completed normally (step 11) 14 4) In order to end the data transmission by isochronous communication of the time information transmitting device 12 0, an asynchronous communication command 500 is generated and transmitted to the time information transmitting device 12 (step 11 15). ).

The device information control software 126 inside the time information transmitting device 120 that has received the command 500 performs analysis of the command 500 (step 1124), and the time data 300 obtained by the asynchronous communication. End the transmission process of 0 (step 1 1 2 5) The asynchronous communication response 600 is transmitted to the control device 110 (step 1126).

The control device 1 1 0 internal device control software 1 16 that received the response 6 0 0 from the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 performs analysis and confirms that the data transmission of the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 has been completed. Confirm and end all processing (Step 1 1 1 6) ₀

 By performing the above processing, the time information managed by the time information receiving device 130 internal clock control unit 1338 can be corrected by transmitting the time data 300 by isochronous eggplant communication.

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information transmitting device 120 are the same device, the time data 300 using the isochronous eggplant communication data 700 in the case of the time information transmitting device 210.10. The transmission method will be described with reference to FIG. In Fig. 12, the processing of the time information transmitting device 210 is performed from step 1 2 1 1 to step 1 2 14, and the processing of the time information receiving device 1 30 is performed from step 1 2 2 1 to step 1 2 2 Represented by 4.

 The time information transmitting device 2 0 1 0 internal device control software 2 0 16 starts transmitting time data 3 0 0 by isochronous communication (step 1 2 1 1), and returns to the time information receiving device 1 3 0 The asynchronous communication command 500 with the channel number 701 and band width 702 used for isochronous communication stored in the attached code 505 is transmitted, and time data 3 by isochronous eggplant communication is transmitted. A request is made to receive 00 and to correct the time (step 1 2 1 2).

The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 130 that received the command 500 is analyzed, and the channel number in which the time data 300 is transmitted by isochronous eggplant communication Data relating to 700 and band width 720 is extracted (step 1221), reception of the isochronous communication data 700 is started (step 1222), and the extracted time data 30000. Is passed to the time data reception processing section 1339. The time data reception processing unit 13 9 is a clock control unit The received time data 300 is set to 1338, and the time information is corrected (step 1223). When the time information correction is completed, the device information control software 1 38 inside the time information receiving device 130 sends a response 600 to the time information transmitting device 210 to notify that the time correction has been completed. . (Step 1 2 4) The time information transmitting device 2 0 1 0 internal device control software 2 0 16 receives the communication response 6 0 0 from the time information receiving device 13 0, and the time correction ends normally. When it is confirmed that the transmission has been completed (steps 1213), the transmission processing of the time data 300 by the isochronous eggplant communication is terminated (step 1214).

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information receiving device 130 are the same device, the time data receiving device 310 transmits the time data 300 using the isochronous eggplant communication data 700. The processing of the method will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 13, the processing of the time information receiving device 2 11 10 is performed from step 1 3 1 1 to step 1 3 16, and the processing of the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 is performed from step 1 3 2 1 to step 1 3 2 Represented by 6.

 First, the device control software 2 1 16 inside the time information receiving device 2 110 transmits an asynchronous communication command 500 to the time information transmitting device 1 2 0, and the time data by isochronous eggplant communication. Request transmission of 3 0 0 (Step 1 3 1

1)

 The device information control software 1 26 inside the time information transmitting device 1 20 receiving the command 5 0 0 0 performs the analysis, and the time data 3 0 0 into the transmission data 7 0 3 within the iso-mouth eggplant communication data 7 0 0. Is stored, and transmission of time data 300 by iso-mouth communication is started (step 1322). Then, the device control software 126 stores the channel number 701 used and the band width 702 as the attached code 605, and sends it to the time information receiving device 211. A response 600 is returned (step 1332).

The time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 internal device control software 2 1 16 receives the response 600 (step 1312) and starts transmission of the time data 3 0 0. After confirming that the time data 300 has been transmitted by the iso-mouth communication, data relating to the channel number 701 and the band width 702 where the time data 300 is transmitted is extracted, and the iso-mouth egg communication data 700 is extracted. (Step 1313), and passes the extracted time data 300 to the time data reception processing unit 211. The time data reception processing unit 2 1 1 1 9 9 sets the received time data 3 0 0 in the clock control unit 2 1 1 8 and corrects the time information (step 1 3 1 4) c Time information receiving device When the time correction is completed successfully, the internal device control software 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 end 0 is generated and transmitted to the time information transmitting device 120 (step 1315).

 The device information control software 1226 in the time information transmitting device 1220 receiving the command 500 analyzes the command 500 (step 1324), and the time data 300 by the asynchronous communication. The transmission process of 0 is terminated (step 1325), and the asynchronous communication response 600 is transmitted to the time information receiving device 211 (step 1326).

 The device information control software 2 1 16 inside the time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 that received the response 6 0 0 from the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 performs analysis and transmits the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 data. Is completed, and all the processes are completed (step 1316).

 This concludes the description of the process for transmitting the time data 300 by the isochronous communication.

Next, a process of transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication command 500 will be described with reference to FIG. In Fig. 14, the processing of the control device 110 is performed from step 1411 to step 1412, and the processing of the time information transmission device 120 is performed from step 1421 to step 1425. Time information The processing of the receiving device 13 0 is represented by steps 1 4 3 1 to 1 4 3 3. The method includes the following: asynchronous communication within the clock attribute information 200 of the time information transmitting device 120 It can be used when both the transmission flag 2 11 and the asynchronous communication reception flag 2 13 in the clock attribute information 2 0 0 of the time information receiving device 13 0 are valid. First, the device control software 116 inside the control device 110 stores the network address data 400 of the time information receiving device 130 in the attached code 500, and the time information receiving device 130 Asynchronous communication command 500 that requests transmission of time data 300 by asynchronous communication command 500

Send it to 120 (step 1411).

 The device control software 1260 in the time information transmitting device 1202 that has received the communication command 500 performs analysis, and the network of the time information receiving device 1300 is transmitted from the communication command 500. The work address data 400 is extracted (step 1421), and the time data 300 extracted by the time data transmission processing unit 129 is stored in the attached code 505, and a request for time correction is made. An asynchronous communication command 500 is generated and transmitted to the time information receiving device 130.

 The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 130 that has received the communication command 500 performs an analysis (step 1431), and the command 500 The time data 300 extracted from the node 500 is converted to a time data reception processing unit.

Hand over to 1 3 9 The time data reception processor 1339 sets the time data 300 in the clock controller 1338 and corrects the time information (step 1442). When the time information has been corrected, the device information control software 1 38 inside the time information receiving device 130 sends a response 600 to the time information transmitting device 120 to notify that the time correction has been completed. (Steps 1 4 3 3).

 The device information control software 1 2 6 inside the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 receives the response 6 0 0 from the time information receiving device 1 3 0, and confirms that the time information correction has been completed normally (step The asynchronous communication response 600 with respect to the asynchronous communication command 500 received by the control device 110 at step 144 is transmitted (step 1442).

The control device 110 analyzes the response 600 to obtain the time information. It is possible to confirm that the time has been adjusted by the information transmitting device 120 (step 1412).

 By performing the above processing, the time information managed by the time information receiving device 130 internal clock control unit 1338 is corrected by transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication command 500. You can do it.

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information transmitting device 120 are the same device, the method of transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication command 500 when the time information transmitting device 210 is the same device. The processing for will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 15, the processing of the time information transmitting device 210 is performed from step 1511 to step 1513, and the processing of the time information receiving device 1330 is performed from step 1521 to step 1522. Represented by 3.

 The time information transmission device 2 0 1 0 internal device control software 2 0 16 is extracted by the time data transmission processing unit 2 0 19 into the attached code 5 0 5 (step 15 1 1) Time data 3 0 An asynchronous communication command 500 for requesting time correction, in which 0 is stored, is generated and transmitted to the time information receiving device 130 (step 1512).

 The device information control software 1336 inside the time information receiving device 130 that has received the communication command 500 performs analysis (step 1521), and the command 500 The time data 300 extracted from the node 505 is passed to the time data reception processing unit 139. The time data reception processing unit 1339 sets the time data 300 in the clock control unit 1338, and corrects the time information (step 1522). When the time information has been corrected, the device information control software 1 36 within the time information receiving device 130 sends a response 600 to the time information transmitting device 210 to notify that the time correction has been completed. (Steps 15 2 3).

The time information transmitting device 2 0 1 0 internal device control software 2 0 16 receives the response 6 0 0 from the time information receiving device 13 0, and confirms that the time information correction has been completed normally. (Step 15 13). By performing the above processing, the time information managed by the time information receiving device 130 internal clock control unit 1338 is corrected by transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication command 500. I can do it.

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information receiving device 130 are the same device, the method of transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication command 500 when the time information receiving device 210 is the same device. The processing for will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 16, the process of the time information receiving device 2 11 10 is performed from step 16 11 to step 16 13, and the process of the time information transmitting device 1 20 is performed from step 16 2 1 to step 16 2 Represented by 3.

 First, the device control software 2 1 16 inside the time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 sends asynchronous time to the time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 using the asynchronous communication command 5 0 0 to request time data 3 0 0 transmission. A command 500 is generated and transmitted to the time information transmitting device 120 (step 1611).

 The device information control software 1226 inside the time information transmitting device 1202 that received the communication command 500 performs analysis (step 1621), and transmits time data to the attached code 505. An asynchronous communication command 500 for requesting time correction, which stores the time data 300 extracted by the processing unit 12 9 (step 1622), is generated, and the time information receiving device 2 1 1 Send to 0 (step 1 6 2 3). The device information control software 211 16 in the time information receiving device 211 which has received the communication command 500 performs analysis, (step 1612), and the attached command in the command 500. The time data 300 extracted from the node 505 is passed to the time data reception processing unit 211. The time data reception processing section 2 1 19 sets the time data 3 0 0 in the clock control section 2 1 18 and corrects the time information (step 16 13) o

 This concludes the description of the process of transmitting the time data 300 by the asynchronous communication command 500.

Next, the time data transmission method using the asynchronous communication response 600 is described. All the processes will be described with reference to FIG. In Fig. 17, the processing of the control device 110 is performed from step 1711 to step 1712, and the time information transmitting device 1

The processing of 20 is represented by steps 1721 to 1723, and the processing of the time information receiver 13 is represented by steps 1731 to 1735.

 The method includes the asynchronous communication transmission flag 2 1 1 in the clock attribute information 2 0 0 of the time information transmitting device 1 20 and the asynchronous communication reception flag 2 1 in the clock attribute information 2 0 0 of the time information receiving device 1 3 0. 3 can be used when both are effective. First, the device control software 1 16 in the control device 1 1 0 has an asynchronous communication response 6 0 0 with the network address data 4 0 0 of the time information transmission device 1 2 0 stored in the attached code 5 0 0. Generates asynchronous communication command 500 0 requesting time correction by and sends it to time information receiving device 13 0 (step 17 1

1) o

 The device information control software 13 6 in the time information receiving device 13 0 that has received the command 500 0 performs an analysis, and receives the time information transmitting device 1 from the attached code 5 05 in the command 5 0 0. Extract network address data 400 of 20 (step 1731), generate asynchronous communication command 500 to request transmission of time data 300 by asynchronous communication, and transmit time information Send it to device 120 (step 1732).

 The device information control software 126 inside the time information transmitting device 120 that has received the command 500 performs the analysis of the command 500 (step 1721), and the time data transmission processing unit Time data 3 0 0 extracted by 1 2 9 (Step 1 7 2

2) is stored in the attached code 605, and the asynchronous communication response 600 is transmitted to the time information receiving device 130 (step 1723).

 The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 130 that received the response 600 performs analysis (step 1733), and from the attached code 505 in the command 500. The extracted time data 300 is converted to the time data reception processing unit 1

Pass to 3-9. The time data reception processing unit 13 9 sends the time data to the clock control unit 13 8. —Set the evening time to 300 and correct the time information (step 1734).

 Upon completion of the time correction, the time information receiving device 13 0 internal device control software 13 6 sends the asynchronous communication to the control device 1 10 to the asynchronous communication command 5 0 0 received in step 1 7 3 1 Send the response 600 (Step 17)

3 5)

 By analyzing the response 600, the control device 110 can confirm that the time information receiving device 130 has finished correcting the time (step 1712).

 By performing the above processing, it is possible to correct the time information managed by the time information receiving device 130 internal clock control unit 13 8 by transmitting the time data 300 using the asynchronous communication response 600. I can do it.

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information transmitting device 120 are the same device, the process for the time data transmitting method using the asynchronous communication response 600 when the time information transmitting device 210 is the same device is described. This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 18, the processing of the time information transmitting device 210 is performed from step 1811 to step 1815, and the processing of the time information receiving device 130 is performed from step 1821 to step 1 Represented by 8 25.

 First, the device control software inside the time information transmitting device 200 generates an asynchronous communication command 500 that requests time correction by the asynchronous communication response 600, and the time information receiving device 13 Send to 0 (step 1811). The device control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 130 that received the command 500 performs analysis (step 1821), and requests transmission of time data 300 by asynchronous communication. Then, an asynchronous communication command 500 is generated and transmitted to the time information transmitting device 210 (step 1822).

The device information control software 210 inside the time information transmitting device 210 which received the command 500 performs analysis of the command 500 (step 1812), and the time data transmission processing unit. The time data extracted by 2 0 1 9 (step 18 13) One night 300 is stored in the attached code 605, and the asynchronous communication response 600 is transmitted to the time information receiving device 130 (step 1814).

 The device information control software 1336 in the time information receiving device 1303 that received the response 600 performs an analysis (step 1823), and receives the response 600 from the attached code 605. The extracted time data 300 is passed to the time data reception processing unit 139. The time data reception processing section 1339 sets the time data 300 in the clock control section 1338, and corrects the time information (step 1824). When the time information receiving device 1330 internal device control software 1336 completes the time correction, the time information transmitting device 2010 returns to the time information transmitting device 210, and the asynchronous communication command 50 0 0 received in step 18 21 Sends asynchronous communication response 600 0 to (Step 18 25)

 By analyzing the response 600, the time information transmitting device 210 can confirm that the time information receiving device 130 has finished correcting the time (step 1815). .

 In addition, when the control device 110 and the time information receiving device 130 are the same device, the time information receiving device 210 is a time information transmitting method using the asynchronous communication response 600. This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 19, the processing of the time information receiving device 2 11 10 is performed from step 1 9 1 1 to step 1 9 13, and the processing of the time information transmitting device 1 2 0 is performed from step 1 9 2 1 to step 1 Represented by 9 23.

 The time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 internal device control software 2 1 16 generates an asynchronous communication command 500 to request transmission of time data 3 0 0 by asynchronous communication, and the time information transmitting device 1 2 Send to 0 (step 1 9 1 1).

The device information control software 126 inside the time information transmitting device 120 that has received the command 500 analyzes the command 500 (step 1921), and the time data transmission processing unit The time data 3 0 0 (step 1 9 2 2) extracted by 1 2 9 is stored in the attached code 6 0 5, and asynchronously transmitted to the time information receiving device 2 1 10. Sends a communication response 600 (step 1923).

 The device information control software 2 1 16 inside the time information receiving device 2 1 1 0 that has received the response 600 performs analysis (step 1 9 12), and the attached code 6 0 0 within the response 600. The time data 3 00 extracted from 5 is passed to the time data reception processing section 211 9. The time data reception processing unit 2 1 19 sets the time data 300 in the clock control unit 2 1 18 and corrects the time information (step 1913) o

 This concludes the description of the operation of the method of transmitting the time data 300 with the asynchronous communication response 600.

 This concludes the description of the time correction process of the time information receiving device 130.

 This concludes the description of Embodiment 1.

 (Embodiment 2)

 Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described.

 The form of the network system in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, a method of correcting time information using “cycle time” between devices connected to the network system will be described.

 It can be easily considered that the time adjustment method according to the second embodiment can apply the method for selecting the time information transmitting device based on the “attribute information of the clock function” described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the method of selecting the time information transmitting device in the first embodiment will not be described here.

In FIGS. 22 to 44, 220 is a 1394 serial bus, 2210 and 400 are time information transmitting devices, and 2213 and 410 are time servers. Function, 2 2 0, 4 1 0 0 is time information receiving device, 2 2 3, 4 1 2 3 is time correction function, 2 2 3 0, 4 400 is cycle master device, 2 2 3 3, 4 0 2 0, 4 1 2 0, 4 4 2 0 are cycle master functions, 2 2 1 2, 2 2 2 2, 2 2 3 2, 4 1 2, 4 1 2 2, 4 4 0 2 is the communication control unit, 2 2 1 4, 2 2 2 4, 4 0 1 4, 4 1 2 4 is the clock control unit, 2 2 1 5, 2 2 2 5, 4 0 1 5, 4 1 2 5 is a clock, 2 3 0 1 is a cycle start packet, 2 5 0 0 is a cycle time data, 2 6 0 0, 3 1 0 0, 340, 370 0 indicates a time correction command, and 300 0 0 indicates bus time data.

 The present invention provides a method for correcting the time using a common cycle time used in a network system using a 1394 serial bus. This cycle time is provided by one device in the network at the same time, and is information used to communicate real-time data in a fixed communication cycle. The details will be described later. In fact, it does not indicate time information, but merely information indicating a communication cycle. The present invention makes it possible to correct the time by providing relative time information with respect to the actual time in the network with respect to the information indicated by the cycle time data.

 In the following, the time adjustment method for the network system shown in Fig. 22 will be described first. First, a configuration example of each device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

 First, the time information transmitting device 2 210 is a device that provides relative time information of the actual time with respect to the above-described cycle time, and internally has a communication control device that controls communication with other devices on the network system. A part 2 2 1 2 is provided. The communication control unit 221 is an essential component for connecting to the network system. For example, the communication control unit 221 transmits the relative time information and receives the cycle time data according to the present invention. It is used for.

The time information transmitting device 2 210 further includes a time server function 2 2 13, which provides a function for providing the relative time information using the communication control unit 2 2 1 2 I do. Further, a clock 2 2 15, a clock control unit 2 2 14 for controlling the clock 2 2 15, and a time information transmitting device 2 210 A system control unit 2 2 1 1 for controlling the body is provided.

 Next, the time information receiving device 222 is a device that receives the relative time information of the real time with respect to the cycle time described above and corrects the time of the own device 222, and the time information transmitting device 222. Similarly to 10, a communication control unit 222 that manages communication with other devices on the network system is provided therein. In the communication control unit 222, for example, a reception process such as relative time information / cycle time information according to the present invention is performed.

 The time information receiving device 222 is further provided with a time correcting function 222, which provides a function for receiving the total time information using the communication control unit 222. . Furthermore, a clock 22 2 5, a clock control unit 2 2 4 for controlling the clock 2 2 15, and a system control unit 2 2 1 for controlling the entire time information receiving device 2 220 And are provided.

 The cycle master device 222 is a device that provides the cycle time information described above. As described above, at the same time, only one device exists as the cycle master device 230 in the network. And, like the time information transmitting device 222 and the time information receiving device 222, a communication control unit 222 for managing communication with other devices on the network system is provided therein. Can be In the communication control unit 222, transmission processing of cycle time information and the like according to the present invention is performed, for example.

 Cycle master device 2 2 3 0 has additional cycle master device 2 2 3

A cycle master function 2 2 3 3 to be 0 is provided. The cycle master function 222 provides a function for managing the cycle time information. Further, a system control unit 2221 for controlling the entire cycle master device 230 is provided.

The time information transmitting device 220, the time information receiving device 222, and the cycle master device 230 are connected by a 1394 serial bus 220 to form a network system. Make up. This concludes the description of the configuration example of the time information transmitting device 222, the time information receiving device 222, and the cycle mass device 220 according to the second embodiment.

 Next, communication using the 1394 serial bus 220 will be described. Here, in particular, an outline of a communication cycle according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

 In FIG. 23, reference numeral 230 denotes one communication cycle. In the communication cycle 230, the cycle start packet 2301 including the above-mentioned cycle time information is always included. 302 (communication using this packet is hereinafter referred to as isochronous communication) and A synch packet used for transmission of device control information 2303 (communication using this packet Asynchronous communication). In addition, in the 1394 serial bus 2200, the cycle interval is about 125 microseconds. After this interval, cycle 2300 changes to the next cycle 230.

 The cycle start bucket 2301 is transmitted to the cycle master device 2302 and all devices on the network system in order to synchronize each cycle. The format is shown in Fig. 4. As shown in 24, the destination ID for identifying the destination device

1.Packet attributes 2404, indicating the type of the packet, etc.2.Source ID 2403, which identifies the device that sends the packet, on the destination device for writing the transmission data The cycle start packet 2301 includes the destination address 2404 indicating the address information of the cycle and the cycle time data 2405 described above. As described above, the cycle start packet 2301 is transmitted from the cycle master device 2230 to all devices on the network system. A value indicating all devices on the network system is stored in 2401, and a cycle ID is displayed in source ID 2403. The value indicating the master device is stored. Of course, the bucket attribute 2402 stores information indicating that the packet is the cycle start packet 2301.

 Here, the cycle time data 2500 transmitted by the cycle start packet 2301 will be described with reference to FIG. The cycle time data 250 is managed by the cycle master device 230 as described above, and is transmitted to all devices on the network system. The device that has received the cycle start bucket 2301 stores the cycle time data 2500 in a memory area managed by itself. Actually, the address information of this memory area is stored in the destination address 2404 in the cycle start bucket 2301 described above.

 The cycle time data 250 is divided into three areas, cyc 1 e—offset 2503, which is the offset information for the cycle of 125 microseconds, and cycle indicating the cycle number of each cycle. — Represented by count 2 5 0 2 and second_count 2 5 0 1 which is incremented each time the cycle is repeated 800 0 times (ie 1 second). Note that this second-count2501 can represent a value from 0 to 127 as a value. The cycle master device 2 230 sequentially updates the time information from 0 seconds to less than 128 seconds every cycle, and if the updated value becomes 128 seconds, it returns to the value of 0 seconds again. Update.

 By using the above-described mechanism, devices on the network system using the 1394 serial bus 2200 can use a common cycle time. This concludes the description of an overview of communication using the 1394 serial bus 2200.

Next, processing for generating relative time information of the actual time with respect to the cycle time described above in the time information transmitting device 220 and transmitting the generated relative time information to the time information receiving device will be described. First, a command packet for transmitting the relative time information from the time information transmitting device 2210 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 26. The time information transmitting device 222 transmits the time correction command 260 shown in Fig. 26 by using the asynchronous communication command 500 described in the first embodiment. . As a specific packet structure, an auxiliary code 505 in the asynchronous communication command 500 is used to correct the time as shown in FIG. Relative time information 2601 indicating the relative time of the actual time to the cycle time serving as the reference of the relative time of the reference time, further, a reference cycle time 2602 indicating the cycle time based on the relative time information 2601; Are stored. At this time, identification information indicating the time correction command 260 is stored in the operation code 504 in the asynchronous communication command 500.

 In the following, with reference to FIG. 27, the processing until the time information transmitting device 2210 is actually transmitted and the above-mentioned time correction command 2600 is transmitted to the time information receiving device 222. Will be explained.

 First, the time information transmitting device 220 obtains information on the cycle time and the actual time (step 2710). In this step 2710, the acquisition processing of the cycle time information (step 2711) and the acquisition processing of the real time information (step 2712) are performed in synchronization. First, regarding the acquisition of the cycle time information, the cycle time data 250 is transmitted from the cycle master device 230 in every cycle as described above, and is sequentially received. On the other hand, information on the actual time is obtained from the clock 2 2 15 in the time information transmitter 2 210 using the clock control unit 2 14. In this step 2710, the cycle time data 2500 corresponding to the obtained real time information is stored as the reference cycle time 2602 together with the real time information.

In the next step 270, the data acquired and stored in the previous step 270 The relative time information 2601 is calculated from the cycle time data 2500 (reference cycle time 2602) and the actual time information (step 2701). Although not described using mathematical formulas and the like, here, the difference between the actual time value and the value of the time represented by the cycle time data 250 (reference cycle time 2602) (according to the actual time and the cycle time). Is calculated as the relative time of the time), and this is used as relative time information 2601.

 Then, the relative time information 2601, obtained in this manner, and the cycle time data 2500 used to calculate the relative time information 2601 (reference cycle time 2602) Then, a time correction command 2600 is generated by using, and this is transmitted to the time information receiving device 220 (step 270).

 The time information receiving device 222 receives the time correction command 260 and corrects the time based on the information included in the command. This will be described with reference to FIG.

 First, the processing is started when the time information receiving device 222 receives the time correction command 260 from the time information transmitting device 210 (step 2810). ).

 Here, usually, the time information receiving device 222 receives the cycle time data 250 transmitted sequentially every cycle from the cycle mass device 220 as described above. Therefore, in the next step 2802, the cycle time data 2500 used for calculating the time to be corrected is obtained from the sequentially received data and stored (step 2802).

Then, the relative time information 2601 stored in the time correction command 2600 received in step 2801 and the cycle time data 2500 stored in step 2802 The actual time is calculated from the information (step 280 3). Although not described using mathematical formulas, here, the sum of the values of the time represented by the relative time information 2601 and the cycle time data 2500 is calculated, and this is calculated as the actual time. And Finally, using the clock control unit 222 in the time information receiving device 222, the time of the clock 222 is corrected to the value of the actual time calculated in the previous step 2503 ( Step 2 804).

 A predetermined and / or approximate time from the acquisition of the cycle time data 250 in the processing of step 280 to the actual processing of the time correction in step 284 If this is known, by taking this time into account (addition) and calculating the actual time in step 283, it is possible to correct the time with higher accuracy.

 On the other hand, as described above, the cycle time data 250 0 represents only time information from 0 seconds to less than 128 seconds, and if it becomes longer than 128 seconds, it becomes 0 seconds again. Value. Therefore, in the method described so far, the cycle time between the processing of step 270 by the time information transmitting device 220 and the processing of step 280 2 by the time information receiving device 222 is A problem arises when the value of the data 250 0 0 is updated again to the value of 0 seconds.

 Then, in order to deal with this, the reference cycle time 2602 is used. Further, the processing of step 2710 (acquisition and storage of the cycle time data 250) performed by the time information transmitting device 222 is performed by the time correction command 2 performed by the time information receiving device 222. It is assumed or specified that the time required until the processing of step 2802 (acquisition and storage of cycle time data 250) after receiving 600 is within one cycle (thus, 128 seconds).

As a specific process, the process of step 2803 performed by the time information receiving device 222 is subdivided as shown in FIG. First, the reference cycle time 2602 stored in the time correction command 2600 is compared with the information of the cycle time data 2500 obtained and stored in step 2802. (Step 290 1). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the value of the cycle time data 2500 is greater than the value indicated by the reference cycle time 2602. If this comparison is determined, the process proceeds to step 292. on the other hand If this comparison is not made, the process proceeds to step 2903. In the processing of the step 2902 and the step 2903, the calculation processing of the actual real time is performed. In step 2902, the sum of the time values represented by the relative time information 2601 and the cycle time data 2500 is calculated, and this is set as the actual time value. On the other hand, in step 2903, the sum of the time value represented by the relative time information 2601 and the cycle time data 2500 is added to the time corresponding to one cycle time (therefore, 128 seconds). , And make this the value of the real time. This makes it possible to eliminate the problem that the value of the cycle time data 2500 is updated again to the value of 0 seconds.

 On the other hand, when using the 1394 serial bus 220, the cycle mass equipment 220 manages the bus time data 300 as shown in FIG. The knowledge time data 30000 is information represented by second—count—hi3001 and second—count—13002. second— count — 1 o 3 0 0 2 holds the same value as second-count 2 5 0 1 in cycle time data 2 5 0 0, while second— count — hi 3 0 0 1 Each time the value shown in second-count-1 o 3 0 2 is updated to a value of 0 seconds every 128 seconds, the value increases.

 A method of using the bus time data 30000 to solve the problem that the value of the cycle time data 2500 described above is updated to the value of 0 seconds again will be described below. .

When this method is used, a command of a different format from the time correction command 2600 shown in FIG. 26 is used. Specifically, this is shown in FIG. 31, in which the information of the bus time data 300000 is added to the information included in the time correction command 2600. As shown in FIG. 31, an auxiliary command 505 in the asynchronous communication command 500 (in this case, a time correction command 310) is used to correct the time. , Relative time to real time Relative time information 3101 indicating the relative time of the actual time with respect to the reference cycle time, reference cycle time 3102 indicating the cycle time based on the relative time information 2601, and the relative time A reference bus time 3103 indicating the bus time based on the time information 2601 is stored.

 At this time, identification information indicating that the command is the time correction command 310 is stored in the operation command 504 in the asynchronous communication command 500.

 The processing of the time information transmitting device 220 for using the time correction command 310 will be described with reference to FIG.

 First, the time information transmitting device 220 acquires the cycle time, the actual time, and the information of the bus time (step 3210). In step 3210, cycle time information acquisition processing (step 3221), real time information acquisition processing (step 3221), and bus time information acquisition processing (step 3) are performed. 2 1 3) are performed synchronously. Here, the processing in step 3 211 and step 3 212 is the same as the processing in step 2710 described above, respectively. On the other hand, in step 3213, a process of reading the bus time data 30000 from the cycle master device 230 by asynchronous communication via the 1394 serial bus 220 is performed. In this step 3210, the bus time data 3000 corresponding to the real time information is stored as the reference bus time 3103.

 In the next step 3201, the same processing as in the above-mentioned step 2701 is performed to calculate relative time information 3101 (step 3201).

 The relative time information 3101 thus obtained and the cycle time data 2500 (reference cycle time 2602) used for calculating the relative time information 3101 are obtained. Further, a time correction command 3100 is generated by using the reference bus time 3103, and is transmitted to the time information receiving device 222 (step 3202).

Then, the time information receiving device 2 220 receives the time correction command 3 1 0 0 Is received and the time is adjusted based on the information included in the command. The time adjustment process will be described with reference to FIG.

 First, the process is started by receiving the time correction command 3100 sent from the time information transmitting device 2 210, the time information receiving device 2 220. ).

 Here, usually, the time information receiving device 222 receives the cycle time data 250 transmitted from the cycle master device 230 every cycle as described above. Accordingly, in the next step 3302, the cycle time data 2500 used for calculating the time to be corrected is acquired from the sequentially received data and stored (step 3302).

 In addition, in parallel with or immediately after step 3302 (before the time corresponding to one cycle of the cycle time has elapsed), the bus time data is output from the cycle device 2203. 3. Acquire and store 30000 (step 3303).

 Then, the relative time information 3101 stored in the time correction command 3100 received in step 3301 and the cycle time data 2500 obtained and stored in step 3302 are stored. The actual time is calculated from the information (step 3304). Although no description is given using mathematical formulas or the like, here, the sum of the time values represented by the relative time information 3101 and the cycle time data 2500 is calculated, and this is set as the actual time.

At this time, from the second—count—hi 3 0 1 of the reference bus time 3 1 0 3 stored in the time correction command 3 1 0 0, the bus time data stored in step 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 Add the offset time obtained by calculating the difference of second—count—hi 3 0 1 to the value of the actual time. This makes it possible to solve the problem that the value of the cycle time data 2500 is again updated to the value of 0 seconds. Finally, the time of the clock 222 is corrected to the actual time calculated in the previous step 3304 by using the clock control unit 222 in the time information receiving device 222. (Step 335).

 Here, the time correction method using the cycle time data 250 and the bus time data 300 is described. However, as another method, the time correction method using only the bus time data 300 is also possible. It is possible.

 In this case, a time correction command 3400 as shown in FIG. 34 is used. The reference bus time 3402 is equivalent to the aforementioned reference bus time 3103. The relative time information 3401 in this case is used to correct the time, and is information indicating the relative time of the real time with respect to the bus time which is the reference of the relative time with the real time. At this time, identification information indicating the time correction command 3400 is stored in the operation code 504 in the asynchronous communication command 500.

 The processing of the time information transmitting device 220 corresponding to this is as shown in FIG. Here, the difference from the processing shown in Fig. 27 is that it is calculated based on the reference bus time 3402 instead of the relative time information 3401, the reference cycle, and the reference time 2602. It is. Accompanying this, the acquisition processing of the cycle time data 250 is not necessary, and the acquisition processing of the bus time data 300 is required instead. This processing (step 3511) is equivalent to the above-described processing of step 3213. Further, in calculating the relative time information 3401, the bus time data 30000 obtained in step 3511 is used.

On the other hand, the processing of the time information receiving device 222 is as shown in FIG. Here, the difference from the processing shown in FIG. 28 is that the actual time is calculated based on the reference bus time 3402 instead of the reference cycle time 2602. Accordingly, the acquisition processing of the cycle time data 2500 is not required, and the acquisition processing of the bus time data 3000 is required instead. Soshi This process (step 3602) is equivalent to the process of step 3303 described above. Further, in calculating the actual time, the bus time data 300 obtained in step 3602 is used.

 The above is a description of a method for solving the problem that the value of the cycle time data 250 0 is updated to the value of 0 second again by using the knowledge time data 3 00 0. Finish.

 Using the relative time information 2 6 0 1/3 1 0 1/3 4 0 1 calculated by the time information transmitting device 2 2 10 as described above, the clock 2 2 2 in the time information receiving device 2 2 2 0 This concludes the explanation on how to correct the time in 5.

 Next, the time information transmitting device 2 210 receives the relative time information 2 600 1/3 310

Time information is received without calculating 1/3 4 0 1, but only with the reference cycle time 2 5 0 0 and the time or bus time data 3 0 0 0 and the actual time information. A method for correcting the time by using the information provided to the device 222 and the time information receiving device 220 will be described.

 When this method is used, a command of a different format from the time correction command 2600 shown in FIG. 26 is used. More specifically, for example, as shown in Fig. 37, the relative time information 260 0 Z 3 1 0 1/3 4 0 1 included in the time correction command 260 0 etc. Use information 3701. The processing of the time information transmitting device 220 in response thereto is as shown in FIG. The difference from the processing shown in Fig. 27 is that the relative time information

That is, the calculation processing of 2601 becomes unnecessary, and the information of the real time obtained and stored in step 3812 is used when generating the time correction command 3700.

On the other hand, the processing of the time information receiving device 222 is as shown in FIG. Here, the point different from the processing shown in FIG. 28 is that the real time is calculated based on the real time information 3701, not the relative time information 2601. Accordingly, when calculating the actual time by the processing of step 3903, Instead, calculate the difference between the value of the reference cycle time 3.702 from the value of the real time information 3.701 included in the time correction command 3700, and use this as the relative time value. Then, the sum of the relative time value and the value of the cycle time data 2500 obtained and stored in the previous step 3902 is calculated, and this is set as the actual time value. Also, when the real time information 3701 is used in place of the relative time information 2601/3101/13401, as described above, the cycle time data 2 There is a problem that the value of 500 is updated to the value of 0 seconds again. To deal with these problems, the method shown in FIG. The method used may be used. Since these methods can be easily inferred from the above description, the description of the time correction command and the processing flow is omitted here.

 Also, a case has been described above in which the cycle master device 2 230 exists as a device different from the time information transmitting device 2 210 or the time information receiving device 2 220. However, as shown in Fig. 40 and Fig. 41, the time information transmitting device 2 210 with built-in cycle master function (when the time information transmitting device 2 210 becomes the cycle master) and the cycle master The present invention can be applied even when there is a time information receiving device 222 with built-in functions (when the time information receiving device 222 is a cycle master). However, in these cases, in the step of performing the acquisition processing of the cycle time data 2500 described above, the cycle time data may be acquired from the device which is the cycle master. Of course, it may be obtained directly from its own device without going through the 1394 serial bus 2200. Now, in the following, the third device on the 1394 serial bus 2200 becomes the control device, and controls the time information transmitting device 2210 and the time information receiving device 2220. A method of correcting the time of the time information receiving device 222 will be described.

In this method, the control device 420 is configured as shown in FIG. It is. The control device 420, like the time information transmitting device 220 and the time information receiving device 220, internally includes a communication control unit that controls communication with other devices on the network system. 4 202 is provided. Further, in order to correct the time of the time information receiving device 222, a device control function 4203 for controlling the time information transmitting device 220 and the time information receiving device 222 is provided. Further, a system control unit 4201 for controlling the entire control device 420 is provided.

 The process of the control device 420 is as shown in FIG. First, the control device 420 requests the time information transmitting device 220 to transmit a time correction command (step 4310). Of course, this is done by asynchronous communication via the 1394 serial bus 2200. Note that the time adjustment command requested here is in any appropriate format, such as the time adjustment command 2600/3003/300/370/700 described above. You can use. In addition, the time information transmitting device 2 210 performs the transmission process of the time correction command described above in response to this request. Step 2 7 0 2 Z 3 2 0 2/3 5 0 2 Z 3 8 0 1 In, the transmission destination of the time correction command is set to the control device 420.

 Next, a time correction command corresponding to the transmission request for the time correction command in step 4301 is received and acquired from the time server 2210 (step 4302).

 Then, the time correction command obtained in step 4302 is transmitted to the time information receiving device 222 to be time-corrected this time (step 4330). In response to this, the time information receiving device 2222 0 performs the time correction command receiving process described above in step 2810/1/3 3 0 1 3 6 0 1/3 9101. The time correction command is received from the control device 420.

In this way, the third device on the 1 3 9 4 serial bus 2 2 0 0 By controlling the time information transmitting device 2 210 and the time information receiving device 2 220 as the control device 4 200, the time of the time information receiving device 2 220 can be corrected. Becomes

 In addition, as shown in Fig. 44, the control device 420 can also have a cycle master function, as in the case of the time information transmitting device 2 210 and the time information receiving device 2 220. It is. In this case, in the step of performing the process of acquiring the cycle time data 2500 described above, the cycle time data may be obtained from the control device 420 which is the cycle time data.

 By using the method described above, the time of the time information receiving device 222 can be corrected based on the time of the time information transmitting device 220. Then, by transmitting a time correction command to the plurality of time information receiving devices 222 by simultaneous broadcast, the time of a plurality of time information receiving devices 222 can be corrected at once. As a result, the time between devices on the network system can be made almost the same. As a result, with respect to the function using two or more devices in the network system, the cooperation operation between the devices based on the time information can be performed without a time problem. Industrial applicability

 As described above, according to the present invention, a network system configured using a serial bus that enables data transmission by isochronous communication and transmission of control signals by asynchronous communication, such as a 1394 serial bus, is provided. It is possible to provide attribute information on the clock function of each device to connected devices, and by referring to this information, the effect of enabling efficient and more accurate transmission and reception of time information is achieved. is there.

As a result, it is possible to make the time between devices on the network system almost the same, so that two or more devices in the network system can be connected. Regarding the functions to be used, it is possible to perform cooperative operation between devices based on time information without any time-related problems.

Claims

The scope of the claims  1. An information device connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals by connecting a plurality of devices.  Clock attribute information acquisition means for acquiring clock attribute presence / absence information on the presence / absence of a clock function of the first other device connected to the network system and clock attribute information comprising accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function; ,  Selecting means for selecting any one of the devices other than the first other device connected to the network system as a second other device that provides time information when performing time correction;  Time correction means for correcting the time of the first other device, An information device comprising: 2. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, the time information management means for managing time information by a clock function,  Means for extracting the time information;  Time information transmitting means for transmitting time information to a first other device connected to the network system;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 3. The information device according to claim 2, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last corrected, and the device which provided the time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the time and year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Second, millisecond, microsecond, or any two or more of the time unit, and can be used when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of:  An information device having a time adjustment function. 4. By connecting multiple devices, the devices were connected to a network system that enabled isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, a time information management means for managing time information by a clock function,  Means for extracting the time information;  Time information transmitting means for transmitting time information to a first other device connected to the network system;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  Determining means for determining whether it is possible to transmit time information to the first other device using the clock attribute information, An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 5. The information device according to claim 4, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information regarding the date and time when the time of the clock function was last corrected, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the time and year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Second, millisecond, microsecond, or any two or more of the time unit, and can be used when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of:  An information device having a time adjustment function. 6. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices were connected to a network system that enabled isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Time information management means for managing time information by a clock function;  Time information receiving means for receiving time information from a second other device connected to the network system;  Time information correction means for correcting the time information of the clock function;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 7. The information device according to claim 6, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last corrected, and the device which provided the time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the time and year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Second, millisecond, microsecond, or any two or more of the time unit, and can be used when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of:  An information device having a time adjustment function. 8. By connecting multiple devices, it is possible to connect between devices to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, comprising: a clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function of a first other device connected to the network system; Clock attribute information acquisition means for acquiring clock attribute information comprising accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function;  Time correction means for correcting the time of the first other device,  Time information management means for managing time information by a clock function;  Means for extracting the time information;  A time information transmitting unit that transmits time information to the first other device; a holding unit for the clock attribute information regarding the own device;  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 9. The information device according to claim 8, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last adjusted, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provider's accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the clock function, and the year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. It can be used when transmitting and receiving time unit information via the network system and use unit information on one or more of any one of seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or any two or more units One of transmission / reception method information on transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more  An information device having a time adjustment function. 10. By connecting multiple devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A connected information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Selecting means for selecting any one of the other devices connected to the network system as a second other device that provides time information when performing time correction;  Time information management means for managing time information by a clock function;  A time information receiving unit that receives time information from the second other device; a time information correcting unit that corrects time information of a clock function;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function, Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 11. The information device according to claim 10, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last adjusted, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the clock function and year, month, day, hour, minute that can be handled when the clock function transmits and receives time information via the network system. , Seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or usage unit information relating to at least two of the time units, and the time unit used for transmitting and receiving the time information via the network system. The transmission and reception method information on the possible transmission and reception methods, or a combination of any two or more of  An information device having a time adjustment function. 1 2. A network system with a clock function that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals by connecting multiple devices. A time correction method for correcting time information of a device,  A control device for controlling other devices connected to the network system includes:  The first other device connected to the network system obtains clock function presence / absence information regarding presence / absence of a clock function and clock attribute information including accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function, Selecting any one of the devices other than the first other device connected to the network system as the second other device that provides time information when performing time correction; Correcting the time of the first other device,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 1 3. In the time adjustment method according to claim 12,  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last adjusted, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provider's accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the clock function, and the year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. It can be used when transmitting and receiving time unit information via the network system and use unit information on one or more of any one of seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or any two or more units The transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 14. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein  The control device requests the first other device to transmit the clock attribute information held by the first other device,  Receiving the clock attribute information transmitted by the first other device. 15. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein The control device transmits the clock attribute information to a device other than the first other device, and clock attribute information held by a device other than the first other device; and the transmitted clock A comparison determination of attribute information is performed, and the clock attribute information held by a device other than the first other device is transmitted only when a condition is satisfied. To ask,  Receiving the clock attribute information transmitted from a device other than the first other device;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 16. The time adjustment method according to claim 15, wherein  The control device receives address information transmitted from a device other than the first other device in the network system of the device other than the first other device;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 17. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein  The control device allows a user of the control device to select the second other device that provides time information when performing time correction.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 18. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein  The control device requests the second other device to transmit time information by isochronous communication,  Requesting the first other device to receive the isochronous communication and correct the time;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 1 9. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein  The control device requests the second other device to transmit time information by asynchronous communication, For the second other device, the first device that is the destination of the asynchronous communication Send network address information of other devices,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 20. The time adjustment method according to claim 12, wherein  The control device requests the first other device to transmit request information requesting the second other device to transmit time information by asynchronous communication,  Transmitting, to the first other device, network address information of the second other device transmitting the request information;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 2 1. A device with a clock function in a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals by connecting multiple devices. A time correction method for correcting the time information of  The time information transmitting device that transmits time information manages the time information using the clock function,  Holds clock attribute information including the clock function presence / absence information on the presence / absence of the clock function and accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function for the own device.  Publish the clock attribute information,  Extracting time information from the clock function,  Transmitting time information to a first other device connected to the network system;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 2 2. The time adjustment method according to claim 21, wherein The clock attribute information further includes a date when the time of the clock function was last corrected. The correction date and time information about the time, the provider precision information about the precision of the clock function held by the device that provided the time information indicating the current time when the time was last corrected, and the clock function Any one of year, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, or any two that can be handled when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system Any one of the above-mentioned usage unit information on the time unit and transmission / reception method information on a transmission / reception method that can be used when transmitting / receiving the time information via the network system. Consisting of a combination of two or more,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 23. The time correction method according to claim 21, wherein the time information transmitting device transmits time information to the first other device by means of isochronous communication or asynchronous communication.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 24. By connecting multiple devices, it is possible to have a clock function in a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. A time correction method for correcting time information of a device,  The time information transmitting device that transmits time information manages the time information using the clock function,  Holds clock attribute information including the clock function presence / absence information on the presence / absence of the clock function and accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function for the own device.  Publish the clock attribute information, Using the clock attribute information, determine whether it is possible to transmit time information to the first other device, Extracting time information from the clock function,  Transmitting time information to a first other device connected to the network system;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 25. The time correction method according to claim 24, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last corrected, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the time and year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. It can be used when transmitting and receiving time unit information via the network system and use unit information on any one of seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or any two or more time units The transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of:  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 26. The time correction method according to claim 24, wherein  The time information transmitting device further transmits a clock attribute information comparison request including clock attribute information regarding the first other device, transmitted from a third other device connected to the network system. Receive, When determining whether it is possible to transmit time information to the first other device using the clock attribute information, the received clock attribute information is compared with the clock attribute information regarding the own device. A time correction method. 27. The time correction method according to claim 26, wherein  The time correction method, wherein the time information transmitting device transmits the network address information of the own device in the network system to the third other device. ' 28. The time adjustment method according to claim 24, wherein  The time information transmitting device further receives a request for transmitting time information by isochronous communication,  The time information transmitting device transmits time information by isochronous communication,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 29. The time adjustment method according to claim 24, wherein  The time correction method, wherein the time information transmitting device transmits time information by asynchronous communication. 30. The time adjustment method according to claim 29, wherein  The time information transmitting device further receives a request for asynchronous transmission of time information, including network address information of the first other device in the network system.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 3 1. By connecting multiple devices, it is possible to achieve isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. A time correction method for correcting time information, The time information receiving device that corrects the time of the clock function Manage information,  Holds clock attribute information including the clock function presence / absence information on the presence / absence of the clock function and accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function for the own device.  Publish the clock attribute information,  Receiving time information from a second other device connected to the network system,  Using the received time information to correct the time information of the clock function. 3 2. The time adjustment method according to claim 31, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last corrected, and the device which provided the time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the time and year, month, day, hour, minute, and time that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Second, millisecond, microsecond, or any two or more of the time unit, and can be used when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. Transmission / reception method information on the transmission / reception method, or a combination of any two or more of:  -A time adjustment method characterized by the following. 3 3. The time adjustment method according to claim 31, wherein  The time information receiving device receives time information from the second other device by isochronous communication or asynchronous communication; A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 3 4. The time adjustment method according to claim 31, wherein  The time information receiving device receives a transmission request for clock attribute information transmitted from a third other device connected to the network system, and transmits the time attribute information request to the third other device. Publish by sending clock attribute information,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 35. The time correction method according to claim 33, wherein  The time information receiving device further receives a request for receiving time information by isochronous communication reception, which is transmitted from a third other device connected to the network system.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 36. By connecting multiple devices, isochronous communication for transmitting data signals between devices and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals can be performed. A time correction method for correcting time information,  The time information transmitting device that transmits time information manages the time information using the clock function,  Holds clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device and clock attribute information including accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publish the clock attribute information,  Acquiring the clock attribute information of the first other device connected to the network system,  Extracting time information from the clock function,  Transmitting time information to the first other device; Correcting the time of the first other device, A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 37. The time correction method according to claim 36, wherein  The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last adjusted, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. And the year, month, day, hour, and minute that the clock function can handle when transmitting and receiving time information via the network system. , Seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or usage unit information relating to at least two of the time units, and the time unit used for transmitting and receiving the time information via the network system. The transmission and reception method information on the possible transmission and reception methods, or a combination of any two or more of  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 38. The time correction method according to claim 36, wherein  The time information transmitting device requests the first other device to transmit the clock attribute information held by the first other device,  Receiving the clock attribute information transmitted by the first other device. 39. The time correction method according to claim 36, wherein  The time information transmitting device receives the time information transmitted by isochronous communication and requests the first other device to perform time correction. A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 40. The time adjustment method according to claim 36, wherein  The time information transmitting device requests the first other device to transmit request information requesting the time information transmitting device to transmit the time information by asynchronous communication,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 41. The time correction method according to claim 36, wherein  The time information transmitting device transmits time information to the first other device by isochronous communication or asynchronous communication.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 4 2. A device with a clock function in a network system that enables isochronous communication for data and signal transmission between devices and asynchronous communication for control signal transmission by connecting multiple devices. A time correction method for correcting the time information of  The time information receiving device that corrects the time of the clock function manages the time information using the clock function,  Clock attribute information including the clock function presence / absence information on the presence / absence of the clock function and the accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function is held for the own device.  Publish the clock attribute information,  Any one of the other devices connected to the network system is selected as a second other device that provides time information when performing time correction, and a time is selected from the second other device. Receiving information,  Correct the time information of the clock function,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 4 3. The time adjustment method according to claim 42, wherein The clock attribute information further includes correction date and time information relating to the date and time when the time of the clock function was last adjusted, and time information indicating the current time when the time of the clock function was last corrected. Provided accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function held by the clock function and year, month, day, hour, minute that can be handled when the clock function transmits and receives time information via the network system. , Seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or usage unit information relating to at least two of the time units, and the time unit used for transmitting and receiving the time information via the network system. The transmission and reception method information on the possible transmission and reception methods, or a combination of any two or more of  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 44. The time adjustment method according to claim 42, wherein  The time information receiving device transmits the clock attribute information to another device connected to the network system, and compares the clock attribute information held by the other device with the transmitted clock attribute information. Requesting that the clock attribute information held by the other device be transmitted only when a condition is satisfied,  Receiving the clock attribute information transmitted from the other device;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 45. The time correction method according to claim 44, wherein  The time information receiving device receives address information in the network system of the other device transmitted from the other device,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 46. The time correction method according to claim 42, wherein The time information receiving device allows a user of the time information receiving device to select the second other device that provides time information when performing time correction.  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 47. The time adjustment method according to claim 42, wherein  The time correction method, wherein the time information receiving device requests the second other device to transmit time information by isochronous communication or asynchronous communication. 48. The time correction method according to claim 42, wherein  The time information receiving device receives time information transmitted from the second other device by isochronous communication or asynchronous communication,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 49. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current cycle time acquisition means for acquiring the current cycle time;  Differential time information for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, differential time information that is a difference between cycle times from real time and a reference cycle time that is a reference for the differential time. Acquisition means;  Real time calculating means for calculating the sum of the current cycle time and the difference time information as real time;  Time correction means for correcting the time using the real time calculated by the real time calculation means; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 50. The information device according to claim 49, wherein  The current cycle time obtaining means is configured to obtain a current cycle time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 51. The information device according to claim 49, wherein  Further, comparing means for judging the magnitude of the value indicated by the current cycle time and the reference cycle time is provided,  When the result of the determination by the comparing means is that the reference cycle time is equal to or greater than the current cycle time, the actual time calculation means calculates the sum of the current bus time and the difference time information and calculates the cycle time. The actual time is calculated by adding the time of one cycle,  An information device having a time adjustment function. 5 2. By connecting a plurality of devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A connected information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current bus time acquisition means for acquiring the current bus time;  Differential time information for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, differential time information that is a difference between bus times from real time, and a reference bus time that is a reference for the differential times. Information acquisition means;  Real time calculating means for calculating the sum of the current bus time and the difference time information as real time, When correcting the time using the real time calculated by the real time calculation means Time correction means,  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 53. The information device according to claim 52, wherein 5 The current bus time obtaining means is configured to obtain a current bus time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 0 5 4. By connecting a plurality of devices, it is connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between devices. Information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current cycle time acquisition means for acquiring the current cycle time; 5 differential time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, first real time information and a reference cycle time as a reference of the first real time,  A real time calculating means for calculating a sum of the difference between the reference cycle time from the first real time information and the current cycle time as a second real time; Time correction means for correcting the time using the second real time; 'An information device that has a time adjustment function, 55. The information device according to claim 54, wherein The current cycle time obtaining means is configured to obtain a current cycle time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system. An information device having a time adjustment function. 5 6. By connecting a plurality of devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A connected information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current bus time acquisition means for acquiring the current bus time;  Difference time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, first real time information and a reference bus time serving as a reference for the first real time,  A real time calculating means for calculating a sum of the difference between the reference bus time from the first real time information and the current bus time as a second real time,  Time correction means for correcting the time using the second real time calculated by the real time calculation means,  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 57. The information device according to claim 56, wherein  The current bus time obtaining means is configured to obtain a current bus time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 5 8. By connecting a plurality of devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication that transmits data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication that transmits control signals between the devices. A connected information device having a time correction function of providing information used for time correction, comprising: a cycle time obtaining unit configured to obtain a cycle time; An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Difference time information calculating means for calculating difference time information that is a difference between the actual time and the cycle time;  An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the difference time information and the cycle time to a first other device connected to the network system. . 59. The information device according to claim 58, wherein  The cycle time obtaining means is configured to obtain a cycle time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 60. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function of providing information used for time correction, a bus time obtaining means for obtaining a bus time,  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Difference time information calculating means for calculating difference time information that is a difference between the bus time from the real time,  A time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the difference time information and the bus time to a first other device connected to the network system;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 61. The information device according to claim 60, wherein The bus time obtaining means may be the first other device or the net Configured to obtain bath time from a second other device connected to the work system;  An information device having a time adjustment function. 6 2. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, wherein a cycle time obtaining means for obtaining a cycle time;  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Time correction information transmitting means for transmitting the real time and the cycle time to a first other device connected to the network system;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 6 3. The information device according to claim 6, wherein  The cycle time obtaining means is configured to obtain a cycle time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 6 4. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. Further, an information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, a bus time obtaining means for obtaining a bus time,  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time; The real time and the bus time are connected to the network system. An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the time correction information to the first other device. 65. The information device according to claim 64, wherein  The bus time obtaining means is configured to obtain a bus time from the first other device or a second other device connected to the network system.  An information device having a time adjustment function. 6 6. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time adjustment function for acquiring and providing information used for time adjustment,  Differential time information for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, differential time information that is a difference between cycle times from actual time, and a reference cycle time that is a reference for the differential time. Information acquisition means;  A time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the difference time information and the reference cycle time to a second other device connected to the network system. Information equipment. 6 7. By connecting a plurality of devices, it is connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. An information device having a time adjustment function for acquiring and providing information used for time adjustment, From the first other device connected to the network system, Difference time information acquiring means for acquiring the difference time information which is a difference between the bus times, a reference bus time which is a reference of the difference time, and  Information having a time correction function, comprising: the time difference information; and time correction information transmitting means for transmitting the reference bus time to a second other device connected to the network system. machine. 6 8. By connecting multiple devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time adjustment function for acquiring and providing information used for time adjustment,  Difference time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, real time information and a reference cycle time serving as a reference for the real time,  An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the actual time and the reference cycle time to a second other device connected to the network system. 6 9. By connecting a plurality of devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication that transmits data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication that transmits control signals between the devices. A connected information device having a time adjustment function for acquiring and providing information used for time adjustment,  Difference time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, real time information and a reference bus time serving as a reference for the real time, The real time and the reference bus time are connected to the network system. Time correction information transmitting means for transmitting to the connected second other device,  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 70. By connecting a plurality of devices, a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of a connected device,  The time information receiving device that corrects the time  Get the current cycle time,  From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtains differential time information that is a difference between cycle times from actual time, and a reference cycle time that is a reference of the differential time,  Calculating the sum of the current cycle time and the difference time information as an actual time, and using the calculated actual time to correct the time;  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 7 1. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device,  The time information receiving device that corrects the time  Get the current bus time,  From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtains difference time information that is a difference of a bus time from real time, and a reference bus time that is a reference of the difference time, The sum of the current bus time and the difference time information is calculated as an actual time, and the time is corrected using the calculated actual time. A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 7 2. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device,  The time information receiving device that corrects the time  Get the current cycle time,  From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, first real time information and a reference cycle time that is a reference of the first real time are acquired, and the first real time information is obtained from the first real time information. The difference between the reference cycle time and the sum of the current cycle time is calculated as a second actual time,  Using the calculated second actual time, correct the time,  A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 7 3. By connecting multiple devices, it is possible to connect the devices to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between devices. A time correction method for correcting the time of the device,  The time information receiving device that corrects the time  Get the current bus time,  From a time information transmitting device that provides information used for time correction, obtains first real time information and a reference bus time that is a reference of the first real time, and obtains the first real time information from the first real time information. The difference between the reference bus time and the sum of the current bus time is calculated as a second real time,  Using the calculated second actual time, correct the time, A time adjustment method, characterized in that: 7 4. By connecting multiple devices, it is possible to connect to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals between the devices. Information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current cycle time acquisition means for acquiring the current cycle time;  From a first other device connected to the network system, a difference that obtains difference time information that is a difference between cycle times from actual time and a reference cycle time that is a reference of the difference time. Time information acquisition means,  Real time calculating means for calculating the sum of the current cycle time and the difference time information as real time;  Time correction means for correcting the time using the real time calculated by the real time calculation means;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 7 5. By connecting multiple devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current bus time acquisition means for acquiring the current bus time;  Differential time information for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, differential time information that is a difference between bus times from real time, and a reference bus time that is a reference for the differential times. Information acquisition means; The actual bus time and the sum of the difference time information are calculated as the actual time. Time calculating means;  Time correction means for correcting the time using the real time calculated by the real time calculation means;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 7 6. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for performing time correction,  Current cycle time acquisition means for acquiring the current cycle time;  Difference time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, first real time information and a reference cycle time serving as a reference of the first real time,  A real time calculating means for calculating a sum of the difference between the reference cycle time from the first real time information and the current cycle time as a second real time; Time correction means for correcting the time using the second real time;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 7 7. By connecting multiple devices, isochronous eggplant communication that transmits data signals in a fixed communication cycle between devices, and transmission of control signals An information device connected to a network system capable of asynchronous communication that performs  Current bus time acquisition means for acquiring the current bus time;  Difference time information obtaining means for obtaining, from a first other device connected to the network system, first real time information and a reference bus time serving as a reference for the first real time,  A real time calculating means for calculating a sum of the difference between the reference bus time from the first real time information and the current bus time as a second real time,  Time correction means for correcting the time using the second real time calculated by the real time calculation means,  A means for holding clock attribute information, which includes a clock function presence / absence report on the presence / absence of a clock function for the own device, and accuracy information on the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 7 8. By connecting multiple devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, wherein a cycle time obtaining means for obtaining a cycle time;  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Difference time information calculating means for calculating difference time information that is a difference between the actual time and the cycle time; An information device having a time correction function, comprising: a time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the difference time information and the cycle time to a first other device connected to the network system. . 7 9. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, comprising: a bus time obtaining unit configured to obtain a bus time;  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Difference time information calculating means for calculating difference time information that is a difference between the bus time from the real time,  A time correction information transmitting unit that transmits the difference time information and the bus time to a first other device connected to the network system;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 80. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, wherein a cycle time obtaining means for obtaining a cycle time;  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Time correction information transmitting means for transmitting the real time and the cycle time to a first other device connected to the network system;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information; An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: 8 1. By connecting a plurality of devices, the devices are connected to a network system that enables isochronous communication for transmitting data signals in a fixed communication cycle and asynchronous communication for transmitting control signals. An information device having a time correction function for providing information used for time correction, comprising: a bus time obtaining unit configured to obtain a bus time;  An actual time acquisition means for acquiring an actual time;  Time correction information transmitting means for transmitting the real time and the bus time to a first other device connected to the network system;  Means for holding clock attribute information, including clock function presence / absence information regarding the presence / absence of a clock function regarding the own device, and accuracy information regarding the accuracy of the clock function,  Publishing means for publishing the clock attribute information;  An information device having a time adjustment function, comprising: