JPH07183853A - Remote control device of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stabilize the intensity of an optical signal even if a battery is consumed in the remote control device of an air conditioner using the optical signal. CONSTITUTION:The intensity of an optical signal is made almost constant even if a battery is consumed by monitoring the voltage of a power source circuit 1 supplying power by a battery by a voltage monitoring means 2 and outputting a voltage monitoring signal to a control means 3, by deciding the range of the voltage of the power source circuit 1 when a light emitting element 4 transmitting an optical signal by the voltage monitoring signal is energized by the control means 3, by controlling a driving circuit 5 so as to drive the light emitting element 4 by stepwise changing the resistance value of a current control resistance which is serial to the light emitting element 4, corresponding to the range of the voltage of the power source circuit 1 and changing the resistance value of the current control resistance so as to be smaller as the range of voltage becomes lower.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device for an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an air conditioner has been made operable by a remote control device and has improved usability, but a problem is that the operating function is deteriorated due to exhaustion of a battery as a driving power source.

A conventional remote control device for an air conditioner for transmitting an infrared light signal will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a conventional remote control device for an air conditioner. In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a transmission circuit for transmitting an infrared light signal for remote control, and a light emitting diode (hereinafter, referred to as LED) for generating infrared light.
32, a current control resistor 33 for limiting the current of the LED 32, and a control means 3 for generating a signal for remote operation.
4 and a transistor 35 that opens and closes the current of the series circuit of the LED 32 and the current control resistor 33. Further, 36 is a battery for driving the device.

The operation of the above structure will be described below.
The control means 34 generates a digital signal for remotely operating the air conditioner to open / close the transistor 35.
When the transistor 35 is turned on by the digital signal, a current flows from the battery 36 to the series circuit of the LED 32 and the current control resistor 33. The magnitude of the current at this time is the voltage across the LED 32 and the voltage of the current control resistor 33. The sum of the voltage drop and the voltage of the battery 36 gives a value
Since the voltage across D32 is substantially constant, the magnitude of the flowing current is determined by the voltage of the battery 36 and the current control resistor 33. Therefore, when the resistance value of the current control resistor 33 is determined, the current flowing through the LED 32 depends on the voltage of the battery 36. FIG. 12 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the magnitude of the current of the LED 32 and the battery voltage when the resistance value of the current control resistor 33 is set to a certain value. Note that the battery 36 is actually
The internal resistance of is included in a part of the current control resistor 33.

[0005]

In such a conventional remote control device for an air conditioner, the transmitting circuit 3 serving as transmitting means is used.
Since the current control resistor 33 that determines the magnitude of the current of the LED 32 in 1 is fixed to one resistance value, the battery 3
Due to the consumption level of 6, the current value flowing through the LED 32 during transmission fluctuates greatly. FIG. 12 is a characteristic diagram showing that state. Therefore, when the battery 36 is new, the transmission distance is very long, and when the battery is old, the transmission distance is always short, which is very difficult to handle as a remote control device for an air conditioner.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a remote control device for an air conditioner in which the transmission distance is stable irrespective of the battery consumption.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power supply circuit for supplying power by a battery, a voltage monitoring means for monitoring the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputting a voltage monitoring signal, and a remote control. A light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for
Control means for controlling the operation of the device while generating an electric signal for generating the optical signal, and a current control resistor is inserted in series to the light emitting element and connected to the power supply circuit,
A drive circuit for supplying a drive current, wherein the control means inputs the voltage monitoring signal, and the resistance value of the current control resistor corresponds to the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized. By gradually changing the power supply voltage to a lower range and selecting a current control resistor having a smaller resistance value in order to keep the optical signal intensity substantially constant in response to the consumption of the battery. The present invention according to claim 2 is a remote control device for an air conditioner,
A power supply circuit that supplies power by a battery, a voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for remote control, and the optical signal is generated. A control unit for generating an electric signal for controlling the operation of the device and a current control resistor connected in series to the light emitting element and connected to the power supply circuit for supplying a drive current, and a previous operation. The storage means outputs the stored voltage monitoring signal to the control means and stores the voltage monitoring signal output by the voltage monitoring means in the current operation, and the control means stores the voltage monitoring signal in the previous operation. By inputting a voltage monitoring signal, the resistance value of the current control resistor is changed stepwise in accordance with the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element was energized in the previous operation, An air conditioner in which the intensity of the optical signal is controlled to be kept substantially constant in response to the consumption of the battery by selecting current control resistors whose resistance values are successively reduced as the line voltage becomes lower. The present invention according to claim 3 is a remote control device for a machine, and a power supply circuit for supplying electric power by a battery, and a voltage monitoring means for monitoring the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputting a voltage monitoring signal.
A light emitting element for outputting an optical signal for remote control, a control means for generating an electric signal for generating the optical signal and controlling the operation of the device, and a current control resistor inserted in series in the light emitting element. Connected to the power supply circuit to supply a driving current, a transmission instruction means for monitoring for giving an instruction to send a pseudo optical signal to the light emitting element to the control means in a predetermined cycle, and the pseudo optical signal. And a storage unit that stores the voltage monitoring signal when the light emitting element is energized, the control unit inputs the voltage monitoring signal stored by the storage unit, and outputs the pseudo optical signal. The resistance value of the current control resistor is changed stepwise in accordance with the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized, and the current having a sequentially smaller resistance value as the power supply voltage becomes lower. By selecting the control resistor, a remote control device for an air conditioner which is adapted to control so as to keep substantially constant the intensity of the optical signal in response to exhaustion of the battery.

[0008]

In the present invention according to claim 1, the voltage monitoring means detects the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs the voltage monitoring signal to the control means. The control means determines the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized by the voltage monitoring signal,
The light emitting element is driven by changing the resistance value of the current control resistor in the drive circuit according to the voltage range of the power supply circuit. In this case, the light amount of the light emitting element is kept substantially constant by gradually changing the resistance value of the current control resistor as the voltage of the power supply circuit becomes lower when the light emitting element is energized due to the consumption of the battery. . In the present invention according to claim 2, the storage means outputs the voltage monitoring signal stored in the previous operation to the control means and stores the voltage monitoring signal in the current operation, and the control means stores the previous voltage operation signal in the storage means. The voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized by the previous operation is determined and controlled by the voltage monitoring signal stored in. Other operations are the same as the operations of the present invention according to claim 1. In the present invention according to claim 3,
The monitoring transmission instruction means outputs a monitoring instruction signal to the control means at a predetermined cycle, and the control means which has received the signal outputs a pseudo signal simulating the transmission signal to the drive circuit in order to monitor the voltage of the power supply circuit. , The drive circuit sends out a pseudo optical signal.
The voltage monitoring means monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element sends out a pseudo optical signal and is energized, and outputs a voltage monitoring signal. The storage means stores the voltage monitoring signal. The control means determines the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized by the voltage monitoring signal stored in the storage means, and changes the resistance value of the current control resistor to drive. Other operations are the same as the operations of the present invention according to claim 1.

[0009]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a power supply circuit for supplying electric power from a battery, 2 is a voltage monitoring means for monitoring the voltage of the power supply circuit 1, and outputs a monitoring signal corresponding to the voltage, and 3 is an electric signal for remote control. At the same time, it is a control means for controlling the operation of the device, and receives the monitoring signal output from the voltage monitoring means 2 to input the monitoring signal of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element 4 is energized by the current generating the optical signal. The range is determined, and the drive circuit 5 is controlled so that the current control resistor in series with the light emitting element 4 is changed stepwise according to the determination result to drive. In addition,
In this embodiment, the light emitting element 4 is described as outputting infrared light, but it goes without saying that other light output may be used.

In FIG. 4, the voltage monitoring means 2 detects the voltage range of the power supply circuit 1 in two steps, and the control means 3 controls the current control resistor in series with the light emitting element 4 so as to drive it in two steps. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of a present Example in a case. In addition,
The same numbers are given to the same components as in FIG. In the figure, the voltage monitoring means 2 outputs a voltage monitoring signal when the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 becomes lower than a predetermined set value.
When the voltage monitoring signal is input, the control means 3 detects that the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 has become lower than a predetermined set value, and when the power supply voltage is higher than the predetermined set value, the drive circuit 5
The control signal is applied to the transistor 16 via the resistor 12 and the transistor 14 of FIG. 1, and the control signal is applied to the transistor 17 via the resistor 13 and the transistor 15 of the drive circuit 5 when the power supply voltage is lower than the set value.
This control signal provides a digital electrical signal for remote control such that either transistor 16 or transistor 17 provided with it will operate. The drive circuit 5 is configured by connecting a series circuit of the current control resistor 10 and the transistor 16 and a series circuit of the current control resistor 11 and the transistor 17 in parallel, and is connected to one end of the light emitting element 4. Further, the resistance value of the current control resistor 11 is set to a value larger than the resistance value of the current control resistor 10. The transistor 16 inputs a control signal from the control means 3 via the resistor 12 and the transistor 14, the transistor 17 inputs the control signal from the control means 3 via the resistor 13 and the transistor 15, and performs on / off operation according to the control signal. The light emitting element 4 operates so that a current flows through the current control resistor 10 or the current control resistor 11.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. First, the operation of the voltage monitoring means will be described. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the voltage of the power supply circuit and the degree of battery consumption, corresponding to the current waveform of the light emitting element 4. It should be noted that the current waveform during operation is schematically shown. Actually, the waveform shown in the figure includes on / off of a fine current for generating an optical signal. In the figure, a set voltage A is a voltage referred to by the voltage monitoring means 2 for detecting a voltage range and outputting a voltage monitoring signal.
As shown in the figure, the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 decreases according to the degree of consumption of the battery, and also decreases every time the remote operation is performed. The reason is that since the power supply circuit 1 has an internal resistance, when the light emitting element 4 is energized to send out infrared light, a voltage drop occurs due to the internal resistance, which is lower than that when it is not energized. Is. Therefore, the voltage monitoring means 2 operates so as to output the voltage monitoring signal when the voltage becomes lower than the predetermined set value A while the light emitting element 4 is emitting infrared light. It should be noted that the predetermined set value A set in the voltage monitoring means 2 is set to a value such that the voltage monitoring signal is not output even when the light emitting element is emitting infrared light while the battery is new, so that the battery is consumed. The voltage monitoring signal is output in the advanced state.

Therefore, when the battery is not exhausted, the voltage does not become lower than the predetermined set value A even when the current flows through the light emitting element 4, and the voltage monitoring means 2 does not output the voltage monitoring signal. However, when the battery is slightly consumed, the voltage becomes lower than the set value A only when the current of the light emitting element 4 flows, and at that time, the voltage monitoring means 2 outputs the voltage monitoring signal. . When the battery is further consumed, the voltage becomes lower than the set value A even if no current flows through the light emitting element, and the voltage monitoring means 2 always outputs the voltage monitoring signal.

The operation of the control means 3 and the drive circuit 5 will be described below. The control means 3 generates an electric signal for outputting an optical signal for remote control from the light emitting element 4, and outputs it as a control signal to the transistor 17 connected to the current control resistor 10 having a larger resistance value of the drive circuit 5. At the same time, it is checked whether or not a voltage monitoring signal is input from the voltage monitoring means 2 to determine whether or not the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 is lower than the set value A. The transistor 17 causes an on / off current to flow through the light emitting element 4 via the current control resistor 11 according to a control signal, and outputs an optical signal. At this time, the voltage monitoring means 2
Monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 and outputs a voltage monitoring signal to the control means 3 in accordance with the state. When the voltage monitoring signal is not input, the control unit 3 determines that the power supply voltage is higher than the set value A regardless of whether the light emitting element is energized, and does not change the state in which the control signal is applied to the transistor 17.

When a voltage monitoring signal is input from the voltage monitoring means 2, it is detected that the power supply voltage becomes lower than the set value A at least when the light emitting element 4 is energized,
It is determined that the battery is exhausted, and the control signal provided to the transistor 17 is switched to the transistor 16 and output. In this case, the operation of the transistor 17 is stopped, and the transistor 16 causes the on / off current to flow to the light emitting element 4 via the current control resistor 11. In this case, the resistance value of the current control resistor 10 connected to the transistor 16 is the current control resistor 11
Since it is set smaller than the resistance value of
The magnitude of the on / off current flowing through the cell increases, and the intensity of the optical signal that has been reduced due to the exhaustion of the battery is enhanced. In FIG. 6, the reason why the voltage drop due to energization of the light emitting element is larger than that when the battery consumption is small is that the internal resistance of the battery is increased in accordance with the consumption, and not because the current is increased.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the magnitude of the current of the light emitting element 4 and the degree of battery consumption in the above operation. As shown in the figure, the current of the light emitting element 4 gradually decreases as the battery is exhausted, but once it switches to the current control resistor 10 having a small resistance value, it increases once and then gradually decreases from that state. Equivalently, the consumption of the battery is recovered and the life is extended. Needless to say, the resistance value of each current control resistor in the drive circuit 5 is determined to be a predetermined value in consideration of the drive current of the light emitting element and the battery life.

FIG. 5 is a circuit showing a structure using another structure for the drive circuit 5. In the figure, a series circuit of a current control resistor 10 and a transistor 16 and a series circuit of a current control resistor 11 and a transistor 17 are provided, and the current control resistor 10 and the current control resistor 11 are connected in series. In this configuration, when the control signal is applied to the transistor 16, the current of the light emitting element 4 flows through the current control resistor 10, and when the control signal is applied to the transistor 17, the current of the light emitting element 4 is exchanged with the current control resistor 10. It flows through a series circuit with the current control resistor 11. Therefore, when the degree of battery consumption is low, that is, when the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 is higher than the set value A, a control signal is given to the transistor 17, and when it is in the range of the set value A or less, the transistor 16 is supplied.
By applying a control signal to the drive circuit, the resistance value of the current control resistance is switched from a large value to a small value for driving, and the same operation as the configuration shown in FIG. 4 can be executed.

In FIG. 8, the voltage monitoring means 2 detects the voltage range of the power supply circuit 1 by dividing the voltage range into three levels, and the control means 3 changes the current control resistance in three levels in accordance with the voltage range to emit light. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration in the case of controlling a drive circuit 5 so as to drive 4 of FIG.

In the figure, the voltage monitoring means 2 is a power supply circuit 1
The first voltage monitoring circuit 2-1 that outputs a first voltage monitoring signal when the voltage of the voltage is less than or equal to the predetermined set value A, and when the voltage is less than or equal to the predetermined set value B that is lower than the set value A. And a second voltage monitoring circuit 2-2 which outputs a second voltage monitoring signal. The drive circuit 5 includes a series circuit of the current control resistor 10 and the transistor 16, a series circuit of the current control resistor 11 and the transistor 17, and a series circuit of the current control resistor 19 and the transistor 20 connected in parallel. The drive circuit 5 is configured by adding a series circuit of a current control resistor 19 and a transistor 20 in parallel to the configuration of the two stages shown in FIG. The resistance value of the current control resistor is set to a predetermined value of current control resistor 10 <current control resistor 11 <current control resistor 19.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The voltage monitoring means 2 detects the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 by dividing it into three ranges according to the set value A and the set value B. FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 and the battery consumption level corresponding to the current waveform of the light emitting element 4. As described above, the battery has an internal resistance, and a voltage drop due to the drive current of the light emitting element 4 occurs each time the battery is operated. When the battery is new and has almost no consumption, neither the first voltage monitoring signal nor the second voltage monitoring signal is output regardless of the presence or absence of the driving current. As the battery is consumed, the voltage becomes lower than the set value A when the current of the light emitting element 4 flows, and only the first voltage monitoring signal is output. When the battery is further consumed, the voltage becomes lower than the set value B when the current of the light emitting element 4 flows, and both the first voltage monitoring signal and the second voltage monitoring signal are output. Become. Therefore, the combination of the first voltage monitoring signal and the second voltage monitoring signal makes it possible to judge the voltage range of the power supply circuit 1 by dividing it into three ranges. The control means 3 inputs the first voltage monitoring signal and the second voltage monitoring signal, judges the degree of consumption of the battery based on the combination, and controls one of the transistors of the drive circuit 5 according to the judgment result. By applying a signal, the light emitting element is driven by gradually changing to a current control resistor having a small resistance value. FIG. 10 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the current of the light emitting element and the consumption of the battery in this case. As can be seen from the figure, the resistance value of the current control resistor is set to 3 according to the degree of battery consumption.
By driving in different stages, the size of the drive current of the light emitting element is kept almost constant regardless of the consumption of the battery,
Substantially extending battery life.

In the above embodiment, the range of the power supply voltage is divided into two, and the resistance value of the current control resistor is changed in two steps, and the range of the power supply voltage is divided into three and the current control resistor is judged. Although the case where the resistance value of the light emitting element is changed to three levels has been described, it is needless to say that the larger the number of sections and the number of steps are set, the smaller the change in the current value of the light emitting element can be controlled to be kept constant. Yes.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the voltage monitoring means detects the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized, and the battery consumption is judged based on the result, and the judgment is made. As a result, by sequentially changing the resistance value of the current control resistor to a small value in accordance with the degree of battery consumption and driving the light emitting element, the intensity of the optical signal is almost constant even if the battery is consumed. It will be possible to maintain remote control without fail.

The battery consumption can be reduced by operating the voltage monitoring means 2 only while the optical signal is being sent out and not operating it when the optical signal is not being sent out.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention according to claim 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. In the configuration shown in the first embodiment, since the power supply voltage monitoring means detects the voltage including the influence of the voltage drop after the light emitting element starts to be energized, the control means determines the resistance value of the current control resistor in the middle of the signal. From the middle, and the intensity may change from the middle of the optical signal. This embodiment provides means for solving this problem as well.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description will be omitted. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the storage means 6 is provided, the voltage monitoring signal output from the voltage monitoring means 2 is stored in the storage means 6, and the control means 3 is stored in the storage means 6. The voltage range of the power supply circuit is determined by the control. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the above structure, when the operator performs a remote operation, the control means executes the control by the voltage monitor signal in the previous operation stored in the storage means 6, and the storage means 6 controls the voltage in the current operation. Rewrite as a supervisory signal. Since a large current for driving the light emitting element does not flow between the previous operation and the current operation, the battery is not substantially consumed, and the voltage monitoring signal stored in the storage unit 6 corresponds well to the battery consumption. is doing. Therefore, the remote operation can be performed while the battery power is being consumed and the intensity does not change in the middle of the optical signal.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the voltage monitoring signal in the previous operation is stored in the storage means 6, and the voltage range of the power supply circuit 1 is judged by the voltage monitoring signal to determine the resistance of the current control resistor. By driving by changing the value, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained without changing the intensity in the middle of the optical signal.

In FIG. 8, the transistor 21 is the voltage monitoring means 2 only during the period when the light emitting element is transmitting an optical signal.
For operating the voltage monitoring means 2 during the optical signal transmission period by turning on the transistor 21 in synchronism with the transmission of the optical signal from the control means 3. There is an effect of reducing the consumption of the battery by deactivating the voltage monitoring means.

(Embodiment 3) An embodiment of the present invention according to claim 3 will be described below with reference to the drawings. Although the voltage monitoring signal in the previous operation is stored in the second embodiment, when the period between the previous operation and the current operation is very long, the battery may be exhausted, and the voltage monitoring in the previous operation may be performed. In some cases, the signal may not match the current operating situation. This embodiment provides means for solving this problem as well. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. It should be noted that the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the storage means 6 and the monitoring transmission instruction means 7 are provided.

In the figure, the monitoring transmission instruction means 7 instructs the control means 3 at a predetermined cycle to control the light emitting element to output a pseudo optical signal. Further, the storage means 6 stores the voltage monitoring signal when the pseudo optical signal is output. This pseudo optical signal is a signal similar to the optical signal for remote control and is a signal that cannot be remotely controlled.

To explain the operation in the above configuration, the monitoring transmission instruction means 7 instructs the control means 3 to send out a pseudo optical signal at a predetermined cycle. The voltage monitoring means 2 monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit 1, and by sending this pseudo signal, the voltage when the light emitting element 4 is energized can be detected, and a voltage monitoring signal is output to the storage means 6. Since the pseudo optical signal is similar to the normal optical signal, the voltage monitoring signal based on the pseudo optical signal has the same voltage state as when the normal optical signal is being transmitted. The control means 3 determines the voltage range of the power supply circuit 1 based on the voltage monitoring signal stored in the storage means 6, controls the drive circuit 5 as in the first embodiment, and sets the current control resistance in accordance with the voltage range. The optical signal is emitted from the light emitting element 4 by changing the optical signal. By this operation, even if the period between the previous operation and the current operation is long, the battery consumption is checked regularly and stored in the storage means, and the latest voltage monitoring signal is used for control. In addition, the intensity of the optical signal does not change in the middle of the optical signal as in the second embodiment.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the control means 3 controls the pseudo optical signal to be transmitted at a predetermined cycle in accordance with the instruction from the monitoring transmission instruction means 7, and the voltage monitoring means 2 has the pseudo optical signal. Is output, the voltage monitoring signal corresponding to the voltage of the power supply circuit 1 is output to and stored in the storage means 6, and the control means 3 changes the resistance value of the current control resistor stepwise by the voltage monitoring signal. By controlling to output an optical signal, even if the operation interval is long and the battery is depleted, the optical signal can be sent according to the latest state of exhaustion. Can be sent stably without changing.

The voltage monitoring means may monitor the voltage even during transmission of a normal optical signal, and the storage means 6 may store the voltage monitoring signal at that time, or the normal optical signal or pseudo signal. It goes without saying that a means for operating the voltage monitoring means may be used only while the optical signal is being sent.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention according to claim 1 is directed to a power supply circuit for supplying electric power from a battery and a voltage monitor for monitoring the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputting a voltage monitor signal. Means, a light emitting element for outputting an optical signal for remote control, control means for generating an electrical signal for generating the optical signal and controlling the operation of the device, and a current control resistor in series with the light emitting element. And connected to the power supply circuit, a drive circuit for flowing a drive current,
The control means inputs the voltage monitoring signal, and gradually changes the resistance value of the current control resistor in accordance with the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized. By selecting a current control resistor having a smaller resistance value in order as the voltage becomes lower, the battery is consumed by controlling the intensity of the optical signal to be substantially constant in response to the battery consumption. Even if the intensity of the optical signal is not lowered, the life of the battery can be substantially lengthened, and the present invention according to claim 2 provides a power supply circuit for supplying power by a battery and a voltage of the power supply circuit. Voltage monitoring means for monitoring and outputting a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element for outputting an optical signal for remote control, and control means for generating an electric signal for generating the optical signal and controlling the operation of the device When A current control resistor is inserted in series with the light emitting element and connected to the power supply circuit, and a drive circuit for supplying a drive current and a voltage monitoring signal stored in the previous operation are output to the control means and the current operation is performed in the above Storage means for storing the voltage monitoring signal output by the voltage monitoring means,
The control means inputs the voltage monitoring signal stored by the storage means in the previous operation, and the current control resistor corresponds to the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized in the previous operation. By gradually changing the resistance value of the power supply circuit and selecting a current control resistor having a smaller resistance value as the voltage of the power supply circuit becomes lower, the intensity of the optical signal is substantially constant in response to the consumption of the battery. When the battery is exhausted, the intensity of the optical signal can be prevented from lowering by controlling so that the optical signal is kept at a constant value, and the intensity is stable without changing in the middle of the optical signal. Further, the present invention according to claim 3 Is a power supply circuit that supplies power by a battery, a voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for remote control, and the optical signal A control circuit for generating an electric signal for generating the signal and controlling the operation of the device; a drive circuit for inserting a current control resistor in series with the light emitting element and connecting the current control resistor to the power supply circuit; Storing transmission instructing means for giving to the control means an instruction to send a pseudo optical signal to the element at a predetermined cycle, and the voltage monitoring signal when the light emitting element is energized while sending the pseudo optical signal. The storage means for inputting the voltage monitoring signal stored by the storage means, sending the pseudo optical signal to the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized. Corresponding to the consumption of the battery, the resistance value of the current control resistor is changed step by step, and the current control resistor having a sequentially smaller resistance value is selected as the voltage of the power supply circuit becomes lower. By controlling the optical signal intensity so that it remains almost constant, it is possible to prevent the optical signal intensity from decreasing even when the battery is exhausted, and the intensity does not change in the middle of the optical signal. Even if the operation period is long and the battery is depleted, the intensity of the optical signal can be set based on the latest consumption information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 2;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 3;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing another configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the voltage of the power supply circuit and the degree of battery consumption in the embodiment of the remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, corresponding to the current waveform of the light emitting element. Characteristic diagram

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the current value of the light emitting element and the degree of battery consumption in the embodiment of the remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing another configuration of an embodiment of a remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention according to claim 1.

9 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the voltage of the power supply circuit and the degree of battery consumption in the embodiment of the remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention shown in FIG. 8 in correspondence with the current waveform of the light emitting element.

10 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the current value of the light emitting element and the degree of battery consumption in the embodiment of the remote control device for an air conditioner of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a conventional remote control device for an air conditioner.

FIG. 12 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the current value of a light emitting element and the degree of battery consumption in a conventional remote control device for an air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 power supply circuit 2 voltage monitoring means 3 control means 4 light emitting element 5 drive circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H04B 10/06

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A power supply circuit for supplying electric power from a battery,
A voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for remote control, and an electrical signal that generates the optical signal and that of the device. Control means for controlling the operation, a current control resistor is inserted in series with the light emitting element and connected to the power supply circuit, and a drive circuit for supplying a drive current is provided, and the control means inputs the voltage monitoring signal, The resistance value of the current control resistor is changed stepwise in accordance with the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when the light emitting element is energized, and the resistance value of the current control resistor gradually decreases as the voltage becomes lower. A remote control device for an air conditioner, which controls to keep the intensity of an optical signal substantially constant in response to exhaustion of the battery by selecting a small current control resistor. 2. A power supply circuit for supplying electric power from a battery,
A voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for remote control, and an electrical signal that generates the optical signal and that of the device. A control means for controlling the operation, a current control resistor inserted in series in the light emitting element and connected to the power supply circuit, a drive circuit for supplying a drive current, and a voltage monitoring signal stored in the previous operation are supplied to the control means. And a storage unit that stores the voltage monitoring signal output by the voltage monitoring unit in the current operation, and the control unit inputs the voltage monitoring signal stored by the storage unit in the previous operation, and the light emitting element According to the range of the voltage of the power supply circuit when it was energized in the previous operation, the resistance value of the current control resistor is changed stepwise so that the voltage of the power supply circuit is in the low range. Sequentially by selecting a small current control resistor resistance value, substantially the remote operation apparatus of the air conditioner to be controlled to maintain a constant intensity of the optical signal in response to exhaustion of the battery. 3. A power supply circuit for supplying electric power from a battery,
A voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the power supply circuit and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, a light emitting element that outputs an optical signal for remote control, and an electrical signal that generates the optical signal and that of the device. A control means for controlling the operation, a drive circuit for inserting a current control resistor into the light emitting element in series and connecting the current control resistor to the power supply circuit to flow a drive current, and an instruction to send a pseudo optical signal to the light emitting element are predetermined. The control means is provided with a monitoring transmission instruction means to be given to the control means in a cycle, and a storage means for storing the voltage monitor signal when the light emitting element is energized while the pseudo optical signal is being sent. The resistance value of the current control resistor is set in accordance with the voltage range of the power supply circuit when the voltage monitoring signal stored in the storage means is input, the pseudo optical signal is transmitted, and the light emitting element is energized. Strange , By selecting current control resistors whose resistance values are successively smaller as the voltage of the power supply circuit becomes lower, so that the intensity of the optical signal is controlled to be substantially constant in response to the consumption of the battery. Air conditioner remote control device. 4. A plurality of sets of series circuits of a current control resistor and a drive element for energizing a light emitting element according to a control signal of a control means are connected in parallel, and the resistance values of the current control resistors of each set are different from each other. Equipped with a drive circuit set to a predetermined value,
4. The remote control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control means selects one of the sets to give a control signal to switch the value of the current control resistor stepwise. 5. A drive circuit comprising a plurality of series circuits of a current control resistor and a drive element for energizing a light emitting element according to a control signal of a control means, wherein the current control resistors are connected in series to each other. The remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the means selects one of the sets to give a control signal to switch the resistance value of the current control resistor stepwise. 6. The voltage monitoring means detects the power supply voltage when the light emitting element is energized by dividing the power supply voltage into two parts above and below a predetermined value and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, and the control means sets the resistance value of the current control resistor to two.
The remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the remote control device is changed in stages. 7. The voltage monitoring means detects the power supply voltage when the light emitting element is energized in three stages according to two different predetermined voltages and outputs a voltage monitoring signal, and the control means outputs the resistance value of the current control resistor. Claim 1 which changed to three steps
7. The remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of 1 to 5. 8. The voltage monitoring means outputs a first voltage monitoring signal when the power supply voltage falls below a predetermined first voltage, and the power supply voltage falls below a predetermined second voltage. And a second voltage monitoring means for outputting a second voltage monitoring signal when the control signal becomes, and the control means inputs the first voltage monitoring signal and the second voltage monitoring signal and 6. The remote control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the power supply voltage is determined in three stages and the resistance value of the current control resistor is changed in three stages. 9. The remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the voltage monitoring means is operated only during transmission of an optical signal.