Image transmission / reception system, program product, and image transmission / reception method

Abstract

An image transmission / reception system, a program product, and an image transmission / reception method are provided with: an image reception device provided with: a reception circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data, acquires image data, and changes a lock signal from a first logic state to a second logic state; and a lock signal transmission control unit that adds error detection information to code information including information about the logic state of the lock signal and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, and outputs the code information as serial data to the image transmission device. And an image transmission device provided with: a transmission circuit that transmits, to the image reception device, transmission data obtained by superimposing the clock signal on the image data; an image transmission control unit that controls transmission of the image data; and a lock signal reception control unit that receives the serial data, outputs notification information corresponding to the code information to the image transmission control unit, and outputs a lock signal of the logic state indicated by the code information to the transmission circuit.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to an image transceiving system, a program product, and an image transceiving method. The present application can also be applied to a program and a program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a data communication device that is capable of transmitting other data than a lock signal from a receiving side circuit to a transmitting side circuit via the same signal line.

[0003] Patent Literature 2 discloses an image transmitting device that is capable of transmitting information other than still image information without using a bus for transmitting communication control information in a case where a standard for transmitting still image information is used for video image communication.

[0004] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-110449

[0005] Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-043489

[0006] As a communication standard at the time of transceiving image data, a communication standard called V-by-One (registered trademark) is sometimes used. In this V-by-One, a clock-embedding method of transmitting data signals and clock information as a pair of differential signals to a receiving side as transmission data on a transmitting side is used. When image data is transceived by this clock-embedding method, on the receiving side, CDR (Clock Data Recovery) training processing is performed on the transmission data from the transmitting side, whereby a clock signal and image data are extracted from the received transmission data. By performing such processing, in the V-by-One, skew between the clock signal and the image data is less likely to occur, and thus high-speed transmission of image data can be achieved.

[0007] Furthermore, in the V-by-One, if the CDR training processing is completed on the receiving side and becomes a state where the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data, a LOCKN signal is used to notify the transmitting side of the state of having established communication from the receiving side. Specifically, in a case where the LOCKN signal is at a high level (hereinafter, simply referred to as an H level.), it indicates a state where the clock signal cannot be extracted from the transmission data, that is, a state where communication is not established. Also, in a case where the LOCKN signal is at a low level (hereinafter, simply referred to as an L level.), it indicates a state where the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data, that is, a state where communication is established. Furthermore, on the transmitting side, if the logic of the LOCKN signal from the receiving side is confirmed and it is confirmed that it is at the L level indicating the state where communication is established, an action of including image data in the transmission data and transmitting it to the receiving side is performed.

[0008] In this case, it is sometimes desired to transmit notification information from the image receiving apparatus to the image transmitting apparatus other than in a state in which the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data. However, only the LOCKN signal as a lock signal is connected from the image receiving apparatus to the image transmitting apparatus. Also, the LOCKN signal is a single-ended signal, and thus there is a problem that it is easily affected by noise from the outside. Therefore, in a case in which a configuration is provided in which the notification information from the image receiving apparatus to the image transmitting apparatus is directly superimposed on the LOCKN signal and transmitted, it is possible that an error is included in the notification information received in the image transmitting apparatus, and thus it is required to improve the reliability of the notification information. SUMMARY

[0009] An object of the present application is to provide an image transceiving system, a program product, and an image transceiving method capable of improving the reliability of notification information received in an image transmitting apparatus compared to a case in which notification information from an image receiving apparatus to the image transmitting apparatus is directly superimposed on a lock signal and transmitted.

[0010] A first embodiment of the image transceiving system of the present application has:

[0011] An image receiving apparatus includes a reception circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and that changes a lock signal indicating whether or not a state in which communication has been established from a first logic state indicating a state in which communication has not been established to a second logic state indicating a state in which communication has been established if a state in which the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data is established; and a lock signal transmission control section that outputs, as serial data to the image transmitting apparatus, code information of notification information other than a logic state of the lock signal and information of the logic state of the lock signal output from the reception circuit, with error detection information calculated using the code information being attached thereto.

[0012] An image transmitting apparatus includes a transmission circuit that transmits transmission data in which a clock signal is superimposed on image data to the image receiving apparatus if a lock signal input changes from the first logic state to the second logic state; an image transmission control section that controls transmission of the image data to the image receiving apparatus based on the transmission circuit; and a lock signal reception control section that receives the serial data transmitted from the image receiving apparatus, and that outputs notification information corresponding to the code information included in the received serial data to the image transmission control section and a lock signal of a logic state indicated by the code information to the transmission circuit if there is no contradiction between the code information and the error detection information included in the received serial data.

[0013] The image transceiving system of the second aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of the first aspect, wherein the notification information and the information of the logic state of the lock signal are set as code information that does not coincide with other information even if the logic of any one bit is inverted.

[0014] The image transceiving system of the third aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of the second aspect, wherein the lock signal reception control section prestores a correspondence table of code information and notification contents or logic states of lock signals, and determines the notification contents or the logic states of the lock signals indicated by the code information by comparing the code information included in the received serial data with the correspondence table.

[0015] The image transceiving system of the fourth aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of the first aspect, wherein the notification information is constituted by a combination of a data kind and a data content.

[0016] The image transceiving system of the fifth aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the error detection information is symbol information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information.

[0017] The image transceiving system of the sixth aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the error detection information is bit information indicating a determination result of a parity determination of symbol information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information.

[0018] The image transceiving system of the seventh aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of the sixth aspect, wherein the bit information is information in which a determination result of a parity determination of symbol information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information is continuous multiple times.

[0019] The image transceiving system of the eighth aspect of the present application is the image transceiving system of the seventh aspect, wherein the information in which a determination result of a parity determination of symbol information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information is continuous multiple times is information in which a determination result of a parity determination of symbol information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information is continuous a number of times equal to the tens place when the symbol information is set as a decimal notation.

[0020] The program product of the ninth aspect of the present application records a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps:

[0021] In an image receiving apparatus provided with a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and that changes a lock signal indicating whether or not a state of having established communication from a first logic state indicating a state of not having established communication to a second logic state indicating a state of having established communication if a state of being able to extract the clock signal from the transmission data is attained, code information including information of a logic state of a lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, and error detection information calculated using the code information are appended to the code information as serial data, and the serial data is output to the image transmitting apparatus.

[0022] In an image transmitting apparatus provided with a transmitting circuit and an image transmitting control section, serial data transmitted from an image receiving apparatus is received, and notification information corresponding to code information included in the received serial data is output to the image transmitting control section and a lock signal of a logic state indicated by the code information is output to the transmitting circuit in the case where there is no contradiction between the code information and error detection information included in the received serial data. The transmitting circuit transmits transmission data in which a clock signal is superimposed on image data to the image receiving apparatus in the case where the input lock signal is changed from the first logic state to the second logic state. The image transmitting control section controls transmission of image data based on the transmitting circuit to the image receiving apparatus.

[0023] An image transceiving method according to a tenth aspect of the present application includes the steps of:

[0024] In an image receiving apparatus provided with a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and that changes a lock signal indicating whether or not a state of having established communication from a first logic state indicating a state of not having established communication to a second logic state indicating a state of having established communication if a state of being able to extract the clock signal from the transmission data is attained, code information including information of a logic state of a lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, and error detection information calculated using the code information are appended to the code information as serial data, and the serial data is output to the image transmitting apparatus.

[0025] In an image transmitting device equipped with a transmitting circuit and an image transmitting control unit, serial data transmitted from an image receiving device is received. If there is no contradiction between the code information and error detection information contained in the received serial data, a notification message corresponding to the code information contained in the received serial data is output to the image transmitting control unit. A lock signal representing the logic state indicated by the code information is also output to the transmitting circuit. When the input lock signal changes from the first logic state to the second logic state, the transmitting circuit transmits transmission data with a clock signal superimposed on the image data to the image receiving device. The image transmitting control unit controls the transmission of image data to the image receiving device based on the transmitting circuit.

[0026] Invention Effects

[0027] According to the first aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, compared with the case where notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the lock signal and transmitted, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device can be improved.

[0028] According to the second aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, even if the logic of 1 bit in the serial data output from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is determined, it is possible to prevent it from becoming erroneous notification content.

[0029] According to the third aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, various notification contents can be notified from the image receiving device to the image sending device simply by establishing a correspondence between the notification content and code information and a correspondence table.

[0030] According to the fourth aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, it is not only able to send pre-set notification content such as error notifications from the image receiving device to the image sending device, but also able to send various types of data.

[0031] According to the fifth aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, it is possible to prevent information about the logical state of notification information or lock signals from being erroneously received by the image transmitting device.

[0032] According to the sixth aspect of the image transceiver system of the present invention, the image transmitting device can prevent the information of the logical state of the notification information or the lock signal from being received incorrectly without increasing the amount of error detection information.

[0033] The image transceiver system according to the seventh aspect of the present invention can prevent the following false errors from occurring: an error occurs in the error detection information, so that the information of the logical state of the notification information or the lock signal is discarded even though it is normal.

[0034] The image transceiver system according to the eighth aspect of the present invention can further prevent the occurrence of false errors such as errors in error detection information, thereby discarding information even though the logical state of the notification information or lock signal is normal.

[0035] According to the program article of the ninth aspect of the present invention, compared with the case where notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the lock signal and transmitted, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device can be improved.

[0036] According to the tenth aspect of the image transceiver method of the present invention, compared with the case where notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the lock signal and transmitted, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device can be improved. Attached Figure Description

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing the structure of the image transceiver system used as a comparative example;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an image transceiver system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of an error code mapping table stored by the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a specific example of a combination of error codes and error detection messages;

[0042] Figure 5 This is another specific example of a combination of error codes and error detection messages;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the overall operation of the image transceiver system when the image receiving device 20 sends error codes and other data to the image transmitting device 10.

[0044] Symbol Explanation

[0045] 10-Image transmitting device, 11-Data transmission, 12-LOCKN signal, 20-Image receiving device, 21-Transmitting side LOCKN signal, 22-Notification information, 23-Error notification, 31-Receiving side LOCKN signal, 32-Notification information, 110-VBO transmitting circuit, 120-CRC assignment unit, 130-LOCKN signal receiving control unit, 140-Image transmitting control unit, 210-VBO receiving circuit, 220-CRC error detection unit, 230-LOCKN signal transmitting control unit, 240-Image receiving control unit, 810-Image transmitting device, 820-Image receiving device. Detailed Implementation

[0046] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0047] As a communication standard for transmitting and receiving image data, a communication standard called V-by-One (registered trademark) is sometimes used. In V-by-One, a clock embedding method is used where the data signal and clock information are transmitted as a differential pair to the receiving side. When transmitting and receiving image data via this clock embedding method, at the receiving side, CDR (Clock Data Recovery) training processing is performed on the transmitted data from the transmitting side, thereby extracting the clock signal and image data from the received transmitted data. Through this processing, V-by-One minimizes skew between the clock signal and image data, thus enabling high-speed image data transmission.

[0048] Furthermore, in V-by-One, if the CDR training process is completed on the receiving side and the clock signal can be extracted from the transmitted data, the LOCKN signal is used to notify the transmitting side that communication has been established. Specifically, when the LOCKN signal is high (hereinafter referred to as H level), it indicates that the clock signal cannot be extracted from the transmitted data, i.e., communication has not been established. And when the LOCKN signal is low (hereinafter referred to as L level), it indicates that the clock signal can be extracted from the transmitted data, i.e., communication has been established. Moreover, on the transmitting side, if the logic of the LOCKN signal from the receiving side is confirmed, and it is confirmed that the state of communication establishment is L level, then the operation of including image data in the transmitted data and sending it to the receiving side is performed.

[0049] Before describing the structure of the image transceiver system of this embodiment, please refer to... Figure 1 The structure of an image transceiver system without the application of the present invention will be described as a comparative example.

[0050] like Figure 1As shown, the comparative example image transceiver system comprises an image transmitting device 810 and an image receiving device 820. Furthermore, the image transmitting device 810 includes a VBO (V-by-One) transmitting circuit 110 and a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) assignment unit 120. The image receiving device 820 includes a VBO receiving circuit 210 and a CRC error detection unit 220.

[0051] Such an image transceiver system is used, for example, to transmit and receive image data between an image capturing device or scanning device and a signal processing unit, or between the signal processing unit and an image display device.

[0052] The CRC assignment unit 120 assigns a CRC symbol, which serves as an error detection code, to the image data to be transmitted to the image receiving device 820. Specifically, the CRC assignment unit 120 assigns the remainder when the image data is divided by a preset generator polynomial as the CRC symbol to the image data.

[0053] The VBO transmitting circuit 110 transmits transmission data 11, which includes a clock signal superimposed on the image data, to the image receiving device 820, and receives a LOCKN signal 12 from the image receiving device 820. Here, when the logic state is H (high), the LOCKN signal 12 indicates that CDR training processing has not been completed in the image receiving device 820 and the clock signal cannot be extracted from the transmission data 11, i.e., communication has not been established (link established). Conversely, when the logic state is L (low), the LOCKN signal 12 indicates that CDR training processing has been completed in the image receiving device 820 and the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data 11, i.e., communication has been established. Specifically, the LOCKN signal 12 is a locking signal indicating the locking state of the CDR PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit integrated within the VBO receiving circuit 210.

[0054] Therefore, when the input LOCKN signal 12 changes from the logic state H level, which indicates that the link is not established, to the logic state L level, which indicates that the link is established, the VBO transmitting circuit 110 will send the transmission data 11, which has the clock signal superimposed on the image data, to the image receiving device 820.

[0055] The VBO receiving circuit 210 extracts a clock signal from the transmission data 11 sent by the image transmitting device 810, and uses the extracted clock signal to obtain image data from the transmission data 11. Furthermore, if the VBO receiving circuit 210 is in a state where it can extract a clock signal from the transmission data 11, it changes the LOCKN signal 12, which indicates whether communication has been established, from a logic state (H level) indicating that communication has not been established, to a logic state (L level) indicating that communication has been established.

[0056] The CRC error detection unit 220 uses the error detection code assigned to the image data acquired in the VBO receiving circuit 210 to perform error detection on the image data. Specifically, the CRC error detection unit 220 extracts the CRC symbol assigned to the image data received by the VBO receiving circuit 210, and checks whether the image data is corrupted by checking whether the extracted CRC symbol matches the remainder when the image data is divided by a preset generator polynomial. Furthermore, if an error is detected in the received image data, the CRC error detection unit 220 notifies the subsequent circuits of the possibility of an error in the received image data.

[0057] After the VBO transmitting circuit 110 begins transmitting data 11 to the image receiving device 820, if the LOCKN signal 12 changes from H level to L level, it determines that CDR training processing has been completed in the image receiving device 820, and thus transmits the image data superimposed with the clock signal as transmission data 11 to the image receiving device 820. Furthermore, if the LOCKN signal 12 changes from L level to H level while transmitting data 11 to the image receiving device 820, it determines that the CDR circuit has been unlocked in the image receiving device 820, and thus stops transmitting data 11. The VBO transmitting circuit 110 then restarts the CDR training processing.

[0058] Here, it is sometimes desirable to send notification information from the image receiving device 820 to the image transmitting device 810, other than the state where a clock signal can be extracted from the transmitted data. However, only the LOCKN signal 12, which serves as a lock signal, connects the image receiving device 820 to the image transmitting device 810. Furthermore, this LOCKN signal 12 is a single-ended signal, and therefore, compared to the transmitted data 11, which is a differential signal, it is more susceptible to external noise. Therefore, if the structure is configured such that the notification information from the image receiving device 820 to the image transmitting device 810 is directly superimposed on the LOCKN signal 12 and transmitted, the notification information received in the image transmitting device 810 may contain errors, thus requiring improved reliability of the notification information.

[0059] Therefore, in the image transceiver system of this embodiment, by setting the structure as follows, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device is improved compared to the case where the notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the LOCKN signal and transmitted.

[0060] [An embodiment based on the technology of the present invention]

[0061] exist Figure 2 The diagram illustrates the structure of an image transceiver system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Additionally, in... Figure 2 In China, for the sake of Figure 1 Structures with the same structure shown are labeled with the same symbols, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0062] like Figure 2 As shown, the image transceiver system of this embodiment consists of an image transmitting device 10 and an image receiving device 20.

[0063] The image transmitting device 10 includes a VBO transmitting circuit 110, an image transmitting control unit 140, and a LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130. Similarly, the image receiving device 20 includes a VBO receiving circuit 210, an image receiving control unit 240, and a LOCKN signal transmitting control unit 230.

[0064] Image transmitting device 10 relative to Figure 1 The image transmitting device 810 shown is configured such that a LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 is added, and an image transmitting control unit 140 including a CRC assignment unit 120 is shown. Furthermore, the image receiving device 20 is compared to... Figure 1 The image receiving device 820 shown is configured such that a LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230 is added, and an image receiving control unit 240 including a CRC error detection unit 220 is shown.

[0065] In this embodiment, the VBO transmitting circuit 110 transmits transmission data 11, which includes a clock signal superimposed on the image data, to the image receiving device 20. Furthermore, the VBO transmitting circuit 110 receives the LOCKN signal 12 from the image receiving device 20 as a transmitting-side LOCKN signal 21 via the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130. When the input transmitting-side LOCKN signal 21 changes from a logic state (H level) indicating a non-established link state to a logic state (L level) indicating an established link state, the VBO transmitting circuit 110 transmits the transmission data 11, which includes a clock signal superimposed on the image data, to the image receiving device 20.

[0066] The image transmission control unit 140 controls the transmission of image data to the image receiving device 20 based on the VBO transmission circuit 110.

[0067] The VBO receiving circuit 210 extracts a clock signal from the transmission data 11 sent by the image transmitting device 10, and uses the extracted clock signal to obtain image data from the transmission data 11. Furthermore, if the VBO receiving circuit 210 is in a state where it can extract a clock signal from the transmission data 11, it changes the LOCKN signal 31, which indicates whether communication has been established, from a high level (indicating no communication has been established) to a low level (indicating communication has been established).

[0068] The image receiving control unit 240 controls the receiving and processing of image data based on the VBO receiving circuit 210. Furthermore, if the image receiving control unit 240 detects an error signal from the CRC error detection unit 220, it outputs a notification message 32 indicating that an error (CRC inconsistency) was detected in the received image data to the LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230. The image receiving control unit 240 also outputs notification messages 32 to the LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230 for errors other than the CRC inconsistency mentioned above.

[0069] The LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230 converts the information on the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31 output from the VBO receiving circuit 210, as well as the notification information 32 other than the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31, into code information. Furthermore, the LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230 appends error detection information calculated using this code information to the code information, which includes the information on the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31 and the notification information 32 other than the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31, and outputs the LOCKN signal 12 as serial data to the image transmitting device 10.

[0070] The LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 receives serial data, namely the LOCKN signal 12, sent from the image receiving device 20. Furthermore, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 determines whether the code information contained in the received serial data's LOCKN signal 12 is valid. Specifically, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 determines whether there is a contradiction between the code information contained in the received serial data's LOCKN signal 12 and the error detection information. If there is no contradiction between the code information contained in the received LOCKN signal 12 and the error detection information, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 outputs notification information 22 corresponding to the code information contained in the received LOCKN signal 12 to the image transmission control unit 140, and outputs a transmission-side LOCKN signal 21 representing the logic state indicated by the code information to the VBO transmission circuit 110.

[0071] Furthermore, if there is a discrepancy between the code information contained in the received LOCKN signal 12 and the error detection information, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 outputs an error notification 23 to the image transmission control unit 140. Upon receiving the error notification 23, the image transmission control unit 140 controls the VBO transmission circuit 110 as needed to send a retransmission request to the image receiving device 20.

[0072] [Methods for determining validity]

[0073] Here, a specific method for determining the validity of the code information contained in the LOCKN signal 12 received by the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 will be explained.

[0074] For example, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 pre-stores a correspondence table between code information and notification content or the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31. By comparing the code information contained in the received LOCKN signal 12 with the stored correspondence table, it determines the notification content represented by the code information or the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31. For example, if the notification content from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 is an error notification, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 stores an error code correspondence table and uses this table to determine the notification content of the error notification based on the code information. Figure 3 The image shows an example of an error code mapping table stored by the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130.

[0075] If reference Figure 3 The error code correspondence table shown indicates that if the code information of the received data received as LOCKN signal 12 is "0000 0101", it can be determined that the error notification content is "unlock". Therefore, if the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 receives the "unlock" notification content, it will change the logic state of the transmitting side LOCKN signal 21 from low to high.

[0076] Here, if reference Figure 3 The error code mapping table shown indicates that the notification information and the logical state of the LOCKN signal 31 are set to code information that is inconsistent with other information even if any 1-bit logical reversal occurs. For example, in the case of code information "0001 1010", the notification content is determined to be an error notification of "CRC inconsistency", thus the code information is determined to be valid. However, in the case of code information "0011 1010", since the corresponding data is not set in the error code mapping table, the code information is determined to be invalid, i.e., abnormal.

[0077] That is, even if noise is superimposed on the LOCKN signal 12 and 1 bit of logic in the code information is determined, there are no two kinds of erroneous content that differ by 1 bit, thereby preventing the code information with superimposed noise from being mistakenly determined as other notification content.

[0078] Furthermore, the notification from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 as described above is not necessarily limited to being sent only after locking. For example, even before locking, the LOCKN signal 12 can be used to send notification information from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10, thereby enabling notification of errors such as errors exceeding a pre-set threshold for locking.

[0079] Furthermore, the notification information sent from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 can be set not only as an error notification but also as data other than an error notification. Thus, when sending data other than an error notification via the LOCKN signal 12, the data type can be preset according to a correspondence table, and the notification information can be sent as a combination of "data type" and "data content". For example, various types can be set as data types, such as "status information", "periodic status communication", "control signal", and "error information".

[0080] [Determination of the validity of error detection information]

[0081] As described above, the code information contained in the LOCKN signal 12 includes, for example, error detection information supplemented by symbolic information calculated by performing a pre-set operation on the code information, namely a CRC symbol. Therefore, in the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130, the received code information is processed to calculate the value of the CRC symbol, and the calculated CRC symbol value is compared with the CRC symbol value received in the LOCKN signal 12. If they match, the received code information is determined to be valid. Furthermore, if the calculated CRC symbol value does not match the CRC symbol value received in the LOCKN signal 12, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 determines that the received code information is invalid.

[0082] However, instead of directly using the calculated CRC symbol value as binary data as error detection information, one can perform a parity check on the CRC symbol and use the result as 1 bit as error detection information. That is, as error detection information, the bit information representing the parity check result of the CRC symbol calculated by performing a pre-set operation on the code information can be included in the LOCKN signal 12.

[0083] Furthermore, this bit information can be configured as a series of consecutive parity determination results of the CRC symbols calculated by performing a pre-defined operation on the code information. For example, it can also be configured as a series of consecutive parity determination results of the CRC symbols calculated by performing a pre-defined operation on the code information, where the CRC symbols are set to the tens digits of the decimal representation.

[0084] exist Figure 4 The image shows a specific example of the combination of error codes and error detection information when configured in this way.

[0085] exist Figure 4 The example shown illustrates a specific instance where the 5-bit information "11111" is appended as error detection information to the transmitted data in the error code "000……0101".

[0086] Here, if the CRC symbol for the error code "000……0101" is set to "0011 0101", then the decimal representation of this CRC symbol becomes "53". Furthermore, since the CRC symbol "53" is an odd number, the appended bit becomes "1", and the tens digit of the CRC symbol's decimal representation is "5". Therefore, as error detection information, a value consisting of 5 consecutive appended "1" bits is appended. That is, as error detection information, the data "11111" is appended, calculated by adding the parity result of the CRC symbol to the tens digit of the CRC symbol's decimal representation.

[0087] If the CRC symbol value is "42", the parity determination result becomes "0" to represent an even number. As error detection information, the data "0000" is added, which is the tenth digit (4 bits) of the decimal mark of the consecutive CRC symbols of "0".

[0088] Here, not only is 1 bit of the parity determination result used as the error detection information, but the entire ten-digit value of the decimal marker of the consecutive CRC symbols is used to increase the information content. If only 1 bit of the parity determination result is used as the error detection information, the logic state is determined by noise itself, making it impossible to determine whether the error is in the error detection information or the transmitted data. Therefore, false errors may occur, where transmitted data such as notification information or lock signal logic state information is discarded even if it is normal. However, by using multiple consecutive bits of the parity determination result, it is possible to determine that an error has occurred in the error detection information itself, thereby preventing such false errors from occurring. For example, if the original error detection information "11111" is changed to "11011" during transmission, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 can determine that the error detection information is abnormal.

[0089] In addition, the above description uses the information formed by taking 1 bit of the parity determination result and the tens digit of the decimal mark of the CRC symbol as the error detection information, but it is also possible to use the tens digit of the decimal mark of the CRC symbol.

[0090] Furthermore, in Figure 5 This illustrates another specific example of a combination of error codes and error detection messages. Figure 5 The example shown illustrates a specific instance where the CRC symbol and its parity determination result are appended as error detection information to the transmitted data of the error code. By adopting this structure, although the amount of data transmitted increases, the reliability of notification information, etc., becomes higher.

[0091] Finally, refer to Figure 6 The flowchart describes the overall operation of the image transceiver system when the image receiving device 20 sends error codes and other data to the image transmitting device 10.

[0092] First, in the LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230, error codes and other data are generated and transmitted from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 (step S101).

[0093] Furthermore, the LOCKN signal transmission control unit 230 transmits the generated data as the LOCKN signal 12 to the image transmission device 10 (step S102).

[0094] In this way, in the image transmitting device 10, the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 receives the data sent as the LOCKN signal 12 and confirms the validity of the received data (step S103).

[0095] Furthermore, if the received data is determined to be valid ("Yes" in step S104), notification information 22 is output from the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 to the image transmission control unit 140. As a result, processing based on the received data is performed in the image transmission device 10 (step S105).

[0096] Furthermore, if the received data is determined to be invalid ("No" in step S104), an error notification 23 is output from the LOCKN signal receiving control unit 130 to the image transmission control unit 140. Then, the image transmission control unit 140 determines whether data retransmission is necessary (step S106).

[0097] Furthermore, if it is determined that data retransmission is required ("Yes" in step S106), the image transmission control unit 140 requests data retransmission from the image receiving device 20 via the VBO transmission circuit 110 and returns to step S102 (step S107). Conversely, if it is determined that data retransmission is not required ("No" in step S106), the image transmission control unit 140 terminates the process without performing any processing.

[0098] In this embodiment, each process is executed by any computer. Furthermore, any computer can execute these processes via a processor as hardware, a program as software, or a combination thereof. In this case, the processor is configured to cooperate with the program in executing the various processes in this embodiment, and can function as a unit or means within this embodiment. Moreover, the execution order of the processes performed by the processor is not limited to the order described and can be appropriately changed. Any computer can be a general-purpose computer, a computer for a specific purpose, a workstation, or other system capable of executing the processes.

[0099] A processor can be composed of one or more hardware components, and the type of hardware is not limited. For example, a processor can be composed of programmable logic devices such as CPUs (Central Processing Units), MPUs (Micro Processing Units), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), dedicated circuits for performing specific processes such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), or NPUs (Neural Processing Units). Furthermore, the type of hardware can be a combination of different types of hardware. When multiple hardware components are configured to execute one or more processes of a particular processor, these multiple hardware components can exist in physically separate devices or in the same device. Moreover, in any embodiment, the order of the processes performed by the processor is not limited to the above-described order and can be appropriately modified. Additionally, the hardware can be composed of circuits, such as those combining semiconductor elements.

[0100] Furthermore, the program can be software such as firmware or microcode. The program can also be, for example, a group of program modules, each of whose functions can be implemented by a processor configured to perform those functions. The program can be program code or multiple code segments stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., storage media or other storage devices). The program can be divided and stored on multiple non-transitory computer-readable media existing in physically separate devices. The program code or code segments can represent any combination of sequences, functions, subroutines, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, commands, data structures, or program statements. The program code or code segments can be connected to other code segments or hardware circuits by sending and receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or the contents of memory. Furthermore, the program of this application can be provided as a program article.

[0101] Furthermore, the actions of the processor in the above embodiments can be performed not only by a single processor, but also by multiple processors located in physically separate positions working together. Moreover, the order of the processor's actions is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments and can be appropriately modified.

[0102] In this embodiment, "system" includes both systems consisting of multiple devices and systems consisting of a single device.

[0103] [Postscript] (1)

[0105] An image transceiver system, comprising:

[0106] An image receiving apparatus includes: a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data sent by an image transmitting apparatus, acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and, if a state is reached where the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data, changes a lock signal indicating whether communication is established from a first logic state indicating that communication is not established to a second logic state indicating that communication is established; and a lock signal transmission control unit that appends error detection information calculated using the code information to code information including information on the logic state of the lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, and outputs this information as serial data to the image transmitting apparatus; and

[0107] An image transmitting apparatus includes: a transmitting circuit that transmits transmission data, in which a clock signal is superimposed on image data, to an image receiving device when an input lock signal changes from a first logic state to a second logic state; an image transmitting control unit that controls the transmission of image data to the image receiving device based on the transmitting circuit; and a lock signal receiving control unit that receives the serial data transmitted from the image receiving device, and outputs notification information corresponding to the code information contained in the received serial data to the image transmitting control unit when there is no contradiction between the code information and error detection information contained in the received serial data, and outputs a lock signal of the logic state represented by the code information to the transmitting circuit. (2)

[0109] According to the image transceiver system described in (1), wherein,

[0110] The notification information and the logical state information of the locking signal are set to code information that is inconsistent with other information even if any 1 bit of logic is reversed. (3)

[0112] According to the image transceiver system described in (2), wherein,

[0113] The lock signal receiving control unit pre-stores a correspondence table between code information and notification content or the logical state of the lock signal. By comparing the code information contained in the received serial data with the correspondence table, the notification content or the logical state of the lock signal represented by the code information is determined. (4)

[0115] According to the image transceiver system described in (1), wherein,

[0116] The notification information consists of a combination of data types and data content. (5)

[0118] The image transceiver system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein,

[0119] The error detection information is symbolic information calculated by performing pre-set operations on the code information. (6)

[0121] The image transceiver system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein,

[0122] The error detection information is bit information representing the parity determination result of the symbol information calculated by performing a pre-set operation on the code information. (7)

[0124] According to the image transceiver system described in (6), wherein,

[0125] The bit information is a series of consecutive parity determination results of symbol information calculated by performing pre-set operations on code information. (8)

[0127] According to the image transceiver system described in (7), wherein,

[0128] The information formed by the consecutive parity determination results of symbol information calculated by performing pre-set operations on code information is the information formed by setting the symbol information as the tenth digit when it is represented in decimal. (9)

[0130] A program that causes a computer to perform the following steps:

[0131] In an image receiving device equipped with a receiving circuit, error detection information calculated using the code information is added to code information that includes information on the logic state of a lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, and is output as serial data to the image transmitting device. The receiving circuit extracts a clock signal from the transmission data sent by the image transmitting device, and uses the extracted clock signal to obtain image data from the transmission data. If it becomes a state in which a clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data, the lock signal indicating whether communication has been established is changed from a first logic state indicating that communication has not been established to a second logic state indicating that communication has been established.

[0132] In an image transmitting device equipped with a transmitting circuit and an image transmitting control unit, serial data transmitted from an image receiving device is received. If there is no contradiction between the code information and error detection information contained in the received serial data, a notification message corresponding to the code information contained in the received serial data is output to the image transmitting control unit. A lock signal representing the logic state indicated by the code information is also output to the transmitting circuit. When the input lock signal changes from the first logic state to the second logic state, the transmitting circuit transmits transmission data with a clock signal superimposed on the image data to the image receiving device. The image transmitting control unit controls the transmission of image data to the image receiving device based on the transmitting circuit.

[0133] According to the image transceiver system of (1), compared with the case where the notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the lock signal and transmitted, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device can be improved.

[0134] According to the image transceiver system of (2), even if the logic of 1 bit in the serial data output from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is determined, it can prevent it from becoming an erroneous notification content.

[0135] According to the image transceiver system of (3), various notification contents can be notified from the image receiving device to the image sending device simply by establishing a corresponding association between the notification content and code information and the corresponding table.

[0136] According to the image transceiver system of (4), it is not only able to send pre-set notification content such as error notifications from the image receiving device to the image sending device, but also able to send various data.

[0137] According to the image transceiver system of (5), it is possible to prevent information about the logical state of notification messages or lock signals from being incorrectly received by the image transmitting device.

[0138] According to the image transceiver system of (6), it is possible to prevent the information of the logical state of the notification information or the lock signal from being received incorrectly by the image transmitting device without increasing the amount of error detection information.

[0139] According to the image transceiver system of (7), the following pseudo-errors can be prevented: an error occurs in the error detection information, so that the information of the logical state of the notification information or the lock signal is discarded even though it is normal.

[0140] According to the image transceiver system of (8), it is possible to further prevent the following pseudo-errors: an error occurs in the error detection information, so that the information of the logical state of the notification information or the lock signal is discarded even though it is normal.

[0141] According to the procedure in (9), compared to the case where the notification information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device is directly superimposed on the lock signal and transmitted, the reliability of the notification information received in the image transmitting device can be improved.

[0142] The embodiments of the present invention described above are provided for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, these embodiments do not encompass the entirety of the invention, nor do they limit the invention to the disclosed methods. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations will be readily understood. These embodiments were chosen and described to most readily explain the principles and applications of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art can understand the invention through various modifications that are assumed to be optimized for specific uses of various embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the foregoing claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An image transceiving system, comprising: an image receiving apparatus including a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and a lock signal indicating whether or not a state of having established communication is changed from a first logic state indicating a state of not having established communication to a second logic state indicating a state of having established communication if a state in which the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data is attained; and a lock signal transmission control section that outputs, as serial data to the image transmitting apparatus, code information including information of a logic state of the lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, with error detection information calculated using the code information attached thereto; and an image transmitting apparatus including a transmitting circuit that transmits transmission data in which a clock signal is superimposed on image data to the image receiving apparatus if the lock signal input thereto is changed from the first logic state to the second logic state, an image transmission control section that controls transmission of the image data to the image receiving apparatus based on the transmitting circuit, and a lock signal reception control section that receives the serial data transmitted from the image receiving apparatus, and outputs notification information corresponding to the code information included in the received serial data to the image transmission control section and a lock signal indicating a logic state of the code information to the transmitting circuit if there is no contradiction between the code information and the error detection information included in the received serial data.

2. The image transceiving system according to claim 1, wherein the notification information and the information of the logic state of the lock signal are set as code information that does not coincide with other information even if any one bit of the code information is logically inverted.

3. The image transceiving system according to claim 2, wherein the lock signal reception control section stores, in advance, a correspondence table of code information and notification contents or logic states of the lock signal, and determines the notification contents or the logic state of the lock signal indicated by the code information included in the received serial data by comparing the code information with the correspondence table.

4. The image transceiving system according to claim 1, wherein the notification information is constituted by a combination of a data kind and data contents.

5. The image transceiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the error detection information is sign information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information.

6. The image transceiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the error detection information is bit information indicating a result of parity determination of the sign information calculated by a predetermined operation on the code information.

7. The image transceiving system according to claim 6, wherein the bit information is information in which a result of the parity determination of the sign information calculated by the predetermined operation on the code information is continued for a plurality of times.

8. The image transceiving system according to claim 7, wherein ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The information in which the determination results of the parity determination of the symbol information calculated by the predetermined operation on the code information are continued is information in which the determination results of the parity determination of the symbol information calculated by the predetermined operation on the code information are continued in the amount of the tens place when the symbol information is set as a decimal notation.

9. A program product recording a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of: In an image receiving apparatus provided with a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and that changes a lock signal indicating whether or not a state of having established communication from a first logic state indicating a state of not having established communication to a second logic state indicating a state of having established communication if a state in which the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data is attained, in code information including information of a logic state of the lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, error detection information calculated using the code information is appended as serial data to be output to an image transmitting apparatus. In an image transmitting apparatus provided with a transmitting circuit and an image transmitting control section, the serial data transmitted from the image receiving apparatus is received, and in a case where there is no contradiction between code information included in the received serial data and error detection information, notification information corresponding to the code information included in the received serial data is output to the image transmitting control section, and a lock signal of a logic state indicated by the code information is output to the transmitting circuit, the transmitting circuit transmits transmission data in which a clock signal is superimposed on image data to the image receiving apparatus in a case where the input lock signal is changed from the first logic state to the second logic state, and the image transmitting control section controls transmission of image data based on the transmitting circuit to the image receiving apparatus.

10. An image transceiving method including the steps of: In an image receiving apparatus provided with a receiving circuit that extracts a clock signal from transmission data transmitted from an image transmitting apparatus, and acquires image data from the transmission data using the extracted clock signal, and that changes a lock signal indicating whether or not a state of having established communication from a first logic state indicating a state of not having established communication to a second logic state indicating a state of having established communication if a state in which the clock signal can be extracted from the transmission data is attained, in code information including information of a logic state of the lock signal output from the receiving circuit and notification information other than the logic state of the lock signal, error detection information calculated using the code information is appended as serial data to be output to an image transmitting apparatus. In an image transmission apparatus provided with a transmission circuit and an image transmission control section, the serial data transmitted from the image reception apparatus is received, and in the case where there is no contradiction between the code information and the error detection information included in the received serial data, the notification information corresponding to the code information included in the received serial data is output to the image transmission control section, and a lock signal of the logic state indicated by the code information is output to the transmission circuit, the transmission circuit transmits the transmission data on which the clock signal is superimposed to the image reception apparatus in the case where the input lock signal changes from the first logic state to the second logic state, and the image transmission control section controls the transmission of the image data based on the transmission circuit to the image reception apparatus.

Images