Apparatus and method of receiving data from audio/video equipment

• US 7,945,708 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd. (Qingdao Huatong State-Owned Capital Operation (Group) Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohkita, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, ALAN S
• Application Number:
  US12/351,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/14
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/047 using display data channel standard [DDC] communication
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/06 Consumer Electronics Control, i.e. control of another device by a display or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a data receiver apparatus comprises input ports complying with a digital interface standard, wherein each input port comprises a voltage signal terminal receiving a prescribed voltage signal, a detection terminal outputting a connection detection signal, a data input terminal receiving a data signal, and an address terminal transmitting a physical address. A nonvolatile memory is connected to the address terminal. A connection detection signal output from the detection terminal is set to a detection-state voltage irrespective of whether the data input terminal is selected.

Claims

1. A data receiver apparatus comprising:

input ports which comply with a prescribed digital interface standard; and

a switching device which is configured to select any one of the input ports, wherein

each of the input ports comprises a voltage signal terminal configured to receive a prescribed voltage signal transmitted from a data transmission apparatus, a detection terminal configured to output a connection detection signal to the data transmission apparatus, a data input terminal configured to receive a data signal transmitted from the data transmission apparatus, and an address terminal configured to transmit a physical address to the data transmission apparatus, and

the switching device which is configured to select data signals supplied from the data input terminals of the input ports, and the data receiver apparatus further comprising;

nonvolatile storage devices each of which is connected between the address terminal and the switching device and which are configured to store physical addresses associated with the input ports; and

a setting unit which is configured to set the connection detection signal output from the detection terminal of the input ports to a detection-state voltage irrespective of whether the switching device selects the data input terminal of the input ports.

2. The data receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is configured to set the connection detection signal to the detection-state voltage when the data transmission apparatus is connected to one of the input ports, and is configured to set the connection detection signal output from the detection terminal of the one of the input ports to a non-detection-state voltage for a prescribed period and then set the connection detection signal back to the detection-state voltage when the switching device selects the one of the input ports.

3. The data receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is configured to set the connection detection signal to the detection-state voltage when the data transmission apparatus is connected to one of the input ports, and is configured to set the connection detection signal output from the detection terminal of any input port selected by the switching device to a non-detection-state voltage for a prescribed period and then set the connection detection signal back to the detection-state voltage when the data receiver apparatus is switched from a standby state to an on state.

4. The data receiver apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection-state voltage of the connection detection signal, which the setting unit sets, is a voltage of the prescribed voltage signal.

5. The data receiver apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the voltage signal terminal is connected to the detection terminal, and a connection point of the voltage signal terminal and the detection terminal is connected to a reference potential via a resistor.

6. The apparatus according claim 1, wherein the prescribed digital interface standard is high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) standard.

7. A data receiving method for use in a system which comprises a data transmission apparatus including an output port complying with a prescribed digital interface standard, and a data receiver apparatus including input ports complying with the digital interface standard, physical address memories connected to the input ports, and a switching device configured to select any one of input signals supplied from the input ports, the data receiving method comprising:

transmitting a prescribed voltage signal from the data transmission apparatus to the data receiver apparatus;

transmitting a connection detection signal from the data receiver apparatus to the data transmission apparatus;

reading, by the data transmission apparatus, a physical address from one of the physical address memories connected to one of the input ports to which the data transmission apparatus is connected when the connection detection signal is at a connection detection potential;

detecting, by the data transmission apparatus, a connection of a data input terminal when the connection detection signal changes from a non-connection detection potential to a connection detection potential;

performing, by the data transmission apparatus, an authentication when the connection of the data input terminal is detected;

encrypting data in a prescribed encryption method by the data transmission apparatus when the authentication succeeds; and

transmitting the encrypted data to the data receiving apparatus from the data transmission apparatus, and wherein

the connection detection signal is set to the connection detection potential when the data transmission apparatus is connected to the input port.

8. The data receiving method according to claim 7, wherein, when one of the input ports is changed from a non-selection state to a selection state, the connection detection signal output from a detection terminal of the one of the input ports is set to the non-connection detection potential for a prescribed period.

9. The data receiving method according to claim 7, wherein, when the data receiver apparatus is changed from a standby state to an on state, the connection detection signal output from a detection terminal of one of the input ports which is selected by the switching device.