JP5402725B2 - Remote control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control system including a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the control devices.

Conventionally, various network systems for transmitting data between a plurality of devices are known.
For example, an audio network system for transmitting an acoustic signal between a plurality of nodes is known, and is used in concerts, plays, music production, private broadcasting, and the like. As examples of such an audio network system, CobraNet (trademark) and EtherSound (trademark) as described in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 below are known.

In addition to these, a network system described in Patent Document 1 has also been proposed.
In the network system described in Patent Document 1, a frame is periodically circulated through a ring-shaped transmission path formed by each device constituting the system, and each device reads and writes necessary information with respect to the frame. Thus, not only an acoustic signal but also a control signal such as an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame can be stably transmitted from any device constituting the system to any device.

JP 2009-94589 A

"CobraNet (TM)", [online], Valcom Corporation, [March 21, 2006 search], Internet <URL: http://www.balcom.co.jp/cobranet.htm> Carl Conrad, "EtherSound (TM) in a studio environment", [online], Digigram SA, [March 21, 2006 search], Internet <URL: http://www.ethersound.com/news/getnews. php? enews_key = 101>

  By the way, in a network system as described above, when a remote control system that controls devices in a system is controlled by a certain control device, a system ID is used to specify the control range, or a specific control target. It may be possible to use a device ID to identify the device. In this case, it is conceivable that a system ID and a device ID are set in advance for each device, and the control device specifies a device to be controlled based on these IDs.

It is preferable that the ID for such use has simple contents such as one to several digits and one to several letters of alphabet in order to facilitate the setting by the user and simplify the setting screen.
However, when such an ID is adopted, even if uniqueness can be ensured between devices within a range that can be grasped by the user, IDs may overlap between devices due to accidents or mistakes, and the device may not be identified. It was.

  For example, if you try to add a new device to the system and the new device is mistakenly set with the same ID as an existing device, which device is the newly added device? It cannot be easily determined from the control device. In addition, even if a device in the system fails and is replaced with another device, if the same ID as the existing device is mistakenly set for the other device, either of those devices will be replaced. It cannot be easily determined from the control device.

Therefore, even if it can be determined that the ID setting is incorrect in the control device, it may be difficult to start control even in a range where there is no erroneous setting.
Such a problem occurs in the same manner even when a complicated ID is used, when duplication due to erroneous settings cannot be ignored.

The present invention solves such a problem, and when the control apparatus starts control of a plurality of devices, even if IDs set by the user overlap between the plurality of devices, It is an object of the present invention to enable a control apparatus to easily identify a device that has been operating as a control target and a device that is not so as to select a control target.
In particular, even when the same device is to be controlled by a plurality of control devices, the control device can easily identify the devices that were operating as a group of control objects during the most recent operation and the devices that are not, and The purpose is to allow selection.

  In order to achieve the above object, a remote control system of the present invention is a remote control system comprising a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the plurality of control devices. Storage means for storing the first ID and the second ID of the device, first setting means for storing the first ID in the storage means in response to a user operation, and receiving the ID from the control device as the second ID And second setting means for storing in the storage means.

  Furthermore, in each of the control devices, a second ID storage unit that stores a second ID, a control target storage unit that stores device data for specifying a plurality of devices to be controlled for each device by the first ID, and each of the devices ID acquisition means for acquiring the first ID and second ID of the device respectively, and for each device data stored in the control target storage means based on the first ID and second ID acquired by the ID acquisition means, A means for associating at least one device having the same device data with the first ID value among the devices as acquisition sources, and a) the device data among the devices from which the IDs are acquired And a device having a second ID having the same value as the second ID stored in the second ID storage means. B) associating the device with the device data, and b) the device data and the first ID value are common among the devices from which the ID is obtained, and the second ID. When there is a device having a second ID that is different from the second ID stored in the storage unit, the association unit that gives a warning to the user and the device that can be associated by the association unit are Control target setting means for setting as a device and remote control means for specifying and controlling the device to be controlled set by the control target setting means by the first ID are provided.

  Furthermore, among the plurality of control devices, a device having a common value for the device data and the first ID among the devices from which the ID is acquired for any one of the device data. Manual association means for associating one of the one or more devices with the device data in accordance with a user operation, regardless of the value of the second ID of each device. When setting the control target by the control target setting unit, if the device to be controlled includes a device associated by the manual association unit, one unique ID is generated, and the first The second ID stored in the 2ID storage means is rewritten to the generated ID, and each control target device set by the control target setting means is assigned to each control target device. Shin to those provided and first 2 ID applying means for storing as the first 2 ID.

  Another remote control system of the present invention is a remote control system comprising a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the plurality of control devices. First, each device is assigned a first ID of the device. And a storage means for storing the second ID, a first setting means for storing the first ID in the storage means in response to a user operation, and an ID received from the control device and stored in the storage means as the second ID Second setting means is provided.

  Furthermore, in each of the control devices, a second ID storage unit that stores a second ID, a control target storage unit that stores device data for specifying a plurality of devices to be controlled for each device by the first ID, and each of the devices ID acquisition means for acquiring the first ID and second ID of the device respectively, and for each device data stored in the control target storage means based on the first ID and second ID acquired by the ID acquisition means, A means for associating at least one device having the same device data with the first ID value among the devices as acquisition sources, and a) the device data among the devices from which the IDs are acquired And a device having a second ID having the same value as the second ID stored in the second ID storage means. B) associating the device with the device data, and b) the device data and the first ID value are common among the devices from which the ID is obtained, and the second ID. When there is a device having a second ID that is different from the second ID stored in the storage unit, the association unit that gives a warning to the user and the device that can be associated by the association unit are Control target setting means for setting as a device and remote control means for specifying and controlling the device to be controlled set by the control target setting means by the first ID are provided.

  Further, a control target editing unit that adds and deletes device data to and from the control target storage unit in response to a user operation on a specific control unit among the plurality of control units, and any one of the device data When there are one or more devices whose device data and the value of the first ID are common among the devices from which the ID is obtained, the second ID of each device according to a user operation. Regardless of the value, the manual association means for associating one of the one or more devices with the device data, and the setting of the control object by the control object setting means, the addition of device data by the control object editing means or When the device is deleted and the devices to be controlled include devices that have been associated by the manual association means A unique ID is generated, the second ID stored in the second ID storage means is rewritten with the generated ID, and transmitted to each control target device set by the control target setting means Thus, a second ID providing means for storing the second ID is provided.

  In each of the remote control systems described above, when the second ID assigning means of the specific control device generates the unique ID, the ID is notified to the other control device, and the other control device stores the second ID storage. The second ID stored in the means is rewritten with the notified ID, and the device data stored in the control target storage means is changed to the device data stored in the control target storage means of the specific control device. It is good to rewrite.

  According to the remote control system of the present invention, even when the same device is to be controlled by a plurality of control devices, based on the system UID (second ID) that is common among the plurality of control devices that are controlled by the same system. The control device can easily identify a device that has been operating as a group of control objects during the most recent operation and a device that is not, and can select a control object.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the audio network system which the device controlled by the control apparatus forms in embodiment of the remote control system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the TL frame transmitted with the transmission line of the audio network system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the transmission timing of a TL frame. It is a figure for demonstrating the transmission condition of a TL frame at the time of transmission of the acoustic signal on an audio network system. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the acoustic signal processing apparatus used as each node which comprises the audio network system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the more specific structural example of the audio network system of the system shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating ID memorize | stored in each device. It is a figure which shows the example of a virtual device table. It is a figure which shows the example of the parameter for controlling the device which comprises the audio network system memorize | stored in a control apparatus. It is a flowchart of the virtual device addition process which CPU of a control apparatus performs.

It is a flowchart of a virtual device deletion process similarly. It is a figure which shows the example of ID of each device which the control apparatus collected. It is a flowchart of the automatic matching process which CPU of a control apparatus performs. It is a flowchart of a device search process similarly. It is a flowchart of a synchronization process similarly. It is a flowchart of the process which similarly sets the system ID which shows the present control object. It is a flowchart of a manual matching process similarly. Similarly, it is a flowchart of processing when addition of a new device is detected. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the control object device recognition by a control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the virtual device table in 2nd Embodiment.

It is a flowchart of the automatic matching process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the manual matching process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the synchronization process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the process performed when a control apparatus receives the notification of the virtual device table accompanying system UID update from another control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the control target device recognition by the control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
1. Outline of Embodiment of Remote Control System of the Present Invention (First Embodiment)
The remote control system of the present invention can be configured as a system including one or a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the control devices. Each control device selects an appropriate device from among a plurality of devices constituting the network system according to the setting of which device is the control target, and sets the control device and the selected control. A remote control system can be configured with the target device.

Moreover, as a device controlled by the control apparatus, for example, a device constituting an audio network system capable of transmitting and receiving acoustic signals to each other is conceivable.
Here, first, a description will be given of a configuration example of a remote control system in a case where a device constituting an audio network system as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-94589 described in the background section is a device that can be controlled by a control device. To do.

1.1 Example of Network System Formed by Device Controlled by Control Device First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an audio network system formed by a device controlled by a control device in the embodiment of the remote control system of the present invention. Show.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the audio network system 1 is a set of a reception interface (I / F) that is a reception unit that performs unidirectional communication and a transmission I / F that is a transmission unit. Are configured by sequentially connecting nodes A to C, which are devices each having two sets, with a communication cable CB. Here, an example of three nodes is shown, but the number of nodes may be two or more.

  In the node A, the reception I / F_AR1 and the transmission I / F_AT1 are a set of I / Fs, and the reception I / F_AR2 and the transmission I / F_AT2 are another set of I / Fs. For nodes B and C, the I / F in which the first character “A” of the code is replaced with “B” or “C” has the same relationship.

The connection between the nodes is performed by connecting one set of reception I / F and transmission I / F to one set of transmission I / F and reception I / F of another node through a communication cable CB. Yes. For example, between the node A and the node B, the reception I / F_AR2 and the transmission I / F_BT1 are connected, and the transmission I / F_AT2 and the reception I / F_BR1 are connected. Further, between the node B and the node C, another set of I / F of the node B and one set of I / F of the node C are connected.
Each node shown in FIG. 1 is an acoustic signal processing device having various functions such as analog input, analog output, digital input, digital output, mixing, effect application, recording / playback, remote control, or a combination thereof. Of course, it does not matter if the function is different for each node.

Here, as shown in (a), a state in which each node is connected like a single line having an end is referred to as “cascade connection”. In this case, one ring-shaped data transmission path can be formed by the cable CB connecting the nodes as shown by a broken line, and each node transmits the frame so as to circulate at a constant cycle. By reading and writing necessary information with respect to the frame, data can be transmitted / received to / from any node on the path.
In the audio network system 1, one node becomes a master node, generates a frame for transmitting an acoustic signal, periodically circulates the transmission path, and manages the network. The frame generated by the master node is referred to as a “TL frame” in distinction from other frames.

  Further, in addition to the cascade connection shown in (a), when the I / Fs not used in the nodes at both ends are also connected by the communication cable CB, two ring-shaped data transmission paths are provided as shown in (b). Can be formed. Each node can transmit / receive data to / from any node on the path by transmitting a frame through these paths and reading / writing necessary information for each frame. Such a connection state between nodes is referred to as “loop connection”.

  In this loop connection state, when communication is performed with an amount of information that can be transmitted using only a TL frame that circulates through one transmission path, even if a disconnection occurs at one location, the TL frame is transmitted on both sides of the disconnection location. By turning back the transmission, both sides of the disconnection point are viewed as both ends of the cascade connection, and the system is quickly converted to the cascade connection system as shown in (a), and TL frame transmission is continued with a loss of about 0 to 2 frames. can do.

  In addition, when a node is newly connected to both ends in a cascade connection state, the loop of TL frame transmission is canceled on both sides of the connection location, thereby forming a data transmission path that passes through the node. Can be imported into the system. Conversely, when the connection between any of the nodes is disconnected in the cascade connection state, the TL frame transmission is started on both sides of the disconnection point, so that the point ahead of the disconnection point is seen from the master node. The node can be disconnected, and the transmission of the TL frame can be continued at the location where the connection is maintained.

Although two cables are shown in FIG. 1, if a pair of reception I / F and transmission I / F are provided close to each other or integrally, a cable obtained by bundling the two into one, It is also possible to connect a pair of I / Fs.
If each node is provided with the necessary I / F, as shown in (c), the external device N is connected, and the data received from the external device N is written in the TL frame and transmitted to other nodes. It is also possible to transmit data read from the TL frame to the external device N.

  In the remote control system described here, the control device can be any of the devices that make up the audio network system 1 or is connected to any of the devices that make up the audio network system 1 such as the external device N. It can also be an external device.

In the former case, for example, a console constituting the audio network system 1 can be used as a control device.
In the latter case, it is conceivable that a personal computer (PC) is used as an external device, and an application for remote control system control is started on this PC to function as a control device. Then, the PC transmits a command corresponding to the operation accepted from the user to the node B, and the node B writes it in the TL frame and transmits it to the other node, or the other node writes in the TL frame and transmits it. It is conceivable that the node B reads out the response, the level data, etc. and transmits it to the PC, and performs an operation such as displaying the operation element state or level display on the PC.
The number of control devices is arbitrary, and both may be mixed.

1.2 Configuration of TL Frame Next, FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a TL frame transmitted through the transmission path of the audio network system 1 described above. Note that the width of each region shown in this figure does not necessarily correspond to the data amount.
As shown in FIG. 2, this TL frame 100 is 1282 bytes in size, and in order from the top, is a preamble 101, management data 102, a waveform data (audio data) area 103, a control data area 104, an FCS (Frame Check Sequence). ) 105 areas. The size of each area is constant regardless of the amount of data described in that area. Moreover, the size of each area | region other than FCS105 shown here is an example, and may be changed suitably.

The preamble 101 is a total of 8 bytes of data, and describes a preamble and an SFD (Start Frame Delimiter) defined by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.3.
The management data 102 is 8-byte data, and a ring ID indicating which transmission path in the system is used as data used by each node in the audio network system 1 to manage data included in the TL frame. In addition, a frame ID that is a frame serial number, the number of channels of waveform data in the waveform data 103, and the like are described.

  In addition, 1024 bytes are secured as the waveform data area 103, and one sample of 32 bits of waveform data, which is the sound signal data, can be described for 256 channels. That is, in this system, by circulating one TL frame 100, it is possible to transmit acoustic signals for 256 channels. Note that it is not necessary to worry about what is described in the area of ch (empty ch) that is not used for transmission in 256 ch. Note that the size of each channel area may be changed according to the number of bits of the waveform data. In this case, 16-bit waveform data can be transmitted for 512 channels, and if it is 24 bits, 340 channels can be transmitted.

  In the waveform data area 103, a channel is assigned to each node constituting the audio network system 1 in advance, and each node writes output waveform data at the position of the assigned channel. This assignment is performed based on a request from each node by a master node that performs a management operation of the entire system.

On the other hand, 238 bytes are secured as the control data area 104, and an Ethernet frame area 106, an ITL frame area 107, and a management data area 108 are provided here.
The Ethernet frame area 106 includes an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.3 format frame (Ethernet frame) obtained by further framing IP packets, which are packets for inter-node communication based on IP (Internet Protocol). Is described.

  Also, if the Ethernet frame to be described does not fit in the prepared size (here 178 bytes), it is divided into the required number of blocks on the frame transmission side, and one block is described for each TL frame. To do. Then, on the frame receiving side, data is extracted from a plurality of TL frames 100 and combined, and the frame before division is restored, so that Ethernet frames are transmitted between nodes in the same manner as normal Ethernet (registered trademark) transmission. can do.

  In the ITL frame area 107, data of an ITL frame that is a frame used for transmission of a command and a response to the command between adjacent nodes is described. Although detailed description is omitted, this ITL frame is used for information transmission when a frame transmission path is formed in the system and information transmission after the system is formed.

The management data area 108 is an area in which data used by each node in the system for managing data included in the TL frame 100 is described. Examples of data described here include meter data used for level display, a disconnect detection flag indicating that the TL frame 100 is disconnected during transmission, and an error flag indicating that an error has occurred in the transmission of the TL frame 100 Etc.
The FCS 105 is a field for detecting frame errors defined by IEEE 802.3.

  In the audio network system 1, the real-time transmission of the audio signal and the transmission of the Ethernet frame can be performed simultaneously by circulating between the nodes in the TL frame as described above. Then, by transmitting an Ethernet frame using the Ethernet frame area 106, each node constituting the audio network system 1 is in an environment equivalent to being connected by one Ethernet (trademark).

1.3 TL Frame Transmission Method Next, FIG. 3 shows the transmission timing of the TL frame 100 shown in FIG.
As shown in this figure, in the audio network system 1, the TL frame 100 is circulated between nodes every 10.4 μsec (microseconds), which is one sampling period of 96 kHz (kilohertz). Is configured to write an acoustic signal to a desired channel of a TL frame or read an acoustic signal from a desired channel. Therefore, one sample of waveform data can be transmitted between nodes for each of 256 signal transmission channels in each sampling period.
If data transfer of Ethernet (registered trademark) system of 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) is adopted, the time length of the TL frame 100 is 1 nanosecond × 8 bits × 1282 bytes = 10.26 μsec, and 1 sampling period The transmission is completed within.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a transmission state of the TL frame shown in FIG. 2 when an acoustic signal is transmitted on the audio network system.
Here, a system in which four nodes from node A to node D are cascade-connected is considered. When the TL frame 100 is circulated to each node in this system, one of the nodes is determined as a master node, and only that node generates a TL frame (TL frame having a different serial number) with a new sampling period. The TL frame generated every sampling period is transmitted to the next node. Nodes other than the master node are slave nodes, each of which performs a transfer process of receiving a TL frame from the previous node and transmitting it to the next node.

  Then, when the node B as the master node first transmits a TL frame toward the node C in the right direction in the drawing in accordance with the timing of the word clock, the TL frame is represented by a node B → C as indicated by a broken line. The data is transmitted in the order of D → C → B → A → B and returns to the node B. During this transmission, each node reads the waveform data and control data to be received from other nodes from the TL frame and receives the waveform data to be transmitted to the other nodes until it is transmitted after receiving the TL frame. Write control data to the TL frame.

  Then, when the TL frame returns around the transmission line once, the master node rewrites the management data of the TL frame to generate a TL frame having a later sample period, and uses it for transmission at an appropriate sample period. . At this time, the master node also reads / writes data from / to the TL frame in the same manner as other nodes.

  By repeating the above, each node can be circulated in one TL frame per sampling period as shown in time series from (a) to (e). In these drawings, the black arrow indicates the beginning of the TL frame, and the black circle indicates the end of the TL frame. Line arrows are described for easy understanding of TL frame breaks.

  In addition, when loop connection is performed and two transmission lines are formed in the partial system, as can be seen from FIG. 1, the TL frame generated by the node B as the master node and transmitted to the right in the figure is Transmission path for transmitting in the order of B → C → D → A → B, and transmission for transmitting the TL frame generated by the node B and transmitted leftward in the figure in the order of the node B → A → D → C → B You can make a road. In this case, since the TL frame passes through all the nodes once while making one round of the transmission path, each node reads and writes data during the passage.

1.4 Hardware Configuration and Basic Operation of Each Device that Configures the System Next, hardware for transmitting a TL frame as described above and its operation will be described.
FIG. 5 shows a hardware configuration of an acoustic signal processing device serving as each node constituting the audio network system 1 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the acoustic signal processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU 201, a flash memory 202, a RAM 203, an external device I / F (interface) 204, a display 205, and an operator 206, which are connected by a system bus 207. Has been. A card I / O (input / output unit) 210 connected to the external device I / F 204 and the system bus 207 is also provided.

  The CPU 201 is a control unit that performs overall control of the operation of the acoustic signal processing apparatus 10, and controls the display on the display unit 205 by executing a required control program stored in the flash memory 202. The operation of the child 206 is detected, parameter value setting / changing and operation of each part are controlled according to the operation, a command is transmitted to another acoustic signal processing device via the card I / O 210, and the card I / O Processing according to a command received from another acoustic signal processing apparatus via O210 is performed.

The flash memory 202 is a rewritable non-volatile storage unit that stores a control program executed by the CPU 201 and data that should remain even after the power is turned off.
The RAM 203 is a storage unit that stores data to be temporarily stored or used as a work memory for the CPU 201.

  The external device I / F 204 is an interface for connecting various external devices to perform input / output. For example, an interface for connecting an external display, a mouse, a keyboard for inputting characters, an operation panel, a PC, etc. is prepared. Is done. The PC is a normal personal computer that includes a CPU, a memory, a hard disk, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, various interfaces, and the like, and runs an operating system (OS) such as Windows (trademark). Under the OS, the user activates desired application software and uses the PC.

  The external device I / F 204 is also connected to the audio bus 217 of the card I / O 210. The waveform data flowing through the audio bus 217 is transmitted to the external device, and the waveform data received from the external device is input to the audio bus 217. You can do it. The external device I / F 204 may be any interface such as Ethernet, USB, and IEEE1394.

The display unit 205 is a display unit that displays various information according to control by the CPU 201, and can be configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED).
The operation element 206 is for accepting an operation on the acoustic signal processing apparatus 10 and can be constituted by various keys, buttons, dials, sliders, and the like.

  For example, when the acoustic signal processing apparatus 10 is configured as a console, the display unit 205 and the operation unit 206 include a large display and a large number of buttons and switches for receiving signal processing parameters and patch settings for a large number of channels. In the case where an electric fader or the like is provided and configured as an input / output device, the configuration differs greatly depending on the function of the device, such as providing simple lamps and buttons for setting the power supply and mode.

  The card I / O 210 includes an audio bus 217 and a control bus 218, and by mounting various card modules on these buses, input / output of acoustic signals and control signals to the acoustic signal processing device 10 and processing thereof are performed. It is an interface that allows you to do it. Each card module mounted here transmits / receives waveform data to / from each other via the audio bus 217, and transmits / receives a control signal to / from the CPU 201 via the control bus 218, and is controlled by the CPU 201.

  The audio bus 217 is an acoustic signal transmission local bus that time-divisionally transmits a plurality of channels of waveform data one sample at a time based on a sampling period from an arbitrary card to an arbitrary card. Any one of a plurality of connected cards becomes a master, and controls the reference timing of time division transmission of the audio bus 217 based on a word clock generated and supplied by the card. Each other card becomes a slave and generates a word clock for each card based on the reference timing.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which DSP (digital signal processor) cards 211 and 212, an analog input card 213, an analog output card 214, and a network I / F card 215 are mounted on the card I / O 210.
Various cards mounted on the card I / O 210 execute waveform data processing corresponding to the function of the card at a timing based on the word clock (waveform data sampling period).

  Among these cards, the network I / F card 215 includes two sets of transmission I / F and reception I / F, and transmission of the TL frame 100 in the audio network system 1 described with reference to FIGS. And has a function of reading and writing waveform data, control data, and the like with respect to the TL frame 100. For details of the configuration of the network I / F card 215 necessary for realizing these functions, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-94589.

  Cards other than the network I / F card 215 are responsible for functions such as acoustic signal processing and analog signal input / output, and can be arbitrarily selected according to the function desired to be provided to the acoustic signal processing apparatus 10. Can be installed. Further, in addition to those listed here, it is conceivable that various card modules such as a digital input / output, a sound source, a recorder, and an effector can be mounted as the other card 216.

2. Management of devices using ID By the way, each device that is to be controlled by the control device in the remote control system, such as each device constituting the audio network system described above, is an identification for the control device to identify the device. Various IDs are stored as information.
Next, management of devices using the IDs and IDs will be described. In the following description, the term “real device” is used, which means a device that actually exists and can communicate with a control device (for example, a device that constitutes an audio network system including the control device). This is a term for distinguishing from a virtual device described later.

  In the following description, in order to make it easy to explain the features of this embodiment, an audio network system that periodically circulates TL frames as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 is shown in FIG. As shown, the console 2Cb, the mixer engine 2Ex, and the input / output devices 2Ba, 2Bc, 2Bd, 2Be, 2Bf, and 3Ba are configured by cascading, and all or part of these devices are remote control systems In FIG. 2, the case where control is performed by the control device is used as an example. In FIG. 6, a solid line indicates a connection cable between devices, and a broken line indicates a transmission path of a TL frame.

2.1 ID stored in each device
First, FIG. 7 shows examples of IDs stored in each device. Attention is paid to four types of system ID, unique ID, model ID, and device ID.
Among these, the system ID is a device to be controlled at a time when remote control (setting) of parameters relating to acoustic signal processing such as setting of parameters used for signal processing in the DSP card and setting of routing is performed from the control device. Is an ID for prescribing the above range as one remote control system. When controlling a plurality of devices by dividing them into a plurality of systems, the control device selects only one system ID indicating the current control target system, and among the devices capable of communicating with itself, a device having that system ID Only the control target.

The system ID is an ID that can be arbitrarily set by the user. Here, the system ID is selected from a relatively small number of options prepared in advance such as numbers from 0 to 15 so that it can be easily set. I am trying to set it.
Further, this system ID is different from the network ID described in JP2009-94589A. Here, the network ID is an ID indicating a range of devices that form a transmission path of a continuous TL frame (in the case of loop connection, there are two transmission paths), and is automatically set by the master node. Is. On the other hand, the system ID is set by the user, and the range of devices to which a common system ID is attached is preferably within a range where a continuous transmission path is formed, but is not necessarily limited to that range. It is not something.

  The unique ID is used by the control device to identify devices that have previously operated as a group of devices controlled by the control device and devices that have not been changed (changed or added). It is an ID provided to make it possible. Although the details will be described later, this unique ID is generated every time the control device synchronizes for the start of parameter control in the device, and is generated for all devices synchronized at that time. Let the value be set. Therefore, the user cannot set this unique ID. Moreover, it is not necessary to know the value. In the figure, “u2” is shown, but actually it may be longer and more complicated data.

  The model ID is an ID indicating which model the device is among a plurality of models. This ID is a fixed ID set for each model by the device manufacturer and cannot be changed by the user. In the example of FIG. 6, the input / output devices are the same model and have the same model ID. Since the console 2Cb and the mixer engine 2Ed are different in model, the model ID is also different.

  The device ID is an ID consisting of, for example, one alphabetic character that is arbitrarily set by the user for each virtual device (described later) and each real device of the remote control system in order to identify each device. It may be an alphabet of two or more characters, or may be a 1 to 3 digit number, or a combination of an alphabet and a number. Anyway, any ID can be used as long as it can identify the maximum number of devices constituting the system. In addition, a simple ID that can be easily set by a user from limited options is preferable.

  In setting the device ID, the same device ID can be set for two different real devices that store a certain system ID. However, as described later, the same for two different virtual devices of a single remote control system. There is a restriction so that the device ID cannot be set. In that sense, it can be said that the device ID is “ID that identifies one of a plurality of virtual devices in the remote control system”.

  Since the device ID is an ID for identifying each device, a different value should basically be set for each real device. However, if a part of the actual device that made up the remote control system is replaced due to a failure, or if a new actual device is added within the range that can communicate with the control device, it happens to be replaced or added. There may be a case in which the device IDs of the device and other devices in a range that can communicate with the control apparatus match.

  Even in such a case, the unique ID is used to replace or add a device that has been operating as a group of devices to be controlled by the control device (a device that constitutes one remote control system). The feature of this embodiment is that the control device can distinguish the device.

  In addition, since device IDs may overlap between different real devices in this way, when it is desired to reliably identify the real devices, a unique MAC address assigned to the network card of each real device is used instead of the device ID. Is used. However, since the MAC address is not rewritten, when there are a plurality of control devices, it is not possible to identify a plurality of devices controlled last as a system on the basis of them.

2.2 Virtual Device Table to be Stored in Control Device Next, a virtual device table, which is information stored by the control device to identify a control target device in the remote control system, will be described.

FIG. 8 shows an example of this virtual device table.
As shown in this figure, the virtual device table is a table that stores, for each system ID, virtual device information indicating one control target device that should constitute the remote control system specified by the system ID. The virtual device table only needs to be prepared for the system ID in which the user has registered the virtual device, and it is not necessary to prepare a table corresponding to all the system IDs that can be taken. VDN is a variable indicating the number of virtual devices registered for the system ID in parentheses.

In this virtual device table, each virtual device specifies and registers a system ID, a model ID, and a device ID. Numbers are automatically assigned to each registered virtual device in order from a young number “1”.
MD is the MAC address of the real device associated with the virtual device. OF is a flag that indicates whether or not the virtual device is in an online state in which the control device performs remote control of the corresponding real device, which will be described later.

  Note that the addition or deletion of a virtual device to the remote control system is performed in an offline state where the control device is not performing remote control of the actual device. Therefore, at the stage of registering a virtual device, there is no need to worry about whether there is a real device corresponding to each virtual device. The virtual device is a virtual device that stores parameters having the same configuration as the actual device of the corresponding model, and the control device can edit each parameter value for the registered virtual device in the same manner as the actual device. .

When the control device is the console 2Cb, audio functions such as signal processing (DSP), input / output (A / D, D / A), and transmission / reception (network I / F) of the waveform data provided in the console 2Cb are provided. , Which itself corresponds to one device, and is registered in the virtual device table as a virtual device (console 2Cb) in the same manner as other devices. In that case, it is possible to register only one system as one virtual device, or to divide the function into a plurality of devices and register them in a plurality of systems as a plurality of virtual devices. However, in the console 2Cb, the virtual device (console 2Cb) is always online and never offline.
FIG. 8 shows an example in which the console 2Cb is registered as a virtual device (number = 7) with system ID = 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the control device stores the parameters of each virtual device in the remote control system, and each parameter regardless of whether the virtual device is online or offline with the associated real device. You can change the value.
The parameters referred to here include level adjustment performed in the actual device, control of signal processing characteristics such as delay and equalizer, control of the signal path of patch processing, and transmission and reception of waveform data in the network I / F of the actual device. These are various parameters that perform control.

  The remote control by the control device means that the parameter values used for these operations are changed remotely according to a user operation accepted by the control device. When the control device starts remote control of the real device, the parameter values are the same between the parameter stored in the current memory in the real device and the parameter of the associated virtual device. Copy (synchronization) is performed.

  The configuration (type and number) of parameters stored in the current memory of each real device is determined according to the model of the real device, the installed options, and the like. In the control device, a parameter having the same configuration as the parameter stored in the current memory of the real device associated with the virtual device is stored for each registered virtual device.

  The synchronization described above is performed with respect to the parameters. The control device stores parameter configuration information prepared by the manufacturer corresponding to the model indicated by each model ID and various options to be installed. When the user registers a virtual device with a model ID in the system, a parameter area having a configuration indicated by the parameter configuration information corresponding to the model ID is formed in the control device corresponding to the virtual device. In addition, when a virtual option for associating a virtual device with an option of a real device is mounted, a sub area corresponding to the virtual option is formed in the parameter area.

  The above-described data shown in FIG. 9 updates the parameter contents stored in the control device itself in response to the remote control operation in order to improve the display response related to the remote control, and the operation content in the control target device. Can be used to display the result first before notifying. This is the reason why the remote control device and its contents are synchronized prior to the start of the remote control.

In FIG. 9, the virtual device number is shown for reference, but each virtual device can be specified only by the system ID and the device ID, and therefore it is not necessary to store the number.
In addition, the parameters stored and synchronized in the control device as described above can be stored in the current memory and reflected in the actual signal processing contents, and the contents of the current memory can be saved and read later. You may make it include the data of such a scene.
The parameters stored in the control device also include system control parameters (control target system ID and the like) that are data for performing control related to a plurality of systems.

  Next, processing related to the above-described editing of the virtual device table will be described. Edit the virtual device table when all the virtual devices stored in the control device are offline (when there is no virtual device in the online state described later. However, if the control device itself is registered in the virtual device table, The control device itself can only be online). Also, when editing, there is no need to worry about whether or not a device corresponding to a virtual device whose information is to be registered or deleted actually exists.

First, FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the virtual device addition process.
This process is performed when the CPU of the control device (CPU 201 when the control device is the console 2Cb, CPU of the PC when the control device is a PC, and so on) detects a virtual device addition instruction by a user operation. It is a process to be executed. The addition instruction is performed by designating, for example, the system ID (s), model ID (k), and device ID (d) of the virtual device to be added.

In this process, the CPU of the control apparatus first determines whether there is a virtual device that is already registered in the virtual device table and whose virtual ID and the system ID and device ID corresponding to the addition instruction match. (S101).
If not, in order to add a virtual device according to the instruction, first, the virtual device number VDN (s) for the system ID = s is incremented (S102). For the system with system ID = s, a storage area for parameters used for controlling the model specified by model ID = k is secured and a predetermined initial value is set (S103).

Next, model ID = k and device ID = d are registered in the virtual device table as virtual device data of a new number of the system with system ID = s (S104). Thereafter, the registration result is displayed on the screen of the display (S105), and the process is terminated.
If there is a match in step S101, a registration error is displayed on the display screen to avoid duplicate registration (S106), and the process ends without registration.

Through the above processing, it is possible to add new virtual device data to the virtual device table in accordance with a user instruction, prepare a storage area for storing parameters of the virtual device, and set initial values. Further, as described above, for each system ID, virtual devices with the same device ID can be prevented from being registered repeatedly.
In addition, when accepting an instruction for adding a virtual device, if an existing additional device and a system ID and a device ID both match, for example, by removing from the options, the additional instruction cannot be accepted. The branch of step S101 is not necessary.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the virtual device deletion process.
This processing is executed when the CPU of the control device detects a virtual device deletion instruction in response to a user operation or a request from an external device. The deletion instruction is performed by designating the system ID (s) and the device ID (d) of the virtual device to be deleted.

In this process, the CPU of the control device first decrements the virtual device number VDN (s) for the system ID = s related to the deletion instruction (S111) and the virtual device specified by the device ID = d related to the deletion instruction The storage area for the parameters used for the control is released (S112).
Next, from the virtual device table, the data of the virtual device in which the device ID = d of the system with the system ID = s is registered is deleted (S113), and the deletion result is displayed on the display screen (S114). End the process.

  Through the above processing, the virtual device data can be deleted from the virtual device table according to the user's instruction, and the parameter data used for controlling the device can be deleted.

2.3 Association between Virtual Device and Real Device Next, association between a virtual device and a real device using data in the virtual device table will be described.
This association is basically performed automatically by the control device, but some of the selections are made by the user, or the contents are manually changed by the user after the automatic association. be able to. Whether the association process itself is automatic or manual is performed internally by the control device based on the data in the virtual device table and each ID shown in FIG. 7 collected from each device. It is a process and does not affect other devices by itself. Processing for starting device control based on the result of association will be described later.

  The range of devices from which the control device collects IDs is all devices connected to the same network to which the control device is connected (in the example of FIG. 6, devices belonging to the audio network system S). The connection mode and communication protocol of devices in the network are not limited to this). It is also possible to search for a device across adjacent routers to one or more adjacent networks and collect the IDs of the discovered devices. Although the illustration of the process for collecting the ID is omitted, the control device periodically scans the network using a protocol such as ARP (Address Resolution Protocol), ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol), and is newly connected. Device detection. When a device is detected, the device requests an ID from the device, and receives the various IDs shown in FIG. 7 transmitted from the requested device in response to the request.

  Each real device can be specified by the MAC address assigned to the network I / F card of the real device. Here, each collected ID is managed in association with the MAC address of each device, as shown in the real device table of FIG. In the ID collection process, devices that disappear from the network are also detected, and information about the devices that have disappeared is deleted from the actual device table.

  Here, FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the automatic association processing. In the description of this processing, a specific example of the correspondence is that the contents of the virtual device table are those shown in FIG. 8, and the control device is configured from each device constituting the audio network system S shown in FIG. Description will be made assuming that IDs are collected and the collected IDs are as shown in FIG.

  13 is a remote control system when a control apparatus is newly connected to a network and the control apparatus detects a device connected to the network (it may wait until the process is completed). This is executed when a reset command is issued. It is also executed when a plurality of devices connected to the network are turned on or all the devices in the network to which the device to be controlled belongs are reset to form the network from the beginning.

In these cases, the CPU of the control device automatically starts the process shown in FIG.
In this process, first, the CPU of the control device first uses the same unique ID as the device whose system ID matches the value of the variable TG indicating the system ID that is the current control target among the devices that have collected IDs. Each item is grouped (S201).
When TG = 2, among the seven devices shown in FIG. 12, six devices with system ID = 2 are divided into a group with unique ID “u1” and a group with unique ID “u2”. , And the group having the unique ID “none (not set)”. Note that it is not necessary to create a group whose unique ID is “none (not set)”.

  Next, the CPU of the control device matches the model ID and the device ID of the devices in the group for each virtual device whose system ID is registered in the virtual device table for each group created in step S201. A thing is matched (S202). As for the system ID, since only the device whose system ID is TG is processed in step S201, it always matches.

For example, for the group whose unique ID is “u1”, the virtual device whose number is 2 is associated with the top device in FIG. For the group with the unique ID “u2”, the virtual device with the number 4 is associated with the second device from the top of FIG. 12 and the virtual device with the number 6 with the third device. It will be. The fifth device from the top in FIG. 12 has no counterpart.
The association in step S202 is a preliminary association for acquiring information as a priority group selection criterion.

Next, the CPU of the control device selects one of the groups created in step S201 as a priority group based on the result of association for each group in step S202 (S203).
This priority group is a group that prescribes a device that is preferentially associated with a virtual device when there is an ID overlap. Various selection criteria can be considered here. For example, a group having a large number of devices that can be associated is selected, a result of association is presented to the user, and the user is allowed to select, or It is possible to combine them.
It should be noted that, regardless of the result in step S202, a group including a device designated by a user in advance by a MAC address or the like may be considered as a priority group. In this case, the process of step S201 is unnecessary.

After the above, the process proceeds to the device search process in step S204.
FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of the device search process.
In this process, the CPU of the control device first sets 1 to the variable i indicating the number of the virtual device to be processed (S211), and among the virtual devices registered in the virtual device table, the system ID = TG and the number = i. A device having the same system ID, model ID, and device ID as those of the device is searched from the devices that have collected the IDs (S212). Then, it is determined how many devices have been found by the search (S213).

Here, when the number of discoveries is 0, in the audio network system S (the range in which IDs are collected), a device to be associated with a virtual device to be processed (system ID = TG and number = i), that is, It can be seen that there is no device to be controlled using data relating to the virtual device. Therefore, null indicating that there is no device to be associated is set in the MD (TG, i) of the virtual device table (see FIG. 8) indicating the address of the device associated with the virtual device (S214).
Further, when the number of discoveries is 1, it can be seen that there is no device ID duplication setting for the virtual device to be processed, and the device to be associated in the audio network system S can be uniquely identified. Therefore, the MAC address of the discovered device is set in MD (TG, i) (S215). As described above, since the MAC address is information for specifying the real device, writing the MAC address here corresponds to associating the real device with the virtual device.

  On the other hand, when the number of discoveries is 2 or more, it can be seen that there are two or more devices in the audio network system S that cannot be distinguished by the system ID, model ID, and device ID, and the ID is not set appropriately. Therefore, the user is warned about this point by displaying a message on the display (S216).

  Thereafter, if there is a device in the priority group selected in step S203 of FIG. 13 in the discovered device (YES in S217), the MAC address of the device in the priority group is set in MD (TG, i) (S218). If there is no device in the priority group, the user selects one of the discovered devices (S219), and sets the MAC address of the selected device in MD (TG, i) (S220).

In any of steps S214, S215, S218, and S220, i is incremented after completion of data setting in MD (TG, i) (S221), and the number of virtual devices VDN (TG) is not exceeded (S222). NO), the process returns to step S212 to repeat the process. If it exceeds, the association with the system ID to be processed is complete, and the process returns to the original process.
Returning to the description of FIG. 13, the automatic association is completed by the above-described device search process, so the association result is displayed on the display screen (S205), and the process is terminated.

  Through the above processing, the virtual device having the system ID set as the current control target among the virtual devices registered in the virtual device table and the audio network system S to which the control device is connected are configured. Even when there is a duplication of a system ID or a device ID set by a user between devices, the device can be automatically and appropriately associated with reference to the unique ID.

  In addition, although the user is requested to select in step S219 in FIG. 14, it is quite an exceptional case that the result in step S217 is NO, and such a situation is rare. However, since the association described here should not be performed randomly even if it cannot be determined by a given algorithm, the processing from step S219 onward is provided.

Here, for example, not only one priority group is selected in step S203 in FIG. 13, but also priorities are assigned to the groups in the descending order of the number of devices that can be associated, and the determination is made in step S213 in FIG. In such a case, if the devices in the group with higher priority are preferentially associated with each other, the association is not automatically determined, and the possibility of requesting the user to select can be further reduced.
Further, when there are a plurality of control devices, if they are sequentially synchronized with the actual devices, the unique ID of each device is rewritten each time. In the present invention, by giving priority to a group having a large number of groups that can be associated with virtual devices, even in such a situation, it is possible to appropriately associate virtual devices and real devices in each of these control devices. .

Next, FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of the synchronization processing.
This synchronization process is a process for starting control of the device by the control apparatus, and is also a process for setting a unique ID that plays an important role in the above association.
When the CPU of the control device detects an online shift instruction by a user operation, it starts the process shown in FIG. 15 in order to start control of devices in the audio network system S according to the association made at that time. .

  In this process, the CPU of the control device first generates a unique ID (S231). Although the generation method is not limited, uniqueness that can be expected to be non-overlapping within a range in which a system of the same type as the audio network system S is operated is desirable. It can be considered. Further, the unique ID may be generated based on UUID (Universally Unique Identifier), GUID (Globally Unique Identifier), or the like.

  Then, the generated unique ID is associated with the virtual device for all virtual devices having the system ID (= TG) indicating the current control object among the virtual devices registered in the virtual device table. Request to be stored as a unique ID. Here, transmission may be performed with the MAC addresses set in MD (TG, i) as destinations for all virtual device numbers i registered in the virtual device table of system ID = TG (S232). However, if the value of MD (TG, i) is null, transmission is not necessary. Further, it is not necessary to consider whether the MAC address is set by the above-described automatic association or is set by manual association described later.

  In addition, all transmissions between devices related to remote control of devices are performed using the Ethernet communication band. Here, although it is described as processing of the MAC layer, it is also possible to be processing of the Internet layer above the MAC layer, in which case the destination address written in the Internet packet is the device corresponding to the MAC address. IP address. In any case, in the MAC layer, the same MAC address is described in the Ethernet frame and transmitted to the same device.

The destination device that received the information transmitted in step S232 sets the received ID as a unique ID in response to the request (S131).
Further, after step S232, the CPU of the control device, for each virtual device of system ID = TG associated with the real device, the parameter of the virtual device, the parameter of the current memory of the associated real device, Are synchronized in the direction designated by the user (S233). This synchronization is performed by copying all the parameters for one device using either one of the parameters as the copy source and the other parameter as the copy destination, and making these values coincide with each other. The parameter to be copied is transferred by dividing the parameter of the transfer source controller or device into a plurality of parts, dumping each part, writing the dumped data in the Ethernet frame, and copying the destination device or control. This can be done by transferring it to the device. The copy destination device or control device overwrites the transferred parameter with the existing parameter.

  Here, as described above, each real device performs signal transmission and signal processing according to the value of the parameter stored in the device itself, not the parameter of the virtual device stored in the control apparatus. Therefore, if priority is given to maintaining the state of this processing (for example, when a control device is connected to the network of an operating system later and the operation of the system is to be continued), The parameters of the current memory may be the copy source, and the parameters of the virtual device associated with the control device may be the copy destination.

On the other hand, if you want each real device to perform signal processing according to the virtual device parameters stored in the control device (for example, if you want to run a new network system or remote control system, For example, when it is desired to stop and start up a system with another logical configuration, the parameters of each virtual device of the control device may be set as the copy source, and the parameters of the current memory of the associated real device may be set as the copy destination.
The user can set in which direction the synchronization is performed collectively for all virtual devices or individually for each virtual device.

  Then, after the above synchronization, the CPU of the control device sets the flag OF in the virtual device table to “1” for all the synchronized virtual devices, and online with the real device associated with the virtual device. (S234), and whether each virtual device is online or offline is displayed on the display screen and notified to the user (S235), and the process ends.

  When a virtual device is offline, the value of the flag OF is “0”. When the user performs a change operation of the parameter value of the virtual device in the control device, the value of the parameter of the virtual device stored in the control device is stored. Only changes. Even if there is an associated real device, the parameter value is not changed and remote control is not performed.

  On the other hand, when an actual device associated with a certain virtual device is online, the virtual device and the actual device store parameters of the same value in the synchronization processing at the time of online migration. When the parameter value of the virtual device is changed by the control device, the change is notified to the corresponding real device, and the parameter value is similarly changed in the real device. Further, when the parameter value of the real device is changed by operating the real device, the change is notified to the control device, and the parameter value of the corresponding virtual device is similarly changed. In this way, when in the online state, the parameter values of the control device virtual device and the real device are linked, and the parameter value of the corresponding virtual device is changed by changing the parameter value of the virtual device in the control device. The value can be changed to remotely control the operation of the real device.

  Through the above processing, each real device associated with one of the virtual devices among the real devices for which the control device has collected IDs comes online with the corresponding virtual device and accepts remote control from the control device. At this time, one unique ID newly generated by the control device is stored in each real device that is online. The unique ID is referred to in the automatic association process shown in FIG. 13 when another control device is connected to the network, or when the same control device is once disconnected from the network and reconnected. Note that before the control device is newly connected to the network and the process of FIG. 15 is first executed, all virtual devices of the control device are offline.

In addition, the virtual device brought online by the processing of FIG. 15 is removed when the corresponding device is excluded from the audio network system S or the operation is stopped and the connection between the control device and the corresponding device is lost. Go back offline. Further, when there is an offline migration instruction by the user, the CPU of the control device returns all virtual devices to offline.
In the process of FIG. 15, all virtual devices associated with real devices are synchronized (step S233). If there is already an online virtual device at the start of the synchronization process, the virtual device Since the parameters are synchronized with the already associated real device, the synchronization processing for the virtual device may be omitted.

  By the way, the automatic association in the process of FIG. 13 and the synchronization in the process of FIG. 15 were performed only for the virtual device having the system ID set as the current control target. The system ID indicating can be changed by the user operating the user interface of the control device. When a single control device arbitrarily controls a system having a plurality of system IDs, information on each system (virtual device table, virtual device parameters, etc.) is stored in the control device independently. For example, the control target system can be changed with good response.

FIG. 16 shows a process for this change.
When detecting the control target system setting instruction for changing the system ID indicating the current control target, the CPU of the control device starts the process shown in FIG.
First, all online virtual devices are set offline (S241), and the value of the system ID indicating the current control target is set in the variable TG according to the instruction (S242). Then, using the newly set ID value, the automatic association process shown in FIG. 13 is performed (S243), and the process ends.
Note that if the control target system setting instruction can be issued only when all virtual devices are offline, the process of step S241 is not necessary.

Through the above processing, the virtual device having the system ID set as the current control target is always associated with an appropriate device (within the range in which the control device collects the ID) constituting the audio network system S, It is possible to maintain a controllable state from the control device by bringing it online.
Therefore, for example, when it is desired to control a device whose system ID is “3”, the user sets the system ID indicating the current control target to “3” and then instructs the execution of the processing of FIG. A migration instruction may be given.

  As described above, by distinguishing the control target by the system ID, a plurality of different remote control systems can be designated as the control target, and the actual device that should constitute the remote control system can be remotely controlled. Note that virtual devices of different remote control systems can be brought online at the same time. Even in such a case, it is preferable that only one system ID is designated as a control target by the control device, and remote control is performed by using only one system as a control target.

Further, the association between the virtual device and the real device performed by the processing of FIG. 13 can be manually changed by the user operating the user interface of the control device.
FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of manual association processing for this change.
The CPU of the control device starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17 when the user is instructed to manually associate the virtual device with the designation of the virtual device. Note that only a virtual device having a system ID (referred to as TG) indicating the current control target can be specified.

In the process of FIG. 17, the CPU of the control device first takes the virtual device for which the association is instructed offline (S251). In this case, if there is a real device corresponding to the virtual device, the control of the device is stopped, but it is not necessary to change the value of the control parameter used to control the virtual device according to the stop. If you are offline, you don't have to do anything.
Further, if the manual association instruction is limited so that it can be performed only when all the virtual devices are offline or when the target virtual device is offline, the process of step S251 is not necessary.

Next, as a real device candidate that can be associated with the virtual device according to the instruction, a real device whose system ID, model ID, and device ID match the virtual device is searched from the devices that have collected IDs. (S252). This search range is the same as that in step S212 in FIG. 14 unless an actual device is added or removed.
Then, the user selects one of the devices found here as a real device to be associated with the virtual device (S253), and selects the corresponding real device address MD (TG, i) for the specified virtual device. The MAC address of the device thus set is set (S254), and the association result is displayed on the display screen (S255), and the process is terminated.

  With the above processing, when the content of the association by the automatic association processing does not match the user's desire, the user can change the content of the association afterwards. In the manual association, there is no need to worry about the match / mismatch between the system UID and the unique ID on the real device side. In addition, the association between the virtual device and the real device that has been manually changed is performed after the user gives an instruction to go online and the synchronization process in FIG. Reflected. At that time, the control device generates a new unique ID, and the generated unique ID is stored in each real device.

  In the normal case where two or more devices having the same system ID, model ID, and device ID do not exist within the ID collection range, at most one device is found by the search in step S252. In this case, it is not necessary to accept the selection in step S253, but it is preferable to accept the selection as to whether or not to associate the discovered device.

  On the other hand, when a plurality of devices are discovered in step S252, since these devices have the same system ID, model ID, and device ID, other information such as a MAC address, for example, is received when selection is accepted in step S253. Present to allow the user to distinguish between multiple discovered devices. Alternatively, a button corresponding to each discovered real device is displayed on the display screen, a reaction instruction is transmitted to the corresponding real device in response to a user operation, and the received real device blinks the display on the main body. , Etc. so that they can be distinguished.

2.4 Response to System Configuration Change Next, even when a real device is added to the network or the system ID or device ID of the real device is changed during remote control of the real device by the control device A process for appropriately maintaining the association between the virtual device and the real device and allowing the control device to continue to control the device will be described.

First, FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of processing executed when the CPU of the control device detects a device newly connected to the network.
In the audio network system S shown in FIG. 6, the frame transmission path on the loop formed on the cascade-connected devices while continuing the circulation of the TL frame, similar to the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-94589. Can be changed dynamically. When a new device is connected to the end of a cascaded device group, the frame transmission path is changed to include the device, and audio transmission and Ethernet frames between the existing device and the device are performed. Transmission is possible.

In this case, Ethernet frame transmission between the control device and the newly connected device becomes possible, and a newly connected real device can be found by the network scan described above by the control device. Therefore, the control device that has found the device starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In this process, the CPU of the control device first obtains the MAC address, system ID, unique ID, model ID, and device ID from the newly connected real device, and obtains information on the known device as shown in FIG. To the device table) (S271).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the system ID of the newly connected real device matches the system ID (referred to as TG) indicating the current control target (S272). If they match, the newly connected real device can be associated with the newly connected real device, that is, the virtual device in which the system ID, model ID, and device ID all match, that is, the newly connected real device. A virtual device is searched (S273).

  If there is (YES in S274), the number of the discovered virtual device is set to i (S275), and if MD (TG, i) = Null, that is, there is no device associated with the discovered virtual device. (YES in S276), the MAC address of the real device newly connected to MD (TG, i) is set, and the newly connected real device is associated with the discovered virtual device (S277) and the corresponding The attachment result is displayed on the display screen to notify the user (S278), and the process is terminated.

On the other hand, in the case of NO in step S272, since the newly connected real device is a device that is not currently controlled by the control device, no association is performed at this point, and the process is terminated.
In the case of NO in step S274, since it is found that there is no virtual device that can be associated with the newly connected real device, the user is warned to that effect (S279), and the process ends.
If NO in step S276, the virtual device to which the newly connected device is to be associated is already associated with the actual device, and the settings of the system ID, model ID, and device ID are duplicated between the devices. You can see that Therefore, the user is warned to that effect (S280), and the process is terminated. In this case, the manual association process shown in FIG. 17 can be changed to associate the newly connected real device with the virtual device to be associated.

  According to the processing of FIG. 18 described above, even when a device is newly added to the network in a range where the control device collects IDs, the control device can appropriately associate the device with the virtual device. Thereafter, when the user instructs to go online and executes the synchronization processing of FIG. 15, the contents of the association are reflected in the actual device connected to the network.

Next, a process for setting a device ID and a system ID in a device that can be a target of remote control by the control device will be described.
Setting (changing) of the device ID and system ID of each device is performed by the user operating the operator 206 when the device is offline with the virtual devices of all control apparatuses.

In this case, the corresponding device records the ID input by the user as a newly set device ID or system ID in the flash memory 202 and clears the unique ID recorded in the flash memory 202. As a result, any control device is excluded from grouping in step S201 in FIG. However, if there is no other device in which the combination of the system ID and the device ID after the change overlaps (if the number of discoveries in step S213 in FIG. 14 is 1), regardless of whether or not they are grouped, A device whose ID has been changed can be associated with an appropriate virtual device.
When the real device is online with any virtual device, the device ID and system ID cannot be set in the real device.

2.5 Specific Example of Association Next, recognition of a control target device using the various IDs and virtual device table described above by the control device will be described using a specific example shown in FIG.
In the example shown in FIG. 19, a solid line frame indicates each real device constituting a network system (different from that shown in FIG. 6) including devices to be controlled in the remote control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Show. The characters in the frame indicate the ID stored in the device in the format of “system ID, unique ID / model ID / device ID”. These IDs are described by simple numbers and characters for easy understanding, but in particular, unique IDs need to have a longer data length (number of bits) to ensure uniqueness. Any ID does not mean that it is preferable to adopt such a format when applied to an actual apparatus.

  In addition, the vertical position of each real device in the “device constituting the system” and “the status of each device after online” in the figure is not the physical connection order of each device in the network system, but the individual device. (Corresponding to the MAC address). That is, devices having the same vertical position at different locations in this figure correspond to the same actual device.

In the “Status of each device after online” column, a frame indicating a real device associated with any virtual device is indicated by a bold line, and a frame indicating a real device not associated with a virtual device is normally displayed. This is indicated by the line.
A broken line frame indicates data of each virtual device registered in the virtual device table. The characters in the frame indicate the ID set for the virtual device in the format of “system ID / model ID / device ID”. The virtual device number is not shown.
When there is a device associated with each virtual device, the frame indicating the virtual device and the frame indicating the real device are connected by a solid line in the middle column in the figure.

First, in the example shown in FIG. 19, five real devices shown in the column “Devices constituting the system” in (a) (if the control device is a device other than these devices, in addition to these, not shown) Let us consider a case where a real device constituting the network system is replaced with a spare in a state in which the control device) configures the network system and virtual devices indicating the real devices are appropriately set in the virtual device table.
In this case, if "1" shown in the figure is set as the system ID indicating the current control target, the automatic association process shown in FIG. A device is associated with a virtual device and is controlled by a control device.

When the virtual device is brought online in the control device, parameters are synchronized with each device by the synchronization processing in FIG. 15, and the newly generated unique ID is assigned to each real object to be controlled. It is set to a device (here, all devices shown in the figure).
This state is maintained even if the power is turned on / off and the system is restarted without changing the device or changing the contents of the virtual device table (however, the unique ID value to be set). It will change every time you go online).

  Even if the real device is replaced due to a failure or the like, if the system ID, the model ID, and the device ID are appropriately set to correspond to the contents of the virtual device table in the real device after the replacement, the unique ID is set. Even if it is not unified with other real devices, the association and control by the control device can be performed in the same manner as before the exchange (in the grouping in step S201 in FIG. 13, the exchanged real devices are in different groups. The number of discoveries is “1” in step S213 in FIG. 14, so there is no influence of grouping). Once online, the unique ID is unified with other real devices.

  However, as shown in (b), the actual device after replacement has not been mistakenly replaced due to forgetting to change the old setting or the like (which has been the target of control by the control device in the network before). When the system ID, model ID, and device ID that are exactly the same as one of the devices have been set, it is discriminated which of these IDs is the actual device that has been replaced and which is the actual device that has not been replaced. I can't.

For example, in the example shown in (b), the system ID, the model ID, and the device ID are the same in the second real device from the top and the sixth real device, so in step S212 in FIG. When a real device associated with the virtual device / A / b is searched, these two real devices are found.
However, a unique ID different from that of the second real device that has not been replaced is set in the sixth real device after the replacement. Therefore, it is divided into different groups in the previous step S201 in FIG.

Then, if the group to which the second real device belongs is selected as the priority group in step S203 in FIG. 13, in steps S217 and S218 in FIG. The same second real device as that associated can be automatically associated.
Here, normally, it is considered that there are more real devices that are not replaced than real devices that are replaced. Therefore, if the priority group selection criterion in step S203 of FIG. 13 is the group with the largest number of real devices that can be associated in step S202, in most cases, a group composed of real devices that have not been replaced. Can become a priority group. In the example of FIG. 19, description will be made assuming that this criterion is adopted.

  As described above, in the state shown in (b), real devices are associated with four of the five virtual devices as shown in the figure. Even for devices having a common system ID, model ID, and device ID, it is possible to appropriately identify and associate the actual device that has been the control target.

  When replacing devices, the setting of a new device to be newly added is often changed while keeping the setting of the actual device that has been the control target from before. For this reason, there is a high probability that a setting error has occurred in an actual device to be newly inserted. Therefore, in the automatic assignment processing of the present embodiment, a real device that has been considered as a control target and is considered to have a low probability of setting mistakes is preferentially assigned to a virtual device.

  When each virtual device is brought online with the association in (b), synchronization is performed only for the four real devices associated with each other, and a new common unique ID (u2) is set. The On the other hand, the unique ID of the sixth real device not associated with the virtual device is not updated. Therefore, the state that the unique ID is different from the other real devices only in the sixth real device is maintained even after online. Further, if the real device is not further replaced or the contents of the virtual device table are not changed, the sixth real device is also obtained by the same association when the power is turned on or the system is restarted next time. Only a unique ID is different from other devices.

Further, as described above, the device ID set for each real device can be changed. Therefore, in the state (b), the user can change the device ID of the sixth real device from “b” to “c” to obtain the “correct” setting corresponding to the virtual device.
The state in which this setting is performed is (c). Even in this state, in the grouping in step S201 in FIG. 13, the third real device is in a different group from other real devices. However, there is no device with the same system ID, model ID, and device ID in the network, and the number of discoveries is “1” in step S213 in FIG. 14 for all virtual devices. Can be associated. Once online, the unique ID is also unified with other real devices, and is in a state where appropriate control is possible, substantially similar to (a).
If an appropriate ID has been set for the replaced real device from the time of replacement, the state changes from (a) to (c) without going through (b).

3. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the remote control system of the present invention will be described.
In the first embodiment described above, the unique ID is updated every time the synchronization process is performed regardless of whether or not the association between the virtual device and the real device is changed. The embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the unique ID is updated only when the association is changed. In addition, each control device stores the latest unique ID stored in the control target device, and depending on whether or not the unique ID stored in the actual device matches this, A different handling is also different from the first embodiment.
Therefore, only the differences and the points where the processing content should be changed will be described.

3.1 Virtual Device Table Stored in Control Device First, FIG. 20 shows an example of a virtual device table stored in the control device in this embodiment.
As shown in this figure, the above-mentioned “latest unique ID stored in the device to be controlled” is registered for each system ID as a system UID in the virtual device table. For example, the system UID (2) = u2 indicates that the unique ID last stored in the control target device in the system with the system ID “2” is “u2”.

  When the unique ID is generated by itself, it is generated and set in step S323 of FIG. In addition, when another control device generates and sets a unique ID after generating and setting a unique ID by itself, the virtual device table including the unique ID is notified from the other control device. In step S343 in FIG. 24, the setting is made according to the user's instruction.

Other information to be registered in the virtual device table is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the addition and deletion of virtual devices by the processes in FIGS. 10 and 11 can be performed in the same manner.
In the case of the first embodiment, the MD value indicating the MAC address of the real device associated with the virtual device may be deleted when the control device is reset or when the power is turned off. In the case of the second embodiment, the MD value is held even when the power is reset or the power is turned off.

3.2 Association of Virtual Device and Real Device Next, FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of automatic association processing. This process corresponds to the process shown in FIG. 13 in the first embodiment. This processing is also automatically executed by the CPU of the control device when the control device is newly connected to the network or when the reset of the remote control system is instructed, as in the case of FIG.
In this process, the CPU of the control device first selects a device whose system ID matches the value of the variable TG indicating the current system ID to be controlled from among the actual devices that have collected IDs (S301). ).

  Then, each virtual device whose system ID value registered in the virtual device table is TG is associated with the actual device selected in step S301 that matches the model ID and device ID (S302), and the system ID is The latest unique ID stored in the TG device = system UID (TG) value is prepared (S303). As described above, the value of the system UID (TG) is not necessarily the value generated by the control device itself that is executing the processing of FIG.

Thereafter, the CPU of the control device performs a process (S304 to S309) of confirming the contents of the association performed in step S302 while sequentially increasing i from 1 to the number VDN (TG) of virtual devices having the system ID TG. Do.
One of the important points in the confirmation at this time is that the real device associated in step S302 includes a real device whose virtual device and MAC address match and whose system UID (TG) and unique ID match. Whether or not it is.

  Since the MAC address of the real device associated with the virtual device is the same, the same individual device as the real device associated with the virtual device is still the same as the own device at the time of this automatic association. It can be seen that it is connected to the same network and can be remotely controlled from its own device. Similarly, since the unique ID matches the system UID (TG), the associated real device is the latest online transfer instruction (whether it was issued by the device itself or by another control device). You can see that the device is online.

  Therefore, if the match between the MAC address and the unique ID can be confirmed, the corresponding real device is a device that has been associated with the virtual device in the past, and is associated with the virtual device without knowing its own device. Can be considered to be a device that maintains the association (MD value) registered in its own virtual device table without any problem without being changed and excluded from the remote control system. . In this sense, a device that has confirmed the match between the MAC address and the unique ID is referred to as a “known device”.

Then, the real device associated with the i-th virtual device in step S302, that is, the virtual device and the device whose system ID, model ID, and device ID match (system ID match is guaranteed in step S301) is known. If there is only one device, it can be seen that the virtual device has no incomplete ID setting or duplication on the real device side, and it is not necessary to change the association. That is, it can be seen that there is no problem with the current setting.
Therefore, for the virtual device whose determination result in step S305 is such, no particular processing is performed, and the setting contents up to that point are maintained. The user may be notified that there is no problem in the setting.

If there is no real device associated with the i-th virtual device in step S302, the real device to be associated with the i-th virtual device may not be included in the network system to which the own device is connected. Recognize. In this case, although the corresponding virtual device cannot be controlled, there is no further problem as in the case of the first embodiment, and it is not necessary to change the contents of the association at this point.
Therefore, no special processing is performed for the virtual device whose determination result in step S305 is such, and the setting contents up to that point are maintained. The user may be notified that there is no corresponding real device.

On the other hand, when the real device associated with the i-th virtual device in step S302 is a plurality of devices including known devices, there is no serious problem with the association itself, but there is no system ID, model in the network system. It can be seen that there are a plurality of real devices having overlapping IDs and device IDs, and the IDs are not appropriately set in the real devices. Therefore, the user is warned to that effect (S306). The user may be able to distinguish which device is a known device and which device is another associated device by the same method as in step S253 of FIG.
The user who has received this warning can change the ID setting in the real device to eliminate the duplication, or change the real device associated with the virtual device by manual association.

  Here, the manual association process is substantially the same as that described with reference to FIG. 17 in the first embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 22, when the content of association (MD value in the virtual device table) is actually changed by manual association, the unique ID update at the time of synchronization processing in the system of system ID = TG 17 is different from the case of FIG. 17 in that processing (S311 and S312) for setting “1” indicating update necessity is added to the flag CF (TG) indicating necessity.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 21, if the real device associated with the i-th virtual device in step S302 is one or a plurality of devices that do not include a known device, there are two possibilities and their combinations.

  First, when there is no real device with a matching MAC address among the associated real devices, the real device previously associated with the i-th virtual device is removed for whatever reason, It can be seen that the actual device is connected to the network system. In this case, if there is only one real device associated in step S302, that real device, if any, any one of those real devices is newly associated with the i-th virtual device (the value of MD is set). Update to the MAC address of the real device). It is conceivable to perform such association automatically, or to ask the user for permission to change the setting during the automatic association processing, but here, the user is warned that the device has been replaced ( In step S307), the actual association is performed by manual association.

  Also, if there is a real device with a matching MAC address among the real devices associated in step S302, but the unique ID does not match for that device, the real device previously associated with the i-th virtual device is the system. Although the setting contents of the ID and device ID remain, it can be seen that the association with the virtual device is released by another control device. When a unique ID is set for a real device (corresponding to a virtual device) that is brought online in the synchronization process described later with reference to FIG. This is because the real device that is not the target is in such a state that the unique ID does not match although the MAC address matches.

  In this case, it is not always necessary to change the association between the virtual device and the real device in the own device in accordance with another control device, but it may be preferable to change the virtual device. The user is warned that the correspondence between the device and the actual device has been changed (S307). The user can arbitrarily change the correspondence by manual association according to the warning.

With the above processing, the CPU of the control device can correspond to each virtual device and the real device based on the contents of the virtual device table and the values of the system ID, model ID, device ID, and unique ID collected from each real device. At the same time, if there is a problem or fear of the association, the user can be warned to that effect.
The correction of the defect according to the warning can be performed by the manual association process shown in FIG. 22 or the ID setting change in each real device. Then, when the contents of the virtual device table are changed by manual association, “1” is set in CF (TG).

  Further, as described above, the association failure may be automatically corrected in the processing of FIG. 21, but in this case as well, when the contents of the virtual device table are updated, CF (TG) is set to “1”. Must be set to Although illustration is omitted, CF (TG) is similarly set to “1” when a virtual device is added to or deleted from the virtual device table or an ID setting is changed.

  Note that when a warning is issued in step S306 or S307, that fact is stored, and the synchronization processing in FIG. 23 cannot be performed until the user instructs manual association or warning disregard for the virtual device with the warning. In the synchronization process, it is conceivable that only a known device is brought online, or a virtual device with a warning is not brought online.

  Next, FIG. 23 shows a flowchart of the synchronization process. This process corresponds to the process shown in FIG. 15 in the first embodiment. This process is also executed by the CPU of the control device when an online shift instruction by a user operation is detected, as in FIG.

  In this process, the CPU of the control device first determines whether or not the unique ID needs to be updated based on the value of CF (TG) (S321). If it is “1” indicating that updating is necessary, CF (TG) is reset to “0” (S322), and a unique ID is generated as in the case of step S231 in FIG. Set as the value of the system UID (TG). Further, the contents of the virtual device table of the system ID = TG including the new system UID (TG) are notified to the other control apparatus that knows the existence (S323).

The CPU of the control apparatus that has received the notification in step S323 starts the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 24, and first displays an appropriate selection screen as to whether or not to take over the system UID included in the notified virtual device table. The user is allowed to make a selection (S341).
If the user selects to take over (YES in S342), the virtual device table of the system ID = TG stored by the user is replaced with the notified system ID = TG (S343), and the process is terminated.
If the user chooses not to take over, the process ends. In this case, the contents of the received virtual device table are discarded.

Here, the significance of taking over the system UID by the processing shown in FIG. 24 will be described.
First, when a plurality of control devices are included in the remote control system, if the system configuration can be changed in the same manner from any of them, the control operation may be confused. Therefore, it is preferable that only a specific operator (system administrator) can change the system configuration by controlling user account authority.
The change in the contents of the virtual device table (addition or deletion of virtual devices) and the change in the association between virtual devices and real devices described above are specific examples of changes in the system configuration.

  Then, the notification of the virtual device table to the other control device performed by the control device in step S323 of FIG. 23 is executed when the association between the virtual device and the real device is changed and CF (TG) becomes 1. Therefore, it can be thought of as an instruction given by the system administrator, “Because control of a system different from the previous system has been started, synchronize with other control devices.”

Further, since the notification of the virtual device table including the new system UID is a notification from the system administrator, the operator of the other control device that has received the notification controls the system with the same system ID. Basically, you can accept the notification.
In step S343, the notification source control device, the system UID, and the virtual device can be unified by replacing the virtual device table stored in the virtual device table with the contents of the notified virtual device table. Therefore, the control device notified of the virtual device table also executes the processing of FIG. 23 according to the online migration instruction, so that the same real device is assigned to the same virtual device as that of the control device of the notification source described below. It will be associated.

Note that the notification target of the virtual device table in step S323 may be, for example, all control devices connected to the same network system. Or you may limit to the control apparatus which has memorize | stored the virtual device table of system ID = TG among those control apparatuses.
Furthermore, it is also possible to register in advance the addresses of other control devices that control real devices in a range that overlaps with them, and set the registered control devices as notification targets. It is also conceivable to notify when a control device that operates under the account of the system administrator finds another control device that stores a system UID different from that of the own device.

  In addition, even if the virtual device table is notified as an operation of the notification target control device, the virtual device table having the same system ID as the notified virtual device table is not stored, or the notified virtual device table is displayed. If the registered virtual device and the virtual device registered in the virtual device table of the same system ID in itself do not have anything in common, the notification may not be received, You may make it discard, without confirming the necessity of taking over. This is because in these cases, it is considered that it is preferable that the notification source control device is not related to the notification target control device, and rather the content of the virtual device table is not unified.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 23, after step S323, the CPU of the control device sequentially increases i from 1 to the number of virtual devices VDN (TG) (S324, S329, S330), and the system ID = TG i Processing (S325 to S328) for bringing the second virtual device online is performed.

  That is, if there is a real device in the real device table in which the MAC address, the system ID, and the device ID all match the i-th virtual device of system ID = TG (S325), the real device corresponds to the i-th virtual device. You can see that it is a device attached. Therefore, the system UID (TG) is transmitted to the real device and requested to be stored as a unique ID (S326), and the user sets the parameter of the virtual device and the parameter of the current memory of the associated real device. Synchronization is performed in the designated direction (S327). Thereafter, the flag OF for the i-th virtual device is set to “1”, and the fact that the virtual device is online with the associated real device is stored (S328).

In step S325, the system ID and the device ID are confirmed to coincide with each other because the system ID and the device ID of the actual device are changed by direct operation on the actual device after the association by the processing in FIGS. Because there is a possibility that.
In addition, the synchronization may be performed in either direction when the control device operating with the account of the system administrator performs. However, when the other control device performs, the system administrator is brought online to the system that is being remotely controlled. Therefore, it is preferable that the parameter in the real device is read and copied as the virtual device parameter.

Also, the destination device that has received the system UID (TG) transmitted in step S326 sets the received ID as a unique ID in response to the request (S351).
Then, when i reaches VDN (TG) and YES in step S330, whether each virtual device is online or offline is distinguished and displayed on the display screen to notify the user (S331), and the process ends. To do.

  Through the above processing, each real device associated with one of the virtual devices among the real devices for which the control device has collected IDs comes online with the corresponding virtual device and accepts remote control from the control device. At this time, a unique ID having the same value as the system UID (TG) stored in the control device is set for each real device that is online. The system UID (TG) transmitted in step S326 is the ID if a new ID has been set in step S323, and if not, the ID previously registered in the virtual device table. In either case, the value remains the same as the system UID (TG). Further, when there are a plurality of control devices, the value of the system UID (TG) is shared between the control devices.

Therefore, even if any of the plurality of control devices performs the processing of FIG. 23, a system in which each control device stores only the device associated with the virtual device at the time of the latest online migration instruction A unique ID common to the UID (TG) is set.
Even if any of a plurality of control devices changes the contents of the virtual device table by the processing of FIG. 22 or the like, when that control device performs the processing of FIG. A unique ID common to the system UID (TG) stored in each control device is set only for the device associated with the device.

  Accordingly, each control device compares the unique ID set for each real device with the system UID (TG) stored by itself in the automatic association process of FIG. Even when there is no change in the ID setting itself, a change in the contents of the virtual device table (and a corresponding change in the correspondence between the virtual device and the real device) performed by another control apparatus is detected. The user can be alerted. Such detection cannot be performed only by comparing MAC addresses.

  In this embodiment, the unique ID value is updated only when the association between the virtual device and the real device is changed (when the contents of the virtual device table are changed). If neither the contents of the virtual device table nor the real device (MAC address) associated with the virtual device are changed, the real device disappears from the network (mainly due to power OFF). However, even if it appears on the network (mainly due to power ON), the conventional UID is continuously used without generating a new system UID. Accordingly, the number of unique ID updates can be suppressed.

  In addition, according to the processing of FIG. 21, when a different device is introduced without giving a warning each time the actual device considered to be mainly due to power ON / OFF disappears or appears, Only when there is a need to pay attention can a precise warning be given.

Further, in this embodiment, only a part of the plurality of control devices may be able to change the contents of the virtual device table and perform manual association. In this case, the system administrator may operate a device having functions for changing the contents of the virtual device table and manual association, and a general user may operate other devices. In this other device, the flag CF (TG) never becomes “1”, so that the other device does not generate a new system UID.
In this embodiment, even if the control device is only one device having the function of changing the contents of the virtual device table and the manual association function, the effect of the association between the virtual device and the real device using the unique ID is not can get.

3.3 Specific Example of Association Next, recognition of a control target device performed by the processing described above by the control device will be described using specific examples shown in FIGS. The format of these figures is the same as that of FIG. 19 unless otherwise specified.

  First, in the example shown in FIG. 25, five real devices shown in the column “devices constituting the system” in (a) form a network system, and A and B are control devices for controlling these real devices. Consider a case where two control devices (any of real devices may function as a control device) are connected to a network system, and the control device A is operating under the account of a system administrator.

  In the state shown in (a), each real device is in a state immediately after the device ID is set, and the unique ID is cleared. In this state, since the unique ID does not match the system UID of the control device in the automatic association process shown in FIG. 21, the actual device is not a known device. Here, an actual device that does not become a known device in the process of FIG. 21 is referred to as an “unknown device”.

  When the automatic association process is performed in the control apparatus A having the virtual device table in which the virtual devices indicated by the broken line frames in FIG. 25A are registered, in the process of step S302 in FIG. A real device indicated by a solid line frame connected with is associated. However, as described above, since all of these real devices are unknown devices, a warning is given in step S307. Then, the user can register the association performed in step S302 of FIG. 21 in the virtual device table (as the MD value) by the manual association process shown in FIG. At this time, “1” is set in the flag CF (1). Note that CF (1) is CF (TG) when TG = 1.

  Thereafter, when the user issues an online transition instruction in the control device A, the control device A executes the synchronization processing of FIG. 23 to synchronize the parameters between the real device and the virtual device. At this time, since CF (1) is “1”, the control apparatus A generates a new system UID (value is “u1”) and sets it in the virtual device table. This is notified to the control device (here, control device B). The new system UID is stored as a unique ID in the three real devices from the top in the diagram associated with the virtual device.

  The system UID and unique ID are maintained in the same manner regardless of how many times the power is turned on / off and the system is restarted unless the device is replaced or the contents of the virtual device table are changed.

On the other hand, if the user selects to take over the system UID when the virtual device table is notified from the control device A in (a), the control device B includes the value of the system UID as shown in (b). The contents of the device table are the same as those of the control device A after the operation of (a) is completed.
If automatic association processing is performed in this state, in the processing of step S302 of FIG. 21, real devices indicated by solid line frames connected to each virtual device are associated, but all these devices are known. Since it is a device, no warning is generated. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform manual association, it is possible to issue an online shift instruction with the flag CF (1) being “0”.

When synchronization processing is performed in this state, parameters are synchronized without generating a new system UID. In step S326, the value of the system UID is stored in the real device, but the value stored here should be the same value as the value already stored in the real device, which is a confirming process.
Then, the parameter synchronization is also performed between the real device and the virtual device of the control apparatus B by the synchronization process.
Even if the virtual device of the control apparatus A remains online with the real device, the virtual device of the control apparatus B can be brought online with the same real device at the same time.

Next, consider the case where the third real device from the top in the state shown in (b) is replaced with the sixth real device from the top shown in (c) for reasons such as failure.
When the automatic association process is performed in the control device A in the state of (c), in the process of step S302 in FIG. 21, the real devices indicated by the solid line frames connected with the lines are associated with each virtual device. The top two of these real devices are known devices, but the newly added “1, uy / A / c” real device is an unknown device whose unique ID does not match the virtual device table. Therefore, a warning is given in step S307. The user can then associate the real device “1, uy / A / c” with the virtual device “1 / A / c” by the manual association process shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, when the user gives an online transition instruction in the control device A, the control device A executes the synchronization processing of FIG. At this time, since CF (1) is “1” due to manual association, the control device A generates a new system UID (value is “u2”) and sets it in the virtual device table. The control device B is notified of the virtual device table. The new system UID is stored as a unique ID in the real device associated with the virtual device.

On the other hand, when the user selects to take over the system UID even when the virtual device table is notified from the control device A in (c), the control device B sets a new system UID value as shown in (d). In addition, the contents of the virtual device table are the same as those of the control apparatus A after the end of the operation (c).
If automatic association processing is performed in this state, in the processing of step S302 of FIG. 21, real devices indicated by solid line frames connected to each virtual device are associated, but all these devices are known. Since it is a device, no warning is generated.

When synchronization processing is performed in this state, parameters are synchronized without generating a new system UID.
That is, the control device B grasps the change in the association between the virtual device and the real device in the control device A, which is not involved in the control device B, and does not require the user to perform warning confirmation or manual association. The real device after replacement can be brought online.
Note that the control device B takes over the system UID because the user of the control device B uses the control device B to control the same system that the control device A is controlling or controlling. Is the case.

Next, in the example illustrated in FIG. 26, a case where the control device B does not take over the system UID from the control device A is considered.
FIG. 26 (a) shows the same state as FIG. 25 (a). Here, in the control device B, if the user selects not to take over the system UID when the virtual device table is notified from the control device A, the virtual device table stored in the control device B remains as it is, and (b) As shown in FIG. 4, a virtual device different from that of the control device A may be registered in the virtual device table of the control device B. Of course, the value of the system UID is also different from that stored by the control device A.

At this time, in the virtual device table of the control apparatus B, a virtual device overlapping with the control apparatus A side such as “1 / A / c” can be registered.
When the automatic association process is performed in this state, in the process of step S302 of FIG. 21, the real devices indicated by the solid line frames connected with the lines are associated with the virtual devices. Here, since the virtual device “1 / A / c” is associated with “1, u1 / A / c” for which the control device A has set a unique ID, at least for this device, The virtual device and the unknown device whose unique ID does not match. As shown in the figure, the other real devices are unknown devices if the unique ID is not set, and are known devices if the association is performed in the past and the unique ID is set.

Then, the user can register the association performed in step S302 of FIG. 21 in the virtual device table (as the MD value) by the manual association process shown in FIG. At this time, “1” is set in the flag CF (1).
Thereafter, when the user issues an online shift instruction in the control apparatus B, the control apparatus B executes the synchronization processing of FIG. 23 to synchronize parameters between the real device and the virtual device. At this time, since CF (1) is “1”, the control device B generates a new system UID (value is “ux2”), and shows three real devices from the bottom in the diagram associated with the virtual device. Is stored as a unique ID.
Further, the control device B notifies the control device A of the virtual device table in which the new system UID is set. Here, it is assumed that the control device A also does not take over the system UID of the control device B.

  When the control device B does not take over the system UID of the control device A, the control device B normally controls a device having a combination different from that of the control device A. Here, the reason why the control device B does not take over the system UID is that the user of the control device B uses the control device B to control a system that is controlled or different from the control device A is controlling. That is the case.

In such a case, if one real device is brought online at the same time as both the control device B and the control device A (virtual device), control may be disrupted, which is not preferable.
Therefore, for example, the online state with the control device that has been online until the unique ID is rewritten to another value in the actual device may be eliminated. In this way, based on a virtual device table with a different content from the currently online controller, it is possible to properly grasp that another controller has requested a transition to the online state (parameter synchronization). Only one control device can be online with priority.

In this case, after the synchronization processing by the control device B, the control device A is offline with the third real device from the top, and is online with the control device A because “c” As indicated by bold lines in the “devices constituting system” column, only the top two devices are shown.
In addition, when the control device A performs the automatic association process in this state, “1, ux2 / A / c” in which the control device B sets a unique ID is assigned to the virtual device “1 / A / c”. As a result, this device becomes an unknown device. Therefore, a warning in step S307 is made for this device. Accordingly, it can be said that a warning can be issued even when an actual device that has been brought online is incorporated and used in a system having a different device configuration by another control apparatus.

  In addition, when the user performs association as shown in the figure by manual association in the control device A and then issues an online shift instruction, the control device A brings the third real device from the top online by the synchronization processing. Can be. At this time, the control device A generates a new system UID (value is “u2”), and stores it as a unique ID in the three real devices from the top in the diagram associated with the virtual device. Since the new unique ID is also stored in the third real device from the top, this real device cancels the online state with the control device B.

Further, as shown in (d), when the contents of the virtual device table are changed in the control apparatus A, an unknown device is associated with the virtual device in the automatic association process and a warning is issued for the changed portion. It will be.
However, when the user makes an appropriate association by manual association and then issues an online transition instruction, the control device A performs a synchronization process to assign each virtual device and the actual device associated with the virtual device. Can be online. At this time, the control device A generates a new system UID (value is “u3”) and stores it as a unique ID in each real device associated with the virtual device.

4). Modification The description of the embodiment is finished as above, but it goes without saying that the configuration of the apparatus, the configuration of data, the procedure of operation by the user, the specific processing content, etc. are not limited to those described in the above embodiment. is there.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the system ID is set for each virtual device and each device, and the system that is currently controlled by the control device is set by the system ID.

  However, the current system to be controlled may be set by specifying one or a plurality of device IDs from the setable device ID options. However, in this case, it is necessary to be able to identify all devices and virtual devices only by device ID (or a combination of device ID and model ID). Therefore, when associating a virtual device with a device constituting the system, the system ID is ignored (or not set), and only the virtual device having the device ID set as the current control target is supported. Thus, no other device is associated with any other virtual device.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a virtual device that does not have a system ID set as a current control target is not associated with a device has been described. However, while associating all the virtual devices, control may be performed so that a virtual device that is not set as a current control target is not brought online.

  In addition to the priority group selection method based on the association with the virtual device as shown in FIG. 13, any method can be adopted. For example, if the device that becomes the master node is an important device and does not change much, but there is frequent replacement for other devices, the group to which the master node belongs is unconditionally set as the priority group Is also possible.

  Further, in step S323 in FIG. 23, even if not all the contents of the virtual device table are necessarily notified, there is no problem as long as the contents of the virtual device table can be shared with the notification target control apparatus. For example, the virtual device table may be passed when the notification target control device is selected to take over the system UID, or the virtual device content in the virtual device table is consistent between the control devices by some means. If guaranteed, the system UID may only be notified.

  Information other than the MAC address may be used as information for specifying a device associated with each virtual device. Regardless of the setting contents of the system ID and device ID performed by the user, if there is no duplication between devices and the information can always uniquely identify the data transmission destination, the information is used to associate with the virtual device. The device can be specified. The manufacturer of the device may set such an ID in the device in advance.

  In addition to the system using the ring-shaped frame transmission path as described above, the present invention can transmit control data from a control device to other devices such as CobraNet (trademark) and EtherSound (trademark). The present invention can be applied to any type of network system.

  Furthermore, it is not essential that an acoustic signal can be transmitted via a network. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to a network system that performs communication using an arbitrary protocol such as Ethernet (trademark), wireless LAN, USB, IEEE1394. In this case, the acoustic signal may be transmitted separately using a network other than the network used for transmitting the control signal or a cable such as MADI (Multichannel Audio Digital Interface).

Furthermore, it is not essential that the control device is a console or a PC, and that the device to be controlled is an acoustic signal processing device.
The modifications described above and the modifications described in the description of the embodiments can be applied in any combination within a consistent range. Conversely, the network system need not have all the features described in the description of the embodiment.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the remote control system of the present invention, even when the same device is controlled by a plurality of control devices, it is common among a plurality of control devices that control the same system. Based on the system UID (second ID), the control device can easily identify a device that was operating as a group of control targets at the time of the most recent operation and a device that is not so that the control target can be selected. it can.
Therefore, the convenience of the remote control system can be improved by applying the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, S ... Audio network system, 2Ba, 2Bc, 2Be, 2Bf, 2Bx, 3Ba ... I / O device, 2Cb ... Console, 2Ed ... Mixer engine, 10 ... Acoustic signal processing device, 100 ... TL frame

Claims (3)

A remote control system comprising a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the plurality of control devices,
Each of the devices
Storage means for storing the first ID and the second ID of the device;
First setting means for storing the first ID in the storage means in response to a user operation;
A second setting means for receiving an ID from the control device and storing it in the storage means as the second ID;
Each of the control devices
Second ID storage means for storing the second ID;
Control target storage means for storing device data for specifying a plurality of devices to be controlled for each device by the first ID;
ID acquisition means for acquiring the first ID and second ID of the device from each of the devices,
Based on the first ID and the second ID acquired by the ID acquisition unit, for each device data stored in the control target storage unit, among the devices from which the ID is acquired, the device data and the value of the first ID Is a means of associating at most one common device,
a) Among the devices from which the ID is obtained, a device having a second ID having the same value as the second ID stored in the second ID storage means and having the same value as the device data and the first ID. If there is, associate the device with the device data,
b) Among the devices from which the ID is acquired, there is a device having a second ID having a value different from the second ID stored in the second ID storage means and having the same value as the device data and the first ID. If there is an association means for warning the user,
Control target setting means for setting a device that can be matched by the matching means as a device to be controlled;
Remote control means for specifying and controlling the device to be controlled set by the control object setting means by the first ID,
Among the plurality of control devices, a specific control device further includes, for each of the device data, a device having a common value for the device data and the first ID among the devices from which the ID is acquired. Manual association means for associating one of the one or more devices with the device data in response to a user operation when there is one or more, regardless of the value of the second ID of each device;
When the control target is set by the control target setting unit, if the device to be controlled includes a device associated by the manual association unit, a unique ID is generated, Rewriting the second ID stored in the second ID storage means to the generated ID, and providing the second ID providing means for transmitting to each control target device set by the control target setting means and storing it as the second ID. A remote control system characterized by that. A remote control system comprising a plurality of control devices and a plurality of devices controlled by the plurality of control devices,
Each of the devices
Storage means for storing the first ID and the second ID of the device;
First setting means for storing the first ID in the storage means in response to a user operation;
A second setting means for receiving an ID from the control device and storing it in the storage means as the second ID;
Each of the control devices
Second ID storage means for storing the second ID;
Control target storage means for storing device data for specifying a plurality of devices to be controlled for each device by the first ID;
ID acquisition means for acquiring the first ID and second ID of the device from each of the devices,
Based on the first ID and the second ID acquired by the ID acquisition unit, for each device data stored in the control target storage unit, among the devices from which the ID is acquired, the device data and the value of the first ID Is a means of associating at most one common device,
a) Among the devices from which the ID is obtained, a device having a second ID having the same value as the second ID stored in the second ID storage means and having the same value as the device data and the first ID. If there is, associate the device with the device data,
b) Among the devices from which the ID is acquired, there is a device having a second ID having a value different from the second ID stored in the second ID storage means and having the same value as the device data and the first ID. If there is an association means for warning the user,
Control target setting means for setting a device that can be matched by the matching means as a device to be controlled;
Remote control means for specifying and controlling the device to be controlled set by the control object setting means by the first ID,
A specific control device among the plurality of control devices further includes control object editing means for adding and deleting device data to and from the control target storage means in response to a user operation;
For any one of the device data, when there is one or more devices having the same value of the device data and the first ID among the devices from which the ID is acquired, according to the operation of the user, Manual association means for associating one of the one or more devices with the device data regardless of the value of the second ID of each device;
When setting the control target by the control target setting unit, when the device data is added or deleted by the control target editing unit, and the device to be controlled is associated by the manual association unit When a device is included, one unique ID is generated, the second ID stored in the second ID storage unit is rewritten with the generated ID, and the control target set by the control target setting unit is set. A remote control system comprising: a second ID assigning unit that transmits to each device and stores the second ID as the second ID. The remote control system according to claim 1 or 2,
The second ID assigning means of the specific control device, when generating the unique ID, notifies the other control device of the ID,
The other control device rewrites the second ID stored in the second ID storage unit with the notified ID, and controls the device data stored in the control target storage unit to control the specific control unit. A remote control system characterized by rewriting device data stored in a target storage means.

Images