Electronic apparatus, abnormality detection method, and program

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus, an abnormality detection method, and a program that can easily and quickly detect the possibility of a cable being broken.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus (1) includes an equalizer (14) that amplifies and adjusts the amplitude of each of a plurality of differential signals (D0-D2, DC) received via a signal cable (C) having signal lines that transmit the plurality of differential signals (D0-D2, DC), and a CPU (11). The equalizer (14) automatically adjusts the amplification factor according to the amplitude of the obtained differential signal. The CPU (11) determines the possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable (C) on the basis of a reference value according to the adjusted amplification factor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device, an abnormality detection method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There are electronic devices that operate by receiving signals through a cable with multiple signal lines. In this cable, some of the multiple signal lines can become disconnected. As a result, the electronic device cannot obtain the signal accurately. In a differential signal, if a transmission failure occurs in one of the signal lines, the correct signal cannot be obtained even though the signal has arrived, and problems occur.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting disconnection anomalies to prevent the occurrence of trouble. In this technique, a transmitting electronic device transmits signals with a preset period and number of pulses to multiple signal lines. A receiving electronic device generates a logical sum of the received signals and detects whether an abnormality exists in any of the signal lines based on whether the logical sum matches the signal that should have been obtained. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-072344 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above technology requires the transmitting device to generate and transmit a specific detection signal, which is time-consuming.In addition, even in normal conditions, a period is required to send the detection signal, which lengthens the time required to transmit and receive the actual signal.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device, an abnormality detection method, and a program that can easily and quickly detect the possibility of a cable being disconnected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides: an amplification adjustment unit that amplifies and adjusts the amplitude of each of a plurality of differential signals received via a signal cable having signal lines that transmit a plurality of differential signals; A control unit; Equipped with the amplification adjustment unit automatically adjusts the degree of amplification in accordance with the amplitude of the obtained differential signal, the control unit determines, based on the adjusted degree of amplification, that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable. It is an electronic device. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to easily and quickly detect the possibility of a cable being broken. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a projection system including an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating transmission and reception of differential signals. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating transmission and reception of differential signals. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a disconnection detection control process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a projection system 100 including an electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, the electronic device 1 is a projection device. The electronic device 1 receives image data from an external device 4, and projects an image represented by the image data to the outside. The external device 4 is a source device that transmits image data to be projected, such as a PC. The external device 4 and the electronic device 1 are connected via a signal cable C. The signal cable C is an HDMI (registered trademark) cable.

[0011] The electronic device 1 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) (control unit), a memory 12, a connection unit 13, an equalizer 14 (amplification adjustment unit), a receiving unit 15, an operation receiving unit 17, an alarm operation unit 18, an emission driving unit 19, a light emitting unit L, a reflecting unit R, and a sound output unit 20.

[0012] The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the overall operation of the electronic device 1. The CPU 11 may be a dedicated microcomputer or a general-purpose CPU. In addition, there may be multiple CPUs 11.

[0013] The memory 12 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a non-volatile memory. The RAM provides a working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data. The RAM is, for example, but is not limited to, a DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The non-volatile memory stores and holds a program 121 for operation control and operation setting data. The setting data includes initial settings for the amount of light and the focus position. The non-volatile memory also stores in advance image data for performing a notification operation described below. The non-volatile memory is, for example, but is not limited to, a flash memory. The above-mentioned CPU 11 and memory 12 constitute the computer of the electronic device 1 of this embodiment.

[0014] The connection unit 13 has a connection terminal for connecting a signal cable C. The connection unit 13 may also have a connection terminal of another standard, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) terminal.

[0015] The equalizer 14 amplifies and adjusts each received differential signal to a signal with a specified amplitude suitable for digital signal processing. In the signal cable C, the voltage between the binary codes of each differential signal is attenuated. The equalizer 14 compensates for this attenuation. The equalizer 14 may hold a reference voltage value according to the above-mentioned specified amplitude for each signal line or for each pair of signal lines. The equalizer 14 can calculate a representative value, for example, an average value of the input voltage for a certain period at appropriate intervals and compare it with the reference voltage value to determine the amplification factor. When a voltage value is provided for each pair of signal lines, the equalizer 14 may determine the amplification factor by comparing the smaller absolute value of each voltage of the two signal lines related to the differential signal with the reference voltage value. Alternatively, the equalizer 14 may determine the amplification factor by comparing half the difference value or half the absolute value of the voltages of the two signal lines with the reference voltage value. Instead of obtaining the average value, the equalizer 14 may obtain an average value by applying an LPF (Low Pass Filter) or the like.

[0016] The determined amplification factor (degree of amplification, ratio) of each differential signal is temporarily stored in a register in the equalizer 14 and is used until a new amplification factor is set. Each time a new amplification factor is obtained, the stored value in the register may be rewritten with the new amplification factor. The new amplification factor may be calculated periodically, for example, every hour, or may be calculated each time the signal input from the signal cable C is started or resumed. That is, the electronic device 1 may calculate the amplification factor when the power supply is started or when the cable is disconnected. This adjustment is performed automatically without the user's setting or operation. That is, the equalizer 14 automatically adjusts the amplification factor of each signal according to the amplitude of each received differential signal so that the amplitude of each received differential signal becomes the specified amplitude.

[0017] The receiving unit 15 converts the received differential signal into a single-ended signal, decodes, and demodulates it to obtain image data, audio signals, various control data, and the like.

[0018] The operation reception unit 17 receives an input operation from the outside and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the input operation to the CPU 11. The operation reception unit 17 has, for example, a push button switch. The push button switch may include, for example, a power supply (operation on / off) switch, and a switch for changing the image transmission direction, the amount of emitted light, the output volume, etc. The operation reception unit 17 may also have a receiving unit for receiving a signal from a remote controller using an infrared signal, etc.

[0019] The annunciation unit 18 performs an annunciation operation to the outside. The annunciation operation is, for example, a conventionally known operation such as generation of a beep, output of a warning voice, lighting of an LED lamp (including changing of the lighting color) or blinking.

[0020] The light emitting unit L can emit light of three colors, RGB, using a laser diode (LD), a light emitting diode (LED), etc. The light emitted by the light emitting unit L is sent to the reflecting unit R via an optical system including lenses and mirrors.

[0021] The reflecting unit R has a DMD (digital micromirror device). The DMD is a two-dimensional array of movable mirrors corresponding to the number of pixels. The light of each wavelength incident from the light emitting unit L is reflected by the corresponding movable mirror in a different direction according to the color of each pixel of the projected image, and the emission of each RGB color is switched for each emission direction according to each pixel.

[0022] The emission driver 19 generates a drive signal for operating each of the movable mirrors to switch the reflection direction based on the image data obtained by the receiver 15. The emission driver 19 has a dedicated processor for converting image data into a drive signal, and is, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0023] The sound output unit 20 includes a speaker and the like. The sound output unit 20 outputs sound based on audio data. The connection unit 13 may have an audio output terminal. When an external speaker is line-connected to the audio output terminal, the sound output unit 20 may output an audio signal to the connected external speaker. The emission drive unit 19 and the sound output unit 20 may also be included in the notification operation unit of this embodiment.

[0024] Next, communication using an HDMI cable will be described. The signal cable C of this embodiment is an HDMI cable that transmits digital signals obtained by encoding image and audio data. The signal cable C has 19 signal lines, of which 8 are in pairs to transmit 4 pairs (3 or more pairs) of differential signals D0-D2 and DC. The differential signal DC is a clock signal, and the differential signals D0-D2 transmit image and audio data.

[0025] 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining transmission and reception of differential signals. As shown in Fig. 2(a), in a differential signal, the signals on the two signal lines change in a reciprocal manner. In the receiving electronic device 1, a single-ended signal is obtained by subtracting the two signals, as shown in Fig. 2(b). This signal is a relative value, so it is resistant to offset voltages caused by noise and attenuation of the signal voltage.

[0026] However, in the signal cable C, the signal attenuates depending on the electrical resistance of the cable length, the material of the connector, etc. As shown in Fig. 2(c), the received signal has a smaller amplitude than the transmitted signal. The difference between these signals, shown in Fig. 2(d), also has a smaller amplitude. This received signal is amplified by the equalizer 14 to a reference level of about Fig. 2(b), and then the binary level of the digital signal is determined.

[0027] In a signal cable C including such a large number of signal lines, one of the signal lines may break. When a break occurs in any of the signal lines of the differential signals D0 to D2 and DC, as shown in Fig. 3(a), a received signal cannot be obtained from the broken signal line. As a result, as shown in Fig. 3(b), the difference value of the differential signal becomes half of what it was before the break.

[0028] If we try to amplify this to the reference level shown in Figure 3(c), the amplification factor will be higher than normal. Because multiple differential signals are received, in this case four differential signals as shown above, a differential signal with a relatively large amplification factor will appear. As shown above, the amount of signal attenuation depends on signal cable C, so the value of the amplification factor will differ depending on the amount of this attenuation.

[0029] Such an abnormal gain may be determined by any of various known methods. For example, if any of the gains is greater than a reference value of the acquired gains by a predetermined value or more, it may be determined that a break may have occurred.

[0030] Examples of the reference value include, but are not limited to, the average of all amplification factors, the average of the amplification factors excluding the largest one, the average of the amplification factors excluding the largest and smallest ones, the median of the amplification factors, the smallest amplification factor, the second smallest amplification factor, the second largest amplification factor, etc. In addition, since the amplification factor increases due to a disconnection, it is sufficient to identify and compare the maximum amplification factor (maximum value) with these reference values.

[0031] The predetermined value may be determined, for example, as a value obtained by multiplying a reference value by a certain factor as a coefficient. As an example, the predetermined value may be a value obtained by multiplying the reference value by 0.5. In other words, if any of the individual amplification factors is equal to or greater than an upper limit value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the reference value, it may be determined that a disconnection may have occurred. In other words, the upper limit value is a value obtained by multiplying the reference value by 1.5. The factor by which the reference value is multiplied does not have to be 1.5. It may be determined appropriately within a range greater than 1.0 and less than 2.0 so that erroneous determination is unlikely to occur.

[0032] A poor connection of the cable does not necessarily increase the amplification factor of only a specific differential signal. Also, if there is no signal input, the amplification factor cannot be determined. Therefore, the electronic device 1 can determine the possibility of a disconnection simply and more accurately than before by using the above method.

[0033] The electronic device 1 may perform the above-mentioned determination by acquiring the amplification factors of the multiple differential signals from the equalizer 14, for example, once when starting image output or once when detecting the connection of the signal cable C. Alternatively, this determination may be performed periodically at appropriate intervals, or in response to an operation related to a user's execution command.

[0034] When it is determined that there is a possibility of a disconnection as described above, the electronic device 1 performs a notification operation to notify the user of the possibility of a disconnection, thereby urging the user to replace the signal cable C. In addition to or instead of the notification operation by the notification operation unit 18, the sound output unit 20 may output a sound such as "There is a possibility that the HDMI cable is disconnected." Alternatively, the emission drive unit 19 may be controlled to perform a display operation in which the light-emitting unit L projects a display indicating that the signal cable C is suspected to be disconnected. These sound data and display data may be stored in advance in the memory 12 or the like.

[0035] 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the disconnection detection control process executed by the CPU 11 in the electronic device 1. This process, which is the abnormality detection method of the present embodiment, may be started by automatically reading out the program 121 at each of the above-mentioned timings.

[0036] The CPU 11 acquires the amplification factor of each differential signal from the equalizer 14 (S1). The CPU 11 calculates a reference value of the amplification factor (S2). The reference value of the amplification factor is determined based on the multiple amplification factors adjusted as described above.

[0037] The CPU 11 determines whether or not an amplification factor that is greater than the reference value of the amplification factor by a predetermined value or more is set (S3). If it is determined that an amplification factor that is greater than the predetermined value or more is not set (S3; N), the CPU 11 determines that a differential signal is normally received by the signal cable C (S4). Then, the CPU 11 ends the disconnection detection control process.

[0038] If it is determined that the amplification factor is set to a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S3; Y), the CPU 11 determines that there is a possibility of a break in the signal cable C. The CPU 11 causes the notification unit 18 or the like to perform a notification operation indicating the possibility of a break (S5). Then, the CPU 11 ends the break detection control process. Among the above, steps S2 to S6 constitute the determination means in the program of this embodiment.

[0039] As described above, the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment includes an equalizer 14 that amplifies and adjusts the amplitude of each of a plurality of differential signals D0-D2 and DC received via a signal cable C having signal lines transmitting the plurality of differential signals D0-D2 and DC, and a CPU 11. The equalizer 14 adjusts the gain in accordance with the amplitude of the obtained differential signal. The CPU 11 determines that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable C based on the adjusted gain. In this way, the electronic device 1 can determine the possibility that some of the signal lines are disconnected based on the normal data signal sent from the external device 4 to the electronic device 1. Therefore, the electronic device 1 can easily and quickly determine the possibility of a disconnection without needing to transmit, receive, or analyze a separate signal for inspection, and without impeding the transmission and reception of normal data signals.

[0040] Furthermore, the equalizer 14 automatically adjusts the amplification factor according to the amplitude of each signal related to the obtained differential signal. The equalizer 14 flexibly amplifies the amplitude of each signal to a standard level, thereby reducing misidentification of the input binary signal. Therefore, the electronic device 1 can more easily and reliably demodulate the input signal to accurate input data.

[0041] Furthermore, the CPU 11 may determine that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line of the signal cable C when the amplification factor of any of the multiple differential signals is greater than or equal to a certain value relative to a reference value according to the adjusted multiple amplification factors. The electronic device 1 can determine the possibility of a disconnection by a simple process by determining a determination condition that focuses on the variation in the amplification factor of the differential signal caused by the equalizer 14.

[0042] Furthermore, the CPU 11 determines the possibility of a disconnection based on the ratio between a reference value and the amplification factor of each signal, thereby making it possible to obtain a more appropriate determination result regardless of the actual magnitude of the amplification factor corresponding to the signal cable C.

[0043] Furthermore, the number of pairs of differential signals is equal to or greater than 3. The CPU 11 identifies the maximum value among the amplification factors of the multiple signals, and compares the maximum value with a reference value to determine the possibility of a disconnection. When the signal lines of the differential signals are broken, the amplification factor increases, so the electronic device 1 can easily determine the possibility of a break by selecting the maximum value.

[0044] The electronic device 1 also includes an annunciation unit 18. When the CPU 11 determines that there is a possibility of a disconnection, it causes the annunciation unit 18 (which may include a light-emitting unit L, an emission drive unit 19, and a sound output unit 20) to perform an annunciation operation indicating the possibility of a disconnection. This allows the user to easily know the possibility of a disconnection of the signal cable C. That is, the user can distinguish and recognize the disconnection of the signal cable C from a poor connection of the terminal of the signal cable C, a malfunction of the external device 4 or the electronic device 1, etc. Therefore, the user can quickly take appropriate measures, such as replacing the signal cable C.

[0045] Furthermore, according to the abnormality detection method of the present embodiment in the electronic device 1, it is determined based on the adjusted amplification factor that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable C. Therefore, this abnormality detection method allows the possibility of a break in the signal cable C to be determined easily and quickly, and the user can take appropriate measures.

[0046] Furthermore, by installing the program 121 of this embodiment in a computer and causing the CPU 11 to execute the disconnection detection control process, the electronic device 1 can quickly and easily determine the possibility of a disconnection in the signal cable C.

[0047] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the possibility of a disconnection is determined by whether or not the ratio of each gain to the reference gain is equal to or greater than a certain value in order to detect a signal wiring having an amplification factor that is greater than the reference gain value by a certain value or more, but this is not limited thereto. The determination may be made by whether or not the difference between each gain and the reference gain is equal to or greater than a certain value. Alternatively, the upper limit value may be directly compared with each gain.

[0048] In addition, in the above embodiment, the signal cable C is described as an HDMI cable, but the signal cable is not limited to this. Any other cable including multiple differential signals, such as a DVI cable or a DisplayPort cable, may be used.

[0049] In addition, in the above example of setting the reference value, the simultaneous disconnection of two signal lines was not taken into consideration, but it may be taken into consideration. In this case, the reference value may be set excluding the amplification factors of the two signal lines with the largest amplification factor.

[0050] In the above, the electronic device 1 having the equalizer 14 judges whether the signal cable C is broken, but the judgment may be made by an external device that acquires the amplification factor.

[0051] In addition, in the above description, the electronic device 1 is a projection device, but is not limited to this, and may also be a video playback device, a video processing device, or the like.

[0052] In the above, the equalizer 14 amplifies each of the differential signals D0 to D2 and DC, but the differential signal DC does not have to pass through the equalizer 14. The differential signal DC may be input directly to the receiving unit 15. In this case, the CPU 11 only needs to compare the amplification factors among the three (three sets) of differential signals D0 to D2, which are image and audio data signals.

[0053] In the above description, the memory 12 consisting of a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory has been described as an example of a computer-readable medium for storing the program 121 related to the disconnection detection control of the present disclosure, but is not limited thereto. As other computer-readable media, other nonvolatile memories such as MRAM, HDDs (Hard disk drives), and portable recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD disks can be applied. In addition, a carrier wave is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing data of the program related to the present disclosure via a communication line. In addition, the specific configurations, contents and procedures of the processing operations, etc. shown in the above embodiments can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present invention includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1 Electronic equipment 4 External equipment 11 CPU 12. Memory 121 Programs 13 Connection 14 Equalizer 15 Receiving section 17 Operation reception section 18 Notification section 19 Emission drive unit 20 Sound output section 100 Projection System C Signal Cable D0~D2, DC differential signal L Light-emitting part R Reflector

Claims

1. an amplification adjustment unit that amplifies and adjusts the amplitude of each of a plurality of differential signals received via a signal cable having signal lines that transmit a plurality of differential signals; A control unit; Equipped with the amplification adjustment unit automatically adjusts the degree of amplification in accordance with the amplitude of the obtained differential signal, the control unit determines, based on the adjusted degree of amplification, that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable. electronic equipment.

2. the control unit determines that there is a possibility of a break in the signal line of the signal cable when the degree of amplification of any of the signals related to the plurality of differential signals is greater than or equal to a certain value with respect to a reference value according to the adjusted degrees of amplification.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit determines the possibility of the disconnection based on a ratio between the reference value and any one of the degrees of amplification.

4. the number of the differential signals is three or more; The control unit identifies a maximum value of the degree of amplification for each signal related to the differential signal, and compares the maximum value with the reference value.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2.

5. A notification operation unit is provided, When the control unit determines that there is a possibility of the disconnection, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform a notification operation indicating the possibility of the disconnection.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

6. 1. A method for detecting an abnormality in a signal cable in an electronic device, the method comprising: determining whether there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable based on the adjusted degree of amplification; Anomaly detection methods.

7. A computer of an electronic device including an amplification adjustment unit that automatically amplifies a plurality of differential signals received via a signal cable having signal lines that transmit a plurality of differential signals in accordance with the amplitude of the differential signals and adjusts the amplitude of each of the differential signals, a determination means for determining whether there is a possibility of a break in the signal line in the signal cable based on the adjusted degree of amplification; A program that functions as a

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