Electronic equipment, control information transmission and reception methods having bidirectional communication using predetermined lines

• US 9,769,520 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2016
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakajima, Yasuhisa, Kikuchi, Hidekazu, Mitsuhashi, Takamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US15/251,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20160373809A1
• Time in Patent Office: 385 Days
• Field of Search: 348552
• 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: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43635 HDMI
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/602 for digital sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/015 High-definition television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Electronic equipment and methods for permitting quick control of the operating state of a source equipment side from sink equipment. A television receiver (sink equipment) 100 and an amplifier (repeater equipment) 200 are interconnected over an HDMI cable 610, and the amplifier 200 and a DVD recorder (source equipment) 300 are interconnected over an HDMI cable 620. Each of the pieces of equipment includes, in addition to an HDMI receiving unit and an HDMI transmitting unit, a high-speed data line I/F included in a bidirectional communication unit that uses predetermined lines of the HDMI cable. The bidirectional communication unit is used to transmit channel selection information, a remote control code instructing recording, “theater mode” designating information, a remote control code, or the like from the television receiver 100 to the audio amplifier 200 or DVD recorder 300.

Claims

1. A communication method of an amplifier for performing transmission of video data and audio data, communication of device control data, and local area network communication to an external television by using a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable, the method comprising the steps of:

connecting the external television to a pair of differential transmission lines consisting of a reserved line and a Hot Plug Detect (HPD) line;

performing the local area network communication through bidirectional communication via the pair of differential transmission lines;

receiving a connection state of an interface with the external television by using a DC bias potential of at least one of the differential transmission lines of the pair,

wherein the connection state includes a first notification from a first one of the pair of differential transmission lines whether the external television is connected to the HDMI cable;

receiving an inquiry command of “

Give Audio Status”

about a muting situation from the external television;

transmitting the muting situation as “

Report Audio Status”

in response to the inquiry command; and

receiving a “

User Control Pressed”

command from the external television to unmute a speaker of the amplifier.