JP2000134681A - Remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily operate a plurality of electric appliance in common by a single remote controller. SOLUTION: By only operating an appliance selecting switch 6, a remote controlling side control part transmits a call signal to one electric appliance He1 to He3, to which the tip of the remote controller is directed, through a remote controlling side transmitting and receiving part 4. An identification signal is given from the one electric appliance He1 to He3 in response to the call signal and according to this identification signal, the side of the remote controller Rc automatically switches to an operation mode to automatically display a display picture corresponding to this operation mode on a touch-panel type inputting/displaying part 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a remote control system for remotely controlling a plurality of devices and apparatuses in a home by a simple operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in operating each electric device such as a television receiver, a VTR, and an air conditioner (air conditioner) in a home, individual remote control devices are generally used. It is. These are operated by pressing a push button switch of a portable small remote control device, causing a light emitting element such as an infrared LED to emit light, transmitting an instruction signal which is an optical signal to a corresponding electric device, and Is to operate. In addition, since the instruction signal is transmitted from the plurality of remote control devices to the corresponding electric devices, it is possible to set a pulse signal having a different waveform for each electric device model in advance so that a plurality of electric devices can be connected to each other. To prevent the indication signals from intermingling.

[0003]

Since the conventional remote control device uses a dedicated remote control device for each electric device, for example, an air conditioner is installed in each room, and a plurality of television receivers and VTRs are provided. In such a case, there are so many remote control devices in one home, and the user may confuse which remote control device corresponds to which electric device. As a result, the usability becomes extremely complicated, and the maintenance and management such as storage of the remote control device and replacement of the battery are also troublesome.

[0004] Against this background, there has been an increasing demand for integrating a single remote control device for many electrical devices.

[0005] However, each electric device has been increasingly multifunctional with the recent advancement of electronics technology and multi-integration, and accordingly, the operation of the remote control device has also become complicated. The number of operation switches in a remote control device also tends to increase. Therefore, simply integrating the remote control device with respect to these multiple electric devices has an adverse effect such as an excessive increase in the number of operation switches, which may hinder portability and complicate operation.
A technique for preventing such an adverse effect has been desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device that can be used in common by a single device for a plurality of devices and devices and can be easily operated.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems,
According to the first aspect of the invention, all of the plurality of electric devices are
A remote control system remotely controlled by a plurality of integrated remote control devices, wherein the remote control device displays a portable device main body and a switch arrangement according to an operation mode on a surface of the device main body while displaying images. A touch panel type input / display unit for performing a switch operation by placing a finger on an image related to the switch array, and transmission / reception of an optical signal at a constant directional angle between the remote control device and each electric device. A remote control side transmitting and receiving unit, and a remote control side control unit that manages display control of the touch panel type input and display unit and switch input operation control and transmission and reception control of the remote control side transmitting and receiving unit,
A software program that defines the functional operation of the remote control-side control unit and a remote control-side storage unit that is stored in advance, and when the tip of the remote control device is directed to any one of the electric devices by the operator, A single device selection switch for instructing the remote control side control unit to switch the operation mode of the remote control device in response to one oriented electric device, wherein the remote control side control unit comprises the device When the selection switch is operated, a call signal is transmitted to one electrical device to which the tip of the remote control device is directed through the remote control side transmitting / receiving section, and in response to the call signal, the one electrical device is transmitted. When an identification signal for identifying the one electrical device is given from the device Switching to an operation mode corresponding to the electric device in accordance with the identification signal, displaying a display image corresponding to the operation mode on the touch panel type input and display unit, and transmitting the instruction signal input from the display unit. A transmission / reception unit that transmits / receives an optical signal to / from the remote control device, and a transmission / reception unit that controls transmission / reception at least in the transmission / reception unit. A control unit, wherein when the call signal is given from the remote control device through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, the device-side control unit identifies the electric device in response to the call-out signal. A signal is returned to the remote control device through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, and when the instruction signal is given, Flip and has a function for driving the electrical equipment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the display image in each of the operation modes and information about the meaning of a touch position operated by a switch input corresponding to the display image are stored in the remote control side storage unit. Is stored in advance.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in each of the electric devices, the display to be displayed on the touch panel input / display unit when the operation mode of the remote control device is associated with the electric device itself. The apparatus further includes a device-side storage unit in which an image and information about the meaning of the touch position on which a switch input operation has been performed in accordance with the display image are stored in advance, and the device-side control unit is configured to control the When the call signal is given through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, the remote control device is transmitted through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit together with the identification signal together with the display image and information about the meaning of the touch position in response to the call signal. It has the function of replying to.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a remote control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof. This remote control system includes a television receiver, VTR and air conditioner (air conditioner)
, Etc., are remotely controlled by one integrated remote control device Rc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the remote control device Rc can be switched to a plurality of operation modes corresponding to the respective electric devices He1 to He3, and the tip of the remote control device Rc is connected to any one of the electric devices He1 to He3. H
When a predetermined switch button (equipment selection switch) is pressed and directed to e3, the electric equipment He directed to this e3 is pressed.
1 to He3 and the remote control device Rc, and the operation mode of the remote control device Rc is automatically switched based on the communication.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the remote control device Rc displays an image of a small portable device main body 1 and a switch arrangement corresponding to an operation mode on the surface of the device main body 1, and the arrangement thereof. A touch panel type input / display unit 2 for performing a switch operation by placing a finger on the displayed switch image, a display image data to be displayed on the touch panel type input / display unit 2, and a control unit 5 described later.
A storage unit 3 in which a software program or the like for prescribing the functional operation of each of the electric devices He1 to He3 is stored.
A transmission / reception unit 4 for transmitting / receiving an optical signal to / from, and a transmission / reception between the transmission / reception unit 4 and the electric devices He1 to He3, and an image display control and an operation input control of the touch panel type input / display unit 2 And a single device selection switch 6 for instructing the control unit 5 to switch the operation mode of the remote control device Rc.
And

The touch panel type input / display unit 2 has a plurality of light emitting elements (light emitting diodes) 11 and light receiving elements (phototransistors) 12 opposed to each other, as in an infrared beam type as shown in FIG. Infrared beams run vertically and horizontally on the front side of the display panel 13 such as a liquid crystal panel. When the front surface of the display panel 13 is touched with a fingertip, infrared rays are cut off, and the touched position is specified by identifying the cut-off beam. Is to be detected. As the touch panel type input / display unit 2, instead of an infrared beam type as shown in FIG. 3, a transparent polyester sheet such as a resistive type as shown in FIG. A plurality of conductive wires 14 and 15 made of various resistive films are
3 are arranged orthogonally in a grid pattern (vertically and horizontally) on the front side of any one of them.
The touched position may be detected by specifying the point of contact between the contact points 5 and 5 for electrical conduction.
Alternatively, any method such as a capacitance method in which the capacitance of the human body is added by touching with a fingertip may be applied.

Here, the image displayed on the display board 13 is
The result is as shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 is a display image for performing operations such as channel switching and volume adjustment of a television receiver, and FIG. 6 is recording, playback, fast forward,
FIG. 7 is a display image for performing operations such as rewinding, and FIG. 7 is for performing operation switching such as cooling and heating or automatic temperature control of an air conditioner (air conditioner), adjusting the level of a set temperature, and performing operations such as wind direction and air volume. Each of the display images is shown. In each of these images, a pseudo switch area 13a for touching with a fingertip is displayed together with its function name.
By touching the pseudo switch area 13a with a fingertip, the touched position is specified as described above, and is transmitted to the control unit 5. In addition, the display board 13 has
As shown in FIG. 7, it goes without saying that various information 13b relating to the operation can be displayed together with the pseudo switch area 13a.

The storage unit 3 stores data in an EEPROM or a flash R
A rewritable non-volatile memory such as an OM is used, and a software program that defines a function operation of the control unit 5 described below is stored. Each of the electric devices as shown in FIGS. A display image of the display board 13 corresponding to He1 to He3, and a function table (information about the meaning of the touch position) indicating the relationship between the touch position and the input operation function include a plurality of images corresponding to the respective electric devices He1 to He3. Are stored for each operation mode.

The transmission / reception unit 4 is installed at the tip of the remote control device Rc. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a light emitting element 21 such as an infrared LED and a light receiving element 22 such as an infrared photocoupler are juxtaposed. The light receiving and emitting surfaces of each of the elements 21 and 22 are molded in the same light shielding package 23, and the light transmitting and receiving surfaces 24 for improving the light directivity are provided.
A lens 25 for improving directivity is provided at the tip of the light transmitting path 24. This allows
When the tip of the remote control device Rc is directed to any one of the electric devices He1 to He3, an optical signal from the light emitting element 21 is given only to the electric device He1 to He3, and the electric device He1 is directed to the electric device He1. Only the optical signals from He3 to He3 can be received by the light receiving element 22.

The device selection switch 6 is constituted by a single autonomous return type push button switch, and is arranged adjacent to the touch panel type input / display unit 2. And
It instructs a control unit 5 to be described later to transmit a call signal for selecting the electric devices He1 to He3 via the transmission / reception unit 4. Here, the calling signal does not include a device ID code unique to each of the electric devices He1 to He3, and is given as a common signal that can be recognized equally by all the electric devices He1 to He3.

The control unit 5 is a circuit using a general microcomputer chip including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.
Is executed by a software program stored in.

As a specific functional element of the control unit 5, as shown in FIG. 9, a call for giving an instruction to transmit a call signal to the light emitting element 21 of the transmission / reception unit 4 based on a signal from the device selection switch 6. A function 31 and a device ID signal (identification signal) transmitted from one of the electric devices He1 to He3 to identify the electric device He1 to He3 in response to the outgoing call signal, Mode receiving function 32 that receives and receives the device ID signal, and operation mode switching function 3 that determines the operation mode based on the received device ID signal
3 and the display board 13 according to the switched operation mode.
A data load function 34 for selectively retrieving (loading) a display image to be displayed on the display unit and a relationship between a touch position of the touch panel type input / display unit 2 and an input operation from the storage unit 3; A display control function 35 for displaying the called display image on the display plate 13 of the touch panel input / display unit 2 and a function for calling the information of the touch position when operated on the touch panel input / display unit 2 from the storage unit 3. An operation recognition function 36 for recognizing the type of input operation by the operator by collating with the table, and an operation signal for specifying the type of input operation by the transmission / reception unit 4 of the electric device H
There is an operation signal transmission function 37 for transmitting to e1 to He3. In the operation signal transmission function 37, the electric device He is used.
The operation signals transmitted to 1 to He3 include a device ID code that specifies the destination electric device He1 to He3, so that the other electric devices He1 to He3 do not operate without permission. I have.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the electric devices He1 to He3 transmits and receives an optical signal to and from the remote control device Rc. When the call signal is transmitted from the remote control device Rc, the device ID signal is transmitted in response to the call signal.
And a control unit 42 for transmitting the data through the control unit. Then, the transmission / reception unit 41 and the control unit 42 are always kept in a state where transmission / reception of an optical signal with the remote control device Rc is possible while the power is on or in a standby state. In addition, in practice, a predetermined circuit group for performing a predetermined function operation inherent to the electric equipment He1 to He3 is installed, but is omitted in FIG.

The operation of the remote control system having the above configuration will be described.

First, the operator holds the remote control device Rc, and directs the tip of the remote control device Rc to any of the electric devices He1 to He3 desired to operate. In this state, the operator presses and operates the single device selection switch 6 provided with the fingertip.

In the remote control device Rc, a signal from the device selection switch 6 is transmitted to the control unit 5, and in response to this, the calling function 31 of the control unit 5 issues an instruction to the light emitting element 21 of the transmission / reception unit 4. Given, light emitting element 21
Transmits a call signal.

Here, since the transmitting / receiving section 4 is set to have high directivity, the calling signal from the light emitting element 21 is transmitted to any one of the ones directed at the tip of the remote control device Rc.
It is transmitted only to the electric appliances He1 to He3.

One of the electric equipments He1 to He3 directed at the tip of the remote control device Rc receives the call signal given from the remote control device Rc by the transmission / reception unit 41, and responds to the call signal to the control unit. The device ID signal is returned to the remote control device Rc from the transmission / reception unit 41 via the transmission / reception unit 41.

In the remote control device Rc, the ID receiving function 32 of the control unit 5 receives the device ID signal transmitted from one of the electric devices He1 to He3 directed at the tip through the light receiving element 22 of the transmitting / receiving unit 4. And
The operation mode switching function 33 determines the switching of the operation mode based on the received device ID signal, and the data load function 34 determines the display image to be displayed on the display board 13 and the touch panel type input and output according to the switched operation mode. A function table indicating the relationship between the touch position of the display unit 2 and the input operation is selectively called from the storage unit 3. The display image retrieved from the storage unit 3 is displayed on the display panel 13 of the touch panel input / display unit 2 by the display control function 35.
To be displayed.

Next, the operator presses the pseudo switch area 13a to be operated with a fingertip while watching the display image (FIGS. 5 to 7) displayed on the display panel 13 of the touch panel type input / display unit 2. I do.

Control unit 5 of remote control device Rc
In the operation recognition function 36, the information of the touch position at the time of the operation is collated with the function table called from the storage unit 3 to recognize the type of the input operation by the operator. The operation signal transmission function 37 transmits an operation signal specifying the type of the input operation through the transmission / reception unit 4 to the electric devices He1 to He1.
Send to He3. At this time, the operation signals transmitted to the electric devices He1 to He3 include the electric devices He1 to He of the transmission destination.
By including the device ID code for specifying the device No. 3, the other electric devices He1 to He3 are prevented from operating without permission.

The electric equipment H instructed by the operation signal
In e1 to He3, the operation signal is received by the transmission / reception unit 41 and transmitted to the control unit 42, and the control unit 42 converts the device ID code included in the operation signal into the electric device He.
After determining whether or not the ID matches the unique device ID code of 1 to He3, a predetermined function operation inherent to the device is performed by controlling the driving of a predetermined circuit group.

As described above, the operator connects the tip of the remote control device Rc to one of the electric devices He1 to He.
In this state, the operation mode of the remote control device Rc is automatically switched by simply pressing the single device selection switch 6 in this state. 2 display board 1
Since it is only necessary to perform an operation input while looking at the display screen of No. 3, it is extremely easy to switch the operation mode when operating a plurality of electric devices He1 to He3 while also using a single remote control device Rc.

Further, since the device selection switch 6 can be constituted by a single switch button, for example, compared to a case where a plurality of operation mode switching switches are installed in the remote control device Rc in advance, the number of switches and keys can be reduced. The number of components can be reduced, the number of components can be reduced, and the area efficiency of the remote control device Rc increases.
Also, it is very convenient because there is no need for the operator to select a switch during the selection operation.

A display table to be displayed on the display panel 13 and a function table indicating the relationship between the touch position of the touch panel type input / display unit 2 and the input operation are called from the storage unit 3 in the remote control device Rc. Therefore, switching of the operation mode and the display image of the touch panel type input / display unit 2 by the control unit 5 can be performed quickly and easily.

{Second Embodiment} FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are given to elements having the same functions as those in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the remote control device of this embodiment shows the relationship between the display image displayed on the display panel 13 of the touch panel type input / display unit 2 of the remote control device Rc, the touch position related to the operation input, and the input operation function. The function table shown in FIG.
3 to store and store the remote control device R
c, the display image and the information in the function table are transferred to the electric devices He1 to He.
The data is transmitted from the e3 side to the remote control device Rc side. That is, each of the electric devices He1 to He
3 is provided with a data storage unit 43 in which information of the display image and the function table relating to the electric devices He1 to He3 themselves is stored in advance, and when a call signal is given from the remote control device Rc, Control unit 42
Reads the information of the display image and the function table from the data storage unit 43, and transmits the display image and the information of the function table together with the device ID signals of the electric devices He1 to He3 through the transmission / reception unit 41 to the remote control device Rc.
Works to reply to

In this case, the remote control device Rc
It is not necessary to store the information of the display image and the function table in the storage unit 3, and only the software program that defines the functional operation of the control unit 5 need be stored. There is an advantage that something can be used.

Further, since all of the information corresponding to the types of the electric devices He1 to He3 are held in advance by the electric devices He1 to He3 themselves, the electric devices He1 to He3 are stored in advance.
It is not necessary to change the data in the storage unit 3 on the remote control device Rc side for the extension of e3, and thus there is an advantage that the extension of the electric devices He1 to He3 can be flexibly supported.

[0036]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, all of the plurality of electric devices are remotely controlled by one integrated remote control device, so that a plurality of electric devices corresponding to each electric device are controlled. It is possible to prevent the user from being confused about the correspondence between each electric device and each remote control device as compared with the case where the operation is performed using the remote control device, and also to maintain the storage of the remote control device and replacement of the battery, etc. Management becomes convenient.

When the device selection switch is operated, a call signal is transmitted by the remote control side control unit to one electric device to which the tip of the remote control device is directed through the remote control side transmission / reception unit. In response to this, the identification signal is transmitted from the one electric device, and the remote control device is switched to an operation mode according to the identification signal, and a display image corresponding to the operation mode is input and displayed on a touch panel. Since the instruction signal is displayed on the display unit and the instruction signal input from the display unit is transmitted through the transmission / reception unit, the operator directs the tip of the remote control device to one of the electric devices, and in this state, The operation mode of the remote controller can be switched automatically just by pressing and pressing the device selection switch. After that, the user can input the operation while watching the display screen of the display panel of the touch panel type input / display section automatically switched and displayed. In doing so, it is extremely easy to switch the operation mode.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the display image in each operation mode and the information about the meaning of the touch position operated by the switch input corresponding to the display image are previously stored in the remote control side storage unit. Since the information is stored, it is possible to quickly and easily switch the operation mode and the display image on the touch panel type input / display unit by the control unit.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the device-side control unit, when a call signal is given from the remote control device through the device-side transmission / reception unit, the display image and the touch position are responded to the call signal. Is returned to the remote control device through the device-side transmission / reception unit together with the identification signal, so that it is not necessary to store the information of the display image and the function table in the remote control-side storage unit. Since only a software program that regulates the functional operation of the remote control-side control unit needs to be stored exclusively, a small storage capacity of the remote control-side storage unit can be used.

Further, since all the information corresponding to the type of the electric equipment is held in advance by each electric equipment itself, it is not necessary to change the data in the storage unit on the remote control side when the electric equipment is added. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to flexibly cope with an increase in the number of electric devices.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a remote control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a touch panel type input / display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the touch panel type input / display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a display image on a touch panel type input / display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of a display image on the touch panel input / display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing still another example of a display image on the touch panel type input / display unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a transmission / reception unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating functional elements of a control unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body 2 Touch panel type input / display part 3 Storage part 4 Transmission / reception part 5 Control part 6 Device selection switch 11 Light emitting element 12 Light receiving element 13 Display board 13a Pseudo switch area 14, 15 Conduction wire 21 Light emitting element 22 Light receiving element 24 Light transmission path 25 Lens 31 Calling Function 32 ID Receiving Function 33 Operation Mode Switching Function 34 Data Loading Function 35 Display Control Function 36 Operation Recognition Function 37 Operation Signal Transmission Function 41 Transmission / Reception Unit 42 Control Unit 43 Data Storage Unit He1 to He3 Electric Device Rc Remote Control apparatus

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazuki Takimoto 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term in Harness Research Institute, Inc. (reference) 5K048 AA04 AA13 BA03 BA08 DA02 DB04 EA16 EB02 FB10 FB15 FC01 HA04 HA06 HA21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A remote control system for remotely controlling all of a plurality of electric devices with a single integrated remote control device, wherein the remote control device includes a portable device main body, and a surface of the device main body. A touch panel type input / display unit for displaying a switch array corresponding to the operation mode as an image and performing a switch operation by positioning a finger on an image related to the switch array, and each electric device installed in the remote control device A remote control-side transmitting / receiving unit that transmits and receives an optical signal at a constant directivity angle to and from a remote that controls display control and switch input operation control of the touch panel type input / display unit and transmission / reception control of the remote control-side transmitting / receiving unit. A control side control unit, and the remote control A remote control-side storage unit in which a software program that defines the functional operation of the side control unit is stored in advance, and the remote control device is directed when the tip of the remote control device is directed to any electric device by an operator. A single device selection switch that instructs the remote control-side control unit to switch the operation mode of the remote control device in response to one electrical device, wherein the remote control-side control unit is When an operation has been performed, a call signal is transmitted to one electric device to which the tip of the remote control device is directed through the remote control side transmission / reception unit,
In response to this, when an identification signal for identifying the one electric device is given from the one electric device, the operation mode is switched to an operation mode corresponding to the electric device in accordance with the identification signal, and The touch panel type input / display unit displays a display image corresponding to the operation mode, and has a function of transmitting the instruction signal input from the display unit through the transmission / reception unit. A device-side transmitting and receiving unit that transmits and receives an optical signal to and from a control device; anda device-side control unit that performs transmission and reception control at least in the device-side transmitting and receiving unit. When the call signal is given through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, the identification signal for identifying the electric device is transmitted to the device-side transmitting / receiving unit in response to the call signal. Flip well as back to the remote control device, remote control system characterized by having a function of driving the electric device in response to the instruction signal when the instruction signal is given. 2. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the information about the display image in each of the operation modes and the meaning of a touch position operated by a switch input corresponding to the display image is: A remote control system stored in advance in the remote control side storage unit. 3. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein each of the electric devices has a touch panel type input / display unit when an operation mode of the remote control device is associated with the electric device itself. Further, the display image to be displayed, and further information on the meaning of the touch position touched switch input operation corresponding to the display image further includes a device-side storage unit that is stored in advance, the device-side control unit, When the call signal is given from the remote control device through the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, in response to the call-out signal, information on the meaning of the display image and the touch position is transmitted together with the identification signal to the device-side transmitting / receiving unit. A remote control system having a function of sending a reply to the remote control device through a unit.