JP3411022B2 - Electronic device communication system, relay device used therefor, electronic device, communication control program executed on electronic device or relay device, and communication method of electronic device communication system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device communication system in which an electronic device is connected to at least one or more operation terminals and an external storage device via a repeater, and a repeater and an electronic device used for the same. The present invention relates to a communication control program executed on an electronic device or a repeater, and a communication method of an electronic device communication system. For example, connecting a repeater to an entertainment device capable of executing a program such as a game, connecting operation terminals such as a plurality of controllers to the repeater, and using it as an electronic device communication system in which a plurality of people operate the program. You can

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic device such as a home entertainment device is conventionally connected to an operation terminal such as a controller as a standard device, and various kinds of data about an operation environment of the operation terminal and the entertainment device are executed. An external storage device such as a memory card for storing the progress of the game is connected to the device.

On the other hand, in recent years, in order to allow a plurality of persons to play a game at the same time, a relay device is connected to the entertainment device without connecting the operation terminal directly to the entertainment device, and a plurality of operation terminals can be simultaneously connected to the relay device. It is known to have been made. If such a repeater is used, a plurality of operation terminals can be connected to one repeater, and therefore, there is an advantage that a large number of people can play a game with the entertainment device and diversify the game.

However, in the electronic equipment communication system in which a plurality of operation terminals can be simultaneously connected to the entertainment apparatus via such a repeater, an external storage device has conventionally been directly connected to the entertainment apparatus. Therefore, when recording individual data of each operation terminal in the external storage device, the storage area of the external storage device is divided and individual data is recorded in each storage area, or an external storage device is connected to each operation terminal. There is a problem that it is necessary to rewrite and record, a sufficient storage area cannot be secured, and an external storage device must be replaced for each operation terminal.

Therefore, an external storage device connection portion corresponding to the number of operation terminal connection portions is provided in the relay, and the external storage device connection portion is connected to the external storage device connection portion according to the number of connected operation terminals. Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which the complexity of replacing the external storage device is reduced and a storage area for each operating terminal is secured (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-191951). In the technology disclosed in this publication, by connecting a main body side connection terminal provided in a repeater to an operation terminal connection portion of an entertainment device, an electronic device via the repeater, an operation terminal and an external storage device are provided. It realizes the communication between.

[0006]

However, in the technique disclosed in the above publication, the electronic device and the repeater are connected by the operation terminal connecting portion, and the control signal output from the electronic device causes the operation terminal connecting portion to be connected. Since it is input to the repeater via the communication system for the operating terminal including the above, there are the following problems. That is, since the electronic device of the communication system for the operation terminal is usually provided with a circuit for countermeasures against unnecessary radiation, there is a problem that the communication speed of the communication system is very slow. Specifically, the communication speed between the electronic device and the external storage device is 24M.
Although it is about bps, the maximum communication speed between the electronic device and the operation terminal is 500 kbps. Therefore,
When switching control of the repeater is performed by the control signal output from the electronic device to the communication system for the operation terminal, the communication speed is slow, so high-speed switching of the operation terminal connection part or the external storage device connection part in the repeater is realized. There is a problem that you can not.

Further, since the operation terminal communication system constantly transmits the key input data of the operation terminal to the electronic equipment, the communication density is high, and in this respect also, the operation terminal connection portion or the external storage device connection portion in the repeater. There is a problem that it is difficult to realize high-speed switching. In particular, with the recent increase in the speed of central processing units of electronic devices, there is a demand for an electronic device communication system that can realize high-speed switching of the operation terminal connection unit or the external storage device connection unit in the repeater.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device communication system capable of realizing high-speed switching of an operation terminal connection part or an external storage device connection part in a repeater, a repeater used for the same, an electronic device, an electronic device or a relay. A communication control program executed on a device, and a communication method of an electronic device communication system.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, in an electronic equipment communication system according to the present invention, an electronic equipment is connected to at least one or more operation terminals and an external storage device via a repeater. And an external storage device connected to the repeater, an external storage device communication system for performing communication between the electronic devices, and an operation terminal connected to the repeater, A communication system for an operating terminal that performs communication between the electronic devices is set independently, and a control signal output from the electronic device is input to the repeater via the communication system for the external storage device. It is characterized by

Here, the control signal output from the electronic device and input to the repeater is a control signal for obtaining the number of operation terminal connecting parts or external storage device connecting parts provided in the repeater, A control signal for instructing the repeater to select which operation terminal or external storage device to communicate with among the plurality of operation terminals or external storage devices connected to the repeater is conceivable.

According to the present invention, the communication system for the operating terminal and the communication system for the external storage device are set independently of each other, and the control signal output from the electronic device is transmitted via the communication system for the external storage device. Since it is configured to be input to the repeater, high-speed communication between the electronic device and the repeater can be realized. That is, the communication system for the external storage device does not require a circuit for countermeasures against unwanted radiation unlike the communication system for the operation terminal, the communication speed does not decrease, and the operation terminal connection part or the external storage device connection in the repeater is not connected. The parts can be switched at high speed. In addition, since the control signal is output from the electronic device to the repeater via the communication system for the external storage device, which has a lower communication density than the communication system for the operation terminal, the efficiency of communication between the electronic device and the repeater is improved. Also in this respect, high speed switching of the operation terminal connection unit or the external storage device connection unit in the repeater can be performed.

In the above, as the above-mentioned repeater,
A plurality of operation terminal connection units to which the operation terminals are connected, a plurality of external storage device connection units set according to each operation terminal connection unit, and connected to an external storage device, and a plurality of operation terminal connection units, at least An operating terminal communication switching unit that selects any one of the operating terminals connected to one or more and enables communication between the operating terminal and the electronic device, and a plurality of external storage device connecting units, An external storage device communication switching unit that selects any one external storage device from at least one or more connected external storage devices and enables communication between the external storage device and the electronic device main body, and an electronic device. It is possible to employ a repeater that includes a communication control unit that outputs a switching control signal to the operation terminal communication switching unit and the external storage device communication switching unit based on a control signal from.

If such a repeater is adopted, since the communication control unit for controlling the switching of the operation terminal communication switching unit and the external storage device communication switching unit is provided, not only the switching of the external storage device connecting unit but also the operation terminal is performed. It is possible to speed up the switching of the connection portion.

Further, the present invention is applicable not only to an electronic device communication system including an electronic device and a repeater, but also to an invention of only a repeater or an electronic device that constitutes the electronic device communication system. Then, according to the repeater and the electronic device according to the present invention, the same actions and effects as the actions and effects described above can be enjoyed.
In addition, the repeater according to the present invention can be used in various electronic devices including an operation terminal connection unit and an external storage device connection unit, and thus the versatility of the present invention is significantly improved.

Further, the present invention can be configured not only as hardware such as the above-mentioned electronic equipment, repeater, and electronic equipment communication system, but also as software. In other words, the communication control program of the present invention is a communication control program by the terminal device comprising at least one or more operation terminals and external storage device is executed on the electronic device connected via a repeater, the electrostatic
The communication system between the slave device and the repeater includes an operation terminal and
The communication system of the external storage device is set independently, and a signal including information for designating a communication target from the electronic device is transferred to the external storage device.
A signal that is transmitted via the communication system of the device and that contains the acceptance information for the transmission information from the repeater is transmitted to the communication system of the external storage device.
It is characterized in that it is received via .

Here, as the information for specifying the communication target, the information for specifying the repeater itself, the information for specifying the type of the terminal device, and the information for specifying one device from the terminal devices of the same type. For example, information for designating one operating terminal from among a plurality of operating terminals is conceivable, and specifically, it can be designated by including an ID code or the like for identifying each device in the signal. Further, as the acceptance information, the ID code included in the transmission information may be collated with the ID code possessed by the user, and a predetermined signal may be output if the ID code matches. It is also possible to include an ID code for designating itself in the consent information of.

According to the present invention as described above, since the transmission information includes the information for designating the communication target and the acceptance information for the transmission information is received by the electronic device, the communication between them is started. Communication between the device, the repeater, and the terminal device can be performed reasonably and efficiently, and the same operation and effect as described above can be enjoyed. Further, according to such a communication control program, the present invention can be implemented only by operating the communication control program on an electronic device, and therefore, it can be used for communication between an electronic device such as a normal computer and an external device. Therefore, the versatility of the present invention is significantly improved.

In the above, it is preferable that the transmission and reception timings of the electronic device and the repeater are performed in synchronization with the clock signal transmitted from the electronic device. That is, by performing transmission / reception in synchronization with the clock signal transmitted from the electronic device in this manner, communication timing in the electronic device can be easily set and efficient transmission / reception can be performed.

Further, the communication control program described above does not necessarily have to be executed on an electronic device, and even if it is configured to be executed on a repeater, the same operation and effect as described above can be enjoyed. Further, it can be configured as a communication method of an electronic device communication system that is performed between the electronic device and the repeater and / or the terminal device, and the same operation and effect as the above can be enjoyed.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electronic device communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device communication system is an entertainment apparatus 1 which is an electronic device.
0, a controller 30 as an operation terminal, a memory card 50 as an external storage device, and a repeater 70.

Entertainment device 1 serving as an electronic device
0 is connected to a video / audio output device (not shown), reads an application program such as a game or image stored in an optical disk, displays the application program on the video / audio output device, and the operator uses the controller 30 to read the application program. It has a function of executing the program by giving an instruction. The entertainment apparatus 10 includes a main board, a power supply unit, a disk device, and an input / output signal control board, which are housed inside a housing 11.

The main board is a part that controls the entire apparatus, and includes a control system including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral devices, and a GPU (Gr) that performs drawing.
aphicProcessing Unit) and a sound system for reproducing music, sound effects, etc. The power supply unit is a part that supplies power to peripheral devices inside the entertainment device 10 including the main board, and further supplies power to the controller 30, the memory card 50, and the relay device 70 connected to the entertainment device 10. . In this power supply unit, a master switch (not shown) on the back side of the housing 11 is turned on and the switch 12 on the right side of the housing 11 is operated to supply power to each part. ing.

The disk device is a CD-ROM, a DVD-
It reproduces an optical disk such as a ROM, and has a housing 11
An apparatus main body including an optical pickup unit disposed inside the optical disk unit and a disk tray 13 for loading the optical disk on the apparatus main body are provided, and an end surface of the disk tray 13 is exposed on the right front side of the housing 11. When the switch 14 adjacent to the disc tray 13 is operated, the disc tray 13 comes out from the inside of the housing 11 and the optical disc can be loaded.

The input / output signal control board is provided with an optical disk control section for controlling an optical disk on which an application program is recorded, and a communication control section for performing communication between the entertainment apparatus 10 and external equipment. The optical disc control unit can read data from an optical disc at high speed by temporarily storing data from a disc device and a decoder that decodes a program or data recorded with an error correction code added, for example. And a buffer to be converted.

The communication control section includes a controller connection section 15 and a card slot section 1 arranged on the left side of the front of the housing 11.
6. USB (Universal Seri) located below these
al Bus) standard external device connection unit 17 is connected, and the communication control unit controls communication with external devices connected to these connection units. In addition, the entertainment apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a PCMCIA slot and a video / audio output terminal on the back side in addition to the connection parts for these external devices, and these are also connected to this communication control part, and the same. Controlled by.

The controller 30, which serves as an operation terminal, outputs an operation signal to the entertainment apparatus 10, and has a plurality of operation switches 32 arranged on the upper surface portion and the side surface portion of the controller main body 31, the relay device 70 or the entertainment apparatus 10. Connection terminal 3 for connection
3 and 3. For example, such a controller 3
When 0 is connected to the entertainment apparatus 10 via the repeater 70 and an application program such as a game is being executed, the operator operates these operation switches 32 to output a control signal, and the repeater 70 The signal is input to the entertainment apparatus 10 via the, and the application program can be executed in a state desired by the operator.

Memory card 50 as an external storage device
Includes a flash memory mounted on the substrate and a case for accommodating the substrate including the flash memory, and a conductive pattern is formed on an end portion of the substrate. That is, as the connection structure of the memory card 50, a card edge connector is employed, which is electrically connected by inserting the end portion of the board into a predetermined socket, for example, the card slot portion 16 of the entertainment apparatus 10. . The memory card 50 is capable of recording the progress state, settings, etc. of an application program such as a game. When the game ends, the memory card 50 can be saved from the entertainment device 10 to save the state.
Signal is output to. On the other hand, if the user wants to continue playing the game once finished at a later date, the entertainment device 1
When 0 is started, the record information of the memory card 50 is loaded into the entertainment apparatus 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the repeater 70 includes a repeater body 71, a cable 73, and a body connecting terminal 75. The repeater body 71 includes four controller connection parts 711 and four card slot parts 71.
3, a control board 715, and a housing 717 that stores them.
And is configured. In addition, each controller connection unit 71
1 has the same structure as the controller connection portion 15 of the entertainment apparatus 10, and each card slot portion 713 has the same structure as the card slot portion 16 of the entertainment apparatus 10.

The connection terminal 33 of the controller 30 is connected to the controller connection section 711 which serves as an operation terminal connection section. The card slot portion 713 serving as an external storage device connecting portion is provided above the controller connecting portion 711 according to the arrangement of the controller connecting portion 711, and the memory card 50 is inserted and connected.

The controller connecting portion 711 and the card slot portion 713 are mounted on two boards 719 arranged substantially symmetrically with respect to the cable 73. In other words, the pair of controller connection portions 711 and the pair of card slot portions 713 are arranged with their back surfaces facing each other, and the combinations are arranged in two rows in the direction orthogonal to the facing direction (see FIG. 4). The two controller connection parts 711 and the card slot parts 713 forming each row are electrically connected by the board 719 and further connected to the control board 715 via the connector 721.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control board 715 includes a controller connecting section switching unit 715A electrically connected to each controller connecting section 711 and each card slot section 7.
13, a memory card slot switch 715B electrically connected to the communication unit 13, and a communication control unit 715 that controls communication between them.
It has C and.

The controller connection switching unit 715A serving as an operation terminal communication switching unit includes four controller connection units 71.
Any one of 1 and the controller connection unit 15 of the entertainment apparatus 10 are connected. The memory card slot switch 715B, which serves as an external storage device communication switching unit,
Any one of the four card slot portions 713 and the card slot portion 16 of the entertainment apparatus 10 are connected.

The communication control section 715C is a section that receives a control signal from the entertainment apparatus 10 and controls switching of the controller connection section switching unit 715A and the memory card slot switching unit 715B. The communication control unit 715C is not shown in FIG. 5 in addition to the control unit main body for outputting a switching control signal to the switching devices 715A and 715B, but is not shown in FIG. Registers for temporarily storing the result of the switching control performed by the communication control unit 715C.
It has SP_REG and CD_REG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the communication between the entertainment apparatus 10 and the repeater 70 is performed by the communication control section 18 of the entertainment apparatus 10 and the control board 7 of the repeater 70.
The communication is performed between 15 using two communication systems A and B.
Specifically, these are the controller communication system A including the controller connection unit 15 and the controller connection unit switching unit 715A on the entertainment device 10 side, the card slot unit 16 and the memory card slot switching unit 715B on the entertainment device 10 side. The communication system B for the memory card, which includes it, is configured as an independent communication system. The controller communication system A is directly connected to the controller connection unit switching unit 715A.

On the other hand, the memory card communication system B uses the memory card slot switch 71 via the communication controller 715C.
The control signal output from the communication control unit 18 of the entertainment device connected to the 5B is introduced from the communication system B for the memory card to the repeater 70. In addition, like this,
Communication system A for controller and communication system B for memory card
The cable 73 connecting the entertainment device 10 and the repeater 70 is
A signal line group that constitutes one communication system A and B is provided. Further, the main body connection terminal 75 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) enables the signal line group forming each communication system A, B and the controller connection portion 15 and the card slot portion 16 of the entertainment apparatus 10 to be simultaneously connected. , A controller communication terminal 77 connected to the controller connection unit 15,
A memory communication terminal 79 inserted and connected to the card slot portion 16 is integrated.

The control signals input from the entertainment apparatus 10 to the repeater 70 via the memory card communication system B are the communication start notification signal DTR and the serial clock SC.
K and transmission data TXD. On the other hand, the repeater 70
The response signal input from the memory card communication system B to the entertainment apparatus 10 is the communication start acceptance signal DSR and the response data RXD.

Entertainment device 1 for these signals
0 and the repeater 70, the communication start notification signal DTR is Lo as shown in the timing chart of FIG.
At w, the communication between the entertainment apparatus 10 and the repeater 70 is started, and the communication start notification signal DTR is
It is always Low during communication. When the communication start notification signal DTR becomes High during communication, the communication control unit 715C of the repeater 70 cancels the communication in the middle and prepares for the next communication.

The transmission data TXD is provided with a protocol including a recognition code for recognizing the controlled object and a command for controlling the controlled object, and is output from the entertainment apparatus 10 for each byte in synchronization with the serial clock SCK. To be done. The response data RXD includes a recognition code representing a control target processed by the transmission data TXD and result information representing a result of control of the control target, and includes the transmission data TX.
Similar to D, the data is output from the repeater 70 for each byte in synchronization with the serial clock SCK.

The communication start acceptance signal DSR informs the entertainment apparatus 10 whether or not it is ready to transmit / receive the next 1-byte signal in the transmission / reception of the transmission data TXD and the response data RXD for each byte. This is a signal, and as can be seen from FIG. 6, when the transmission / reception preparation of the repeater 70 is completed, the communication control unit 715C outputs the communication start acceptance signal DSR as Low.

In the command to the communication control unit 715C of the repeater 70, of the transmission data TXD supplied via the memory card communication system B described above, the first data is a predetermined value (A001 in this embodiment). It is a thing. That is, the communication control unit 715C sends a reply to the entertainment apparatus 10 regarding the transmission data TXD whose head data is A001, and the other transmission data TXD is introduced into the memory card 50 connected to the card slot unit 713. Even in the case of the transmission data TXD of the first data A001, if the command number in the second byte is a non-corresponding number, the communication control unit 715C sends the communication start acceptance signal DSR and the response data RXD to the entertainment apparatus 10 at that time. Stop the output of.

The command included in the control signal output from the communication control unit 18 of the entertainment apparatus 10 and input to the communication control unit 715C of the repeater 70 includes the controller connection unit 711 of the repeater 70 and the card slot unit 713. Number acquisition, controller connection switch 715
A, memory card slot switch 715B switching, writing data to register CD_REG, register SP_REG, CD
Data writing and reading are set to _REG.

Next, the switching operation of the repeater 70 based on the control signal including such a command will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. (1) Initial state and reset In the initial state after the power is turned on, the controller connection unit switching unit 715A sets the controller connection unit 711 of the slot 0 (CSLOT0 in FIG. 5) to the entertainment apparatus 10. In addition, the entertainment device 10 is operated for 100 ms or more while power is supplied to the repeater 70.
There is no communication from the controller connection unit 711.
The communication start notification signal DTR at 100 ms or more is Hi
In the case of gh, even if the controller connecting unit 711 of another slot number is in the connected state, it is switched to the connected state with the slot 0. If slot 0 is already selected, the switching operation is not performed. This state is the same when the memory card slot switch 715B switches the card slot section 713.

(2) Switching the controller connection section 711 As shown in FIG. 6, first, the entertainment device 10
The communication control unit 18 outputs the recognition code A001 as 1-byte transmission data TXD, and subsequently outputs the recognition code A001 indicating switching of the controller connection unit 711 as 1-byte transmission data TXD. Next, the communication control unit 18 sets the slot number of the controller connection unit 711 that enables communication by connecting to the transmission data TXD of 1 byte.
Further, a code A000 indicating that the signal output from the communication control unit 18 is completed is output as 1-byte transmission data TXD.

The communication control unit 715C, which has received the above-mentioned 3-byte transmission data TXD, firstly, the code I representing the repeater.
D is output to the entertainment apparatus 10 as 1-byte response data RXD, and the slot number is set to 1
The byte response data RXD is output to the entertainment apparatus 10. After outputting this response data RXD, the communication control unit 715C determines the controller connection unit switching unit 715A based on the slot number included in the transmission data TXD.
Output a switching control signal to the controller connection switching device 7
The controller 15A secures the connection state of the controller connection unit 711 according to the slot number. That is, the switching of the controller connection unit 711 is executed during the period T in FIG. 6, and the entertainment device 10 and the repeater 7 during this period.
There is no communication between 0s.

The communication control section 715C outputs the communication start acceptance signal DSR to the entertainment apparatus 10 after confirming the completion of the switching by the controller connection section switching unit 715A, and at the same time determines whether or not the switching result is good.
Output as byte response data RXD. As the response data RXD, if the processing is successful, register CD_REG
The contents stored in are output. On the other hand, when the slot number is incorrect and switching cannot be performed, the code A006 is output as the response data RXD.

(3) Switching of the card slot section 713 Basically, the same procedure as the switching procedure of the controller connection section 711 is performed, but the identification code A00 indicating the switching of the card slot section 713 as the second byte of transmission data TXD.
2 is output. Based on this recognition code A002, the communication controller 715C determines the memory card slot switch 71
The switching control signal is output to 5B.

According to this embodiment as described above, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the entertainment device 1
Since the control signal output from 0 is input to the repeater 70 via the memory card communication system B, high-speed communication between the electronic device and the repeater can be realized. Specifically, while the maximum communication speed when communicating via the controller communication system A was 500 kbps, by using the memory card communication system B, high-speed communication of 24 Mbps should be realized. You can Therefore, the controller connection unit 711 or the card slot unit 713 in the repeater 70 can be switched at high speed.

Further, since the communication between the entertainment apparatus 10 and the repeater 70 is performed via the communication system B for the memory card having a low communication density, the communication between the both can be performed efficiently. That is, since the controller communication system A is independent, a signal accompanying the operator operating the operation switch 32 of the controller 30 is exclusively input to the communication control unit 18 from the controller communication system A.

On the other hand, the memory card communication system B basically uses the memory card communication system B except when recording the progress of the game in the memory card 50 and when calling the record data from the memory card 50. Communication control unit 18
The communication density is lower than that of the communication system A for controller since the signal is not transmitted and received. Then, the communication between the entertainment apparatus 10 and the repeater 70 is performed using the memory card communication system B having a low communication density, so that the communication between the both can be efficiently performed without waste. Therefore, also in this respect, the controller connection part 711 or the card slot part 713 in the repeater 70 can be switched at high speed.

Further, the repeater 70 includes a controller connection section switching unit 715A and a memory card slot switching unit 71.
Since the communication control unit 715C for performing the switching control of 5B is provided, the high-speed switching using the memory card communication system B can also be applied to the switching of the controller connection unit 711, and the controller connection unit 711 in the repeater 70. It is possible to realize high-speed switching of both the card slot section 713 and the card slot section 713.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but includes the following modifications. In the above embodiment, the main body connection terminal 7 of the repeater 70 is provided.
5 is configured to be connectable to the controller connecting portion 15 and the card slot portion 16 of the entertainment apparatus 10 at the same time, but is not limited to this. That is, the cables forming the communication system for the operation terminal and the communication system for the external storage device may be separately pulled out from the repeater, and each cable may be connected to the controller connection part and the card slot part of the entertainment device, respectively. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the number of the controller connecting portions 711 and the card slot portions 713 provided in the repeater 70 was four, but the number is not limited to this, and three or less or five or more controller connecting portions are connected. The present invention may be applied to a repeater having a section and a card slot section. Further, although the present invention is adopted as the communication system between the entertainment apparatus 10 and the repeater 70 in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is adopted as a communication system between a personal computer and such a repeater. The invention may be adopted. In addition, the specific structure, shape, and the like when implementing the present invention may be other structures and the like as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.

[0053]

According to the present invention as described above, the control signal output from the electronic device is configured to be input to the repeater via the communication system for the external storage device. It is possible to realize high-speed communication between the repeaters and perform high-speed switching of the end connection part or the external storage device connection part of the repeater.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an entertainment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the repeater in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the repeater in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing the internal structure of the repeater in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a structure of a communication system of the repeater in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the switching operation of the repeater in the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Entertainment device (electronic device) 30 Controller (operation terminal) 50 Memory card (external storage device) 70 Repeater 711 Controller connection part (operation terminal connection part) 713 Card slot part (external storage device connection part) 715A Controller connection part switching Device (operation terminal communication switching unit) 715B Memory card slot switching device (external storage device communication switching unit) 715C Communication control unit A Operation terminal communication system B External storage device communication system

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-8-191951 (JP, A) JP-A-2001-202168 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 12/44 300 A63F 13/02

Claims (18)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic device communication system in which an electronic device is connected to at least one or more operation terminals and an external storage device via a repeater, and an external storage device connected to the repeater, An external storage device communication system for performing communication between the electronic devices, an operation terminal connected to the repeater, and an operation terminal communication system for performing communication between the electronic devices are independently set, A control signal output from the electronic device is input to the repeater via the communication system for the external storage device. 2. The electronic device communication system according to claim 1, wherein the repeater is set in accordance with a plurality of operation terminal connection units to which the operation terminal is connected, and each operation terminal connection unit, and is externally stored. A plurality of external storage device connection units to which the device is connected, and one operation terminal selected from at least one or more operation terminals connected to the plurality of operation terminal connection units. An operation terminal communication switching unit that enables communication between electronic devices, and at least one external storage device connected to the plurality of external storage device connection units, select any one external storage device, An external storage device communication switching unit that enables communication between the external storage device and the electronic device, and the operation terminal communication switching unit and the external storage device communication switching based on a control signal from the electronic device. An electronic device communication system, comprising: a communication control unit that outputs a switching control signal to the unit. 3. A plurality of operation terminal connection units to which an operation terminal is connected, a plurality of external storage device connection units set according to each operation terminal connection unit and connected to an external storage device, and connected to an electronic device. And a main body connection terminal for enabling communication between the electronic device and the operation terminal and the external storage device to be connected, the communication between each external storage device and the electronic device. A communication system for an external storage device that enables communication with each other and an operation terminal communication system that enables communication between each operation terminal and the electronic device are set independently, and a control signal from the electronic device is transmitted to the external device. A repeater, which is configured to be input through a communication system for a storage device. 4. The relay device according to claim 3, wherein communication is possible between an operation terminal connected to an operation terminal connection unit selected from the plurality of operation terminal connection units and the electronic device. An external storage device communication switching unit, an external storage device connected to an external storage device connection unit selected from the plurality of external storage device connection units, and an external storage device communication switching that enables communication between the electronic devices. A communication control unit that outputs a switching control signal to the operation terminal communication switching unit and the external storage device switching unit, and a control signal from the electronic device is input to the communication control unit. And repeater. 5. An operation terminal connection unit to which an operation terminal is connected,
An electronic device comprising an external storage device connection unit to which an external storage device is connected, wherein a relay device to which a plurality of operation terminals and a plurality of external storage devices are connected is an electronic device connectable to these connection units. Is controlled based on a control signal output from the electronic device, and the control signal is configured to be output from the external storage device connection unit. 6. A communication control program executed on an electronic device to which a terminal device including at least one operation terminal and an external storage device is connected via a relay device, the electronic device and the relay device. The communication system between the above operation
The communication system of the terminal and the external storage device is set independently.
The electronic device transmits a signal including information specifying a communication target via a communication system of the external storage device, and the relay device transmits a signal including acceptance information for the transmission information to the external storage device. A communication control program which is received via a communication system . 7. The communication control program according to claim 6, wherein the information specifying the communication target transmitted from the electronic device includes information specifying the type of a repeater or a terminal device. Control program. 8. The communication control program according to claim 6, wherein the information designating a communication target transmitted from the electronic device includes information designating one device from the terminal devices of the same type. Characteristic communication control program. 9. The communication control program according to claim 6, wherein the acceptance information received from the relay includes a code representing the relay itself. 10. The communication control program according to claim 6, wherein the acceptance information received from the repeater includes information designating one device from terminal devices of the same type. program. 11. The communication control program according to claim 6, wherein transmission and reception timings of the electronic device and the relay are performed in synchronization with a clock signal transmitted from the electronic device. A communication control program characterized by being opened. 12. A communication control program executed on a relay device, which is connected to at least one or more operation terminals and an external storage device and relays with the electronic device, the communication control program between the electronic device and the relay device. In the communication system, the above operation
The communication system of the terminal and the external storage device is set independently.
The electronic device receives a signal including information designating a communication target from the electronic device via a communication system of the external storage device, and outputs a signal including acceptance information for the received information from the relay device to the external storage device. A communication control program characterized by transmitting via a communication system . 13. The communication control program according to claim 12, wherein the information specifying the communication target received from the electronic device is:
A communication control program, which is information specifying the type of a repeater or a terminal device. 14. The communication control program according to claim 12, wherein the information specifying the communication target received from the electronic device is:
A communication control program including information designating one device from terminal devices of the same type. 15. The communication control program according to claim 12, wherein the acceptance information transmitted from the relay includes a code representing the relay itself. 16. The communication control program according to claim 12, wherein the compliance information transmitted from the repeater includes a code designating one device among the terminal devices of the same type. Control program. 17. The communication control program according to claim 12, wherein transmission and reception timings of the electronic device and the repeater are performed in synchronization with a clock signal transmitted from the electronic device. A communication control program characterized by being opened. 18. An electronic device is connected to at least one or more operation terminals and an external storage device via a relay device,
A communication method for an electronic device communication system performed between the electronic device and the repeater, wherein the communication system between the electronic device and the repeater includes the operation.
The communication system of the terminal and the external storage device is set independently.
The electronic device sends a signal including information specifying the type of communication target or a specific device from the communication target to the outside.
And transmitting a signal including acceptance information for the transmission information from the relay device to the electronic device via a communication system of the external storage device. Method for electronic device communication system.