Apparatus and method for restoration of internal connections in a home audio/video system

• US 6,169,725 B1
• Filed: 10/30/1998
• Issued: 01/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation Of America (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zou, Feng, Gibbs, Simon J., Lea, Rodger J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOM, SHICK C
• Application Number:
  US09/183,161
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 340/286.06, 340/286.07, 340/286.08, 340/286.09, 348/552, 364/180, 364/183, 364/188, 364/191, 370/216, 370/235, 370/249, 370/259, 370/431
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40117 Interconnection of audio or video/imaging devices home automation networks H04L12/2803; bitstream network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the restoration of internal connections of consumer electronic devices in a home audio/video network. The present invention automatically maintains and manages the internal connections for each of the devices on the network. In the currently preferred embodiment, each internal connection is labeled according to its status (e.g., active or inactive) and/or condition (e.g., network compliancy). Whenever a new device is added to or an old device is removed from the network, a network reset is initiated. The network reset causes a device control module to terminate its normal mode of operation and enter into a “restore” mode of operation. During the restore mode, the device control module accepts connection information sent by the various stream managers of those devices currently coupled to the network. Based on this information, the device control module updates the label data for each of the internal connections. A set of rules is applied to the labels to determine whether a connection is allowed to be made by the stream manager or whether a connection is allowed to be disconnected by the stream manager. The device control manager enters back to its normal mode of operation either after all stream managers have reported or one second has elapsed.

Claims

1. In a system having a plurality of intercoupled devices transmitting and receiving audio and video data, a method for establishing internal connections between components within the devices, comprising the steps of:

designating for each of the internal connections, a label which identifies whether a particular internal connections is compliant with a specified standard and a status of the particular connection;

detecting a reset condition, wherein the reset condition is initiated when one of the intercoupled devices is removed from the system and the reset condition is also initiated when an additional device is coupled to the system;

reading a list upon detection of the reset condition, wherein the list contains information as to which internal connections within one of the devices can be disconnected;

establishing connections to components according to the list;

dropping connections to components according to the list;

adjusting a count corresponding to an active internal connection when connection is established with that particular active internal connection;

adjusting the count corresponding to the active internal connection when connection has been dropped;

updating the status of the devices.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of returning to a normal mode of operation after all internal connections have been restored.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of returning to a normal mode of operation one second after the reset condition has been initiated.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the status includes permanent, non-permanent, active, stale, compliant, and non-compliant connections.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the status includes combinations of permanent, non-permanent, active, stale, compliant, and non-compliant connections.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of overlaying a plurality of connections to a same plug of one component.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of removing the active internal connection when the count corresponding to the active internal connection has reached zero and changing the status of that particular connection to inactive.

8. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon:

a device control module which labels internal connections of a device coupled to a home audio/visual network and specifies whether an internal connection can be disconnected based on whether the internal connection is compliant and whether the internal connection is active;

a detector which detects a reset condition, wherein the reset condition is initiated when one of a plurality of intercoupled devices is removed from the home audio/visual network and the reset condition is also initiated when an additional device is coupled to the home audio/visual network;

a list specifying which internal connections within one of said plurality of intercoupled devices can be disconnected;

a stream manager which establishes internal connections and drops internal connections according to the list;

a counter corresponding to an active internal connection which adjusts a count when connection is established with that particular active internal connection and when connection has been dropped to that particular active internal connection.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the device control module further initiates a network reset whenever one of the devices is removed from or added to the home audio/visual network as indicated by the stream manager.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the device control module updates the data after the network reset.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the device control module returns to a normal mode of operation after all internal connections have been restored.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the device control module returns to a normal mode of operation one second after the reset condition has been initiated.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 9 further including an application program interface which retrieves a list of internal connections from or to a plug.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the list also indicates which of the connections are preemptible.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 9 further including application program interfaces for connecting and disconnecting internal connections.

16. A home audio/visual system having a plurality of devices coupled to a network so that data including audio and video streams can be transmitted from one of the devices to another of the devices over the network, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices containing internal components which have one or more plugs that can be connected to one of several plugs belonging to a separate internal component;

a processor residing within one of the electronic devices which designates for each of a plurality of internal connections, whether a particular internal connections is compliant with a specified standard and a status of the particular connection so that upon detection of a network reset, the processor reads a list to determine which of the internal connections may be disconnected;

a counter corresponding to an active internal connection which adjusts a count when connection is established with that particular active internal connection and when connection has been dropped to that particular active internal connection;

a memory coupled to the processor for storing information pertaining to a status and condition of each of the internal connections, wherein the information is updated according to the counter.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the status includes combinations of permanent, non-permanent, active, stale, compliant, and non-compliant connections.