Method and system for controlling and exchanging data for multimedia appliances and an appliance suitable therefor

• US 7,401,166 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2000
• Issued: 07/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Grundig Multimedia B.V. (Arcelik A.S.)
• Original Assignee: Grundig Multimedia B.V. (Arcelik A.S.)
• Inventors: Herfet, Thorsten, Busch, Hans-Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen; Alan S.
• Application Number:
  US10/148,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20030009581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,778 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/17
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a system for controlling and/or exchanging data for multimedia appliances and an appliance suitable therefor According to prior art, methods and systems for controlling and exchanging data for multimedial appliances have the disadvantage that said methods, systems and appliances are very simple with regard to the requirements and the possibilities at hand and involve considerable hardware requirements. The invention is based upon the fact that each appliance which is integrated into the system sends a message at regular intervals and by means of the bus as soon as said appliance has been activated The type of the appliance can be detected by means of said message which also reveals that the appliance is switched on, i.e. active. All the remaining active appliances in the system evaluate said messages and send such messages themselves as long as said appliances are active. The active appliances can control other active appliances or exchange data with other active appliances if required because each active appliance is thus provided with information on the other active appliances in the system.

Claims

1. Method for controlling and/or exchanging of data for multimedia appliances, including electronics entertainment appliances, in which the multimedia appliances are connected through a bus, wherein each activated multimedia appliance sends at least one message through the bus to the other activated multimedia appliances within a predetermined first time duration (T_AM), and wherein each of the other activated multimedia appliances receiving the messages can recognize the sending multimedia appliances with the aid of the messages if the multimedia appliance receiving the message is activated, wherein the other multimedia appliances can no longer recognize one of the multimedia appliances as being active when no message was received at least after the elapse of a second predetermined time duration (M*T_AM) and wherein a multimedia appliance, which is activated for the first time or repeatedly, sends its own messages through the bus to the other activated multimedia appliances after the first or repeated activation only after a time period which is longer than or equal to a predetermined third time duration (N*T_AM).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the first time duration (T_AM) is shorter than the second time duration (M*T_AM) and the third time duration (N*T_AM), and/or the third time duration (N*T_AM) is longer than the second time duration (M*T_AM).

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the messages of each activated multimedia appliance have a component, which describes the properties of the appliance.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein each activated multimedia appliance has an unequivocal identification (node-ID) and that the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is a component of the message of the multimedia appliance.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is established randomly.

6. Method according to claim 4, wherein the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is derived from a superior unequivocal identification (GUIDE), where the superior unequivocal identification (GUIDE) contains more information than the unequivocal identification (node-ID).

7. Method according to claim 4, wherein each multimedia appliance which is activated for the first time or repeatedly, establishes its unequivocal identification (node-ID) only after a time period which is longer than or equal to the third time period (N*T_AM), where during this time period the multimedia appliance evaluates the messages of the other active multimedia appliances in order to determine the unequivocal identifications (node-ID) contained in them, in order to make its own unequivocal identification (node-ID) not equal to the detected unequivocal identifications (node-ID) of the other active multimedia appliances.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein active multimedia appliances are evaluating the messages of the other active multimedia appliances continuously.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein active multimedia appliances evaluate the messages of the other active multimedia appliances only before they control these and/or before they exchange data with these.

10. System installed for controlling and exchanging data for multimedia appliances, including electronics entertainment appliances, in which the multimedia appliances are connected with a bus, wherein each multimedia appliance has a bus interface and a processor, through which it sends messages through the bus to other multimedia appliances within a first predetermined time duration (T_AM), wherein the other multimedia appliances receive the sent messages with their bus interfaces and evaluate them with the aid of processors, wherein the evaluation of the messages gives information as to which multimedia appliances are activated, wherein the multimedia appliances are recognized as not being active when no message was received from at least one of the multimedia appliances after the elapse of a second time duration (M*T_AM), which corresponds at least to the predetermined time duration (T_AM), and

wherein a multimedia appliance which is activated for the first time or repeatedly sends its own messages with the aid of a bus interface through the bus only after a third time duration (N*T_AM) which is longer than or equal to the first predetermined time duration (T_AM).

11. System according to claim 10, wherein the messages of each activated multimedia appliance have a component, which describes the properties of the multimedia appliance, where the properties are stored in a memory of the respective multimedia appliance.

12. System according to claim 10, wherein each activated multimedia appliance has an unequivocal identification (node-ID) and that the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is a component of the messages of the multimedia appliance, where the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is stored in a memory of the respective appliance.

13. System according to claim 12, wherein the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is established with the aid of a random generator.

14. System according to claim 12, wherein the unequivocal identification (node-ID) is derived by the processor from a superior unequivocal identification (GUIDE), where the superior unequivocal identification (GUIDE) is stored in the memory of the multimedia appliance and contains more information than the unequivocal identification (node-ID).

15. System according to claim 12, wherein each multimedia appliance which is activated for the first time or repeatedly establishes its unequivocal identification (node-ID) with the aid of its processor only after a time period which is longer than or equal to the predetermined time, where, during the time period, the messages of the other active multimedia appliances are evaluated in order to determine the unequivocal identifications (node-ID) contained in them, in order to establish the unequivocal identification (node-ID) not to be equal to the detected unequivocal identifications (node-ID) of the other active multimedia appliances.

16. System according to claim 10, wherein the active multimedia appliances, using their processors, evaluate continuously the messages of the other active multimedia appliances.

17. System according to claim 10, wherein the active multimedia appliances evaluate with their processors the messages of the other active multimedia appliances only before other multimedia appliances are controlled and before data are exchanged with other multimedia appliances.

18. Multimedia appliance installed for controlling and/or exchanging data with other multimedia appliances, including electronics entertainment appliances, with a bus interface and processor, wherein

the multimedia appliance, in the activated state, sends messages through the bus interface with the aid of the processor within a predetermined first time duration (T_AM),

wherein the multimedia appliance receives messages arriving at the bus interface and evaluates them with the aid of the processor, where the evaluation of the messages shows if other multimedia appliances are activated, where multimedia appliances are recognized as not being active when no message was received from the multimedia appliances after the elapse of a second time duration (M*T_AM) which corresponds at least to the predetermined first time duration (T_AM), and

wherein the multimedia appliance sends its own messages through the bus interface with the aid of the processor upon first or repeated activation only after a third time duration (N*T_AM), which is longer than or equal to the predetermined first time duration (T_AM).