JPH0348718B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a remote control device, particularly a remote control device that transmits information signals using light, radio waves, ultrasonic waves, etc. as a medium, and also transmits control signals for controlling devices on the receiving side. The present invention relates to a remote control device suitable for use in various cases.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY AND PROBLEMS Conventionally, wireless transmitter/receiver devices that transmit audio signals using light or the like as a medium are known.This device converts audio signals into electrical signals, which drive light emitting elements to generate optical signals. Then, this optical signal is converted into an electrical signal by a receiving section having a light receiving element, and the original audio signal is reproduced by driving a speaker or the like. A remote control method is also known in which a control signal is sent using the same light or the like as a medium to control a device on the receiving side.

The control signal for remote control used in this case is
For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the waveform is a signal with an intermittent carrier wave, while the information signal is, for example, an FM modulated signal waveform as shown in FIG. 1B.
The frequency spectrum distribution of these information signals and control signals is as shown in Figure 2.
The carrier wave f _c of the control signal Sc is located adjacent to Si, and this control signal Sc contains many harmonics as shown by the broken line in the figure, so there is a beat prevention between the information signal and the information signal. Therefore, when transmitting a conventional signal as an optical signal, it was not possible to make the control signal and the information signal coexist during the same transmission time.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device that emits a control signal simultaneously with an information signal, and is capable of performing remote control while wirelessly transmitting the information signal.

Summary of the Invention In this invention, a control signal is modulated to fall within a predetermined band, and the modulated control signal is transmitted separately from the original information signal band, thereby separating the control signal and the information signal. It is possible to coexist during substantially the same transmission time and simultaneously remotely control the receiving device while wirelessly transmitting the information signal.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 13.

First, the signal format used in the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 3 to 7. For example, when the information signal is a stereo signal, the L channel signal S _L and the R channel signal S _R are arranged at a predetermined interval, for example, 350 kHz, as shown in Fig. A control signal Sc is provided at the bottom. The frequency at this time is, for example, 40kHz as the control signal frequency _f1 , and its deviation △f
is 5 kHz, 525 kHz is used as the carrier wave frequency f ₂ of the L channel signal S _L , and 875 kHz is used as the carrier wave frequency f ₃ of the R channel signal S _R , respectively. By arranging the control signal band and the information signal band separately in this way, the information signal can be transmitted to a record player, deck, DAD (digital audio desk), PCM, etc., as shown in FIG.
When sending a program source such as a processor to _{the main} body side where a tuner, amplifier, speaker, _etc. When sending from the main unit side to the source side,
Similarly, due to the transmission band of signal S2, which includes channel signals S _L and S _R , but has _a different frequency from signal _S1 ,
Transmission and reception can be performed in the form of frequency division. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the source side and the main body side can transmit each other using the transmission band of the signal _S3 of one channel, thereby making it possible to transmit and receive in a time-division manner.

For example, if we consider turning on and off the power of a stereo receiver as a control object, and raising and lowering the volume, the signal format for turning the power on and off would be as shown in Figure 6, for example. Conceivable. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, a start bit is generated during time _t1 , and a data code corresponding to power on/off, consisting of a bit code of [0111010], for example, is inserted during time _t2 , and During time _t3 , for example, a product category consisting of a bit code [00001], in this case a data code representing a stereo receiver, is inserted. When the signal level in FIG. 6A is low level, it is transmitted at a frequency f ₁ , for example, as shown by the symbol F in FIG. Frequency f ₁ + as shown
Send with △f. In other words, in this case, transmission is performed using the so-called FSK method, in which the transmission frequency is set to _f1 or shifted by Δf from this frequency depending on the low level or high level of the signal level.

Also, FIG. 7 shows a case where, for example, the volume increase _{in a} stereo receiving device is controlled, and in FIG. A data code representing the amount of volume increase is inserted, and a data code [00001] representing the product category i, ie, stereo receiver in this case, is inserted between time _t3 , as in FIG. 6A. In this case as well, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the signal level is low level, it is sent at frequency f ₁ as indicated by the symbol F, and when the signal level is high level, it is transmitted at the frequency f 1 as indicated by the symbol S in FIG. 7B. The signal is shifted by Δf from the frequency _f1 , that is, it is sent as an FSK modulated signal.

Next, an example in which an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a wireless speaker system will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the transmitting side. In the figure, the L channel audio signal supplied from input terminal 1 and the R channel audio signal supplied from input terminal 2 are shown.
The audio signals of the channels are FM modulated by modulators 3 and 4, respectively, and then supplied to adder 5 and added. As mentioned above, if the object to be remotely controlled is to turn the power on or off, or to turn the volume up or down, these can be controlled by pressing the keys on the keyboard 6 that correspond to turning the power on or off or turning the volume up or down, respectively. control data is encoded in the encoder 7. The encoded signal is subjected to FSK modulation in the modulator 8, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 above, and then supplied to the adder 5, where it is added to the FM modulated audio signal described above. The output signal from the adder 5 is supplied to a light-emitting element drive circuit 9, and the light-emitting element 10 is luminance-modulated by the drive signal from the drive circuit 9, and is sent out as an optical signal containing an information signal and a control signal.

The optical signal transmitted from the transmitting side is received by the optical front end 12 in the control unit 11 shown by the broken line in FIG. A control signal is detected in the receiving circuit 13, and the decoder 1
4. And in the decoder 14,
When the control signal is decoded and the power-on data contained therein is detected, that signal is supplied to the power switch circuit 15, and this switch circuit 15 is turned on (here, the output of the decoder 14 is "1"). (on), and power is supplied from the positive power supply terminal +Vcc to the reproduction section 16 shown by the broken line in the figure. Although not shown, it is assumed that after the main power switch is turned on, the control unit 11 is always powered from the positive power supply terminal +Vcc and is in a reception standby state.

In the signal receiving circuit 17L of the reproduction section 16, the L channel signal component is detected from the output of the front end 12, FM demodulated, and supplied to the volume control circuit (electronic volume) 18L. Then, based on the volume control data from the decoder 14,
A built-in up-down counter (not shown) is controlled to adjust the volume to a predetermined value, and then the sound is amplified by the power amplifier 19L, and the sound is emitted by the speaker 20L. Further, in the signal receiving circuit 17R, the R channel signal component is detected, FM demodulated, and supplied to the volume control circuit (electronic volume) 18R.
Here, the built-in up-down counter (not shown) is controlled based on the volume control data from the decoder 14 as described above to adjust the volume to a predetermined level, and then the volume is amplified by the power amplifier 19R and output to the speaker 20R. A sound is emitted.

In this way, in this embodiment, remote control can be performed simultaneously while transmitting information signals wirelessly.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show another embodiment of the present invention, in which signals are emitted bidirectionally for remote control, etc. In other words, a record player, deck, or DAD as a source,
This is when a program source such as a PCM processor is placed nearby for convenient exchange of cassettes or records, and its playback output is sent wirelessly to the main unit. In other words, transmission and reception are performed in a signal format as shown in FIG. 4 described above. It is assumed here that the L channel and R channel signals are treated as one signal.

Figure 10 shows the main unit side. In the figure, 21 is an FM/AM tuner, 22 is a TV tuner, 23 is a switch circuit for switching these tuners, and 24 is a circuit that connects wirelessly transmitted signals to the main unit side. A switch circuit for switching a certain source (tuner in this case), 2
5 is a preamplifier for reproduction, 26 is a volume/tone adjustment circuit, 27 is a power amplifier, and 28 is a speaker. 29 is an optical front end for receiving signals transmitted from the source side, 30 is a remote control receiving circuit for extracting control signals from the transmitted signals, 31 is a decoder, and 32 is an optical front end for receiving signals transmitted from the source side. This is a signal receiving circuit for extracting information signals.

Further, a transmitting modulator 33, a light emitting element driving circuit 34, and a light emitting element 35 are provided after the switch circuit 23 in order to transmit a signal from the tuner side to the source side for recording or the like.

On the other hand, on the source side in FIG. 11, for example, a DAD 41, a disk player 42, a deck 43, a PCM processor 44, etc. are provided as program sources. 45 is a changeover switch for switching these sources, 46 is a modulator, 47 is an adder, 48 is a keyboard for obtaining control data,
49 is an encoder, 50 is a modulator, 51 is a light emitting element drive circuit, and 52 is a light emitting element. Further, an optical front end 53 and a signal receiving circuit 54 are provided to receive the recording optical signal transmitted from the main body side, and the output of the signal receiving circuit 54 is supplied to the deck 43 or the PCM processor 44. is being done.

Next, the operations shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 will be explained. First, in FIG. 11, program sources DAD 41, disk player 42, deck 43, and PCM processor 44 are connected to switch circuit 45.
Select by switching. The signals from these program sources are subjected to, for example, FM modulation in a modulator 46 and supplied to one input terminal of the adder 7. At this time, a key corresponding to the function to be controlled, such as power on/off or volume up/down, is pressed in the key code 48, and the encoder 49 encodes the corresponding key to create a control signal. the modulator 50
For example, the signal is subjected to FSK modulation and supplied to the other input terminal of the adder 47. Then, the light emitting element drive circuit 51 adds it to the previously supplied information signal.
supply to. The driving signal from the driving circuit 51 modulates the luminance of the light emitting element 52, and sends the information signal and control signal as optical signals to the main body side.

On the main body side in FIG. 10, a front end 29 receives the transmitted optical signal, a remote control receiving circuit 30 detects a control signal from the output of the front end 29, and a decoder 31 decodes the control signal. The output of the decoder 31 turns on the power to the main body side (not shown), controls the switch circuit 24, and switches to take out the signal transmitted from the source side. Therefore, the information signal detected by the signal receiving circuit 32 from the output of the front end 29 is FM demodulated here and then supplied to the preamplifier 25 through the switch circuit 24, and further to the decoder 31 in the volume/tone adjustment circuit 26.
After receiving a predetermined volume or sound quality adjustment based on a control signal from the control signal, the sound is amplified by a power amplifier 27, and the sound is emitted from a speaker 28.

Therefore, a program source arbitrarily selected on the source side can be freely reproduced and listened to on the main body side.

On the source side, if you want to hear the sound of the tuner 21 or 22 on the main body side, create a corresponding control signal using the keyboard 48, send this as an optical signal to the main body side as described above, and use the decoder 31 on the main body side. The decoded control signal operates either the tuner 21 or 22 and switches the switch circuit 23 to take out the output of the tuner in operation. At the same time, the switch circuit 24 is controlled by the control signal so that the output of the switch circuit 23 is taken out. Therefore, the output of tuner 21 or 22 is supplied to preamplifier 25 via switch 23 and switch 24.
Further, in the volume/sound quality adjustment circuit 26, the sound volume or sound quality is adjusted to a predetermined value based on a control signal from the decoder 31, and then the sound is emitted from the speaker 28 through the power amplifier 27. Therefore, on the source side,
The sound of tuner 21 or 22 emitted from the main body side can be heard.

Also, the sound coming from these tuners is modulated by modulator 3.
3, the audio signal is FM modulated and then supplied to the drive circuit 34, and the luminance modulation of the light emitting element 35 is performed using the drive signal from the drive circuit 34, so that the audio signal is transmitted as an optical signal to the source side, and is transmitted to the source side optical front end 53. will be received. The signal from this front end 53 is subjected to signal processing such as FM demodulation in a signal receiving circuit 54, and then recorded on a deck 43 or a PCM processor 44.

In this way, in this embodiment, signals can be transmitted in both directions, and the playback output from the source side can be wirelessly sent to the main body side for listening, and the signal from the tuner etc. on the main body side can be transmitted to the source side. It is also possible to record as a program source.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the signal band is
This is a case where bidirectional transmission is performed in a time-division manner in order to create a channel (two channels in the case of stereo). In other words, in this case, the transmission method has the signal form shown in FIG. 5 described above. In FIGS. 12 and 13, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 10 and 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, in FIG. 12, the transmission control circuit 3
6 is provided so that it can be controlled by a control signal from the decoder 31, and in FIG.
A transmission control circuit 5 is provided between the modulator 46 and the adder 47 so that it can also be controlled by a control signal from an encoder 49. and the source side (first
3) to the main body side (FIG. 12), the control signal from the decoder 31 controls the transmission control circuit 36 to suppress the drive signal from the drive circuit 34 to the light emitting element 35, Prevent the transmission signal from the main unit from being transmitted to the source side. Also, on the source side, when the recording output signal is being transmitted from the main unit side to the transmitting side, encoder 4
9 controls the transmission control circuit 55 to suppress the output signal from the modulator 46 to the adder 47;
Prevent playback output from the source from being sent to the main unit. In this case, transmission control is not performed so that the control signal can be output at all times. Other operations are similar to those in FIGS. 10 and 11.

In this way, in this embodiment as well, FIGS. 10 and 1
Almost the same effect as the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 can be obtained, and furthermore, in this embodiment, there is no need to divide the frequency from the source side to the main body side or from the main body side to the source side as in the above embodiments, so that the signal can be divided in a narrow bandwidth. transmission becomes possible.

APPLICATION EXAMPLE Although the above-described embodiments have been described with reference to the case where the present invention is applied to a wireless speaker system, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be similarly applied to other systems having such functions.
Moreover, although the case where light is used as a medium has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and other radio waves, ultrasonic waves, etc. can be similarly applied. Furthermore, the modulation method is not limited to the above, and the information signal may be digitally modulated, and the control signal may be modulated using other modulation methods such as ASK or PSK, which are limited to a bandwidth that does not overlap with the information signal. good.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the control signal is modulated to fall within a predetermined band, and the modulated control signal is sent out separately from the information signal band, so that the control signal and the information signal are separated. can coexist during substantially the same transmission time, and remote control can be performed simultaneously while wirelessly transmitting information signals.

In addition, by transmitting signals in both directions, the playback output from the source side can be wirelessly sent to the main unit side for listening, and the signal from the tuner etc. on the main unit side can be recorded as a program source on the source side. It is also possible to do so.
Furthermore, by performing bidirectional transmission in a time-division manner, the transmission band to be used can be narrowed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are diagrams to help explain the signal format used in a conventional remote control device, and FIGS. 3 to 7 are diagrams to help explain the present invention. 8 and 9 are block diagrams showing one embodiment of this invention, FIGS. 10 and 11 are block diagrams showing another embodiment of this invention, and FIG.
2 and 13 are block diagrams showing other embodiments of the present invention. 3, 4, 8, 33, 46, 50 are modulators;
47 is an adder, 6, 48 is a keyboard, 7, 49
is an encoder; 9, 34, 51 are light emitting element drive circuits; 10, 35, 52 are light emitting elements; 12, 29,
53 is an optical front end, 13, 30 is a remote control receiving circuit, 14, 31 is a decoder, 15 is a power switch circuit, 17L, 17R, 32, 54 is a signal receiving circuit, 18L, 18R is a volume control circuit, 21
is FM/AM Chuna, 22 is TV Chuna,
23 and 24 are switch circuits, 26 are volume/tone adjustment circuits, 41 are digital audio desks (DAD), 42 are disk players, 43 are decks, 44 are PCM processors, 45 are changeover switches, 36 and 55 are transmission control circuits It is.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A remote control characterized in that a control signal band is formed by frequency modulating a control signal which is a signal waveform of an intermittent carrier wave, and the control signal band is transmitted separately from an information signal band. Device.