Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home entertainment system, and in particular to multi- functional home entertainmont svstem with an integrated personal computer (PC) and an enclosure with removable pu ipho at devices utilizing the Device Bay standard for integrating, operating and controliing the audio and video components of a home entertainment system.

Background of the Invention The development of high-speed serial buses has prompted the need for a specification to facilitate system expansion for custom peripheral devices. A constant in the evolution of the history of computers has been the demand for increasingly higher bandwidths for buses and interface technology. In the marly days, when the IBM PC XT was the personal computer (PC) standard, the 8-bit ISA bus was the standard for peripheral interface. With the advent of the AT, the 8-bit ISA bus was found to he short on resources and short on speed, so the 16-bit ISA bus was born. This bus ran at the saiiie clock frequency, but its data path was twice as wide. As the 16-bit ISA bus became too sl,) \v iOr tlle processing power of evolving computers, other standards began to appear such as the E ! SA and the VESA buses. However, these buses were short lived and never truly gained pouf its in embedded applications. Shortly after the introduction of EISA and VESA, the PCI bu :. came along, offering more bandwidth and features. The PCI bus is a 32-bit data bus with a clock free uency more than four times faster than that of the ISA bus.

For several years, computers had been shipping with both PCI and ISA bus slots. These slots had given developers of industrial and telecommunication applications the opportunity to leverage the high volume commodity PC platform as the basis of their control system.

As a result of inheres problems with the PCI and ISA buses, the USB and IEEE 1394 buses were created. These new serial buses were intended to make peripheral designs easy to develop, inexpensive to manufacture, and simple to install and service. The USB is a medium bandwidth serial bus operating at transfer speeds of 12Mb/sec and beyond. This hot-swappable, plug and play half duplex serial bus permits nearly unlimited expansion by allowing a single externally accessible port to support up to 127 peripheral devices. With USB, expanding the PC became as straightforward as plugging a cable into a running computer. Following insertion of a four wire cable into a USB port on the computer, the operating system enables the device and loads the drivers, so that the peripheral device becomes available for use almost instantly.

Complimentary to US13 is a speed serial bus, IEEE 1394, commonly referred to as 1394. IEEE 1394 is a hot srvappable plu (y and play, full duplex serial bus. This serial bus allows for transfer speeds up to =100Mb/sec with future versions to provide speeds up to 3. 2Gb/sec. The IEEE 1394 serial bus can support up to 63 peripheral devices from a single port.

Although USB and IEEE 1394 are rich in technological advantages, a few implementation issues present difficulties for certain embedded applications. One is the issue of surprise removal of devices. Because USB and IEEE 1394 are hot swappable and plug and play by nature, a user may decide at any time to remove the cable that connects the device to the CPU. This may happen at an inopportune time, for example, during a motion operation or

during data acquisition. Such su) prise removal could cause catastrophic failure in a control or instrumentation system, rendering the machine useless.

Another implementation problem with USB and IEEE 1394 in industrial applications concerns the power required for the peripheral devices. Though both USB and IEEE 1394 can provide power to devices, the use of this power is limited to low current devices using a single voltage rail. Most industrial applications require a relatively large amount of current at several voltage levels, and often this power must be clean. Most developers would therefore choose to design embedded power supplies or to provide power from an external power supply, increasing system cost and complexity.

A final implementatioll difficulty has to do with mechanical issues. Neither USB nor 1394 has an associated specified mechanical enclosure for devices. The problem this creates is that every device in the compo) system could conceivably be a different size and have a separate set of requirements for mounting the device in an enclosure or rack system. This can render service difficult, because the system may need significant disassembly to remove damaged components from the chassis. Upgrading also becomes more complicated, since changes in mechanical dimensions may necessitate housing and panel redesign.

In order to solve the aforementioned implementation problems and to open USB and IEEE 1394 to a wider array of devices, devices, new industry standard has recently emerged and is building some momentum in the embedded computer market. The Device Bay standard developed by Compaq, lntel, and Microsoft, enhances the USB and IEEE 1394 specifications.

The Device Bay standard is a specification for an electrical and mechanical form factor for the

USB and IEEE 1394 high-speed serial buses, and is designed to allow hot swappable, plug and play expansion for computer peripherals.

Device Bay incorporates a single connector that supports both USB and IEEE 1394 and provides additional power to accommodate more power hungry devices. By its nature, Device Bay is inherently portable in that any computer that has a USB port, a IEEE 1394 port, and a Device Bay compatible operating system is capable of using Device Bay technology. If the devices work on one system with a particular configuration, they will work on all platforms.

Under current applications of peripheral devices, current ISA or PCI designs would be ported to Device Bay modules. The modules would have an onboard, low cost microprocessor to communicate with the De\ ice and controller the communications for communications cations for IEEE 1394 interface. The microprocessor would also be used to add local intelligence to the device. For example, the m ; croprocessor could initialize a high speed A/D, perform a power up self-test, or handle background functions such as polling the AD channels and signal conditioning for the input. iiiicrolirocessor can also compress, time stamp, and organize the data in a logical way sparing, he PC from having to perform these functions.

Since Device Bay is ; iug and ptay. the unit can already be powered up when a module is inserted. The operating system and application will immediately recognize the device, load appropriate drivers, and run tiie application.

It is believed that high-speed serial interfaces will become the standard peripheral interface for computer base embedded systems for most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). OEM embedded systems involved with industrial control, medical applications,

instrumentation, telecommunications, and other applications typically contain one or more proprietary cards that perform OEM specific functions.

Due to low cost and ease of development, many OEMs in the past have designed these cards for the ISA bus. As the ISA bus disappears from commodity computers, OEMs will need to find a different bus for new designs as well as a bus to which they can port their existing designs. The only choices for OEMs to use while allowing use of commodity PCs are PCI, USB, and IEEE 1394.

A new industry standard called Device Bay, has recently been developed which enhances the use of USB an (l IEEE lo94 hi (yh-speed serial data buses. The Device Bay standard is a specification for an electrical and mechanical form factor for the USB and IEEE 1394 high- speed serial buses, and is des, ned to allow hot swappable, ply and play expansion for computer peripherals.

The convergence of home entertainment and the personal computer (PC) is already becoming a reality. The emergence of the Internet and Web TV are creating the ability to download music, movies and other media from the Internet. The PC is becoming the main network communication device in the home. Consumers want the ability to surf the Internet on their living room TVs, download movies, music and other media from the Internet, and control the operation of their home video and audio equipment all through their PCs. They also want the ability to FIFO live television broadcasts. This feature allows someone to pause a live television broadcast and resume it at N. vhile a digital VCR continues to record the live broadcast.

Typically, a set-top 1),,) x contains a network interface whose components are internally connected by a bus to other electronic components. Most set-top boxes in a home are connected

to a television and used as a cable or satellite television receiver. It is desirable to expand the use of a set-top box by integrating it with the home PC to operate and control other home entertainment equipment than just the TV.

Summary of the Invention The present invention improves the Device Bay standard by integrating a Device Bay compatible enclosure into a home entertainment system. The components of the home entertainment system being connected to a Device Bay enclosure by USB and IEEE-1394 data buses. The Device Bay enclosure includes a plurality of additional bays for adding peripheral devices to the condo. The present invention also involves controlling the home entertainment system with the Device Bay ('oniroller.

The present invention is a multi-functional home entertainment system that utilizes Device bay technology in a custom designed integrated set-top box an PC. The integrated Device bay set-top box is designed specifically for home entertainment applications. Integrated computer with Device bay enclosure or set-top box. The set-top box includes a PC, a Device Bay controller either installe on a motherboard or on a separate circuit card, USB and IEEE 1394 interfaces, and an I/O, ircnit looard. The set-top box further includes standard audio/video interface connections and ports foi-joy sticks or other gaming devices. The Device Bay compatible enclosure or set-top box accommodates USB and IEEE 1394 peripherals, walk-up ports for connection to external peripherals devices.

The set-top box inclucies a plurality of bays that will allow an individual to add or remove a peripheral devive as easily as inserting or ejecting a tape from a VCR. At least two of the bays will be in the back of the box to be used for open cable modems or storage devices such as hard

drives. The front bays will hlve zeripherals for watching videos or playing games on a DVD or CD-ROM drive. It is easy to use and customize. It the consumer a flexible modular system that can be easiiy tailored to meet their needs.

Device Bay is an electrical and mechanical form factor that supports both USB and IEEE 1394 high-speed serial busses. This industry standard allows hot-swappable, plug-and-play expansion and substitution of computer peripherals such as cable modems, TV tuners, DVD drives and hard drives. The Device Bay remote enclosures are designed to allow peripheral expansion of PCs. This architecture dramatically increases flexibility and serviceability because peripherals can be quickly added or removed from a computer system without opening the enclosure, powering down or rebooting The system includes an enclosure or Device Bay condo housing a CPU module and a plurality of removable peripheral devices, and USB and IEEE 394 serial buses connecting the CPU to the peripheral devices and other enclosures. The enclosure includes a plurality of bays accessible from the front and. back. and connected to the CPU module through USB and/or IEEE 1394 connections.

Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be made apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings and detailed description of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1A is a functiond Nock diagram of a first embodiment of a multi-functional home entertainment system in accordance with the present invention ; FIG. 1B is a functions) Nock diagram of another embodiment of a multi-functional home entertainment system in accordance with the present invention ;

FIG. 1C is a functional block diagram of yet another embodiment of a multi-functional home entertainment system in accordance with the present invention ; FIG. 2A is front perspective view of a set-top box of the home entertainment system with the top and side covers removed ; FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the set-top box of FIG. 2A ; and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the set-top box of FIGS. 2A and 2B.

Detailed Description oftht invention The present invention provides an apparatus for interconnecting a personal computer (PC) to a set-top box to operate and control audio and video equipment in a home to create a multi-functional home entercoinment system utilizing Device Bay technology. A first embodiment includes a Device Bay set-top box connected to a PC, a monitor or television set, a keyboard, a mouse, and home audio and video equipment all connected through standard audio/video connections and USB and IEEE 1394 high-speed serial data buses. Other computer equipment may also be installed in or connected to the Device bay compatible set-top box such as modems, printers, scanner ; and removable storage devices. Another embodiment of the invention will have a CPU rndutc instaHed within an open bay of the Device Bay compatible set-top box, eliminating the n-c i for a separate PC. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, home entertainment system comprises a Device Bay compatible enclosure or set-top box having an internal corn l, ter and a plurality of audio/video peripheral devices. Such devices might include a DVD player, C I)-ROM drive, an audio receiver, a video receiver, etc.

The Device Bay set-top box is designed to operate and control home entertainment equipment through inputs from \CRs, televisions, cable television systems, satellite systems,

laser disc players, digital satellite receivers, video recorders, etc. High resolution video, HDTV, Dolby digital sound, arcade game capability, access to the internet, PC applications, etc.

The set-top box includes a Device Bay compatible enclosure having a plurality of open bays in the front and/or rear of the enclosure for the installation of peripheral devices. The set- top box, computer and peripheral devices communicate with each other over high-speed USB and IEEE 1394 serial data buses. The peripheral devices that may be installed in the front and rear bays include hard drives, CD ROM drives, DVD ROM drives, modems, satellite receivers, TV tuners, video game interface modules, MIDI modules, and modules designed to connect to various video and audio equipment. The set-top box may be installed in a typical stereo rack or in a TV stand. The set-top box further includes a plurality of USB and IEEE 1394 interface connectors available at the front and rear of the enclosure for the connection of the audio and video components.

Video equipment wh !.'h may be connected to the set-top box include video camcorders, VCRs, TVs, laser disk ptayers, DVD ptayers, and video game cartridges. Audio equipment which may be connected to'he set-top box include HI-Fl stereo equipment, audio tape recorders, CD players, and tape players : Referring first to FIG. 1A, a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of a multi- functional home entertainment system 10 according to the present invention is shown.

FIG. 1B is a filnctional block diagram of another embodiment of a multi-functional home entertainment system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1C is a functional block diagram of yet another embodiment of a multi-functional home entertainment system in accordance with the present invention.

Referring next to FIG. 2A, a set-top box 72 of the home entertainment system is shown with the top 80 and side covers 82, 84 removed. The set-top box 72 comprises a plurality of bays 91, 93, 95 with peripheral devices installed therein, a power supply 100 for powering the electrical components of the enclosure, a CD-ROM, Floppy and/or card reader 106, a motherboard with CPU, memory. IEEE 1394, USB, Device Bay controller and video circuitry for NTSC, VGA, DVI, PAL panel 1/0 for audio/video inputs and outputs, USB and IEEE 1394 walk-up ports, Rear Device Bay sfots or inserts with peripheral devices installed therein.

The Device Bay controller ei ct l onics may be on the motherboard, a PCI slot card or a separate USB Device Bay controller mounted separately.

Referring next to FIG (: i. 2 !, a interface panel 103 on the rear panel includes audio outputs and inputs, video inputs and outputs, and walk-up USB and IEEE 1394 ports.

FIG. 3 is a functiona) block diagram of the set-top box of FIGS. 2A and 2B.

While the invention has een described with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain substitutions, alterations and omissions may be made without departing from the of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is meant to be exemplary only and shouid not limit the scope of the invention.