JP2000209617A - Communication operation check method and communication operation check device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance efficiency for evaluation by connecting one communication operation check device to one of plural data input output terminals provided for a device to be checked and connecting a check master device to the remaining data input output terminals. SOLUTION: Let an MD recorder/player 1 be, e.g. a device to be evaluated on a production line, then an evaluation device 700 is connected to one of plural i-ports of the MD recorder/player 1 and evaluation sets 720, 730 are connected to all the remaining i-ports. The evaluation device 700 is a device as a tool to evaluate the MD recorder/player 1 that is the device to be evaluated. At least one of the evaluation sets is connected to the evaluation set 720 (MD recorder/player) that can make data transmission reception by the Isochrounous communication system using the same protocol as that of the MD recorder/ player 1 that is the device to be evaluated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention confirms (tests) a communication operation for each data input / output terminal of an electronic device as a device to be inspected having a plurality of data input / output terminals in accordance with a predetermined communication format. Operation inspection method and communication operation inspection device for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a CD (Compact Disc) player,
MD (mini-disc) recorder / player, digital video camera, digital VTR (Video Tape Recorder)
Various digital AV (Audio Visual) devices capable of reproducing and recording images and sounds as digital data have become widespread.

In recent years, the above-mentioned digital AV (Audio Visual) equipment has been replaced by, for example, an IEEE
2. Description of the Related Art A data transmission system has been proposed in which AV data (video data and audio data) can be transmitted and received between devices by mutually connecting via a data bus conforming to the standard of the 1394 interface. . The IEEE 1394 interface is one type of serial data communication.
It is said to be suitable for transmission of data that requires real-time properties such as data.

[0004] In the background of the technology described so far, for example, various digital AV devices are connected to IEEE1394.
It is conceivable to provide an AV system that is connected by a bus so that AV data can be dubbed between AV devices. For example, in the IEEE 1394 interface, data can be transmitted and received between devices connected in a so-called daisy-chain connection or branch connection. In addition, there is an advantage that a system can be constructed by appropriately connecting devices with a cable.

At present, regarding digital AV equipment as consumer equipment, one I
There is known a device provided with a data input / output terminal corresponding to EEE1394 (hereinafter, abbreviated as "i port"). In this case, as in data communication between two digital video cameras or data communication between one digital video camera and a digital VTR,
It is assumed that only connection between one-to-one devices is performed.

On the other hand, considering the construction of an AV system as described above, two-
It is required to have the above i port. In consideration of the scalability of the system, it is fully conceivable to provide more than two ports.

[0007]

Here, when manufacturing and shipping a device having the above-mentioned i-port, the IE is required.
An inspection for checking whether the communication function as the EE1394 interface is normal (hereinafter, such an inspection is also referred to as “evaluation”) is performed. As an actual method of evaluating the IEEE 1394 communication function, an inspection device (evaluation device) for evaluation is connected to the i port of the manufacturing equipment, and the operation is confirmed by this evaluation device. For example, in the case of a digital video camera having only one i port as described above, one evaluation unit is connected to the i port of the digital video camera flowing through the line and the operation is checked by one unit. The evaluation is completed, and this is repeated.

Here, when the above-described evaluation procedure for a digital camera is applied to the evaluation of AV equipment having a plurality of i-ports, for example, the operation procedure as shown in FIG. Become. In this figure, a manufacturing device to be evaluated, that is, a device to be evaluated, is an MD recorder / player. The MD recorder / player is a device having a configuration capable of recording and reproducing audio data corresponding to a mini disk (magneto-optical disk).

The device under evaluation 1A, which is an MD recorder / player shown in FIG. 1, has two i-ports P-1 and P-2. Then, for example, when evaluating the device under evaluation 1A, first, as shown in FIG. Apparatus 1
One of the two i-ports P-1 and P-2 in A is connected by an IEEE 1394 bus 116. Here, i port 701 and i port P-
1 are connected. The i port 701 and the i port P-1 are actually connected by a cable. Then, by performing data communication between the evaluation device 700A and the device under evaluation 1A in the state connected in this manner, first, the i port P-
1 is evaluated. That is, i port P-1
A check is made as to whether the data communication via is normal.

When the evaluation of the i-port P-1 is completed as described above, subsequently, the IEEE 1394 bus (cable) connected to the i-port P-1 is disconnected, and FIG.
The connection is made to the i-port P-2 as shown in FIG. Then, by performing data communication in the same manner as described above, the evaluation device 700A evaluates data communication via the i port P-2.

In such a work procedure, a cable is sequentially connected again to two i-ports P-1 and P-2 for each device under evaluation 1, and the same check is performed every time. Must be efficient. Moreover, if the number of ports is further increased, one device to be evaluated 1
The time and effort required for evaluation of is also proportional to the number of ports.

Therefore, it is conceivable to configure an evaluation system as shown in FIG. 27, for example. In this figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 20 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In this case, for example, the same number of i ports 701a and 701b as the i ports provided in the device under evaluation 1 are provided for the evaluation device 700A. Then, as shown in the figure, for example, the i port 701a is connected to the i port P-1, and the i port 701b is connected to the i port P-2. By doing so, the procedure such as cable replacement as described in FIG. 26 is omitted.

However, in the connection form shown in FIG. 27, a loop is formed between the evaluation device 700A and the device under evaluation 1A. In the format of the IEEE 1394 interface, as described above, there is no problem if the connection is a daisy chain connection or a branch connection. However, the loop connection is prohibited, and when this connection state is obtained,
System fails. That is, it is not possible to evaluate the device under evaluation 1A by making a connection as shown in FIG.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention avoids the above-mentioned loop connection state, and enables the evaluation of the device to be evaluated by a work procedure as simple as possible. The aim is to improve the work efficiency for evaluation.

[0015] Therefore, the communication operation inspection apparatus is provided with two or more data communication data input / output terminals to determine whether or not the data communication operation of the inspected apparatus, which is capable of data communication with other equipment, is normal. As a communication operation inspection method for inspecting according to the present invention, a communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of a device under test via a data bus, and a data input / output terminal other than the above-mentioned one data input / output terminal is connected. Each of the data input / output terminals is connected to a master device for testing capable of data communication via a data bus, and then connected to a device under test, a communication operation testing device, and a data bus between the master devices for testing. A connection relationship determining step for checking the connection relationship between the two, and a case where it is determined that the connection relationship satisfies a required condition based on a check result of the connection relationship determination step. To, to execute the data communication by the synchronous communication scheme device under test, it was decided to configured to perform a communication operation determination step of determining whether a normal for data communication operation at this time.

Also, the communication operation inspection apparatus determines whether or not the data communication operation of the apparatus under test, which has two or more data input / output terminals for data communication and is capable of data communication with other equipment, is normal. As a communication operation inspection method for inspection, a communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of a device under test via a data bus, and data other than the above-mentioned one data input / output terminal is connected. A master device for data communication can be connected to each of the input / output terminals via a data bus, and then the device under test, the communication operation testing device, and each master device for testing are connected in a loop via the data bus. A loop connection determining step of determining whether or not a loop connection has been established; A first command transmission step of transmitting a command of a predetermined content from the communication operation inspection device to each inspection master device via the data bus through the asynchronous communication system, and responding to the reception of the command from each inspection master device. And a response reception determining step of determining whether or not the response transmitted from the master device for inspection has been received. A second command transmission for transmitting a command of a predetermined content to the device to be inspected and the specific inspection master device so that data is transmitted and received by the synchronous communication method between the inspection device and the specific inspection master device. Step and a data communication operation in the device under test under the second command transmitting step. Has decided to configured to perform the synchronous communication operation determination step of determining whether or not normal.

A communication for inspecting whether or not the data communication operation of the device under test provided with two or more data input / output terminals for data communication and enabling data communication with other devices is normal. As an operation inspection device, the communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a data input / output terminal other than the one data input / output terminal is connected. In each of the above, a test master device capable of data communication is connected via a data bus, and then the communication operation test device, the device under test, and a data bus between the test master devices are connected to each other. A connection relationship judging unit for checking the connection relationship, and a device to be inspected when it is judged that the connection relationship meets a required condition based on a check result by the connection relationship judging unit. Command transmitting means for transmitting a command having a predetermined content to the device under test and the specific inspection master device so that data transmission and reception are performed between the specific inspection master device and the synchronous communication method; And a communication operation determining means for determining whether or not the data communication operation in the device under test in accordance with the command transmission of the means is normal.

Also, the device is provided with two or more data input / output terminals for data communication so that data communication with other devices can be performed. As a communication operation inspection device, the communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a data input / output terminal other than the one data input / output terminal is connected. In each of the above, a master device for test capable of data communication is connected via a data bus, and the communication operation test device, the device under test, and the master device for each test are connected via a data bus. Loop connection determining means for determining whether or not a loop connection is established; and a device to be inspected when the loop connection determination step determines that no loop connection is established. First command transmitting means for transmitting a command of a predetermined content to each test master device via the data bus via the asynchronous communication system, and transmitting the command in response to reception of the command from each test master device Response reception determining means for determining whether or not the received response has been received. When the response reception determining means determines that responses have been received from all of the inspection master devices, Second command transmitting means for transmitting a command of a predetermined content to the device to be inspected and the specific inspection master device so that data is transmitted and received by the synchronous communication method between the device and the specific inspection master device. And whether or not the data communication operation in the device under test according to the command transmission of the second command transmission means is normal. It was decided to constitute a communication operation determining means for determining.

According to the above configuration, a plurality of data input / output terminals (i-ports) provided in the device under test (device under evaluation)
One of the communication operation inspection apparatuses is connected to one of them, and the inspection master apparatus is connected to the remaining data input / output terminals.

Then, in the present invention, first, the connection state between these devices is checked. Alternatively, after confirming whether or not a loop connection has been made, it is checked whether or not a command / response is exchanged between the inspection apparatus and each inspection master apparatus via the apparatus to be inspected. . After this process, all the data input / output terminals provided in the device under test will be used, so at this stage, each data input / output terminal must be compatible with the asynchronous communication system level. The check of the circuit to be performed is completed.

Checking of the asynchronous communication level is O
After being determined to be K, by checking the data communication operation by the synchronous communication method in the device under test,
The circuit corresponding to the synchronous communication system level is checked. The communication operation check by the synchronous communication system is performed by transmitting a command by the communication operation inspection device so that data transmission and reception are performed between the device under test and a specific inspection master device by the synchronous communication system. It suffices to perform control.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As an embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described as an example where a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of performing recording / reproducing corresponding to a magneto-optical disk (mini-disc) as a disk-shaped recording medium is to be evaluated (evaluation apparatus). It shall be.
The description will be made in the following order. 1. Configuration of recording / reproducing device 1-1. Configuration of MD recorder / player 1-2. Sector format and address format 1-3. Area structure 1-4. U-TOC 1-4-1. 1. U-TOC sector 0 IEEE 1394 format 2-1. Overview 2-2. Stack model 2-3. Signal transmission form 2-4. Bus connection between devices 2-5. Packet 2-6. Transaction rules 2-7. CIP (Common Isochronos Packet) 2-8. Connection management 2-9. 2. AV / C command packet Evaluation method 3-1. Evaluation system example 3-2. Evaluation procedure

1. Configuration of recording / reproducing device 1-1. 1. Configuration of MD Recorder / Player FIG. 1 shows an internal configuration of a recording / reproducing device corresponding to the device under evaluation according to the present embodiment. In the following,
The recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is also referred to as an MD recorder / player 1.

A magneto-optical disk (mini disk) 90 on which audio data is recorded is driven to rotate by the spindle motor 2. Then, a laser beam is irradiated on the magneto-optical disk 90 by the optical head 3 during recording / reproduction.

The optical head 3 performs high-level laser output for heating a recording track to the Curie temperature during recording, and a relatively low-level laser for detecting data from reflected light by the magnetic Kerr effect during reproduction. Perform output. Therefore, the optical head 3 is equipped with a laser diode as a laser output unit, an optical system including a polarizing beam splitter and an objective lens, and a detector for detecting reflected light. The objective lens 3a is held by the biaxial mechanism 4 so as to be displaceable in the radial direction of the disk and in the direction of coming into contact with and separating from the disk.

The optical head 3 with the disk 90 interposed therebetween
The magnetic head 6a is arranged at a position facing the above. The magnetic head 6a performs an operation of applying a magnetic field modulated by the supplied data to the magneto-optical disk 90. The entire optical head 3 and the magnetic head 6a can be moved in the disk radial direction by the thread mechanism 5.

The information detected from the disk 90 by the optical head 3 by the reproducing operation is supplied to the RF amplifier 7. The RF amplifier 7 performs an arithmetic operation on the supplied information to reproduce the RF signal, the tracking error signal TE, the focus error signal FE, and the groove information (absolute position information recorded as a pre-groove (wobbling groove) on the magneto-optical disk 90). GFM and the like are extracted. The extracted reproduced RF signal is supplied to the encoder / decoder section 8. Further, the tracking error signal TE and the focus error signal FE are supplied to the servo circuit 9, and the groove information GFM is supplied to the address decoder 10.

The servo circuit 9 is provided with the supplied tracking error signal TE and focus error signal FE, and the system controller 1 composed of a microcomputer.
Various servo drive signals are generated based on a track jump command, an access command, rotation speed detection information of the spindle motor 2 and the like from the controller 1 to control the two-axis mechanism 4 and the sled mechanism 5 to perform focus and tracking control. 2 is controlled to a constant linear velocity (CLV).

The address decoder 10 decodes the supplied groove information GFM to extract address information.
This address information is supplied to the system controller 11 and used for various control operations. The reproduced RF signal is subjected to decoding processing such as EFM demodulation and CIRC in the encoder / decoder section 8. At this time, addresses, subcode data, and the like are also extracted and supplied to the system controller 11.

EFM demodulation in the encoder / decoder section 8
The decoded audio data (sector data) such as CIRC is temporarily written into the buffer memory 13 by the memory controller 12. The reading of data from the disk 90 by the optical head 3 and the transfer of reproduced data in the system from the optical head 3 to the buffer memory 13 are at 1.41 Mbit / sec, and are usually performed intermittently.

The data written in the buffer memory 13 is read at a timing when the transfer of the reproduction data becomes 0.3 Mbit / sec, and is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14. Then, a reproduction signal processing such as a decoding processing for the audio compression processing is performed, and 44.1 KHz sampling, 14.1 KHz sampling,
This is a 6-bit quantized digital audio signal. This digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 15, the output processing unit 16 performs level adjustment, impedance adjustment, and the like, and outputs the analog audio signal Aout from the line output terminal 17 to an external device. . In addition, it is supplied to the headphone output terminal 27 as the headphone output HPout, and is output to the connected headphones.

The digital audio signal decoded by the encoder / decoder section 14 is supplied to the digital interface section 22 so that the digital audio signal can be output from the digital output terminal 21 to an external device as a digital audio signal Dout. . For example, it is output to an external device in the form of transmission by an optical cable.

When a recording operation is performed on the magneto-optical disk 90, the recording signal (analog audio signal Ain) supplied to the line input terminal 18 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 19. After that, it is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14 and subjected to audio compression encoding processing. Or from a digital input terminal 20
Is supplied with the digital audio signal Din,
The digital interface unit 22 extracts control codes and the like, and the audio data is supplied to the encoder / decoder unit 14 and subjected to audio compression encoding processing. Although not shown, it is naturally possible to provide a microphone input terminal and use the microphone input as a recording signal.

The recording data compressed by the encoder / decoder section 14 is once written and accumulated in the buffer memory 13 by the memory controller 12, and then read out in units of a predetermined amount of data.
The data is sent to the decoder unit 8. After being subjected to encoding processing such as CIRC encoding and EFM modulation in the encoder / decoder section 8, it is supplied to the magnetic head drive circuit 6.

The magnetic head drive circuit 6 supplies a magnetic head drive signal to the magnetic head 6a according to the encoded recording data. That is, the magnetic head 6a applies an N or S magnetic field to the magneto-optical disk 90. At this time, the system controller 11 supplies a control signal to the optical head so as to output a laser beam at a recording level.

The operation unit 23 indicates a part to be operated by the user, and is provided with various operation keys and operators as dials. The controls include, for example, playback, recording, pause, stop, FF (fast forward), REW (fast reverse), AMS
Operators related to recording / reproducing operations such as (search for cue), operators related to play modes such as normal playback, program playback, shuffle playback, and operations for display mode operation for switching the display state on the display unit 24 Operators are provided for program editing operations such as child, track (program) division, track concatenation, track erasure, track name input, and disc name input. Operation information from these operation keys and dials is supplied to the system controller 11, and the system controller 11 executes operation control according to the operation information.

In this embodiment, the receiving unit 3
0 is provided. The receiving unit 30 receives a command signal, for example, by infrared rays transmitted from the remote controller 32, performs decoding processing, and outputs the command signal to the system controller 11 as a command code (operation information). The system controller 11 also performs operation control based on the operation information output from the receiving unit 30.

The display operation of the display unit 24 is controlled by the system controller 11. That is, the system controller 11 transmits data to be displayed when the display operation is performed to the display driver in the display unit 24. The display driver drives a display operation of a display by a liquid crystal panel or the like based on the supplied data, and executes display of required numbers, characters, symbols, and the like. The display unit 24 shows the operation mode state, the track number, the recording time / reproduction time, the editing operation state, etc. of the recording / reproducing disc. The disk 90 can record character information (track name and the like) managed in association with a program as main data. Display of input characters at the time of inputting the character information and display of character information read from the disk can be performed. And so on. Further, in the case of the present example, sub-data (AUX data) serving as a data file independent of data such as music as a program can be recorded on the disk 90. The data file as AUX data is information such as characters and still images, and these characters and still images can be displayed and output by the display unit 24.

In the present embodiment, a JPEG decoder 26 is provided as a structure for displaying still image data, which is AUX data, on the display unit 24. That is, in the present embodiment, still image data, which is a data file as AUX data, is a JPEG (Joint Photographi
c Coding Experts Group) recording. In the JPEG decoder 26, a file of still image data reproduced on the disk 90 and stored in, for example, the buffer memory 13 is input via the memory controller 12, decompressed according to the JPEG method, and output to the display unit 24. I do. Thus, the still image data, which is the AUX data, is displayed on the display unit 24.

However, in order to output character information and still image information as AUX data, a full-dot display or a CRT display, which has a relatively large screen and can be freely used on the screen to some extent, is often suitable. Therefore, the display output of the AUX data is performed by the interface unit 25.
It is conceivable that the program is executed in an external monitor device or the like via the. The AUX data file can be recorded on the disk 90 by the user. However, in such a case, it may be necessary to use an image scanner, a personal computer, a keyboard, or the like. May be input via the interface unit 25.

In the case of the present embodiment, an IEEE 1394 interface is employed for the interface unit 25. Therefore, hereinafter, the interface unit 25 is also described as an IEEE 1394 interface 25. In this case, the IEEE1394 interface 25
Are a plurality of i-ports P-1,
P-2... Pn. By connecting these i-ports P-1, P-2,.
16 are formed, and it becomes possible to transmit and receive commands and data via this data bus.

In the present embodiment, the AU
In addition to the X data file, audio data as main data can be transmitted and received via the IEEE 1394 bus 116. That is, the audio data and the AUX data file transmitted from the external device are received and recorded on the disk 90, or the audio data and the AUX data file reproduced from the disk 90 are transmitted to the required external device to receive the data. An AUX data file or audio data can be recorded on the device side, or reproduced and output as audio or images. Also, in the IEEE 1394 format, commands for various operations are defined as described later, so that it is possible to perform remote control for controlling the operation of a so-called certain device to another required device. You. For example, when a command for reproduction is transmitted from a certain external device to the MD recorder / player 1, the MD recorder / player 1 operates to start a reproduction operation.

The system controller 11 is a microcomputer having a CPU, an internal interface, and the like, and controls the various operations described above. The program ROM 28 stores programs and the like for realizing various operations in the recording / reproducing apparatus. The work RAM 29 appropriately holds data and programs necessary for the system controller 11 to execute various processes. Is done. In particular, in the present embodiment, IEEE13
A program for realizing data communication via the H.94 interface 25, that is, data transmission according to the IEEE 1394 format, is stored in a program ROM 28.
Will be stored. Further, in this figure, a program R
The OM 28, the work RAM 29, and the IEEE 1394 interface 25 are connected to each other via the internal bus 117 so that data can be mutually transmitted.

When recording / reproducing operations are performed on the disc 90, management information recorded on the disc 90, that is, P-TOC (premastered TOC),
It is necessary to read U-TOC (user TOC).
The system controller 11 determines the address of the area to be recorded on the disk 90 and the address of the area to be reproduced on the disk 90 according to the management information. This management information is held in the buffer memory 13. Then, when the disk 90 is loaded, the system controller 11 reads out the management information by executing a reproduction operation on the innermost peripheral side of the disk on which the management information is recorded, and stores the information in the buffer memory 13. Thereafter, it can be referred to when recording / reproducing / editing the program on the disc 90.

The U-TOC is rewritten in accordance with recording of program data and various editing processes. The system controller 11 stores the U-TOC updating process in the buffer memory 13 every time a recording / editing operation is performed. The U-TOC information is written to the U-TOC area, and the U-TOC area of the disk 90 is rewritten at a predetermined timing in accordance with the rewriting operation.

An AUX data file is recorded on the disc 90 separately from the program, but an AUX-file is recorded on the disc 90 for managing the AUX data file.
A TOC is formed. The system controller 11 is U-
At the time of reading the TOC, the AUX-TOC is also read and stored in the buffer memory 13 so that the management state of the AUX data can be referred to when necessary. The system controller 11 reads the AUX data file at a predetermined timing as needed (or at the same time as reading the AUX-TOC) and stores it in the buffer memory 13. The display unit 24 and the IEEE 1394 interface 25 correspond to the output timing managed by the AUX-TOC.
It is possible to execute a character or image output operation in an external device via the PC.

1-2. Sector Format and Address Format Data units called sectors and clusters will be described with reference to FIG. As a recording track in the mini disc system, clusters CL are continuously formed as shown in FIG. 2, and one cluster is a minimum unit for recording. One cluster corresponds to two or three tracks.

One cluster CL is composed of a sector S
It is formed of a linking area of 4 sectors FC to SFF and a main data area of 32 sectors indicated as sectors S00 to S1F. One sector is a data unit formed of 2352 bytes. Of the four-sector sub-data area, the sector SFF is a sub-data sector and can be used for recording information as sub-data, but the three sectors SFC to SFE are not used for data recording. On the other hand, TOC data, audio data, AUX
Recording of data and the like is performed in a main data area for 32 sectors. The address is recorded for each sector.

The sectors are further subdivided into units called sound groups, and two sectors are divided into 11 sound groups. That is, as shown in the figure, the sound groups SG00 to SG0A are included in two consecutive sectors such as an even sector such as the sector S00 and an odd sector such as the sector S01. One sound group is formed of 424 bytes,
The amount of audio data is equivalent to 11.61 msec. In one sound group SG, data is recorded while being divided into an L channel and an R channel. For example, the sound group SG00 includes L channel data L0 and R channel data R0.
Is composed of L channel data L1 and R channel data R1. Note that 212 bytes, which is a data area of the L channel or the R channel, is called a sound frame.

Next, the address format in the mini disk system will be described with reference to FIG. Each sector is represented by a cluster address and a sector address. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, the cluster address is 16 bits (= 2 bytes), and the sector address is 8 bits (= 1 bit).
Byte). The address of these 3 bytes is
It is recorded at the head position of each sector.

By further adding a 4-bit sound group address, the address of a sound group in a sector can be expressed. For example, in the management of the U-TOC or the like, the notation up to the sound group address makes it possible to set a reproduction position in sound group units.

In U-TOC and AUX-TOC, the cluster address, the sector address, and the sound group address are represented by 3 bytes.
A shortened address as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3 is used.
First, there are 36 sectors in one cluster.
Can be expressed in bits. Therefore, the top 2 sectors address
Bits can be omitted. Similarly, since the cluster can be represented by 14 bits up to the outermost periphery of the disk, the upper two bits of the cluster address can be omitted. By omitting the upper two bits of each of the sector address and the cluster address in this way, the address that can be specified up to the sound group is set to three
Can be expressed in bytes.

Further, U-TOC and AUX-TO described later
In C, an address for managing a reproduction position, a reproduction timing, and the like is represented by the above-mentioned shortened type address, but the address may be represented by an offset address in addition to the absolute address form. The offset address is a relative address indicating a position in a program, such as a musical piece or the like, where the start position of each program is an address 0. An example of this offset address will be described with reference to FIG.

The program of the music and the like is recorded, as will be described later with reference to FIG. Is a numerical value in hexadecimal notation). For example, the address value of the address (cluster 32h, sector 00h, sound group 0h) at the start position of the first program is as shown in the upper part of FIG.
"00000000000011001000000000000
0000 "(that is, 0032h, 00h, 0h). When this is shown in a short form, as shown in the lower part of FIG.
"000000000001100100000000000
0 "(that is, 00h, C8h, 00h).

Starting from the start address, a certain position in the first program, for example, a cluster 0032
h, the sector 04h, and the sound group 0h have the address "0" in the short form of the absolute address as shown in FIG.
0h, C8h, 40h ", while the offset address is the difference between the cluster 000 and the start address.
0h, the sector 04h, and the sound group 0h may be represented, so that they are "00h, 00h, 40h".

With the start address of FIG. 4A as a starting point, as a certain position in the first program, for example, cluster 0032h, sector 13h, sound group 9h
Is an absolute address "00h, C9h, 39h" in the short form as shown in FIG. 4C, while the offset address is "00h, 01h, 39h". For example, as in these examples, a position in a program or the like can be designated by an absolute address or an offset address.

1-3. Area Structure The area structure of the disc 90 to which the MD recorder / player 1 according to the present embodiment corresponds will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 (a)
Indicates an area from the innermost side to the outermost side of the disk. The disk 90 as a magneto-optical disk has a pit area in which read-only data is formed by emboss pits on the innermost side, and a P-TOC is recorded here. The outer periphery from the pit area is a magneto-optical area,
This is a recording / reproducing area in which a groove as a guide groove of a recording track is formed. The section from the innermost cluster 0 to the cluster 49 of the magneto-optical area is used as a management area, and programs such as actual music are recorded.
It is a program area from cluster 50 to cluster 2251. The periphery of the program area is a lead-out area.

FIG. 5 shows the inside of the management area in detail.
(B). FIG. 5B shows sectors in the horizontal direction and clusters in the vertical direction. In the management area, clusters 0 and 1 are buffer areas with the pit area. The cluster 2 is a power calibration area PCA and is used for adjusting the output power of the laser beam. For clusters 3, 4, and 5, U-TOC is recorded. U
Although the contents of -TOC will be described later, a data format is defined in each sector in one cluster, and predetermined management information is recorded in each sector.
A cluster having a sector serving as C data is repeatedly recorded three times in clusters 3, 4, and 5.

In the clusters 6, 7, and 8, AUX-TOC is recorded. Although the contents of the AUX-TOC will be described later, a data format is defined in each sector in one cluster, and predetermined management information is recorded. Clusters having a sector serving as such AUX-TOC data are repeatedly recorded three times in clusters 6, 7, and 8.

The area from cluster 9 to cluster 46 is an area where AUX data is recorded. A data file as AUX data is formed in sector units,
A picture file sector as a still image file, a text file sector as a character information file, and a karaoke text file sector as a character information file synchronized with a program are formed. The data file as the AUX data and the AU
The area where the AUX data file can be recorded in the X data area is managed by the AUX-TOC.

The recording capacity of the data file in the AUX data area is 2.8 Mbytes when considered as the error correction mode 2. It is also conceivable to increase the recording capacity of the data file by forming a second AUX data area in, for example, the latter half of the program area or an area (for example, a lead-out part) on the outer peripheral side of the program area.

The clusters 47, 48 and 49 are buffer areas for the program area. Cluster 50 (= 32
h) Subsequent program areas record audio data of one or more music pieces in a compression format called ATRAC. Each recorded program and recordable area are U
-Managed by TOC. In each cluster in the program area, the sector FFh can be used for recording some information as sub data as described above.

In the mini-disc system, a read-only disk in which a program or the like is recorded in the form of pits as read-only data is also used. However, in this read-only disk, all pit areas are formed on the disk.
The recorded program is managed by the P-TOC in substantially the same manner as a U-TOC described later, and the U-TOC is not formed. However, when a read-only data file is recorded as AUX data, an AUX-TOC for managing the data file is recorded.

1-4. U-TOC 1-4-1. U-TOC Sector 0 As described above, in order to perform the recording / reproducing operation of the program (track) on the disk 90, the system controller 11 requires the P-TOC as management information recorded on the disk 90 in advance. , U-TOC are read out and referred to when necessary. here,
The U-TOC sector will be described as management information for managing the recording / reproduction operation of tracks (music and the like) on the disc 90.

The P-TOC is formed in the innermost pit area of the disk 90 as described with reference to FIG. 5, and is read-only information. The P-TOC manages the position of a recordable area (recordable user area), a lead-out area, a U-TOC area, and the like on the disc. In the case of a read-only optical disk in which all data is recorded in a pit form,
The P-TOC can also manage music recorded in the form of a ROM and the U-TOC is not formed. A detailed description of the P-TOC is omitted, and here, the U-
-TOC will be described.

FIG. 6 shows the format of U-TOC sector 0. The U-TOC sector can be provided from sector 0 to sector 32, in which sector 1 and sector 4 are character information, and sector 2 is an area for recording the recording date and time. First, U which is always necessary for the recording / reproducing operation of the disc 90
-TOC sector 0 will be described.

The U-TOC sector 0 is a data area in which management information on a program such as a song recorded by a user and a free area in which a new program can be recorded is mainly recorded. For example, when attempting to record a certain music on the disk 90, the system controller 11 searches for a free area on the disk from the U-TOC sector 0, and records audio data there. At the time of reproduction, the area in which the music to be reproduced is recorded is determined from U-TOC sector 0, and the reproduction operation is performed by accessing the area.

The data area (4 bytes × 588, 2352 bytes) of the U-TOC sector 0 has all 0s at the head position.
Alternatively, a synchronization pattern in which all 1-byte data are formed side by side is recorded. Then the cluster address (Clust
er H) (Cluster L) and an address serving as a sector address (Sector) are recorded over 3 bytes, and one byte of mode information (MODE) is added. The 3-byte address here is the address of the sector itself.

The header part in which the synchronization pattern and the address are recorded is not limited to the U-TOC sector 0, but may be a P-TOC sector, an AUX-TOC sector, or an A-TOC sector.
The same applies to the UX file sector and the program sector. For each of the sectors in FIG. 19 and thereafter, the description of the header portion is omitted, but the address and synchronization pattern of the sector itself are recorded in sector units.
In addition, as the address of the sector itself, the cluster address is composed of an upper address (Cluster H) and a lower address (Cluster H).
L), and the sector address (Sector) is written in 1 byte. That is, this address is not in short form.

Subsequently, at a predetermined byte position, a maker code, a model code, and a track number (F
irst TNO), track number of last track (Last T
NO), data such as sector usage (Used sectors), disk serial number, and disk ID are recorded.

Further, various pointers (P-DFA) are used as pointers in order to identify the areas (free areas, etc.) of tracks (music, etc.) recorded by the user by making them correspond to a table section described later. , P-EMPT
An area for recording Y, P-FRA, and P-TNO1 to P-TNO255) is prepared.

As a table unit to be associated with the pointers (P-DFA to P-TNO255), 255 parts tables from (01h) to (FFh) are provided. A start address as a starting point, an end address as an end, and mode information (track mode) of the part are recorded for the part. In addition, since the parts indicated in each part table may be successively connected to other parts, link information indicating the part table in which the start address and the end address of the connected parts are recorded can be recorded. Have been. Note that a part refers to a track portion in which temporally continuous data is physically continuously recorded in one track. And the start address,
The address indicated as the end address is an address indicating one or a plurality of parts constituting one music piece (track). These addresses are recorded in short form,
Specify clusters, sectors, and sound groups.

In this type of recording / reproducing apparatus, data of one music piece (program / track) is physically discontinuous, that is, reproduced while accessing between parts even if the data is recorded over a plurality of parts. Therefore, there is a case where a music piece or the like to be recorded by the user is divided into a plurality of parts for the purpose of efficient use of the recordable area.

Therefore, link information is provided, and the part tables can be connected by specifying the part tables to be connected, for example, by the numbers (01h) to (FFh) given to the respective part tables. In other words, in the management table section in the U-TOC sector 0, one parts table represents one part. For example, for a music composed of three parts connected, three parts connected by link information The position of the part is managed by the table. Note that the link information is actually indicated by a numerical value which is a byte position in the U-TOC sector 0 by a predetermined arithmetic processing. That is, the part table is designated as 304+ (link information) × 8 (byte).

Each part table from (01h) to (FFh) in the table section of the U-TOC sector 0 includes pointers (P-DFA, P-EMPTY, P-FRA, P-TNO1) in the pointer section.
~ P-TNO255) indicates the contents of the part as follows.

The pointer P-DFA is shown for a defective area on the magneto-optical disk 90. The pointer P-DFA is shown in a part table or a plurality of parts tables in which a track portion (= part) serving as a defective area due to a scratch or the like is shown. Of the first part table is specified. That is, when a defective part exists, any one of (01h) to (FFh) is recorded in the pointer P-DFA, and the defective part is indicated by the start and end addresses in the corresponding parts table. If another defective part exists, another part table is designated as link information in the part table, and the defective part is also shown in the part table. If there is no other defective part, the link information is set to, for example, "(00h)".
After that, there is no link.

The pointer P-EMPTY indicates the first part table of one or a plurality of unused part tables in the management table section. 01h)-(F
Fh) is recorded. When there are multiple unused part tables, the part tables are sequentially specified by the link information from the part table specified by the pointer P-EMPTY, and all the unused part tables are linked on the management table section. You.

The pointer P-FRA indicates a free area (including an erase area) where data can be written on the magneto-optical disk 90, and one or more track portions (= parts) indicating the free area are indicated. The first part table in the parts table is specified. In other words, if there is a free area, (01
h) to (FFh) are recorded, and in the corresponding parts table, parts which are free areas are indicated by start and end addresses. When there are a plurality of such parts, that is, when there are a plurality of parts tables, the link information sequentially designates parts tables whose link information is “(00h)”.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the management state of the parts that become free areas using the parts table. This is because when the parts (03h) (18h) (1Fh) (2Bh) (E3h) are set as free areas, this state follows the pointer P-FRA and the parts table (03h) (18h) (1Fh) (2Bh) The state represented by the link (E3h) is shown. The above-described management of the defective area and the unused parts table is the same.

The pointers P-TNO1 to P-TNO255 indicate tracks such as songs recorded on the magneto-optical disk 90 by the user.
A part table indicating a temporally leading part of one or a plurality of parts in which track data is recorded is designated. For example, if a music piece set as the first track (first program) is recorded on the disc without dividing the track, that is, as one part, the recording area of the first track is indicated by the pointer P-TNO1. Are recorded as start and end addresses in the parts table.

For example, in the case where the music set as the second track (second program) is discretely recorded on a plurality of parts on the disc, each part is time-based to indicate the recording position of the second track. Are specified according to a typical order. In other words, from the part table designated by the pointer P-TNO2, another part table is sequentially designated by the link information in order of time, and linked to the parts table in which the link information is "(00h)" ( The above-described embodiment is similar to FIG. 7). In this way, for example, since all the parts on which the data constituting the second music are recorded are sequentially specified and recorded, the data of the U-TOC sector 0 is used to reproduce the second music, When performing overwrite recording on the area, it is possible to access the optical head 3 and the magnetic head 6a to extract continuous music information from discrete parts, and to perform recording using the recording area efficiently.

As described above, for the rewritable magneto-optical disk 90, the area management on the disk is performed by the P-TOC.
The music and free areas recorded in the recordable user area are performed by U-TOC.

Note that U-TOCs other than U-TOC sector 0
The description of the OC sector is omitted here. The description of the AUX-TOC sector is also omitted here.

2. IEEE 1394 format 2-1. Outline Hereinafter, data communication according to the IEEE 1394 standard as the present embodiment will be described.

IEEE 1394 is one of the standards for serial data communication. As a data transmission method based on the IEEE 1394, an isochronous communication method is used.
There are a chronic communication system (synchronous communication system) and an asynchronous communication system (asynchronous communication system) that performs asynchronous communication regardless of the cycle. In general, Iso
The chronic communication method is used for transmitting and receiving data, and the asynchronous communication method is used for transmitting and receiving various control commands. Then, transmission and reception can be performed using these two types of communication systems using one cable. As described above, in the AV system of the present embodiment, ATRAC data (audio data) is used as user data.
Then, AUX data (picture file (JPEG still image data)) and text file accompanying the ATRAC data can be transmitted or received between devices via the IEEE 1394 bus. here,
ATRAC data (audio data) is time-series data to be output as audio along a reproduction time axis, and requires real-time properties. Also, the data amount is larger than the AUX data. On the other hand, AUX data has a data amount not as large as ATRAC data, and may be reproduced in synchronization with reproduction of audio data.
Strictly real-time property is not required as with AC data. Therefore, the outline of the transmission mode using the IEEE 1394 interface in the present embodiment is as follows.
The ATRAC data and AU
In transmitting and receiving X data, ATRAC data (that is, audio data) is transmitted and received by the Isochronous communication system, and AUX data is transmitted by Async.
It is specified that transmission and reception are performed by the strong communication method. In the present embodiment, IEEE13
ATRAC data and A
UX data can be sent on separate occasions,
As described below, the Isochronous cycle
By transmitting the ATRAC data and the AUX data in a time-sharing manner, it is possible to apparently transmit them at the same time. Therefore, hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described based on the transmission form of the present embodiment according to the IEEE 1394 standard described above.

2-2. Stack Model FIG. 8 shows an IEEE 1394 stack model to which the present embodiment corresponds. In the IEEE 1394 format, the Asynchronous system (40
0) and the Isochronous system (500). Here, Asynchronous system (400)
And Physical Layer (301) at the bottom as a layer common to and Isochronous system (500).
(Physical layer) is provided, and a link layer is provided above the physical layer.
r (302) (link layer) is provided. Physic
The al Layer (301) is a layer for controlling signal transmission in hardware, and is a Link Layer.
(302) is a layer having a function of converting an IEEE 1394 bus into, for example, an internal bus specified for each device.

The Physical Layer (30
1), Link Layer (302), and Transaction Layer (401) described below.
Is Event / Control / Configura
Serial Bus Ma by Tion's line
Linked to the management 303. Also, AV
Cable / Connector 304 indicates physical connectors and cables for AV data transmission.

In the Asynchronous system (400), a transaction layer (401) is provided above the link layer (302). Transaction Layer (4
01) is a layer that defines a data transmission protocol as IEEE1394, and is a basic Asynchron.
As ou Transaction, WriteTransaction, Rea is described later.
d Transaction, Lock Transa
ction is defined.

Then, the Transaction Layer
er (401) with FCP (Functuin Control
l Protocol) (402). FCP (40
2) AV / C Command (AV / C Digital Inte
By using a control command specified as (rfase Command Set) (403), command control for various AV devices can be executed.

Also, the Transaction Layer
For the upper layer of r (401), Connection
Management Procedures (50
5) by using Plug (IEEE1394) described later.
Pl for setting the logical device connection relationship in
ug Control Registers (40
4) is defined.

[0091] In the Isochronous system (500), above the Link Layer (302) is CI.
P Header Format (501) is defined, and this CIP Header Format (50) is defined.
SD-DVCR Realt in the form managed in 1)
im Transmission (502), HD-
DVCR Realtime Transmission
n (503), SDL-DVCR Realtime
Transmission (504), MPEG2-T
S Realtime Transmission (5
05), Audio and Music Realti
A transmission protocol such as me Transmission (506) is defined.

[0092] SD-DVCR Realtime Tr
answer (502), HD-DVCR R
ealtime Transmission (50
3), SDL-DVCR Realtime Tran
The transmission (504) is a digital V
This is a data transmission protocol corresponding to TR (Video Tape Recorder). SD-DVCR Realtime T
The data handled by the transmission (502) is S
D-DVCR recording format (5
08) according to the data sequence (SD
-DVCR data sequence (507))
It is said. HD-DVCR Realtime
Data handled by Transmission (503) is
HD-DVCR recording format
The data sequence (SD-DVCR datasequence (50) obtained according to the rule of (510)
9)). SDL-DVCR Realtime
The data handled by Transmission (504) is an SDL-DVCR recording form.
at (512) (SD-DVCR data sequence (5
11)).

MPEG2-TS Realtime T
transmission (505) is a transmission protocol corresponding to a tuner or the like corresponding to digital satellite broadcasting, for example, and the data handled by the transmission protocol is DVB recordin.
g format (514) or ATV recorder
data sequence (MPEG2-TS data) obtained in accordance with the ding format (515).
sequence (513)).

Also, Audio and Music
Realtime Transmission (50
6) is a transmission protocol corresponding to all digital audio equipment including the MD system of the present embodiment, for example, and the data handled by the transmission protocol is Audio and Mus.
A data sequence (Audio) obtained according to the rules of the ic recording format (517).
and Music data sequence).

2-3. FIG. 9 shows a structural example of a cable actually used as an IEEE 1394 bus. The cable 601 shown in this figure includes connectors 600A and 600B at both ends. Further, a case where six pins of pin numbers 1 to 6 are used as the pin terminals of the connectors 600A and 600B is shown. Regarding the pin terminals provided on the connectors 600A and 600B, the pin number 1 is a power supply (VP), the pin number 2 is a ground (VG), the pin number 3 is TPB1,
Pin number 4 is TPB2, pin number 5 is TPA1, and pin number 5 is TPA2. And the connector 600
The connection form of each pin between A-600B is as follows: pin number 1 (VP) -pin number 1 (VP) pin number 2 (VG) -pin number 2 (VG) pin number 3 (TPB1) -pin number 5 (TPA1 Pin No. 4 (TPB2) -Pin No. 6 (TPA2) Pin No. 5 (TPA1) -Pin No. 3 (TPB1) Pin No. 6 (TPA2) -Pin No. 3 (TPB2) Then, of the above-mentioned pin connection set, two pairs of twisted wires of pin number 3 (TPB1) -pin number 5 (TPA1) pin number 4 (TPB2) -pin number 6 (TPA2) are used to differentially signal. A signal line 601A for mutually transmitting the signals is formed, and two pairs of twisted wires of pin number 5 (TPA1) -pin number 3 (TPB1) pin number 6 (TPA2) -pin number 3 (TPB2) A signal line 601B for mutually transmitting signals is formed.

The two sets of signal lines 601A and signal lines 60
1B are a data signal (Data) shown in FIG. 10A and a strobe signal (Strobe) shown in FIG. 10B. The data signal shown in FIG. 10A is output from TPB1 and TPB2 using one of the signal lines 601A and 601B, and is input to TPA1 and TPA2. The strobe signal shown in FIG. 10B is a signal obtained by performing a predetermined logical operation on a data signal and a transmission clock synchronized with the data signal, and has a frequency lower than the actual transmission clock. Have. The strobe signal is output from the TPAs 1 and 2 using the other of the signal lines 601A or 601B that is not used for data signal transmission, and is input to the TPBs 1 and 2.

For example, the data signal and the strobe signal shown in FIGS.
Assuming that the data is input to a 94-compatible device, the device performs a predetermined logical operation on the input data signal and the strobe signal to generate a transmission clock (Clock) as shown in FIG. Generate and use for required input data signal processing. In the IEEE 1394 format, by adopting such a hardware data transmission form, it is not necessary to transmit a high-speed cycle transmission clock between devices via a cable, and the reliability of signal transmission is improved. In the above description, the specification of 6 pins has been described. However, in the IEEE1394 format, the power supply (VP) and the ground (VG) are omitted,
The signal line 601A and the signal line 60 which are two sets of twist lines
There is also a 4-pin specification consisting of only 1B. For example, in the MD recorder / player 1 of the present embodiment, consideration is given to providing a simpler system for the user by using the 4-pin cable.

2-4. Bus Connection Between Devices FIG. 11 schematically shows an example of a form of connection between devices using an IEEE 1394 bus. In this figure, devices A, B,
Five devices (Node) of C, D, and E are IEEE139
The case where they are communicably connected by four buses (that is, cables) is shown. IEEE 1394
In the interface, I, like devices A, B, C
A so-called "digi-chain connection" in which connections are made in series by the EEE1394 bus is made possible. FIG.
In the case of 1, a so-called "branch connection" in which a certain device and a plurality of devices are connected in parallel as shown in the connection form between the device A and the devices B, D, and E is also possible. . As a whole system, a maximum of 63 devices (Nod
e) can be connected. However, depending on the daisy chain connection, a maximum of 16 units (16 pops) can be connected. Further, the terminator required for SCSI is not required for the IEEE 1394 interface. In the IEEE 1394 interface, it is possible to perform mutual communication between devices connected by the daisy chain connection or the branch connection as described above. That is, in the case of FIG. 11, mutual communication between arbitrary plural devices among the devices A, B, C, D, and E is enabled.

In a system in which a plurality of devices are connected by an IEEE 1394 bus (hereinafter, also referred to as an IEEE 1394 system), No assigned to each device is assigned.
The process of setting the deID is actually performed. This process is schematically shown in FIG. Here, FIG.
In the IEEE 1394 system according to the connection form shown in FIG. 1, disconnection and insertion of cables, power on / off of certain devices in the system, PHY (Physical Layer Protocol)
If there is a spontaneous generation process, etc. in IEEE 139
In four systems, a bus reset occurs. Thereby, IEEE standards are established between the devices A, B, C, D, and E.
A process of performing a bus reset notification to all devices via the 1394 bus is executed.

As a result of this bus reset notification, FIG.
As shown in (b), by performing communication (Child-Notify), a parent-child relationship is defined between adjacent device terminals.
That is, a tree structure between devices in the IEEE 1394 system is constructed. Then, a device as a root is defined according to the construction result of the tree structure.
The root is a device in which all terminals are defined as children (Ch; Child). In the case of FIG. 12B, the device B is defined as a root. Conversely, for example, the terminal of the device A connected to the device B as this route is defined as a parent (P; Parent).

When the tree structure and the route in the IEEE 1394 system are defined as described above, subsequently, as shown in FIG. -An ID packet is output. Then, the root sequentially grants (grants) to the Node-ID, whereby the IE is obtained.
The address of each device in the EE1394 system, that is, the Node-ID is determined.

By the way, as described above, Node-
By defining the tree structure and the route in the IEEE 1394 system in the process of determining the ID, a so-called topology map is obtained in the system. That is, the connection relation (connection state by IEEE 1394 bus (cable)) between the devices constituting the system is recognized.

2-5. Packet In the IEEE 1394 format, as shown in FIG. 13, an isochronous cycle (nomi
The transmission is performed by repeating a nal cycle) cycle. In this case, 1 Isochronous cy
cle is 125 μsec, and the band is 100
MHz. In addition, Isochronous c
It is stipulated that the cycle of the cycle may be other than 125 μsec. And this Isochr
Data is packetized and transmitted for each on cycle.

As shown in this figure, Isochrono
At the top of the us cycle, 1 Isochronou
Cycle Start indicating the start of s cycle
Packet is arranged. This Cycle Star
tPacket is an IEEE standard defined as Cycle Master, although detailed description is omitted here.
The generation timing is indicated by one specific device in the E1394 system. Cycle Start P
Following the acket, IsochronousPac
ket is preferentially arranged. Isochronous
As shown in the figure, Packets are packetized for each channel, are arranged in a time-division manner, and are transferred (Isochronous subactions).
Also, Isochronous subactions
In Iso, the delimiter for each packet is Isochron.
pause section called ous gap (for example, 0.05 μ
sec) is provided. Thus, IEEE 1394
In the system, one transmission line uses Isochron.
It is possible to transmit and receive nous data in multiple channels.

Here, for example, when it is considered that the MD recorder / player of the present embodiment transmits the corresponding ATRAC data (compressed audio audio data) by the Isochronous system, the ATRAC data is transferred at a transfer rate of 1.4 Mbps at 1 × speed. , Then 125
1 Isochronous cycle that is μsec
ATRA of at least about 20 Mbytes per cycle
If the C data is transmitted as an Isochronous Packet, chronological continuity (real-time property) is ensured. For example, a device is ATRAC
When transmitting data, detailed description is omitted here, but IRM (Isochrono) in the IEEE 1394 system is transmitted.
us Resource Manager), an Isochron that can ensure real-time transmission of ATRAC data.
ous Requests the size of the packet. In the IRM, the current data transmission status is monitored to give permission / non-permission, and if permission is given, A
Transfer TRAC data to Isochronous Packet
t and can be transmitted. This is IE
This is called bandwidth reservation in the EE1394 interface.

Within the band of the Isochronous cycle, Isochronous subacti
Async using remaining bandwidth not used by ons
Hourous subactions, ie Asyn
A chronous packet transmission is performed. In FIG. 13, two As of Packet A and Packet B are shown.
An example in which the asynchronous packet is transmitted is shown. Asynchronous Pac
After the ket, ack gap (0.05 μsec)
A signal called ACK (Acknowledge) accompanies the idle period. ACK is transmitted as As
In the process of “ynchronous Transaction”, in order to notify the transmitting side (Controller) that some asynchronous data has been received, the receiving side (Target) is implemented in hardware.
This is the signal output from t). Also, Asynchr
Before and after a data transmission unit consisting of an onous packet and an ACK following the same packet, a su of about 10 μsec is set.
A pause period called a "action gap" is provided. At this time, the ATRAC data is transmitted by the Isochronous Packet, and the AUX data file assumed to be attached to the ATRAC data is transmitted to the Async.
If the transmission is carried out by using a long packet, the ATRAC data and the AUX data file can be apparently transmitted at the same time.

2-6. Transaction rules In the process transition diagram of FIG. 14 (a), Asynchrono
A basic communication rule (transaction rule) in the us communication is shown. This transaction rule is defined by the FCP. As shown in FIG. 14A, first, in step S11, Requester
The (transmission side) transmits a Request to the responder (reception side). In Responder,
When this Request is received (step S12),
First, the acknowledgment is returned to the Requester (step S13). On the transmitting side, Acknow
By receiving “edge”, it is recognized that the Request has been received on the receiving side (step S14). Thereafter, the responder responds to the request received in step S12,
nse to the Requester (step S1
5). The Requester receives the Response (Step S16), and responds to the Response.
Acknowledgment is transmitted to der (step S17). Acknow on Responder
Receiving “edge” recognizes that the response has been received by the transmission side.

Req transmitted according to FIG.
FIG. 14 shows the west Transaction.
As shown on the left side of (b), Write Requests
t, Read Request, Lock Request
It is roughly defined into three types, st. Write
Request is a command for requesting data writing, and Read Request is a command for requesting data reading. Lock Request
Will not be described in detail here, but swap com
This is a command for a pair, a mask, and the like.

[0109] Write Request is an Asynchronous Pac to be described later.
Three more types are defined according to the data size of the command (operand) stored in the GET (AV / C Command Packet). Write Req
west (data quadlet) is Async
The command is transmitted using only the header size of the strong packet. Write Request
(Data block: data length = 4
byte), Write Request (data
block: data length @ 4 bytes)
Is to transmit a command by adding a data block to a header as an Asynchronous Packet. The two differ in whether the data size of the operand stored in the data block is 4 bytes or more.

[0110] Read Request is similarly performed.
O to store in Asynchronous Packet
Depending on the data size of perand, Read Re
quest (data quadlet), Read
Request (datablock: data le
ngth = 4 bytes), Read Request
(Data block: data length $ 4
byte) are defined.

Also, Response Transac
The “tion” is shown on the right side of FIG. For the three types of Write Request described above, Write Response or No Re
spose is defined. In addition, Read Requ
east (data quadlet)
d Response (data quadlet) is defined, and ReadRequest (data blo
ck: data length = 4 bytes) or R
ead Request (data block: da
ta length @ 4 bytes)
d Response (datablock) is defined.

For the Lock Request, L
ok Response is defined.

2-7. CIP FIG. 15 shows a structure of CIP (Common Isochronos Packet). That is, the Isochron shown in FIG.
ow Packet is a data structure. As described above, ATRAC data (audio data), which is one of the recording / playback data supported by the MD recorder / player of the present embodiment, is transmitted and received by Isochronous communication in IEEE1394 communication. . That is, the amount of data enough to maintain the real-time property is determined by the Isochronous Pack.
, and store it in 1isochronous cycle
The data is sequentially transmitted for each e.

The first 32 bits (1 quadle) of the CIP
t) is a 1394 packet header. 139
In the 4-packet header, a 16-bit area is data_Length, a 2-bit area is tag, a 6-bit area is channel, and a 4
The bit is tcode, and the following four bits are sy. Then, 1 quad following the 1394 packet header
In the let area, header_CRC is stored.

2 quadl following header_CRC
The area of “et” becomes the CIP header. In the upper 2 bytes of the upper quadlet of the CIP header, '0'
'0' is stored, and the subsequent 6-bit area indicates an SID (transmission node number). The 8-bit area following the SID is D
BS (data block size), which indicates the size of a data block (unit data amount of packetization). Subsequently, areas of FN (2 bits) and QPC (3 bits) are set, the number of divisions at the time of packetization is indicated in the FN, and qu added for division in the QPC.
The number of adlets is shown. SPH (1 bit) indicates the flag of the header of the source packet, and DBC stores the value of a counter for detecting packet loss.

The upper two bytes of the lower quadlet of the CIP header store “0” and “0”, respectively. Subsequently, areas of FMT (6 bits) and FDF (24 bits) are provided. The signal format (transmission format) is shown in the FMT, and the value shown here makes it possible to identify the data type (data format) stored in the CIP. Specifically, MPEG
Stream data, Audio stream data, digital video camera (DV) stream data, and the like can be identified. The data format indicated by the FMT is, for example, the CIP Header shown in FIG.
SD-DVCR managed by Format (401)
Realtime Transmission (50
2), HD-DVCR Realtime Trans
mission (503), SDL-DVCR Rea
ltime Transmission (504), M
PEG2-TS Realtime Transmit
session (505), Audio and Music
Realtime Transmission (50
6). The FDF is a format-dependent field, and is an area indicating a further subdivided classification of the data format classified by the FMT. If the data is audio-related data, for example, whether the data is linear audio data or MID
It is possible to identify whether the data is I data. For example, in the case of ATRAC data of the present embodiment, first, FMT
Indicates that the data is in the category of the audio stream data, and a specific value is stored in the FDF in accordance with the regulations, thereby indicating that the audio stream data is ATRAC data.

Here, for example, when the FMT indicates that it is MPEG, the FDF stores synchronization control information called TSF (time shift flag).
DVCR (Digital Video Camera) by FMT
, The FDF is defined as shown below in FIG. Here, 5
0/60 (1 bit) defines the number of fields per second, and STYPE (5 bits) indicates whether the video format is SD or HD.
T indicates a time stamp for frame synchronization.

Following the CIP header, FMT, F
Data indicated by the DF is stored by a sequence of n data blocks. When the FMT and FDF indicate that the data is ATRAC data, the ATRAC data is stored in this data block area. After the data block, data_CRC is finally placed.

2-8. Connection management In IEEE1394 format, "plug"
According to the logical connection concept called IEEE 1394,
A connection relationship between devices connected by the bus is defined. FIG. 16 shows an example of a connection relationship defined by a plug. In this case, VTR1, VTR2, and set-top box (ST) are connected via an IEEE1394 bus.
B; digital satellite broadcast tuner), monitor device (Mon
itor) and digital still camera (Camer)
The system configuration to which a) is connected is shown.

[0120] Here, as a connection form using an IEEE1394 plug, a point to point-c connection is used.
connection and broadcast conn
There are two forms, the "action". point
The to point-connection is a connection mode in which the relationship between the transmitting device and the receiving device is specified, and data transmission is performed between the transmitting device and the receiving device using a specific channel. On the other hand, broadc
The “ast connection” is for transmitting data without specifying a receiving device and a channel to be used in a transmitting device. The receiver performs reception without particularly identifying the transmission device, and if necessary, performs necessary processing according to the content of the transmitted data. In the case of FIG. 16, point to point-connect
The state is set such that STB is transmitted, VTR1 is received and data transmission is performed using channel # 1, and the digital still camera transmits and VTR2 is received and channel # 2 Is set to be set so that data transmission is performed by using the. Also, from a digital still camera, b
A state in which data transmission is set also by the broadcast connection is shown. In this example, the broadcast connection is used.
A case is shown in which the monitor device receives the data transmitted by the “tion” and performs a required response process.

The connection mode (plug) as described above is based on the PCR (Plug Control) provided in the address space of each device.
orol Register). FIG. 17 (a)
oPCR [n] (output plug control register)
FIG. 17 (b) shows the structure of iPCR [n] (input plug control register).
The size of each of these oPCR [n] and iPCR [n] is 32 bits. In the oPCR of FIG. 17A, for example, if “1” is stored in the on-line of the upper 1 bit, the broadcast
The transmission is indicated by nection,
When '0' is stored, the channel indicated by the channel number in the 6-bit area from the upper eleventh bit indicates a point to point c.
The transmission is indicated as connection. Also,
Also in the iPCR of FIG. 17B, for example, if “1” is stored for the on-line of the upper 1 bit, it indicates that the reception is performed by the broadcast connection, and “0” is stored. When,
Channel of 6-bit area from upper 11th bit
The data transmitted by the channel indicated by the number is point-to-point connect
This indicates that the transmission is to be performed.

2-9. AV / C command packet As described with reference to FIG. 8, Asynchronous
In communication, the FCP can communicate with various AV devices using AV / C commands. In Asynchronous communication, Writ
The three types of transactions e, Read, and Lock are defined as described with reference to FIG. 14. Actually, Write Req corresponding to each transaction is defined.
west / Response Packet, Read
Request / Response Packet,
Lock Request / Response Pac
ket is used. The FCP uses the Write Transaction as described above. FIG. 18 shows the Write Requests.
t Packet (AsynchronousPacket (Write Reques
t for Data Block)). In the present embodiment, the Write Request Pack
et is used as an AV / C command packet.

This Write Request Pac
top 5 quadlets in ket (1st to 5th qulet
adlet) is a packet header. The first quadlet of the packet header
Area of upper 16 bits in
n_ID indicates the NodeID of the data transfer destination (destination). The subsequent 6-bit area is tl (transact label), which indicates a packet number. The next two bits are rt (retry c
ode), indicating that the packet is the first transmitted packet or the retransmitted packet. In the following 4-bit area, tcode (transaction code) indicates a command code. The subsequent 4-bit area is pri (prior
ity), which indicates the priority of the packet.

The upper 16-bit area in the second quadlet is the source_ID, and indicates the Node_ID of the data transfer source. Also, the second quadl
The lower 16 bits of the “et” and the total 48 bits of the entire third quadlet are destination_offse.
t, and the COMMAND register (FCP_COMM
AND register) and the address of the RESPONSE register (FCP_RESPONSE register). The above destination_
ID and destination_offset are I
This corresponds to a 64-bit address space defined in the EEE1394 format.

The area of the upper 16 bits of the fourth quadlet is defined as data_length,
The data size of a field (a region surrounded by a thick line in FIG. 18) is shown. The subsequent lower 16-bit area is an extended_tcode area,
This area is used when extending tcode.

A 32-bit area as the fifth quadlet is a header_CRC,
A CRC calculation value for performing a checksum of the header is stored.

The 6q following the Packet header
A data block is arranged from the uadlet, and datafi
An eld is formed. The CTS (C
ommand and Transaction Set) are described. this is,
Indicates the ID of the command set of the Write Request Packet. For example, if the value of this CTS is set to [0000] as shown in the figure, d
The content described in the “atafield” is defined as an AV / C command. That is, this Wr
The item Request Packet indicates that the packet is an AV / C command packet. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the FCP uses the AV / C command, [0000] is described in this CTS.

The 4-bit area following CTS is ctyp
e (Command type; function classification of command) or response indicating processing result (response) corresponding to command
Is described.

FIG. 19 shows the above-mentioned ctype and respo.
The definition content of nse is shown. ctype (Comman
As d), [0000] to [0111] can be used, and [0000] is CONTROL,
[0001] is STATUS, [0010] is INCU
IRY, [0011] is defined as NOTIFY,
[0100] to 0111 are currently undefined (reser
ved). CONTROL is a command to control the function from outside, STATUS is a command to check the status from outside, INQUIRY is a command to inquire whether the control command is supported, and NOTIFY is a request to notify the status change to outside. Command. [1000] to [1111] are used as the response, and [1000] is NOT IMPLEMENTE.
D, [1001] is ACCEPTED, [1010] is REJECTED, [1011] is INTRANSIT
ION, [1100] is IMPLEMENTED / ST
ABLE, [1101] is CHANGED, [111]
0] is reserved, [1111] is INTERI
M. These respo
nse is used properly according to the type of command. For example, resp corresponding to the command of CONTROL
Once, NOTIMPLEMENTED, A
CCEPTED, REJECTED, or INTER
Any one of the four IMs is used depending on the situation on the responder side or the like.

In FIG. 18, ctype / respo
In the 5-bit area following nse, subunit-t
ype is stored. Is a subunit-type
Indicates the subunit of the destination of the COMMAND or the source of the RESPONSE (device). In the IEEE 1394 format, a device itself is referred to as a unit, and the type of functional device unit provided in the unit (device) is referred to as a subunit. For example, taking a general VTR as an example, a unit as a VTR includes a tuner that receives terrestrial and satellite broadcasts,
Two subs with video cassette recorder / player
It has a unit. The subunit-type is defined, for example, as shown in FIG.
That is, [0000] is Monitor, [0000]
1] to [00010] are reserved, [0001]
1] is a disc recorder / player,
[00100] is VCR, [00101] is Tune
r, [00111] is Camera, [01000]-
[11110] is reserved, [11111]
Is un used when subunit does not exist
It is defined as it.

In FIG. 18, the subunit-t
In the 3 bits following “ype”, the same type of subunit
Is stored, an id (Node_ID) for specifying each subunit is stored.

The opcode is stored in the 8-bit area following the above-mentioned id (Node_ID), and operand is stored in the 8-bit area. opcod
e is an operation code, and information (parameters) required by the opcode is stored in the operand. These opco
de is defined for each subunit, and subunit
Each table has a unique opcode list table. For example, if the subunit is a VCR, opc
As the mode, for example, as shown in FIG. 20B, various commands including PLAY (reproduction), RECORD (recording) and the like are defined. By using these commands, so-called remote control is realized. Operand is defined for each opcode.

As the datafield in FIG. 18, the above-mentioned 32 bits of the sixth quadlet are indispensable. If necessary, an operand can be added subsequently (Additional operation).
rands). Following datafield is data
a_CRC is located. If necessary, use dat
It is possible to place padding before a_CRC.

3. Evaluation method 3-1. Evaluation System Example Next, a description will be given of an evaluation method of the MD recorder / player 1 according to the present embodiment, based on the above description. The evaluation of the MD recorder / player 1 in the present embodiment refers to an inspection operation for confirming whether or not the IEEE 1394 communication function of the MD recorder / player 1 properly operates in the manufacturing process.

First, an example of an evaluation system of the MD recorder / player 1 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The MD recorder / player 1 shown in this figure is a device to be evaluated flowing through a production line, and has the configuration shown in FIG. Here, for convenience of explanation, the MD recorder / player 1 has three i-ports P
-1, P-2, and P-3.

As the evaluation system, in the present embodiment,
As shown in the figure, the evaluation device 700, the evaluation sets 720 and 73
0 is provided. The evaluation device 700 is a device as a jig for evaluating the MD recorder / player 1 that is the device to be evaluated. The evaluation sets 720 and 730 are devices used together with the evaluation device 700 when evaluating the MD recorder / player 1, and both have an IEEE 1394 interface function. These evaluation devices 700,
The evaluation sets 720 and 730 are assumed to be regularly installed in a work area for evaluation, and are not particularly replaced. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, assuming that the number of i-ports of the MD recorder / player 1 is n, n-1 sets of evaluation sets are prepared. This is one of a plurality of i-ports in the MD recorder / player 1
This means that it is necessary to connect the evaluation device 700 to one i-port and to connect an evaluation set to each of the remaining i-ports.

Further, regarding the evaluation set 720, M
D recorder / player. In the evaluation procedure of the present embodiment described later, at least one
The platform is based on the need for a device capable of transmitting and receiving data by the Isochronous communication method using the same protocol as the MD recorder / player 1 as the device to be evaluated. Therefore, in this case, an MD recorder / player that is a device capable of transmitting and receiving ATRAC data as digital audio data is prepared as an evaluation set 720. The evaluation set 730 is a CD player here, but is not limited to this.

Here, FIG. 22 shows an example of the internal configuration of the evaluation device 700. In the evaluation device 700, an IE is used as an interface for exchanging data with the outside.
An EE1394 interface 702 is provided. I
The IEEE 1394 interface 702 is connected to the IEEE 1394 bus 116 (cable 6) as an external data bus.
01) enables mutual communication with an external device. The IEEE 1394 interface 702 is
For example, as shown in the figure, the PHY 703 and the LINK 704 are provided. Here, PHY703 has i port 7
01 is connected, and the LINK 704 is connected to the internal bus 710. The functional circuit unit serving as the PHY 703 corresponds to the Physical Layer shown in FIG. 8, and the LINK 704 is a Link Layer 3 shown in FIG.
02.

With such a configuration, the IEEE1394
The interface 702 demodulates a packet received via the IEEE 1394 bus 116 (cable 601) -i port 701, extracts data included in the demodulated packet, and converts the extracted data into a data format compatible with internal data communication. To output the data to the CPU 705 via the internal bus 210. The data output under the control of the CPU 705 is input and subjected to modulation processing in accordance with the IEEE 1394 format such as packetization, so that the i-port 701-IE
It can be transmitted and output to the outside via the EE1394 bus 116 (cable 601).

The CPU 705 executes various processes according to a program stored in the ROM 706, for example. In the present embodiment, a program for implementing an operation for evaluation according to a predetermined procedure is stored in ROM 706. In addition, IEEE 139
A program for controlling the IEEE 1394 interface 702 is also stored in order to enable transmission / reception of various data according to the standard of IEEE802.4. That is,
The evaluation device 700 is provided with a set (hardware and software) capable of transmitting and receiving data according to IEEE 1394. The RAM 707 appropriately holds data, programs, and the like necessary for the CPU 705 to execute various processes.

In this case, the input / output interface 708
Is connected to an operation unit 709, and transmits an operation signal output in response to an operation on the operation unit 709 to the internal bus 71.
1 to the CPU 705.
The input / output interface 708 is further connected to a display unit 710 for displaying images. Thus, an image is displayed on the display unit 710 by the display control performed by the CPU 705. Internal bus 21
0 is, for example, PCI (Peripheral Component Intercon
nect) or a local bus or the like, and interconnects the internal functional circuit units.

FIG. 23 shows the internal configuration of the IEEE1394 interface 25 provided in the MD recorder / player 1. I in MD recorder / player 1
The IEEE1394 interface 25 is also a PHY703
And LINK 704. In other words, basically, it has the same configuration as the IEEE 1394 interface 702 shown in FIG. As the MD recorder / player 1 which is the device to be evaluated, three i
Ports P-1, P-2, and P-3 are provided, and the plurality of i-ports are commonly connected to the PHY 703 as shown in FIG.
This is performed in Y703. By such a connection configuration, data transmission / reception between other devices (between plugs) connected in a daisy chain or branch connection via the MD recorder / player 1 is also realized.

It should be noted that the evaluation sets 720 and 730 also have an IEEE 1394 interface function for the IEEE 1394 interface function according to the above-described configuration.

Hereinafter, an evaluation procedure according to the present embodiment will be described. For example, assuming that the MD recorder / player 1 has been carried to the production line for evaluation, the worker can use the i-ports P-1, P-P of the MD recorder / player 1 as shown in FIG. -2, P-3, i-port 701 of evaluation device 700, i-port 720 of evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720
a, i port 7 of evaluation set (CD player) 730
30a is connected using, for example, a cable 601. That is, when viewed from the MD recorder / player 1, the evaluation device 700, the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720, and the evaluation set (CD player) 730
Are in a state of being branch-connected by the IEEE 1394 bus 116. Further, as is clear from FIG. 21, the connection state of the loop prohibited by the IEEE 1394 format is avoided. In addition, IE
According to the EE1394 format, in this case, M
As long as the evaluation device 700, the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720, and the evaluation set (CD player) 730 are properly connected to the D recorder / player 1 by branching, in particular, the MD recorder / player 1 How to connect the evaluation device 700 and the evaluation sets 720 and 730 to each of the i ports P-1, P-2, and P-3 is arbitrary.

The following description will be made with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the processing operation shown in this figure, as described above, the evaluation device 700, the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720, and the evaluation set (CD player) 730 are all connected to the MD recorder / player 1. This is started after the state is obtained, and is executed by the CPU 705 in the evaluation device 700.

When it is determined that the connection operation shown in FIG. 21 has been completed, the IEEE1394 connection between the four devices shown in FIG.
Will be constructed. In this case, since the cable is connected to and disconnected from the MD recorder / player 1, a bus reset occurs as described above with reference to FIG. When a bus reset occurs, in this system, a topology map is created and a Node-ID is determined. Step S10 shown in FIG.
1 is a process executed at the time of creating the topology map and determining the Node-ID, and checks the contents of the created topology map. At this time, a control process for displaying the topology map on the display unit 710 in a predetermined display mode is also executed so that the created topology map can be recognized by the operator. Then, in the subsequent step S102, it is determined whether or not an OK result has been obtained as the check result in step S101.

As the topology check in step S101, the following is checked. For example, when the connection state of the system is in a loop due to an operator's mistake or the like and the connection state violates the IEEE1394 format, an error occurs in the system.
In step 5, whether or not a loop connection has been established is confirmed based on whether such an error has occurred.

In the bus connection in the system,
If any one of the cables is disconnected, no loop error occurs, but the subsequent evaluation work cannot be performed properly. For this reason, the CPU 705 refers to the created topology map and checks whether or not all the remaining three devices are properly branch-connected to the MD recorder / player 1 as shown in FIG. Is what you do. In addition, since the topology map at this time is displayed on the display unit 710, the user can also confirm by looking at the topology map on the display unit 710.

However, even if the cables between the devices are properly connected, there may be cases where the normal branch connection shown in FIG. 21 cannot be obtained. That is, in the IEEE 1394 interface 25 of the MD recorder / player 1, at least one of the circuit systems connected to the i-ports P-1, P-2, and P-3 has failed.
As an example, if only the circuit system connected to the i-port P-1 has failed, the evaluation device 700 is in a state where a logical connection with any other device is not established. Also, as described above, the i-ports P-1, P-2, and P-3 are
The common connection to the HY 25b enables data transfer between the ports. Therefore, if only the circuit system connected to the i-port P-2 has failed, the evaluation device 700 connects the MD recorder / player 1 to the evaluation set via the i-port P-1 and the i-port P-3. Although communication is possible by being logically connected only to the 730, the logical connection is not established with the evaluation set 720 connected to the i-port P-2.

Therefore, if it is obtained as a check result that a topology map that should exist originally has not been obtained in spite of a state in which cables between the devices are properly connected, for example, the i-port P -1, P-2, P-3
It can be confirmed that at least one of the circuit systems has a failure. At this time, which i
Whether the circuit system of the ports P-1, P-2, and P-3 has failed can be specified by the state of the created topology map. In addition, by displaying this topology map, the operator can visually check. The cause of the failure is, for example, i-ports P-1, P-
2, disconnection of connection between P-3 and PHY 25b, and the like. If any one of the states described above has occurred, an NG result is obtained as a topology check.

On the other hand, if the loop connection is not established and the appropriate branch connection shown in FIG. 21 is obtained as the topology map, an OK check result is obtained. Here, when the topology map is created and the Node-ID is determined, the MD recorder / player 1 communicates between the system controller 11 and the IEEE 1394 interface 25. For this reason, O
When the result of K is obtained, it is confirmed that there is no failure inside the IEEE 1394 interface 25 and the communication between the IEEE 1394 interface 25 and the system controller 11.

In step S102 described above, O
If the check result of K is obtained, step S
Go to 103. On the other hand, when an NG check result is obtained, the process proceeds to step S108. When the process proceeds from step S101 to step S108, for example, if a loop has occurred, a display indicating that an error has occurred in the loop connection is performed on the display unit 710, and if an appropriate branch connection has not been performed. Then, a warning display of the content indicating this is performed. The worker, for example,
By looking at the display content according to the G result, for example, a cable connection check is performed. Further, if a warning display indicating that proper branch connection is not performed despite the secure connection of the cable is displayed, it is determined that the MD recorder / player 1 is out of order. At this time, which i-port has failed can be specified by the topology map obtained at that time, as described above.

As described above, in the IEEE1394 interface, Asynch which performs asynchronous communication is used.
isochron for synchronous communication and synchronous communication
There is an on communications system. Therefore, step S10
In No. 3, As for each Node as follows:
By executing the process so as to perform the asynchronous communication, the operation check for the asynchronous communication level is realized. First, the CPU 705 transmits a command (AV / C command) having a predetermined content such as PLAY to the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720. At this point, N
mode-ID is set, the CPU
705 is the No set for the evaluation set 720
The command is transmitted by specifying the de-ID as the destination.

This command is output from the i-port 701 of the evaluation device 700, and is output from the i-port of the MD recorder / player 1.
An evaluation set (MD) via the port P-1-PHY 25b-i port P-2 and further via the i port 720a
(Recorder / player) 720. And
In the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720, a response in response to the transmitted command is transmitted via the reverse path (in this case, if the command is PLAY, the evaluation set 720) Now start playback). Then, the CPU receives the response
705 confirms. If the transmission of the command and the reception of the response are properly performed, the asynchronous communication using the two ports i-ports P-1 and P-2 in the MD recorder / player 1 is operating properly. Will be confirmed. That is, in the present embodiment, the evaluation device 700 and the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) are passed through the MD recorder / player 1.
By checking the Asynchronous communication between the (players) 720, if this is operating normally,
It is confirmed that both i ports P-1 and P-2 are OK. In addition, the above-mentioned Asynch
If the result of the NG is obtained by performing the robust communication, one or both of the i-ports P-1 and p-2 may have failed, but the failed port Can be specified, for example, by trying to transmit a command from the evaluation device 700 to the MD recorder / player 1 that is the device to be evaluated.

Here, Asynchron with the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720 is performed as described above.
After checking onous communication,
Asynch with evaluation set (CD player) 730
A process for checking for a roused communication is executed. The processing up to this point is the processing operation as step S103.

In step S104, step S1 is executed.
It is determined whether or not the check result at 03 is OK.
Here, if a response is obtained with respect to command transmission performed to any of the evaluation sets 720 and 730, the process proceeds to step S105 as OK, but any one of the evaluation sets 720 and 730 is performed. On the other hand, if no response to the command transmission is obtained, N
The process proceeds to step S108 as G. In this case, the processing in step S108 includes, for example, the i-port P-
1, Asynchron corresponding to any of P-2 and P-3
A display indicating whether the nous communication was NG may be performed on the display unit 710.

At the stage of step S105, the topology check and the asynchronous communication check are OK. This is, for example, M
Functions of IEEE 1394 interface 25 (PHY 25a, LINK 25b) in D recorder / player 1 and IEEE 1394 interface 25
IEEE 13 between the system and the system controller 11
94 means that the data communication corresponding to the interface function is operating normally.

Therefore, in step S105, M
Isochronou in D Recorder / Player 1
s The processing for checking whether or not the communication operation is functioning normally is executed. In this case, checking the isochronous communication operation in the MD recorder / player 1 means confirming whether or not data transfer between the IEEE 1394 interface 25 and the recording / reproducing circuit system operates properly. For this,
In step S105, the audio data (AT) is stored in the MD recorder / player 1 as the device to be evaluated and the evaluation set 720 as the same MD recorder / player.
Control for transmitting / receiving RAC data).

As a practical example of the processing in step S105, command transmission is performed using an AV / C packet in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. This figure 2
5 includes a command transmitted from the evaluation device 700 by the processing of step S105, a transition of the operation of the MD recorder / player 1 of the device to be evaluated in response to the command, and the operation of the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720. It is shown. Here, for convenience, the MD-recorder / player 1 which is the device to be evaluated has a Node-ID =
It is assumed that # 1 is set and Node-ID = # 2 is set in the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720. Also, a disc is loaded in the MD recorder / player 1 and the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720 at the start of the evaluation work. In particular, it is assumed that the evaluation set (MD recorder / player) 720 is loaded with a disk on which audio data tracks are recorded.

First, as shown as a procedure, the CPU 705 designates Node-ID = # 1 as a transmission destination, and transmits a command for “rec pause (recording standby)”. In response to this command, the MD recorder / player 1, which is the device under evaluation, enters a recording standby state. At this time, since no audio data has been input via the IEEE 1394 data bus, a display indicating that no recording data has been input (NO DATA) is displayed on the display unit 24 of the MD recorder / player 1, for example. Also, at this stage, since no command is transmitted to the evaluation set 720, the previous state is maintained, and for example, the state is stopped here.

Subsequently, the CPU 705 transmits a command for “play (start reproduction)” by designating Node-ID = # 2 as a transmission destination as shown as a procedure. In response, the evaluation set 720, which is an MD recorder / player, plays back the loaded disc and transmits it to the MD recorder / player 1 via the IEEE 1394 bus 116. At this time, the MD recorder / player 1 of the device under evaluation maintains the recording standby state, but receives the audio data from the evaluation set 720 which is the MD recorder / player. Is output to the outside as monitor sound. At this time, the MD recorder / player 1 controls the audio data (ATR) extracted from the IEEE1394 interface 25 under the control of the system controller 11.
AC) is expanded by the encoder 14, and finally, for example, the line output terminal 17 and the headphone terminal 2
7 is output. Therefore, the operator can check the monitor sound by connecting an amplifier / speaker to the line output terminal 17 or connecting headphones to the headphone terminal 27, for example.

Next, the CPU 705 designates Node-ID = # 1 as a transmission destination, as shown as a procedure.
A command for “rec start (recording start)” is transmitted. As a result, the MD recorder /
The player 1 starts recording the audio data received from the evaluation set 720. On the other hand, the evaluation set 7
Since there is no command transmission as a procedure to 20, the playback state is maintained.

If it is determined that recording has been performed for a certain amount of time, the CPU 705 proceeds to No.
By specifying de-ID = # 1 as the destination, "rec s
A command for “top (stop recording)” is transmitted. Also, Node-ID = # 2 is specified as the transmission destination and “p
A command for “lay stop (stop playback)” is transmitted. In response to these commands, the MD of the
The recorder / player 1 stops the previous recording operation, and the evaluation set 720 stops the previous reproducing operation. As described above, the processing of the steps (1) to (4) provides an operation of receiving and recording the audio data transmitted from the evaluation set 720 by the MD recorder / player 1 of the device under evaluation. That is, the evaluation of the receiving function at the isochronous communication level in the MD recorder / player 1 is performed. In addition, by causing the MD recorder / player 1 to perform recording on the disc, not only the check of the IEEE1394 communication function but also the evaluation of the recording circuit system are performed at the same time.

Subsequently, as shown as a procedure,
de-ID = # 2 is specified as the transmission destination, and “rec
A command for “pause (recording standby)” is transmitted. In response to this command, the evaluation set 720, which is an MD recorder / player, enters a recording standby state. Also, at this time, since audio data is not transmitted via the IEEE 1394 data bus, for example, a display indicating that there is no recording data input (NO DATA) is displayed on the display section of the evaluation set 720. Conversely, as a procedure, since the command is not transmitted to the MD recorder / player 1 of the device under evaluation, the stopped state is maintained.

In the following procedure, a command for “play (start reproduction)” is transmitted by designating Node-ID = # 1 as a transmission destination. In response, the MD recorder / player 1 reproduces the audio data recorded on the disc in the previous procedure, and transmits the reproduced audio data to the MD recorder / player evaluation set 720 via the IEEE 1394 bus. At this time, the reproduced sound is output to the outside via, for example, the line output terminal 17 or the headphone terminal 27, so that the worker can confirm whether or not the reproduction is being performed properly by listening to the reproduced sound. Become. That is, it is possible to confirm here whether the reproduction system of the MD recorder / player 1 is operating normally. In addition, the evaluation set 720 which is an MD recorder / player operates to output the received audio data as monitor sound.
If an amplifier / speaker or headphones is connected to the evaluation set 720, monitor sound can be heard.
If you can confirm that the monitor sound is obtained normally,
Isoc of MD recorder / player 1 as device to be evaluated
This means that the data transmission function based on the strong communication scheme is operating normally.

In the following procedure, a command of “playstop” is transmitted by designating Node-ID = # 1 as a destination, and a command of “rec stop” is designated by designating Node-ID = # 2 as a destination. Send. In response to these commands, the MD recorder / player 1 of the device under evaluation stops the reproduction operation so far, and the evaluation set 720 shifts from the recording standby state to the stop state.

By going through the procedure up to this point,
Although the check at the roaming communication level is completed, in the present embodiment, the audio track recorded on the disc by the previous procedure is deleted at this stage in order to evaluate the next MD recorder / player 1 at this stage. Keep it. Erase and edit are performed on the disc currently loaded in the MD recorder / player 1 and recorded with audio data. The MD recorder / player 1 can perform editing such as track erasure, track division, track concatenation, etc. by rewriting the contents of the U-TOC sector in response to a user operation. The editing process of the track erasure is performed by remote control from the evaluation device 700.

For this purpose, as shown as a procedure,
The PU 705 transmits a command for “track erase (track erase)”, specifying Node-ID = # 1 as the transmission destination. At the time of transmitting the command at this time, o for removing the track of the track number recorded on the disc by the procedure is used.
Perand is also transmitted together. In response to this command, the MD recorder / player 1 executes editing processing for track erasure. At this time, in the MD recorder / player 1, the system controller 11 transmits the U-TOC
The contents of the sector 0 are rewritten so that the track recorded by the above procedure is erased.

When the above-described track erasing process is completed, the CPU 705 executes
Node-ID = # 1 is specified as the transmission destination, and “ej
ect (discharge disc) ”. In response to this command, the MD recorder / player 1 operates to eject (eject) the disc loaded so far. Thus, the evaluation for one MD recorder / player 1 is completed. The ejected disc is loaded into the MD recorder / player 1 which is the next device to be evaluated, and is similarly used for evaluation. It should be noted that the remote control is not performed on the evaluation set 720 depending on the above procedure, so that the evaluation set remains stopped.

Here, an example of the data contents of the command used in the above procedures 1 to 6 will be shown. The data contents shown below correspond to the Asynchronous P shown in FIG.
data of the packet (AV / C command packet)
The value is sequentially stored from the head (CTS) of the block. << play >> 0018c3ff 75000000 8byte << play stop >> 0018c5ff 00000000 8byte << rec start >> 0018c2ff 75000100 ffff 10byte << rec pause >> 0018c2ff 7d000100 ffff 10byte << rec stop >> 0018c5ff 00000100 8byte << track erase >> 001840ff 01002010 02PPPP 11byte (PPPP = TrackNumber-1) << eject >> 0018c1ff 6000 6byte

If the MD recorder / player 1
If the reception function and the transmission function at the chronic communication level are operating normally, the normal operation will be confirmed by the above-described procedure. In contrast, I
If the receiving function at the sochronous communication level is not normal, for example, the MD which is the device to be evaluated
The failure of the recorder / player 1 to confirm the failure can not be obtained because the monitor sound is not normally obtained. Also,
If the transmission function at the isochronous communication level is not normal, the evaluation set 720
In this case, the monitor sound cannot be normally obtained, so that it can be confirmed.

Further, whether the Isochronous communication function is OK or NG is determined by the CP of the evaluation device 700.
It is naturally possible that the U705 monitors the data transmission status on the IEEE1394 bus and detects that audio data is not being transmitted when audio data should be flowing on the IEEE1394 bus. It is. In step S106, for example, a determination is made based on such a detection result. In addition,
The transmission timing of the command shown as procedure 1 in FIG.
Each time a predetermined key or the like provided on the 0 operation unit 709 is operated, the transmission may be sequentially performed in accordance with the following. Alternatively, a time interval may be set in advance, and commands may be automatically transmitted sequentially at a predetermined timing.

Here, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, in step S105, I
The sochronous communication function is checked, and if an OK result is obtained in the next step S106, the process proceeds to step S107, where it is determined that all the evaluations for the MD recorder / player 1 are OK, and this processing is performed. finish. On the other hand, if the result of NG is obtained, the process proceeds to step S108,
A display indicating that the operation at the oncoming communication level is NG is performed. In the determination of each check result, when an OK result is obtained, for example, a display indicating that the check result is OK is displayed on the display unit 71.
It is preferable to perform it for 0 in consideration of the work efficiency of the worker.

In the above description, the case where three i-ports are provided for the MD recorder / player 1 which is the device to be evaluated has been described. Here, the case where two i-ports are provided is described. Consider In this case, the evaluation device 700 is connected to one i-port of the MD recorder / player 1, and an evaluation set such as an MD recorder / player is connected to the other i-port. In this case, for example, if the check of the isochronous communication shown as step S105 in FIG. 24 is performed, not only the MD recorder / player 1 which is the device to be evaluated but also the MD recorder / player 1
The command is also transmitted to the evaluation set via the port. In other words, when only two i-ports are provided, an Asynchronous communication corresponding to the two i-ports is checked by checking the isochronous communication.
It is possible to evaluate the onus communication function at the same time. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to execute the processing of step S102 and step S103, and these steps may be omitted.

In the case of the configuration of the MD recorder / player 1 of the present embodiment, the following can be said. In the case of the present embodiment, at the stage of checking the topology map corresponding to step S101 in FIG.
As described above, the connection with the IEEE 1394 interface 25 and the communication operation between the IEEE 1394 interface 25 and the system controller 11 via the internal bus 117 are checked. In other words, creation of a topology map and No
When the de-ID is determined, the MD recorder / player 1 transmits and receives data between the devices via the i port. At this time, the system controller 11 communicates with the IEEE 1394 interface 25 between the devices. Of data communication. In the case of the configuration of the MD recorder / player 1 of the present embodiment,
The function circuit unit used at the synchronous communication level is operated. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, substantially, step S shown in FIG.
The processing of 103 and step S104 may be omitted. That is, it is not necessary to particularly check the transmission / reception of the command / response by the asynchronous communication.

However, for example, a program for realizing Asynchronous communication (program ROM 28
According to the system controller 1
Since 1 can be used as a material for determining whether it operates properly, a check of Asynchronous communication can be performed to ensure a thorough evaluation.

In the above embodiment, an MD recorder / player is taken as an example of the device to be evaluated. However, the present invention can be applied to various devices having a plurality of ports. . In the present embodiment, I
Although the IEEE 1394 interface is mentioned as an example, the present invention can be applied to other data interface formats.

[0178]

As described above, according to the present invention, one communication operation test is performed for one of a plurality of data input / output terminals (i-ports) provided in a device under test (device under evaluation). The device is connected, and the remaining data input / output terminals are connected to a master device for inspection (evaluation set) to form an evaluation system. First, only the connection relation check (topology check) including the confirmation of the loop connection, or, after this topology check, between the inspection apparatus and each of the inspection master apparatuses by asynchronous communication via the device to be inspected. It is checked whether or not a command / response is transmitted / received. At this stage, the operation of the functional circuit unit used substantially in the case of asynchronous communication can be evaluated for all data input / output terminals. If the evaluation result is OK at the stage up to this point, it is already known that the operation of the functional circuit unit for each data input / output terminal is normal. If data transmission / reception by the synchronous communication method is executed only between the master devices, the evaluation of the isochronous communication operation is completed regardless of the number of ports. That is, in the present invention, once a cable is connected to form an evaluation system, at least all items required for the communication function of the device under test can be evaluated. This means that it is not necessary to replace cables in order to check the communication function for each of a plurality of data input / output terminals provided in the device under test. Further, even if the number of data input / output terminals is considerably increased, in the present invention, the time required for the evaluation operation itself performed by the evaluation device does not particularly change. Therefore, the working efficiency for evaluation is greatly improved by the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a recording / reproducing apparatus as an apparatus to be evaluated according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a sector format of a disk according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an address format of a disk according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a disk address according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an area structure of a disk according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a U-TOC sector 0 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a link configuration of U-TOC sector 0 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an IEEE 1394 stack model corresponding to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a cable structure used for IEEE1394.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal transmission form in IEEE1394.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining bus connection rules in IEEE1394.

FIG. 12: Node on IEEE 1394 system
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a concept of an ID setting procedure.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of packet transmission in IEEE1394.

FIG. 14 is a process transition diagram showing basic communication rules (transaction rules) in Asynchronous communication.

FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of a CIP.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a connection relationship defined by a plug.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a plug control register.

FIG. 18: Asynchronous Packet
It is a structural diagram of (AV / C command packet).

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the definition of “type / response” in an Asynchronous Packet.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the definition contents of a subunit_type and an opcode in an Asynchronous Packet.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an evaluation system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an evaluation device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IEEE 1394 interface in the recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a processing operation executed by a CPU in the evaluation device to realize the evaluation procedure of the present embodiment.

FIG. 25: C at the time of isochronous communication check
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a command transmission procedure executed by a PU and an operation transition of a device in response to the command transmission procedure.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an evaluation procedure as a conventional example.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a loop connection is established.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording / reproducing apparatus, 3 optical head, 6a magnetic head, 8 encoder / decoder part, 9 servo circuit, 1
1 system controller, 12 memory controller, 13 buffer memory, 14 encoder / decoder section, 23 operation section, 24 display section, 25, 702 I
IEEE 1394 interface, 26 JPEG decoder, 90 disk, 116 IEEE 1394 bus, 117, 711 internal bus, i port P-1 to P
-N, 700 evaluation device, 701 i-port, 709
Operation unit, 710 display unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A communication operation inspection apparatus for determining whether or not a data communication operation of a device under test provided with two or more data input / output terminals for data communication and enabling data communication with another device is normal. As a communication operation inspection method for inspecting, the communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a device other than the certain one data input / output terminal is connected. Each of the data input / output terminals is connected to a master device for inspection capable of performing data communication via a data bus, and the data between the device under inspection, the communication operation inspection device, and the master device for inspection are connected to each other. A connection relation determining step of checking a connection relation via a bus, and the connection relation meets a required condition based on a check result of the connection relation determination step. If it is determined that the data communication operation is to be performed by the device under test, a communication operation determination step of determining whether or not the data communication operation at this time is normal is performed. Characteristic communication operation inspection method. 2. A communication operation inspection apparatus for determining whether or not a data communication operation of a device to be inspected having two or more data input / output terminals for data communication and enabling data communication with another device is normal. As a communication operation inspection method for inspecting, the communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a device other than the certain one data input / output terminal is connected. Each of the data input / output terminals is connected to an inspection master device capable of performing data communication via a data bus, and the device under inspection, the communication operation inspection device, and the inspection master device are connected to a data bus. A loop connection determining step of determining whether or not a loop connection is established via the bus; and the loop connection determining step determines that the loop connection is not established. A first command transmission step of transmitting a command of a predetermined content from the communication operation inspection device to each of the inspection master devices via the data bus via the device under test by an asynchronous communication method; A response reception determining step of determining whether or not a response transmitted from each of the inspection master devices in response to the reception of the command has been successfully received; and all of the inspection master devices by the response reception determination step. When it is determined that a response can be received from the device under test and the specific test, data is transmitted and received by the synchronous communication method between the device under test and the specific master device for inspection. A second command transmitting step of transmitting a command having a predetermined content to the master device for communication, Communication operation test method and executes under de transmission step, the synchronous communication operation determination step that the data communication operation in the device under test to determine whether it is normal, the. 3. A communication for inspecting whether or not a data communication operation of a device under test provided with two or more data input / output terminals for data communication and enabling data communication with another device is normal. As an operation inspection device, a communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a data input / output terminal other than the one data input / output terminal is connected. In each of the above, a test master device capable of data communication is connected via a data bus, and the communication operation test device, the device under test, and the data bus between the test master devices are connected to each other. Connection determination means for checking the connection relation via the connection relation, and when it is determined that the connection relation meets a required condition based on a check result by the connection relation determination means, To transmit and receive data between the device under test and a specific inspection master device by a synchronous communication method,
Command transmitting means for transmitting a command of a predetermined content to the device to be inspected and the specific master device for inspection; and whether or not a data communication operation in the device to be inspected according to the command transmission of the command transmitting means is normal. A communication operation determining unit that determines whether the communication operation is performed. 4. An apparatus for inspecting whether or not a data communication operation of a device under test provided with two or more data input / output terminals for data communication enables data communication with another device is normal. As a communication operation inspection device, the communication operation inspection device is connected to a certain data input / output terminal of the device under test via a data bus, and a data input / output terminal other than the one data input / output terminal is connected. A test master device capable of data communication is connected to each of the terminals via a data bus. The communication operation test device, the device under test, and the test master device are connected to each other by a data bus. A loop connection determining means for determining whether or not a loop connection is established via the bus; and First command transmission means for transmitting a command having a predetermined content to each of the inspection master devices via the data bus passing through the device to be inspected by an asynchronous communication system; Response reception determining means for determining whether or not a response transmitted in response to the reception has been received, and determining that responses have been received from all of the inspection master devices by the response reception determining means. In this case, predetermined contents are transmitted to the device to be inspected and the specific master device for inspection so that data is transmitted and received by the synchronous communication method between the device to be inspected and the specific master device for inspection. Second command transmitting means for transmitting a command, and the device to be inspected according to the command transmission of the second command transmitting means. The data communication operation in is provided with a communication operation determining means for determining whether or not a normal communication operation inspection apparatus according to claim.