JP2005159639A - Remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control device excellent in the operability of an operating menu displayed on a display unit. <P>SOLUTION: The remote control device remotely controlling electronic equipment has a main body member and an operating unit 12 which is movably provided on the main body member. The operating unit 12 is provided with a liquid crystal panel 13 on which the menu for remotely controlling the electronic equipment is displayed, and is movable between a first position where the liquid crystal panel 13 is covered by the main body member and a second position where the liquid crystal panel 13 is not covered by the main body member. The operating unit 12 is provided with a jog dial 5 for interlocking with the operating unit 12 and moving to operate the menu. In the jog dial 5, at least one part of it is exposed from the main body member when the operating unit 12 is at the second position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device for remotely operating electronic equipment such as AV equipment and home appliances.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, some remote control (remote control) devices for remotely operating electronic devices have a display unit on which operation keys are displayed, and select and determine the operation keys using an operation member such as a joystick. For example, a remote control body is provided with a liquid crystal display unit, and a joystick for selecting and determining an instruction key displayed on the liquid crystal display unit and a joystick for selecting and determining an icon displayed on the monitor are combined to be changed by a changeover switch. There is known a technique for switching a joystick to a monitor icon when there is an instruction to move it to the outside of the outermost edge of an instruction key of a liquid crystal display (Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-252405

However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is cumbersome and difficult to use because the use of an operation member such as a joystick is switched by a changeover switch or an operation on a liquid crystal screen.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a remote control device having excellent operability of an operation menu displayed on a display unit.

The present invention is a remote control device for remotely operating an electronic device, and includes a main body member and a moving member movably provided on the main body member, and the moving member remotely operates the electronic device. Display means for displaying a menu for displaying, and the display means is movable to a first position where the main body member is covered and a second position where the display means is not covered with the main body member. The member is provided with a menu operating means for moving in conjunction with the moving member to operate the menu, and the menu operating means is at least partially in the main body when the moving member is in the second position. It is exposed from the member.
The menu operation means is covered with the main body member when the moving member is in the first position.
The main body member includes an upper main body and a lower main body, and the moving member is movable between the upper main body and the lower main body.
The main body member is provided with operation means for remotely operating the electronic device.
The operation means is constituted by a hard key.
The moving member is rotatably provided on the main body member.
The menu is displayed when the moving member is in the second position.
The menu operating means selects the menu by rotation, and determines the menu by pressing in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation axis.
The menu operation means selects the menu by rotation, and determines the menu by pressing the rotation axis in the axial direction.
The remote control device can remotely control a plurality of electronic devices, and the menu corresponds to an operation of an electronic device selected to be used among the plurality of electronic devices.
The display means is configured as a touch panel, and the menu is an operable soft key.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the remote control apparatus excellent in the operativity of the operation menu displayed on a display part can be provided.

  Next, the contents of the present invention will be described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows a state when a liquid crystal panel 13 to be described later is in a position covered by the upper body 1a. FIG. 2 is a side view of the remote control device of FIG. 1 viewed from the right side. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body is composed of an upper main body 1a and a lower main body 1b, and the operation unit 12 is sandwiched between the upper main body 1a and the lower main body 1b. The upper body 1a includes a device switching key 2 for switching an electronic device to be used, a display unit 3 such as a liquid crystal for displaying the selected electronic device, a power key 4 for controlling on / off of the power of the selected electronic device, A screen operation member 6 for operating a screen displayed on a television or the like, a device / setting key 7 for switching a screen mode displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13, a volume key 8, a channel selection key 9, and the like are provided. Similarly, a channel selection key 10 composed of numeric keys “1” to “12” and an AV operation key 11 for performing operations such as reproduction and recording which are common to AV devices are also provided on the upper main body 1a. It has been. In the present invention, the operation keys provided on the upper main body 1a are referred to as hard keys, and the operation keys displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13 configured as a touch panel described later are soft keys. That's it.

  4 to 6 show states when the operation unit 12 is moved from the state shown in FIG. 7 and 8 are configuration diagrams of the state in which the upper body 1a is removed in the state of FIGS. The operation unit 12 is rotatably supported by a rotation support portion 15 on the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. The operation unit 12 can be moved by a moving operation member 14 that rotates in conjunction with the operation unit 12. The movement operation member 14 may be configured integrally with the operation unit 12 or may be configured separately. Since the movement operation member 14 is configured to be partially exposed from the upper main body 1a and the lower main body 1b, the movement operation member 14 can be moved by rotating the movement operation member 14 with a finger or the like from the outside. Can be performed. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the operation unit 12 is moving, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the liquid crystal panel 13 is not covered by the apparatus body, that is, a state when the operation unit 12 is in the use position. It is. FIG. 3 is a side view of the remote control device in the state of FIG. 5 as viewed from the right side.

  For example, the operation unit 12 can be configured to display a screen on the liquid crystal panel 13 when moved to the use position shown in FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent wasteful power consumption when the operation unit 12 is inadvertently moved when there is no intention to use it (for example, the state shown in FIG. 4). Note that the screen may be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13 when the operation unit 12 moves to the state of FIG. 5 and any one of the operation keys (for example, the device switching key 2) is operated. If the liquid crystal panel 13 is a touch panel, the liquid crystal panel 13 may be configured to display a screen when the liquid crystal panel 13 is touched. Further, if the screen display is made on the liquid crystal panel 13 and no operation or movement is continued for a predetermined time, the power consumption can be further reduced if the screen display is turned off. In this case, the screen display can be restored by detecting that the remote control device has been lifted or moved by a sensor, or by detecting that an operation key has been operated.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the operation unit 12 is moved in the direction opposite to that in FIG. In this way, by adopting a configuration in which the operation unit 12 can be used even if it is moved in either the left or right direction, it is possible to handle both right-handed and left-handed, and the usability is further improved. When the operation unit 12 takes a plurality of use positions, the screen can be always recognized in the same direction by configuring the screen direction of the liquid crystal panel 13 to change according to the positions. The movement position of the operation unit 12 is not limited to these, and may be moved upward, for example.

  According to the present invention, in the normal state, that is, in the state of FIG. 1 in which the operation unit 12 is not used, the operation unit 12 is sandwiched and covered between the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. The effect of being protected from dirt and the like is exhibited. In the above example, the operation unit 12 is sandwiched between the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. However, as shown in the side view of FIG. 9, the body is not divided into the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. The operation unit 12 may be provided on the lower surface of the main body 1. In FIG. 1, the liquid crystal panel 13 is entirely covered with the upper main body 1a as a state in which the operation unit 12 is not used. Even when the operation unit 12 is in the storage position, it corresponds to the “first position where the display means is covered by the main body member” in the present invention.

  Next, a method for using the remote control device of the present invention will be described. For example, if you do not perform complicated operations or operations specific to each electronic device, such as watching television (such as terrestrial analog broadcasting) or viewing playback images on a video deck, without using the operation unit 12, The operation can be performed in the state of FIG. For example, if a television is selected with the device switching key 2, an operation such as selecting a channel to be viewed with the channel selection key 10 composed of the numeric keys "1" to "12" or changing the volume with the volume key 8 is performed. Can be performed. When a video is selected, operations necessary for video recording, reproduction, etc. can be performed by AV operation keys 11 for reproduction, recording, and the like. As described above, if the operation keys corresponding to frequently used functions and operations are provided in the upper main body 1a, the operation unit 12 is not used and the operation is performed in the same manner as a remote control device configured with conventional hard keys. Therefore, there is no sense of incongruity in appearance and operation for the user, and it is easy to operate. Since these hard keys are operation keys that can be operated blindly, that is, operation keys that are operated while watching a television screen or are switched when operated, the operability is further improved. The operation keys provided on the upper body 1a are not limited to these.

  Next, an operation using the operation unit 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 10, a television is selected as a device to be used, and the liquid crystal panel 13 displays, as a screen 13a, a menu relating to the function and operation of the television such as the selected device name “TV” and “program guide”. ing. For example, when DVD is selected as the device to be used, as shown in FIG. 11, a display of the device name “DVD” and a menu relating to the DVD function and operation are displayed. The menu displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13 can be operated by the jog dial 5 that moves in conjunction with the operation unit 12. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the jog dial 5 is covered with the upper body 1a and cannot be operated. When the operation unit 12 is rotated from the state of FIG. 1 to the state of FIG. 5, the jog dial 5 is also rotated in conjunction with the operation unit 12, and a part of the jog dial 5 is exposed and can be operated. The menu can be selected by rotating the jog dial 5, and the selected menu can be determined by pressing in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation axis. As such a jog dial, a commercially available one can be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the menu can be determined by pressing the jog dial 5 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft so that the switch 16 is operated. As described above, since the jog dial 5 is configured to move in conjunction with the operation unit 12, the jog dial 5 is covered with the upper body 1a when the operation unit 12 is not used (FIG. 1). In the state (FIGS. 5 and 6), the jog dial 5 is exposed from the upper body 1a and can be operated, and it can be easily recognized that the jog dial 5 is used for menu operation. Thus, the problem of operating the jog dial 5 can be solved. Note that the liquid crystal panel 13 may be configured as a touch panel, and selection / determination may be performed by touching a menu on the screen with a finger as a soft key capable of operating the menu. The screen displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13 is sequentially switched to the three mode screens of the remote control mode screen 13a, the device selection mode screen 13b, and the setting mode screen 13c as shown in FIG. 10 by pressing the device / setting key 7. Can do. The device selection mode screen 13b can be used to select a device to be used, and the setting mode screen 13c is configured to allow various settings. As described above, functions and operations peculiar to each electronic device can be switched by being displayed on the liquid crystal panel 13 as a menu, and thus can correspond to many devices and functions.

  Although the above configuration has been described as a remote control device corresponding to a plurality of electronic devices, the present invention may be used for a composite device (for example, a television with a built-in DVD recording / playback device) or a single device. Of course, it is applicable.

The figure which shows the external appearance structure of the remote control apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The side view of the remote control apparatus of FIG. The side view of the remote control apparatus of FIG. The figure which shows the movement state of the operation unit of the remote control apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the movement state of the operation unit of the remote control apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the movement state of the operation unit of the remote control apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which removed the upper main body of FIG. The block diagram which removed the upper main body of FIG. The side view of the remote control apparatus concerning other embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the use condition of the operation unit of the remote control apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the other display screen of a liquid crystal panel. The figure which shows an example of operation | movement of a jog dial.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 1a Upper main body 1b Lower main body 2 Device switching key 3 Display part 4 Power key 5 Jog dial 6 Screen operation member 7 Device / setting key 8 Volume key 9 Channel selection key 10 Channel selection key 11 AV operation key 12 Operation unit (movement) Element)
13 Liquid crystal panel (display means)
14 Movement operation member 15 Rotation support part 16 Switch

Claims (11)

A remote control device for remotely operating an electronic device,
A body member;
A movable member movably provided on the main body member;
The moving member is provided with display means for displaying a menu for remotely operating the electronic device, the display means is covered with the main body member, and the display means is covered with the main body member. Is movable to a second position not
The moving member is provided with menu operation means for moving in conjunction with the moving member and operating the menu.
The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein when the moving member is in the second position, at least a part of the menu operating means is exposed from the main body member.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the menu operation unit is covered with the main body member when the moving member is in the first position.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the main body member includes an upper main body and a lower main body, and the moving member is movable between the upper main body and the lower main body. .   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the main body member is provided with operation means for remotely operating the electronic device.   The remote control device according to claim 4, wherein the operation unit includes a hard key.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the moving member is rotatably provided on the main body member.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the menu is displayed when the moving member is in the second position.   8. The menu operation unit according to claim 1, wherein the menu selection unit selects the menu by rotation, and determines the menu by pressing in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation axis. Remote control device.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the menu operation unit selects the menu by rotation and determines the menu by pressing the rotation axis in the axial direction.   The remote control device can remotely control a plurality of electronic devices, and the menu corresponds to an operation of an electronic device selected to be used among the plurality of electronic devices. The remote control device according to any one of 1 to 9. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is configured as a touch panel, and the menu is an operable soft key.

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