JPH11317989A - Network device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow other network device to make unified control operations by providing in advance object (control information and image information used to instruct the control) control information to each network device and managing collectively the information. SOLUTION: An object (control information and image information used to instruct the control) specific to control a network device 951 connecting to a network 960 is stored in advance in each network device 951. A receiver 900 reads the object via the network 960 and displays image information used for the control by the user is displayed on a display screen 908. The user uses the image information to control other network device 951 via the network 960.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is useful for digital television broadcasting, networks, CATV systems, and the like, and is used in a system for multiplexing and transmitting data to video and audio data, and constituting a network. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of semiconductor technology and communication technology, a television (TV) receiver having more advanced functions has been developed. In particular, while conventional TV receivers were passive, simply watching and enjoying video and audio signals, digital technology was used to multiplex digital data in addition to video and audio signals, and other than video and audio. There is a growing demand for a high-performance television receiver that adds such information or responds to a TV program being viewed. As a TV that realizes such a function,
nal Application Published under the patent coopera
tion treaty (PCT) International Patent Classific
ation: H04N 1/00, International Publication Numbe
r: Compact Graphical Int as described in O 96/34466
There is an eractive Broadcast Information System (Reference 1). This document describes a method of multiplexing not only a normal video signal but also new data into a TV program to realize a bidirectional function.

[0003] Thus, an interactive function that cannot be performed by ordinary TV broadcasting is realized by multiplexing and transmitting interactive contents with video and audio signals.

On the other hand, as a method for realizing the bidirectional function,
MHEG described in ISO / IEC 13522-5 (Reference 2)
There is something called -5. In MHEG-5, Document 1
In the same way as the above, an application corresponding to a page called a scene is defined, and various applications can be configured by objects. In addition, an application can be configured by using an object corresponding to the resource of Document 1 called data content in the same manner. However,
There is no detailed script definition in the interactive system according to Literature 2, and an application scenario is created by describing the behavior of an object when an event occurs.

[0005] As described above, the two-way system described in Document 1 and the two-way system described in Document 2 are extremely well-suited for using an element called an object when configuring an application. Similar. However, since the types of objects that can be used when creating an actual application are different, the respective applications are not compatible. In addition, when both are finally transmitted, both are transmitted at a binary level as a final form, so that there is no compatibility in the transmission format.

While the two-way systems described in the two documents have been described above, it is expected that third and fourth two-way systems will be developed. Under such a situation, each system becomes a separate system, and a separate encoder is required.

[0007]

As described above, in recent years, many interactive television systems have been proposed. However, in each system, applications are not compatible, and unique encoders and decoders are required. Problem has arisen. In addition, if these formats are forcibly unified, the definition of a free object or the development of a system is restricted.

In recent years, a television receiver has been used as a display, and various devices (VT) in a home have been used.
R, DVD, etc.) are connected and used. In this case, each device has a remote controller, and the operation is complicated.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a network device which allows a user to view guides (icons, control panels) for various external devices connected to a network, and perform remote operation and control through the guide display. The purpose is to:

[0010]

A network device according to the present invention is a network device constituting a network, and a storage means for storing control information for controlling the network device, and the control device stores the control information via the network. Output means for outputting to another network device, wherein when the control information is input from the other network device, an operation according to the input control information is performed.

A network device according to the present invention is a network device constituting a network, and is used for creating control information for controlling itself and an operation image used by a user to select the control information. A storage unit that stores image information, and an output unit that outputs the control information and the image information to another network device via the network, when the control information is input from the other network device, The operation according to the input control information is performed.

Further, the network device of the present invention is a network device constituting a network, and a storage means for storing function information relating to a function of the network device, and storing the function information in another network via the network. Output means for outputting to the device, when control information for controlling itself associated with the function information is input from the other network device, perform an operation according to the input control information It is characterized by.

A network device according to the present invention is a network device constituting a network, and is used to create function information relating to functions provided by itself and an operation image used by a user to select the function information. Storage means for storing the image information of the image processing apparatus, and output means for outputting the function information and the image information to another network device via the network. When control information for controlling is input, an operation according to the input control information is performed.

Thus, a guide (icon, control panel) for a network device connected to the network can be viewed from another network device, and remote control and control can be performed through the guide display.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. The interactive content encoder 101 encodes the created interactive content and outputs it to the analyzer 102. Analyzer 102
Decomposes the input interactive content and outputs common data and individual data.

The name of the individual data is not limited to this, but various names such as extended data, additional data, difference data, and auxiliary data can be used. Also, for the common data, various names such as main data, parent data, and core data can be used.

The common data and the individual data are input to the synthesizer 103 and synthesized. The synthesized data is input to the interactive engine 104, and the application is executed by the engine.

The common data includes, for example, the following elements. [1] Common object [2] Common data content Individual data is composed of the following elements, for example. [1] Inherited difference component [2] Script The details of each of these will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration in which the first embodiment according to the present invention is applied to an actual transmission / reception system. An audio video (AV) encoder 201 encodes a video / audio signal and converts it into a digital signal sequence. On the other hand, the interactive content encoder 202 encodes the interactive content and inputs it to the analyzer 203. The analyzer 203 analyzes and separates the interactive content into common data and individual data, and outputs it to the format encoder 204. The format encoder 204 multiplexes the common data and the individual data and outputs the multiplexed data to the multiplexer 205. The multiplexer 205 multiplexes the output of the AV encoder and the output of the format encoder 204, and transmits the multiplexed signal.

There are various methods of multiplexing the common data and the individual data. For example, a method of packetizing each data, adding an identification code to each packet, and time-multiplexing each packet is adopted. .

On the receiving side, the multiplexed signal is received,
06 separates video / audio data from interactive content data.

The separator 206 outputs video / audio data to the AV decoder 210, and outputs data for interactive contents to the format decoder 207. The format decoder 207 separates input data into common data and individual data, and inputs each data to the synthesizer 208. The combiner 208 combines the common data and the individual data and outputs the data to the interactive engine 209. The interactive engine 209 constructs an application from the input data and outputs the result to the AV decoder 210. The AV decoder 210 executes and reproduces the reproduced video, audio, and application, and displays the video and the graphic image.

FIG. 3 shows details of the analyzer 102 and the synthesizer 103 shown in FIG.

The analyzer 102 includes the content separator 30
2, common data filter 303, individual data filter 3
04, data converters 305, 306, 307, 308,
It is composed of multiplexers 309 and 310.

The content separating section 302 is composed of an input section 301
Decompose input interactive content into data content, objects, and scripts. The data content is converted into a predetermined format by the data converter 305 and input to the multiplexer 309 as common data content. Similarly, the script is converted into a predetermined format by the data converter 308 and
Input to 0.

The object is separated into a common data object and an inherited difference component. That is, the common data filter 303 extracts components defined as common data objects, and the individual data filter 304 extracts components not defined as common objects as inherited difference components. The output (common data object) of the common data filter 303 is converted into predetermined data by the data converter 306, multiplexed with the common data content by the multiplexer 309, and output from the output unit 311 as common data. On the other hand, the individual data filter 304
(Consecutive difference component) is converted to a predetermined data format by the data converter 307, multiplexed together with the script in the multiplexer 310, and output as individual data from the output unit 312.

The synthesizer 103 includes separators 323, 324,
It has data converters 326, 327, 328, 329, an object synthesizer 330, and a content synthesizer 331. The common data input from the input unit 321 is
23 separates them into common data contents and common data objects. The common data content is converted to data content by the data converter 326, and the common data object is similarly converted to a predetermined format by the data converter 327.

On the other hand, the individual data input from the input unit 322 is separated by the separator 324 into a script and a inherited difference component. The inherited difference component is converted to a predetermined format by a data converter 328, and the script is converted to a predetermined format by a data converter 329. Here, the outputs of the data converter 327 and the data converter 328 are combined by the object combiner 330 to become the final object. Further, the data content output from the data converter 326, the final object output from the object synthesizer 330, and the script output from the data converter 329 are again used as the contents synthesizer 33.
1 are combined so as to become the final interactive content and output from the output unit 332.

As described above, in the signal transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the present invention, the object is divided into the common data object and the inherited difference component and transmitted. These configurations will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Generally, an interactive system based on objects has basic objects for creating an application. In the present invention, an object-oriented technology is introduced, and an object unique to each system is generated from a basic object. In the object-oriented way,
The object inherits the functionality of the parent object,
Create a child object. The object in any interactive system can be decomposed as a function of the basic object and its extension. The objects in References 1 and 2 are no exception.

As shown in FIG. 4, when an object having the minimum required functions for an interactive application is an object core class 401, a global class 402 having a global property representing the entire application is provided in any application. It can be classified into an abstract class such as a visible class 403 displayed as a graphic, an invisible class 404 in which a sound or the like is invisible but reproduced, and an internal class 405 depending on the internal operation. Examples of concrete classes that can be inherited from these abstract classes are shown in 406 to 414. That is, application, form, bitmap, text, graphic, entry field, sound, event, and bytecode. These are examples of the minimum required objects to create any interactive application. Up to this concrete class is defined as a common data object, and objects unique to different systems can be generated by inheriting from this common data object. The inherited difference component is
A component indicating a difference when an object of each system is inherited from a common data object.

In this embodiment, the following nine common data objects are shown. [1] Application: Contains information necessary for the entire application. [2] Form: Contains information for composing one page. [3] Bitmap: Displays an image. [4] Text: Displays text. [5] Graphic: Display rectangles and lines. [6] Entry field: Input characters [7] Sound: Play sound. [8] Event: Control the movement of the object. [9] Bytecode: Contains information on script and bytecode.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the structure of an object.

As the object core 401, an object ID 501 and a type 502 are generated. As the visible class, coordinate information 503 and a content pointer (or ID) 504 to the data content are generated, and a script pointer 505 to the script is generated by the bitmap class 408. The common object has the above configuration.

Thereafter, inherited difference components as functions unique to the system are arranged. For example, in the bitmap 1, information 506 regarding colors and lines is set. The inherited difference component is information 506 regarding the color and the line. These are all defined as objects.

At the position pointed to by the content pointer 504, encoding information 512 and a data content body 513 are arranged with an ID 511 indicating that the data string is data content at the head. At the position indicated by the script pointer 505, for example, an encoding information 532 and a byte code body 533 are arranged with an ID 531 representing a byte code at the top.

With respect to the data content, a typical example is an image, which is usually compressed and transmitted. Therefore, compression processing is performed on the transmission side, and decompression is performed on the engine side. Unlike objects, image compression is standardized, and JPE
It is transmitted in a format such as G or GIF. Therefore, the data contents can be relatively easily shared, and can be transmitted as common data contents. When using a unique compression method or the like, it is also possible to transmit individual data separately from the common data content. In this case, the data is multiplexed with the script and transmitted as individual data contents.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment according to the present invention.

The interactive content input from the input unit 601 is decomposed by the analyzer 602 into common data and individual data. The actual transmission is multiplexed with other digital signals and transmitted as shown in FIG.

The common data is transmitted via the synthesizer 603 to the first data.
Of the engine 604. Also, the common data is
The power is also supplied to the second engine 606 via the synthesizer 605, to the third engine 608 via the synthesizer 607, and to the fourth engine 610 via the synthesizer 609.

The individual data is input to the synthesizer 605 as first individual data, and is converted by the data converter 611 into second individual data, which is input to the synthesizer 607. Furthermore, the first individual data is input to the synthesizer 613 and converted by the data converter 612 into second individual data, which is input to the synthesizer 613. As a result, the third individual data obtained by synthesizing the first individual data and the second individual data is obtained from the synthesizer 613, and the third individual data is input to the synthesizer 609.

In this embodiment, the first engine 604
Receives and decodes only the common data. The second engine 606 receives and decodes the common data and the first individual data. Further, the third engine 608 receives and decodes the common data and the second individual data converted from the first individual data. Furthermore, the fourth engine 610
Converts the first individual data into the second individual data, receives the third individual data obtained by combining the second individual data with the first individual data, and receives the common data. Perform decoding.

Since the first engine 604 receives only the common data, the first engine 604 can receive interactive contents encoded by a different system having a limited function and execute an application. Second
Engine 606 can reproduce the original application. The third engine 608 is originally an engine of a different system, but stores the first individual data in the second system.
It is possible to execute an application of a different system by converting the data into individual data and using the converted data. Since the data converter 611 can be realized by changing only the inherited difference component of the object, it can be realized on a smaller scale than a converter that changes the object itself (the entire object). Fourth engine 61
The same can be said for the 0 system.

FIG. 7 shows still another embodiment.

When the devices of each system are configured independently, in the system 1, the encoder 702 and the second engine 718 correspond to each other, and in the system 2, the encoder 7
03 and the third engine 719 correspond to each other, and in the system 3, the encoder 704 and the fourth engine 720 correspond to each other. In this embodiment, a configuration in which compatibility is provided between different systems is obtained.

The interactive contents output by the authoring tool 701 are encoded by an encoder 702,
Encoded by 703 and 704. Each encoded data is sent to an analyzer 705, 706, 70
7 and converted into common data and first, second, and third individual data. Since the common data are all the same, only the second and third individual data are derived from the analyzers 706 and 707. The multiplexer 708 determines whether the common data and the first
Then, the third to third individual data are multiplexed and output from the output unit 709.

On the receiving side, the data input from the input unit 711 is separated by the separator 712 into common data, first individual data, second individual data, and third individual data.

The common data is supplied to the synthesizers 713, 714, 7
15, 716 and 723 are commonly input. Here, the synthesizer 713 generates an interactive content using only the common data and executes the first application that executes the application.
To the engine 717. The synthesizer 714 generates interactive content based on the common data and the first individual data, and supplies the generated interactive content to the second engine 718 that executes the application. The synthesizer 715 generates an interactive content based on the common data and the second individual data, and executes a third engine 7 that executes an application.
Supply to 19. The synthesizer 716 generates an interactive content based on the common data and the third individual data, and executes a fourth engine 720 for executing the application.
To supply.

As described above, it is possible to execute an application even in an engine corresponding to a different system.

Here, the synthesizer 722 further generates fourth individual data using the second and third individual data, and the synthesizer 723 synthesizes the fourth individual data and the common data. In the new fifth engine 724,
It is possible to construct an engine having both functions of the application of the engine 719 and the engine 720.

In this embodiment, since the number of individual data is increased to three, a larger transmission capacity appears to be necessary.
In a normal application, since the common data content such as image data occupies most of the interactive content, the increase in individual data is negligibly small.

FIG. 8 shows an application example of the system shown in the above embodiment. First engine 717
FIG. 8 shows an image state when the application of FIG.
FIG. 8A shows an image state when the application of the third engine 719 is executed, and FIG. 8B shows an image state when the application of the fifth engine 724 is executed. ).

FIG. 9 shows an example of common data, second individual data for the second engine, and third individual data for the third engine. The first engine 717 executes an application using only common data. In the common data, only basic parameters are defined.
Since the inheritance difference component in the second individual data includes an attribute indicating the ellipse in the shape of the button and the bitmap, the application executed by the second engine 719 includes, as shown in FIG. , An elliptical shape. Further, in the third individual data, since the bitmap object includes a semi-transparent attribute,
In the engine 724, since both inherited difference components of the second and third individual data can be used, an elliptical and translucent bitmap can be generated.

FIG. 10 shows a data structure in which common data and second and third individual data are multiplexed. "Engine 1" is shown as an indicator at the head of the common data section following the header information. Further, objects and data contents are inserted. Subsequently, in the individual data portion, “engine 2” is indicated as an indicator indicating the second individual data, and the inherited difference component as the individual data is inserted. Further, an indicator "engine 3" indicating the third individual data follows, and a succession difference component is inserted.

Referring to FIG. 11, a method of transmitting the above-described application components will be described.

FIG. 11 is an auxiliary diagram for explaining the data transmission unit layer structure in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
(A) application element
) Is a transmission unit including all components of one application. Its structure consists of an application element header (ap
replication element header) 1101 and containers 1102 and 11 containing data for each engine
03,1104.

The container 1102 for the first engine is:
Data commonly used by the engines, the second engine container 1103 is not included in the container 1102, and is data dedicated to the second engine, and the third engine container 1104 is not included in the container 1102. Third
The engine-specific data is transmitted.
The data for each engine for each container is determined by the broadcast application type (Broadcast Applic) in the container header 1105.
ation type: BAP type) 1110. An application element can have any number of containers. Each container has a common structure as shown in FIG. The structure includes a container header 1105 having information relating to the entire container, a container define record (container define record) 1106.
And three types of records, that is, objects (objects), contents (contents), and scripts (script) that transmit data of the application itself.

The record is divided into the above three types of data.
It has a form in which the constituent elements are written and arranged. For example,
The object record is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the record header (record header)
), Objects 1, 2,..., N,.
N. Content record
rd) and a script record are set in the same manner, but FIG. 11 shows the object record as a representative. In the case of transmitting the data for the first engine shown in FIG. 9, the objects are a scene (Scene), an event (Event), and a bitmap (1).
(Bitmap (1)), Button (2) (Button (2)), Button (3) (Button (3)) are constituent elements. Similarly, in the content record, bitmap (1) (Bitmap
(1)), text (2) (Text (2)), and text (Text (3)) are constituent elements. In the script record, script A (2) (script A (2)) and script A (3) ( script A (3)) is a constituent element.

The data type of the record is identified by the record type 1116 in the record header 1111. Of course, if there is no data of any kind for the engine, the record will not be transmitted.
For example, in the data for the third engine described with reference to FIG. 9, only the bitmap object (bitmap object) exists, so in the container for the third engine, only the object record exists. The object, content, and script each have identification information (ID) 1117,
1120, 1123 and type information (type)
e) There are 1118, 1121, 1124, and bodies 1119, 1122, and 1125 as actual data. Here, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 9, the type is a scene (Scene), an event (Event), a bitmap (Bitmap), a button (Butto) in the object record.
n), a bitmap (Bitmap) and a text (Text) in the content record, and a script A (script A) in the script record.

Since the meaning of the ID differs depending on the type of the container and the record, the contents thereof are shown in FIGS.
This will be described below with reference to FIG.

The ID can be divided into a meaning of its own identification number and a case of a number indicating its own inheritance source. FIG. 12 shows the meaning of the ID for each type of container and record. As described above, in the present invention, an arbitrary engine uses a combination of common data common to each engine and individual data unique to itself that is not included in the common data. Since each data is transmitted in another container, it is necessary to add the data after the reception, so that the relationship needs to be specified, and the ID is used for this purpose.

As shown in FIG. 4, bitmap objects 415, 41 which are individual data for individual engines
6 is a bitmap object 40 which is common data
8 is added. At this time, the IDs of the bitmap objects 415 and 416 have the same value as the ID of the bitmap object 408 of the common data from which the bitmap objects 415 and 416 are inherited, and indicate the inheritance relationship.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the object in the object record in the container for the first engine has an ID as a number for identifying itself, and the object in the container for sending the difference data for another engine. The object in the object record is its own inheritance source (affiliation)
Has the same ID value as the ID of the first engine object. In addition, the ID values for indicating the inheritance relationship have exactly the same value, and the inheritance relationship may be indicated by, for example, a part of the ID value (for example, upper several bits).

On the other hand, since contents and scripts are not used together, they have different ID values as numbers for identifying themselves in all cases, and are referred to by the ID values from within the object.

Next, an embodiment of data transmission according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 shows "ICAP Specification, Version"
1.0, Document Revision 1.2 ", Apr. 1997 (Reference 3)
14 is a configuration of a button object for a third engine configured according to Document 2 and FIG. 14 is a configuration of a button object for a third engine configured according to Literature 2. FIG. 15 shows the configuration of these bitmap objects by the data transmission method according to the present invention.

"Object Type" in FIG. 13 and "ob" in FIG.
Since both "ject-identifier" represent the identifier of the object, they are set as the common element "Object ID" in Fig. 15. Similarly, "positio" in Fig. 13 representing the display position of the object.
n ”and“ extent ”and“ x-length ”and“ y-lengt ”in FIG.
h, “x-position” and “y-position” are common elements “UpperLeft Position” and “LowerRight Posit” in FIG.
FIG. 1 showing a pointer to button data together with "ion".
The “resource” of FIG. 3 and the “content-data” of FIG.
"Content Reference". The other parts are respectively configured as differential element 2 and differential element 3 which are the individual data in FIG. “Hints: HINT_ROUND_KEYCAP”, which is a flag indicating that the button is displayed in a round shape, is inserted into the difference element 2 and configured.

FIG. 16 shows the configuration of the bitmap object for the second engine, and FIG. 17 shows the configuration of the bitmap object for the third engine. Also,
FIG. 18 shows the configuration of these bitmap objects by the data transmission method according to the present invention.

"Object Type" in FIG. 16 and "ob" in FIG.
Since both "ject-identifier" represent the identifier of the object, the common element is "Object ID" in Fig. 18. Similarly, "positio" in Fig. 16 representing the display position of the object.
n ”,“ extent ”and“ x-length ”,“ y-lengt ”in FIG.
h, “x-position” and “y-position” are common elements “UpperLeft Position” and “LowerRight Position” in FIG.
"Resource" in FIG. 16 indicating a pointer to the button data and "content-dat" in FIG.
“a” is “Content Reference” in FIG.

The other parts are respectively constituted as a difference element 2 and a difference element 3 in FIG. "Transp" is a flag that indicates that the bitmap is to be displayed translucently.
"arency" is configured as a difference element 3.

The configuration of the common data in the above embodiment is based on the premise that a common data concept (for example, "text" or "bitmap") exists in all the different systems. In some cases, between different systems, a data concept that exists in one system does not exist in one or more other systems. In such a case, since there is no data that can be configured as common data, the above method cannot be applied as it is, but by defining empty common data without a body, the data configuration method of the present invention described above is used. It is possible to use while maintaining.

The empty common data is common data that has no body and has only an ID. When this data is used, the entire system-specific data is configured as individual data.
The individual data contains the object ID of the empty common data
(Object ID) is assigned, indicating that the empty common data is the inheritance source.

As an example, only exists on the second engine,
A case where an object unique to the second engine, which does not exist in other engines, is configured by the above method will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

Here, objects are shown, but contents and scripts can be similarly configured. In FIG. 19, the application element 300
1 (FIG. 19D), the objects are arranged in an object record 3003 in a container 3002 (FIG. 19E) for the first engine (common data) included in the first engine (common data). 3004 indicates that the object type (object type) is "NULL (empty)",
An empty object having the ID value of the object ID = 2 is placed (FIGS. 19F and 19G). The object 3004 includes an object body (object bod
y) is missing (data is empty).

On the other hand, the substance of the object unique to the second engine is entirely the container 3 for the second engine.
005 (FIG. 19 (c)).
Objects are arranged in 06. One of the objects 3007 in the list has an object type of “unique to the second engine”, and the ID value of the object ID = 2 (FIGS. 19A and 19A).
(B)). As described above, the ID value of the object ID for the second engine is the same as that of the first engine.
2, indicating that the sky object 3004 is inherited.

In the example of FIG. 19, a NULL object is placed in each type of record (object record, content record, script record). However, as shown in FIG. A fourth type of empty record 3012 in which only empty common objects are collected in addition to the object record, the content record, and the script record in FIG.
, And empty common data may be placed here (FIG. 20 (e)). In the example of FIG. 20, the ID value = 2 is set so that the inherited object (FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C) inherits the inherited object (FIG. 20G). .

When the second engine receives the data composed of the empty objects and the individual objects as described above, the second engine receives the data from the empty objects in the common data (container for the first engine). The ID value of the object ID is extracted, an individual object having the ID value of the extracted object ID is extracted from its own individual data (container for the first engine), and is synthesized. As a result of the composition, an object for the second engine having the ID of the empty object and actually having the body of only the individual object is configured. Even if an engine other than the second engine, such as the third engine, receives the data, it extracts an empty object from the common data, but retrieves its own individual data (third engine).
In this case, there is no individual object corresponding to the ID value of the ID of this empty object in the empty container), so that this empty object is not processed at all.

Next, a method for reducing the number of empty common data used when using empty common data will be described with reference to FIG. The empty common data does not have a data type such as an object, a content, or a script (FIG. 21A), and the data type of the synthesized result depends on the individual data to be synthesized (FIG. 21B). Decided.

If the individual data associated with this empty common data is unique to only one of the systems,
Also, another empty common object is
If only one unique data is associated, two empty common objects must be used. However, in the present invention, these empty common data can be shared. That is, as shown in FIG.
The individual data 2 in the second engine and the individual data 3 in the third engine both have the same ID value (for example, 5). The second engine generates data with an ID value of 5 from the empty common data and the individual data 2, and the third engine generates data with an ID value of 5 from the empty common data and the individual data 3. Here individual data 2
Is unique only to the second engine, and the individual data 3 is unique only to the third engine, so that no collision occurs.
By such a method, the number of empty common objects embedded in the common data record can be reduced, that is, the number of issued data IDs of the common data can be reduced.

The method of constructing the data concept unique to the system using the empty common data has been described above. However, the ID value of the ID of the empty common data is always described as the ID value of the ID of the individual data. Therefore, a configuration in which empty common data is omitted may be adopted.

If the empty common data is omitted, the ID of the individual data which has a meaning of referring to the empty common data if not omitted is changed to the ID for identifying the individual data itself. Therefore, although the semantics of the supplementary data referring to another normal data unit in the individual data, that is, the common data as the inheritance source, change, the syntax itself is exactly the same.

In the above-described embodiment, a transmission / reception method in which common data and individual data are transmitted by a transmission device, and the receiving side constructs its own application using the common data and the individual data necessary for itself will be described. did. However, the present invention is not limited to such a transmission and reception system. For example, a recording medium such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk on which common data and individual data are recorded may be configured. The user may play back the recording medium with a playback device, and use the common data and the individual data to construct an application necessary for himself on the playback device side. As another embodiment, when common data and individual data are transmitted, all of the data may be temporarily stored in a recording medium. Then, using the common data and the individual data stored in the recording medium, an application necessary for itself may be constructed.
In this case, the time zone in which the application is actually used may be different from the time zone in which the common data and the individual data are transmitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made mainly on the transmission of the common data and the individual data from the broadcast center side, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied even if data is transmitted to the receiving side from other devices installed in the home. For example, other devices in the home include a video tape recorder, a digital video disc playback device, a disc playback device, a personal computer, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, and other television receivers.
Data from these devices is also transmitted through the network.

The embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. However, this does not apply to the network topology.

In FIG. 22, in transmitting apparatus 800, an application created by an authoring tool (Authering Tool) 801 uses common data that is commonly used by separator 802 regardless of the application execution method, and whether the application can be used depending on the execution method. Are separated into individual data. Thereafter, the common data is converted by the converter 803 into a predetermined format irrespective of the execution method, and is input together with the individual data to the multiplexer 804 to form one data. This data is further multiplexed with unillustrated image and audio data, and after being subjected to predetermined unillustrated transmission processing, is transmitted from the transmission terminal 805. The transmitted data is transmitted via transmission means such as radio wave broadcasting,
Received by receiving apparatus 900. The receiving device 900 must always possess the display screen 908 necessary to build a graphical user interface.

The data fetched from the input terminal 901 of the receiving apparatus 900 is subjected to predetermined processing after reception (not shown), and is also not shown. The data is led to 902 and separated into common data and individual data. The separated common data is converted by the converter 903 into a format conforming to the execution method, and then input to the synthesizer 904 together with the individual data.

On the other hand, the network device 951 (for example, V
TR), 952 (for example, DVD) and 953 (for example, second VTR) include objects such as scripts for realizing graphics and operations imitating their own control panel,
For example, the data is supplied to an input / output terminal 920 of the receiving apparatus 900 via a network 960 such as IEEE1394.

In receiving apparatus 900, an input from input / output terminal 920 is guided to interface (I / F) 905, and data (corresponding to common data) determined to be directly provided to engine 906 is directly guided to engine 906. , The other data (corresponding to individual data) is converted by the converter 907 into a format conforming to the execution method,
A combiner 904 combines the two inputs with the two inputs, and provides the data to an engine 906. Here, what is called an execution method is a method that determines the configuration of the engine (a method that the engine can correctly process).

The engine 906 executes the application data output from the synthesizer 904 and the interface 905, and displays the application from the transmitting device 800 on the display screen 908 of the display together with the objects from the network devices 951, 952,. indicate.

When the object is selected by an external input device such as a remote controller (not shown), the script is converted to a virtual machine (VM) 909.
The result is output to the engine 906 and the I / F 90
5. The script is transmitted via the input / output terminal 920 to the network device that should receive the script, and the device performs a predetermined operation.

With reference to FIG. 23, a specific operation example of the application will be further described.

FIG. 23 shows an example in which an application is displayed on the display screen 908 when the power of the receiving apparatus is turned on, for example. In this embodiment, an application in which a user selects desired material from broadcast program material and material reproducible by a network device will be described as an example. The basic screen layout when the application is displayed on the display screen 908 is determined by the data received from the transmission device 800.
However, the user may arbitrarily set the information. A television broadcast selection window 2100 is on the left side of the display screen 908, and a network device selection window 22 is on the right side of the display screen 908.
00 is prepared.

In the television broadcast selection window 2100, the image content of each channel (program) receiving the broadcast is displayed as screens 2101, 1022, 2103, and 2104. Buttons 2105 and 2106 are also displayed. These buttons 2105 and 2106 are scroll buttons, which are selected when a screen of another channel is displayed in the window. Each of the screens 2101 to 2104 also has a button function together with an image display function. When the user selects the screen 2102, for example, the frame of the screen is highlighted as shown in the figure. Further, although not shown, it has a function of displaying an image of the screen 2102 (channel 3) on the entire display screen 908. In such an operation, for example, when the shift key of the remote control device is operated, the highlighting portion of the screen frame is sequentially moved to another screen frame, and the enter key is operated when the screen frame of the desired channel is darkened. . Then, the channel of the selected screen is displayed on the entire display screen 908.

On the other hand, a screen 2201 and a screen 2202 are also displayed in the network device selection window 2200.
This screen displays the reproduced image when the network devices 951 and 952 are connected and the power is on and in the reproduction state, and the reproduction video signal is transmitted via the network.

When the network devices 951 and 952 are connected and the power is on and in a standby state, the engine 906 recognizes the network device, and the display screen is operated by a screen frame, buttons, etc., for example, with dotted lines. Display an image.

When the screen 2201 is not in the image display state, that is, when the corresponding network device 951 is not in the reproduction state, the corresponding button 2211 is selected, and then the reproduction mark in the inside is selected and determined. Thus, reproduction can be commanded and an image can be displayed on the screen 2201. Here, screens 2201 and 2202 on the network device selection window 2200 and buttons 2211 and 2212 are displayed.
Is determined by the data received from the transmission device 800 or the display position adjustment method described later, as described above. However, the image data displayed on the screen, the functions of the buttons 2211 and 2212, the shape data, and the like are displayed. It is also possible to use an object obtained via a network from a corresponding network device. In this case, of course, in this case, the network device stores the operation object (bitmap for creating an image for operation or a control command for operation) as data in advance, and the power is turned on. It is designed so that it can be supplied when connected to a network. At this time, it is designed such that a call from the receiving device 900 may or may not be present.

Even when the power is not turned on, when the network device 951 is connected to the network, the receiving device 900 can bring the object from the network device 951 via the network and use it. It may be.

FIG. 24 shows the relationship between each network device and the receiving device 900.

The object is composed of general and unique control information (information for controlling the device) of the owning device and GUI information for handling the device. If the network device 951 starts up while the receiving device 900 is running, the network device 9
Reference numeral 51 denotes an object storage unit 962 in the inside thereof in advance.
Objects owned by the external interface 96
1 to an engine 906 of the receiving apparatus 900 via a network such as IEEE 1394. Similarly, the network device 952 owns the object in the object storage unit 972 therein, and sends the object to the engine 906 through the external interface 971 and the network.

In either case, the engine 906 decodes the recognized object of each device, executes the application, and displays an icon created based on the GUI information and an image for operation on the display screen 908 as necessary. Conversely, when the network device 951 has already started up and the device 952 starts up later, the object is received from the network devices 951 and 952, and the object is decoded and the application is executed in the same manner as in the case described above.

As described above, the engine 906 records all transmitted common data and individual data on a recording medium (not shown). Then, an application necessary for itself may be constructed using the data recorded on this recording medium. In this way, the time zone in which the application is actually used may be different from the time zone in which the common data and the individual data are transmitted, and the same object is not sent every time each device starts up. I'm done.

The data transmitted by radio wave broadcasting or the like is separated into common data and individual data by a separator 902, and the converters 903,
After the data object is passed to the conversion / combination unit composed of the 07 and the synthesizer 904 to perform the conversion / combination of the object, the data object is passed to the engine 906. This data object is converted in the engine 906 into a format compatible with the above-mentioned object, and is treated in the same manner as the above-mentioned object.

FIG. 25 shows the function of adjusting the GUI arrangement of objects inside the engine 906. The object sent from the network device is passed to the object detector 4010. The object detector 4010 receives the input, and displays on the screen that the corresponding network device has started up. Graphics, which are images to be performed, are generated and sent to an object arrangement information detector 4013 and an object arrangement adjuster 4014.

The object is also sent to the synthesizer 4011 and is synthesized with the object transmitted by radio broadcasting or the like. In this example, the objects are transmitted and synthesized by radio broadcasting, but the objects transmitted by radio broadcasting are not necessarily required, and there is no particular problem even if the objects are transmitted only from the network device. The synthesizer 4011 sends the synthesized object to the engine core 4012, where the object is appropriately processed, and the GUI is displayed on the object arrangement information detector 40.
13 and the object arrangement adjuster 4014.

The object arrangement information detector 4013
The position, size, and the like of the currently handled GUI are detected, and the data is sent to the object arrangement adjuster 4014. The object arrangement adjuster 4014 adjusts the position and size of the GUI in consideration of the data from the object arrangement information detector 4013 and GUI arrangement conditions set in advance or specified by the user, and the display screen 908.
To send to.

The following is an actual example of the above.

FIG. 26 shows the concept of the GUI form of the object on the actual display screen. The GUI created by the object is not always displayed on the screen,
There are two states, "display" and "non-display". The state at the time when the system starts up is set to the non-display state. It is assumed that the GUIs of the objects of all the devices on the network at a certain time have the same state with respect to the two states. The two states of “display” and “non-display” may be toggled by buttons on the control panel of the receiving apparatus 900 or an attached remote control unit.

There are two representations of the GUI in the display state, either in the form of an "icon" or in the form of a "control panel". The display mode when the system starts up is an icon mode. Further, when the display state is shifted from the non-display state to the display state, an icon form may be adopted.

The GUI of each object can have its own display form (icon / control panel). When the display state of the GUI becomes a non-display state, the GUI of each network device that has been displayed so far is displayed.
The display mode (icon / control panel), display position, display size, and the like of I are all stored in the engine 906, and when the display state is returned again, the display is restored based on the information. This is effective even if the power of the receiving apparatus 900 is turned off. When the receiving apparatus 900 starts up again, the apparatus which has been connected and has been started up is displayed in the previous state.

FIG. 27 shows an example of icon display.
The icons are arranged in order on the display screen 908 from the upper left corner to the lower left corner. When it reaches the bottom, it shifts one line to the right and lines up again from top to bottom. Thereafter, this is repeated. The cursor 5000 is used to move the focus between the icons. It is assumed that the cursor 5000 discretely moves between the icons. Turning on / off of the iconification is determined by moving the cursor 5000, selecting the icon, and then pressing the determination button.

As a condition for arranging the GUI of the object, a predetermined classification (for example, VTR, display, D
(E.g., a classification for each device such as a VD, a functional classification for a recording device, a reproduction device, or the like), and display them in order.

FIG. 37 shows an example in which the information is classified and displayed for each device. The display screen 908 is arranged in order from the upper left corner to the lower left corner for each classification. The classification at the time of display is set in advance, and it is more convenient if the user can change the classification. In this manner, the icons are displayed for each classification and in order, so that the user can easily select a desired icon from the GUI.

It is also possible to set in advance any network device so that the display of the GUI can be stopped in advance. As a result, the user does not display icons for devices that will not be controlled on the display screen 908, so that only necessary icons can be displayed, and icons can be easily selected and the usability is improved. Displaying in order for each classification can be applied to all embodiments hereinafter.

As for the GUI of the receiving apparatus 900 itself, the GUI may be displayed as one of the network devices as in the case of other network devices.
It may not be displayed. When displaying the GUI for itself, the same operation environment can be realized. Also, when the GUI is not displayed for the user, the user can directly control the user without selecting the GUI with a remote controller or the like.

FIG. 28 shows an example of the control panel.
The control panel provides a GUI for controlling the device. A stop button 5010, a play button 5011, and the like are displayed on the display screen 908 of the receiving device 900, and these are selected by, for example, a cursor and a determination operation is performed. It can be sent to the device. Also,
A slide-type audio volume 5012 is also displayed, and provides a function of adjusting the volume of the audio of the transmission source network device. These GUIs use an image such as a bitmap, or use an image using some graphic drawing language. Although not shown, a method of selecting / deciding with a cursor is used for movement between a plurality of control panels in the same manner as the rule of icons, and the movement / decision of buttons and the like in the control panel is also the same.

When the control panel is displayed, when the network device of the control panel is performing a play operation, for example, the frame of the play button 5011 is red, and it is displayed so that it can be determined that the current play state is being performed. Here, when the cursor is moved to the stop button 5010 and determined and the device is stopped, the frame of the stop button 5010 turns red, indicating that a stop operation has been performed. Also,
Similarly, the function of adjusting the sound volume is displayed so that the slide exists at a position corresponding to the current sound volume. These are realized by the network device transmitting its own operation to the network.

In a network in which two receiving apparatuses 900 are connected, there is a problem that different operations are simultaneously performed on the same device from the two receiving apparatuses 900. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, it is necessary to assign priorities to the two receiving apparatuses 900 in advance or to prevent the control panel from being displayed on a plurality of receiving apparatuses 900 at the same time for a certain network device. good.

Further, by displaying the GUI of the network device in the control panel and displaying it, it is possible to know the GUI of which network device, and control of the wrong device can be prevented. This can be applied to all the following embodiments.

FIGS. 29 to 32 show examples in which the control panel and the icons are simultaneously displayed.

The example shown in FIG.
So that 1,5022,5023 do not overlap each other,
In addition, the layout and size of the icons are set so that they do not overlap with the locations of the icons, and the icons are arranged horizontally from the lower left of the screen. When the bottom row is filled, the rows are shifted up one row. From this figure onward, only the control panel that is described as a frame is omitted, and the control panel corresponding to the network device as shown in FIG. 28 is actually displayed.

After the control panel is displayed, it does not matter whether the icon corresponding to the control panel is kept displayed on the display screen 908 or deleted. When the display is continued, the background around the icon (for example, a line bordering the periphery of the icon) and the background of the control panel have the same color, so that it is easy to determine which icon is the control panel. Also, if the icons are to be displayed even after the control panel is displayed, it is necessary to change the shape of the displayed icons or change the background color to confirm that the control panel is already displayed. Can be used to make a judgment.

Conversely, when the display screen 9 is turned off,
08 is hardly filled with icons and control panels, so that the user can see the image displayed behind the icons / control panel well, and can use the display screen 908 effectively. The embodiment in which the corresponding icon is erased from the display screen when the control panel is displayed as described above can be applied to all the embodiments hereinafter.

The example shown in FIG.
This is an example in which 1,5022 and 5023 are allowed to overlap.
The control panels 5021, 5022, and 5023 are superimposed and displayed at the lower left of the screen while being slightly shifted from each other. The hidden control panels 5022 and 5023 display the control panel in the foreground by clicking the visible portion, and can shift the focus to a target control panel.

The example of FIG. 31 is an example in which only one control panel 5024 is always allowed to be displayed, and the others are iconized. When one of the icons is selected, a control panel 5024 corresponding to the selected icon is displayed at the lower left of the screen, the focus is shifted to this, and the currently displayed control panel is iconified and replaced. The state of the control panel is automatically changed to an icon when a new control by the user is continued for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes). This can prevent erroneous control of the control panel when a remote controller or the like is pressed by mistake.

FIG. 32 shows an example in which display of up to n control panels is permitted. When a certain icon is selected and the icon state is released in a state where less than n control panels are displayed, a control panel corresponding to this icon is displayed as a new control panel as shown in FIG. 29 or FIG. You. In addition, when the user selects an icon and releases the icon state in a state where less than n control panels are displayed, one control panel is selected from the already displayed control panels as shown in the example of FIG. Then, an icon display corresponding to the control panel is performed, and the focus is shifted to a new control panel displayed on the front.

As a method of selecting a control panel to be iconified from the already displayed control panels, there are the following methods, not shown.

[0127] 1. N-1 most recently displayed control panel
One control panel and one newly selected control panel are displayed.

[0128] 2. N-1 control panels most recently used, i.e. using commands inside the control panel,
Display one newly selected control panel.

3. Among the currently displayed control panels, the n-1 control panels which have not been used most recently and one newly selected control panel are displayed.

The position and size of each control panel are freely controlled by user interaction. Further, the shape and the like of components such as buttons constituting the control panel can be freely changed by exchanging bitmaps or the like.

Although not shown, if a certain network device becomes unusable due to power down or the like, the corresponding GUI (icon or control panel) is deleted from the display screen and becomes unusable. Is displayed on the display screen 908 for a predetermined period.

Referring to FIG. 33, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As described above, the network device, for example, D
VD player 952 and VTR 951 are IEEE139
4 to the engine 906. In this case, in the above example, it is assumed that icons and objects for displaying the control panel are stored in the respective network devices. However, not limited to this, various methods are possible.

For example, the DVD 952 has its I
A function list 6010 is provided together with D. For example, four types of functions Play (playback), Stop (stop), Forward
Four functions, Skip (skip forward) and Barckward Skip (skip backward), are 00, 01, 04, and 0, respectively.
5 and is retained. Similarly, a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder or VTR: Video Tape Recorder) 951 has a function list 60 along with its ID.
11 with functions Play (Play), Stop
(Stop), Feed Forward (rewind), and Rewind (rewind) are coded and stored as 00, 01, 02, and 03, respectively.

The engine 906 stores GUI objects 6013 corresponding to these functions, and the engine 906 recognizes the DVD and VCR learned by referring to the function list.
GUI objects corresponding to the respective functions are displayed on the display screen 908.

On the display screen 908, for example, VCR951
GUI object (button) 60 corresponding to the Play of
14 is pressed by the user, the engine 906
Command 00 (Play) for CR951 is IEEE1
394 for transmission over a network.

By adopting such a configuration, the DV
Each network device such as D952, VCR951 is G
Compared to holding UI objects, it saves memory on network devices and prevents semantically the same functions (eg, VCR Play and DVD Play) from becoming different GUIs on the screen. It is possible. In other words, the symbols (GUI) meaning to the user can be unified.

Furthermore, by making the numbers indicating the functions shown in the figures and the method of reference common to all engines and network devices, it is possible to guarantee interconnectivity.

Conventionally, control operations of home electric appliances at home are rarely performed using a control button, a control panel, or the like provided in the main body, and each of them is provided with its own remote control unit. It is common to control using a unit. However, each remote control unit is dedicated to controlling its body and often cannot operate other devices. Even one remote control
Even if the unit can control another device, the functions that can be realized are limited to general functions, and in many cases, control unique to that device cannot be performed. Further, by connecting each device to a screen display device such as a TV using a video cable or the like, a GUI of the device can be displayed on the display device. However, each GUI often does not consider the relevance to a similar GUI displayed by another device, and sometimes a situation occurs in which the two overlap on the screen of the display device and become difficult to see.

However, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned problem is solved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The engine is devised so that it can respond to the event even when the format and handling method of the event are different. Hereinafter, a data converter for realizing this will be described.

First, in order to understand that data conversion is necessary, execution method 1 (first engine method) and execution method 2
The event format and handling method of the (second engine method) will be described.

FIG. 34A shows handling of an event by the first engine in the execution method 1 (referred to as the first engine method). The event is directly associated with the call of the Procedural Code. Have been. The processed code is a program executed on the virtual machine (VM) 909 in FIG. 22, and may be a program described in a computer language such as BASIC or Java.

In the execution method 1, occurrence of an event is equivalent to calling a processed code. In the figure, as an example, a case is shown in which a processed code 7012 called Ev is called in a processed code 7011 called a program. However, such a call operation corresponds to an event. Become. It is permitted to pass data as an argument at the time of calling, and p1 and p2 are passed in the figure. In this case, the event is accompanied by event data p1 and p2. The event is used to activate various operations inside the application during execution of the application, or to change the state of each object constituting the application. For example, an event occurs to indicate that a certain time has come, and the accompanying event data is, for example, time data, which is passed to perform a time-dependent process inside the called processable code. It is.

FIG. 34B shows the handling of an event in the execution method 2 (second engine method) by the second engine. The role and use of the event are the same as in the case of the first execution method 1 described above, and data can be attached as in the case of the first execution method 1. However, an event is a message transmitted from object to object. It differs from execution method 1 in that it is handled and that the event has a type. The event type is used to indicate why the event occurred, for example, to identify "a certain time has been reached", "a certain button has been pressed", and the like.

The event in the execution method 2 is the same as the event in the execution method 1 except for the process code 70.
12 cannot be called directly and is always sent to the link object (Link Object) 7021. The link object 7021 is one type of an object constituting a second engine type application.

Link Condition (Link Condition)
Reference numeral 7022 describes a condition for the received event, and an event source (Event Source) 7024,
It comprises an event type (Event Type) 7025 and event data (Event Data) 7026.

When the link object 7021 receives the event, the source of the event (source object)
And the event source 7024, the event type and the event type 7025, and the attached data and the event data 7026, respectively. This indicates, for example, which button (type) of which icon (source) is operated (data).

As a result of the comparison, if there is no match, the operation related to the event ends. When all match, a link effect (Link Effect) 7023 is activated. The link effect 7023 is an elementary action 7027.
It is a line of. Examples of specific element actions include Send Event, which sends events to other objects.
Or a call that calls a processed code
and so on.

As described above, the execution method 1 and the execution method 2 have different event formats and handling methods, so that the application of the execution method 1 cannot be directly converted to the application of the execution method 2.

However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 35, a combination of an event 8011 of the execution method 2 and a link object 8012 is generated from an event of the execution method 1 which is a call of a processable code. Link condition 80 of link object 8012
13 describes a condition that is always satisfied by the event 8011. The link effect 8014 has an element operation 8015 for calling the processed code 8016.
By describing (Call), the execution method 2 realizes an operation equivalent to the execution of the processed code by the event of the execution method 1.

By realizing such processing, even if the main body is of the execution method 2 type, it is possible to cope with an event of the execution method 1.

Next, with reference to FIG. 36, the handling of events when an application of the execution method 2 is converted into an application of the execution method 1 will be described. That is, when an event of the execution method 2 is input to the type of the execution method 1 in the main body, how to handle the event will be described.

In the execution method 2, an event 8041 accompanied by a type and attached data is input to the link object 8042.
An invocation event 8044 of the execution method 1 is generated. This event 8044 includes, as arguments, a source (Source) indicating where the event occurred, its type (Type),
It will have attached data (Data). This event 8
Numeral 044 functions for calling the processed code 8043. That is, an event 8044 having an argument corresponding to the event 8041 is generated. For example, the parameters are converted into arguments such as Source = 1, Type = 0, and Data = 2.

Next, the processable code 8043
Are configured as an argument comparison unit 8046 that determines the condition described in the link condition 8045 of the execution method 2 and an operation description unit 8048 that realizes the operation described in the link effect 8047 of the second engine.

As a method of implementing the argument comparing unit 8046,
In the example shown in the figure, there is a description using a conditional branch syntax as shown by reference numeral 8049 in FIG. For example, IF (Source! = 1) return (if the source is not 1, return) IF (Type! = 0) return (if the type is not 0, return) IF (Data! = 2) return (if Return if the data is not 2).

If the conditions match (Source = 1, Type = 0, Data = 2) as described above, the argument comparing unit 8
046, and proceeds to the operation description section 8048. Thereby, the actions 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the conditions of Source = 1, Type = 0, and Data = 2 are executed.
This execution can be realized by creating in advance a code (execution method 1) equivalent to each element operation (action; execution method 2) and arranging the codes as indicated by reference numeral 8050 in FIG.

As described above, in the present invention, the equivalent operation is realized by generating the processable code for performing the operation equivalent to the link object for the execution method 1.

[0160]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The control information unique to the network device is owned in advance, such information can be centrally managed, and a unified control operation can be performed from another network device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of a block in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the form of a data class according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation function of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a display example of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram shown to explain an example of data transmission according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram shown for explaining another example of data transmission form according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining still another example of data transmission mode according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a data unit identification signal used in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional button object.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of a conventional button object.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a button object according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional bitmap.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a conventional bitmap.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a bitmap according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram shown to explain still another example of data transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram shown to explain still another example of data transmission form according to the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram shown to explain still another example of data transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a view showing an example of a display screen of the apparatus shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network device according to the present invention.

25 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a screen adjustment device in the engine of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a map of a screen display form.

FIG. 27 is a view showing a display example of a display screen.

FIG. 28 is a view showing a display example of the display screen.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a display example of a display screen.

FIG. 30 is a view showing a display example of the display screen.

FIG. 31 is a view showing a display example of the display screen.

FIG. 32 is a view showing a display example of the display screen.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of a control panel display of the network device.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram of types and handling of events having different execution methods.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram of a conversion process for handling an event of execution method 1 by execution method 2;

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram of a conversion process for handling an event of the execution method 2 in the execution method 1.

FIG. 37 is a view showing a display example of a display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

101, 202 ... interactive content encoder, 102, 203 ... analyzer, 103, 208 ... synthesizer, 104, 209 ... interactive engine, 20
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... AV encoder, 204 ... Format encoder, 205 ... Multiplexer, 206 ... Separator, 207 ... Format decoder, 210 ... AV decoder, 904 ... Synthesizer, 905 ... Interface, 906 ... Engine, 9
07: converter, 908: display screen, 909: virtual machine, 920: input / output terminal, 951, 952, 953
... network device, 960 ... network.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04N 7/173 640 H04N 5/781 510 (72) Inventor Takanori Muramatsu 8 Shinsugita-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Toshiba Corporation Inside the Multimedia Technology Research Laboratories (72) Inventor Kenji Shimoda 8th Shinsugitacho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Pref. Toshiba Multimedia Technology Research Laboratories

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A network device constituting a network, comprising: storage means for storing control information for controlling itself; and output means for outputting the control information to another network device via the network. A network device that, when the control information is input from the other network device, performs an operation according to the input control information. 2. A network device constituting a network, comprising: storage means for storing control information for controlling itself and image information for creating an operation image used by a user to select the control information. And an output unit that outputs the control information and the image information to another network device via the network. When the control information is input from the other network device, the input control information A network device that performs an operation in accordance with the condition. 3. A network device constituting a network, comprising: storage means for storing function information relating to a function of the network device; and output means for outputting the function information to another network device via the network. A network device that, when control information associated with the function information for controlling itself is input from the other network device, performs an operation according to the input control information. 4. A network device constituting a network, wherein the storage device stores function information relating to a function provided by itself and image information for creating an operation image used by a user to select the function information. Means, and output means for outputting the function information and the image information to another network device via the network, and control information for controlling itself associated with the function information from the other network device. A network device that performs an operation according to the input control information when is input. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting connection to a network, and outputting information from said storage unit to said another network device according to a result of the detection. The network device according to claim 1. 6. The network device according to claim 2, wherein the image information includes at least one of bitmap data and graphic drawing language data. 7. The network device according to claim 3, wherein the function information is information indicating a list of functions.