JPH0775181A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily operate a portable equipment even when an operator is handicapped in sight by providing a means for detecting the operation of this portable equipment itself and performing control corresponding to the detected result with a receiving means. CONSTITUTION:Control contents are provided with mutually opposite meaning such as the ON of a power source when the portable equipment is pushed forward or the OFF of the power source when it is pulled backward. When the portable equipment 204 is made to move, information showing the acceleration and the direction detected by a forward/backward sensor 210, right/left sensor 211 and up/down sensor 212 is stored in a RAM. This acceleration information is sent to a transmission part 203 and transmitted from the transmission part 203 to a receiving means 207. When a reception part 205 receives the acceleration information, this is stored in the RAM, next, this information is read out, a feature extraction program stored in a ROM is read out, and the pattern of acceleration is investigated by using this program. With this investigated pattern as a retrieval key, the inside of a control information table is retrieved, and a control instruction corresponding to this pattern is read out.

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 comprising a portable portable device and receiving means for controlling the device in accordance with instructions from the portable device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A remote control device of this type operates a portable device provided in the device to turn on / off a channel of a device to be controlled, for example, a television, a video, a stereo, an air conditioner, and a channel. Controls such as change and mode change can be performed, and the operator can control this device by operating the portable device even when the operator is away from the device to be controlled. It is a convenient device. Furthermore, for example, when the operator is unable to approach the equipment because the equipment to be controlled is located at a high place or there is an obstacle in front of the equipment, or when the operator cannot move the equipment (eg, foot It is also a particularly necessary device when a person who cannot move due to injury etc. controls equipment.

As a conventional remote control device, as shown in FIG. 12, a portable device 105 including an input unit 101, a control command table 102, a control command reading unit 103, and a transmitting unit 104, and a controlled device. The receiving means 106 is directly attached to 107. The input unit 101 is composed of a large number of control keys (note that these keys have a display indicating the control content).
When pressed, these keys generate an identification code for the key. Based on the identification code, for example, power on / off, channel change, mode change, etc. are controlled. The control command table 102 stores the identification code and the control command signal in association with each other.
The control command reading unit 103 uses the identification code generated in the input unit 101 as a search key, and the control command table 10
From 2, the control command signal corresponding to the identification code is read. The transmitting means 104 transmits the control command signal to the receiving means 106 by using infrared rays. The receiving means 106 receives the signal from the transmitting means 104 and sends it to the controlled device 107 in the subsequent stage. After this, the control target device 1
This device operates according to the control command due to the configuration of 07.

With the above-described structure, first, the operator finds a key on which a desired control content is displayed from a large number of keys on the input unit 101, and presses the key. Then, the identification code of the key is generated, and the control instruction reading means 103 reads the control instruction corresponding to the identification code from the control instruction table 102. The receiving unit 1 receives the control command read by the transmitting unit 104.
06, the receiving means 106 receives the data, sends it to the controlled device 107 in the subsequent stage, and controls the device 107.

[0005]

However, in the above conventional configuration, in order to control the device to be controlled as desired by the operator, as described above, the operator first
You must find the key that suits the control you are going to do. However, the key to finding the desired key from multiple keys is only the display on the key,
In the case of a visually impaired person, or when the surroundings are dark even if the eyes are not visually impaired, the operator cannot read the display and cannot find the key. Further, there is a problem that a person who is unfamiliar with the displayed language or mark, or a child who is not taught how to read the characters cannot understand the displayed content and cannot find the key.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device capable of controlling a device without selecting a key.

[0007]

According to the invention of claim 1 for achieving the above object, a portable device, a transmission information from the portable device, and a control based on this transmission information are accepted. A remote control device comprising: a receiving unit that controls a device to be controlled based on an instruction, wherein the portable device includes a detecting unit that detects a movement of the portable device itself.
It is characterized in that the receiving means includes a control unit that causes the device to perform control corresponding to the detection result. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the detection means detects at least a first direction line detection unit that detects a movement of the portable device along a first direction line, and a movement of the portable device along a second direction line. It is characterized by comprising a second direction line detection unit for detecting. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in each of the directional lines, the direction detector that generates a different signal when the portable device moves in a positive direction and when it moves in a negative direction is provided in the portable device. In preparation for this, the portable device has the same moving direction, and the control contents of the control means corresponding to the positive moving direction and the negative moving direction are selected to have opposite meanings. It is characterized by

[0008]

According to the structure of the invention of claim 1, when the operator moves the portable device, the detecting means detects the movement of the portable device, and the control result is determined, and the control unit determines The control is applied to the equipment. Therefore, if the operator knows the relationship between the movement of the portable device and the control contents of the control unit corresponding to the movement, and the operator moves the portable device accordingly, the operator's desired procedure is followed according to the procedure described above. Anyway the device works.

According to the configuration of the second aspect of the invention, the movements along the first direction line and the second direction line can be detected as different movements. Here, since the control of the device is associated with the detection operation of the portable device, different control of the device can be associated with different movements of the portable device. Then, the operator can cause the device to control different contents by changing how to move the portable device. Further, if the movement along the other direction line can be detected in addition to the movement along the first direction line and the movement along the second direction line, the control content for the device can be further increased.

According to the structure of the third aspect of the present invention, positive and negative movements different in direction only can be detected in the directions along the same direction line, and the control contents of the devices for the different directions are mutually different. It has the opposite meaning, so if the operator only knows how the device can be controlled, for example, by moving the handheld device in a positive direction along a line of direction, The control content of the device with respect to the movement in the negative direction can be known from the direction line. That is, only knowing the control of the device with respect to the movement of the portable device in one direction can naturally understand the control of the device with respect to the other direction of the portable device.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote control device according to the present invention. This remote control device comprises a portable device 204 and a receiving means 207. Further, the portable device 204 includes a detection unit 201, a control unit 202, and a transmission unit 203, and the reception unit 207 includes a reception unit 205 and a control unit 206.

The detection unit 201 is composed of three acceleration sensors (front-back direction sensor 210, left-right direction sensor 211, up-down direction sensor 212). FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor includes an acceleration detector 213, a capacitance converter 214, and a processing circuit 2.
16 and a differential circuit 215. The acceleration detection unit 213 is mainly composed of three metal plates a, b, c as shown in the schematic view of FIG.
Is fixed, and the central metal plate b is a spring e with one end fixed.
It is supported by 1, e2, e3, e4, and the metal plate b can move in the left-right direction while resisting the springs e1, e2, e3, e4. (Note that the spring e1,
e2, e3, and e4 have the same spring coefficient and the same length, and when no force is applied, the central metal plate b supported by them is at the left and right center of the left and right metal plates a and c. positioned. The capacitance conversion unit 214 is composed of two converters, one of which is connected to the metal plates a and b, and the capacitance C1 between the metal plates a and b is formed by a known method.
Is detected and a voltage output having a magnitude corresponding to the value of C1 is emitted. The remaining one also detects the electrostatic capacitance C2 between the metal plates b and c in the same procedure as described above, and outputs a voltage output of a magnitude corresponding to the value of this C2. The differential circuit 215 is a circuit that determines the direction of acceleration by comparing the sizes of the two capacitances C1 and C2 obtained from the capacitance conversion unit 214. Now, when the portable device is moved to the right with the acceleration α, the metal plate b is displaced in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the portable device as shown in FIG. When this displacement amount is x, C1 and C2 can be expressed by equations (1) and (2), respectively.

C1 = ε (S / (d−x)) (1) C2 = ε (S / (d + x)) (2) where ε is the dielectric constant and S is the metal plate a. , B and the facing areas of b and c, and d is the distance between the metal plates a and c on both sides when the metal plate b is in the center. There is a relationship of C1> C2 ... (3) from (1) and (2), and the differential circuit 215 determines this relationship,
A signal indicating that the acceleration direction is rightward is output. Although not shown, when the portable device is moved to the left,
The central metal plate b moves in the opposite direction, in which case C1 and C
Since the relationship of C1 <C2 is established between the two, the differential circuit 215 outputs a signal indicating that the direction of acceleration is leftward from the comparison result of C1 and C2.

The processing circuit 216 includes the capacitance conversion section 21.
From the values of the two electrostatic capacitances C1 and C2 obtained from 4, the acceleration α
To measure the size. The measurement principle of the processing circuit 216 will be described with reference to FIG. First, as a result of the portable device moving to the right at the acceleration α, the force F applied to the central metal plate b.
Becomes F = kx (4) However, k is the elastic constant of the spring. Further, when the mass of the metal plate b is m, F = ma ... (5) is established from the equation of motion, and therefore the acceleration α is α = (k / m) x from the equations (4) and (5). (6) On the other hand, the electrostatic capacitances C1 and C2 are expressed by the equations (1) and (2)
Therefore, if x is eliminated by using the equations (1), (2) and (6), α = − (kεS / m) C1 + kd / m = (kεS / m) C2-kd / m ··・ (7) is obtained. In the formula, since d, k, m, and ε are known constants, the magnitude α of acceleration can be calculated from C1 and C2.
The processing circuit 216 calculates the magnitude of the acceleration by performing the calculation of the equation (7) and outputs it. The output signals of the processing circuit 216 and the differential circuit 215 are output to the control unit 202 in the subsequent stage.

The arrangement of the three acceleration sensors in the portable device 204 will be described in detail. FIG. 5 shows an acceleration sensor attached to the portable device 204. That is, the front-rear direction sensor 210 is inserted and held in a recess formed on the upper surface of the portable device 204, and further, the moving direction of the metal plate b at the center thereof is aligned with the direction passing through the front-rear surface of the portable device 204. The acceleration and direction of the portable device 204 in the front-rear direction are detected, and the detection result is output as a digital signal. The left-right direction sensor is inserted and held in a concave portion formed on the front surface of the portable device 204, and further, the moving direction of the metal plate b at the center thereof is aligned with the direction passing through the left and right side faces of the portable device 204. The lateral acceleration and direction of the device 204 are detected, and the detection result is output as a digital signal. The vertical direction sensor 212 is inserted and held in a recess formed on the side surface of the portable device 204, and the moving direction of the metal plate b at the center thereof is aligned with the direction passing through the upper and lower surfaces of the portable device 204.
The vertical acceleration and the direction of 4 are detected, and the detection result is output as a digital signal.

The control unit 202 is an input means, CP
The computer is composed of U, ROM, RAM, and output means (not shown). The input means is each of the sensors 2
Digital signals of 10, 211 and 212 are accepted. R
AM is a rewritable memory that temporarily stores the digital signal received by the input means. The ROM is a read-only memory that stores a control program, and outputs the signals from the output unit to the transmission unit 203 in the order determined by the stored control program, and then from the transmission unit 203 to the reception unit 207. To send. Although the contents will be described later, this control unit 202 is shown in FIG.
The flowchart showing the operation of FIG. The transmission unit 203
Each sensor 210, 211, 21 is configured of a light emitting diode (LED) via the control unit 202.
This signal is transmitted by receiving the digital signal from 2 and blinking infrared light according to the digital signal.

Next, the receiving section 205 of the receiving means 207 is composed of a photodiode that receives infrared rays and returns them to a signal, and the magnitude and direction of the acceleration transmitted from the portable device 204 (hereinafter referred to as acceleration information). ) Signal is received. The control unit 206 includes input means, ROM, RAM, CP
The computer is composed of U and output means.
The input unit receives a signal of acceleration information from the receiving unit 205. The ROM and RAM have the same functions as those in the control unit described above, that is, the RAM is a rewritable memory and the ROM is a read-only memory.
The acceleration information of the input means is stored in the
In M, a feature extraction program for investigating the change information of the acceleration information and a control information table are stored. The feature extraction program is to find out in which direction the accelerations appear in which order (hereinafter, this found out is referred to as a pattern). FIG. 7 shows acceleration information detected by the front-rear direction sensor 210 when the portable device 204 is projected forward. When the pattern is examined by using this FIG. 7 as an example, it becomes as follows. "Forward, backward, 0, backward, 0,".

The control information table is a memory in which information on the contents of the above patterns and control commands are stored in association with each other. In FIG. An example of an information table is shown. Index 1 is a longitudinal acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when the portable device 204 is projected forward, and index 2 is a longitudinal acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when the portable device 204 is retracted backward. The index 3 is a vertical acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when the portable device 204 is lowered, and the index 3 is a vertical acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when the portable device 204 is raised. , Index 4 is a portable device 20
4 is the vertical acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when raised 4, index 5 is the horizontal acceleration pattern of the portable device 204 when the portable device 204 is swung to the right, and index 6 is the portable device. It is a pattern of lateral acceleration of the portable device 204 when the device 204 is swung to the left. Note that the index is added to the table for convenience of explanation of the drawings, and therefore the index may be removed from the table.

Further, in this table, when the portable device 204 is moved in the same direction but different directions, for example, if the portable device 204 is pushed forward, the power is turned on, and if the portable device 204 is retracted backward, the power is turned off. The contents of the control to have the opposite meaning to each other, and the relationship between the movement of the portable device 204 and the control command is made easy to understand. CPU is
The feature extraction program in the ROM is read, the signal stored in the RAM is applied to the feature extraction program, the pattern is searched, and the control information table stored in the ROM is stored in the ROM as a search key. A search is performed and the control command corresponding to this pattern is read. The output means outputs the control command read by the CPU as a signal to the control target device 217 in the subsequent stage. Although the contents will be described later, FIG. 9 shows a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 206.

Next, the control section 20 of the portable device 204
The control of 2 will be described. This will be described with reference to the flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 202 in FIG.
When 04 is moved, the front-back direction sensor 210,
Information on the acceleration and the direction detected by the left-right sensor 211 and the up-down sensor 212 is stored in the RAM. Next, it is checked whether or not the RAM has acceleration information in the front-back direction (S1).
To the receiving means 207 from the transmitting unit 203 (S2). Next, it is checked whether or not there is lateral acceleration information in the RAM (S3), and if there is, the receiving means 207 is caused to transmit this acceleration information as in the case of the longitudinal acceleration information described above ( S4). It is checked whether or not there is vertical acceleration information in the RAM (S5), and if there is the acceleration information, the receiving unit 207 is caused to transmit this acceleration information through the transmitting unit 203 (S6), and the control is terminated. In addition,
The above control is performed every time the portable device 204 is moved.

Next, the operation of the control unit 206 of the receiving means 207 will be described. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of the control unit 206 in FIG. 9. When the receiving unit 205 receives the acceleration information (S11), the acceleration information is first stored in the RAM (S12), and then the acceleration information is read out. RO
Reading the feature extraction program stored in M,
Using this program, the acceleration pattern is checked (S13). The control information table is searched by using the pattern thus found as a search key, and the control command corresponding to this pattern is read (S14). The output means uses the read control command as a signal to control the target device 21 at the subsequent stage.
7 (S15), and the control is completed. After that, the controlled device 217 operates according to the command signal. Each time a signal is input to the reception unit 205, the above control is performed, and the control target device 217 in the subsequent stage is operated.

In the above embodiment, acceleration is used to detect the movement of the portable device 204, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, speed may be used. The case where speed is adopted will be described. Figure 10
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a speed detection device showing the principle of speed detection.
The speed detecting device includes a pipe 301 whose both ends are open, and a wind turbine 302 which receives wind passing through the pipe 301 to rotate.
And the rotating body 3 attached to the rotating shaft of the wind turbine 302.
03 and a code device 304 that generates a pulse signal through a hole formed around the rotating body 303. The pipe 301 in the direction in which the portable device 204 moves
When the speed detecting device is attached to the portable device 204 so that the longitudinal direction of the portable device 204 moves, when the portable device 204 moves, the pipe 301 is moved according to the moving speed of the portable device 204.
The wind inside becomes faster. The rotation speed of the wind turbine 302 that receives this wind increases, and similarly, the rotation speed of the rotating body 303 also rises, and the code device 304 generates a pulse signal according to the magnitude of the rotating speed of the rotating body 303. The speed of the portable device 204 is output as this pulse signal.

Further, as an example of detecting the traveling direction of the portable device 204, FIG. 11 shows a rotating body (the rotating body 303 described above).
In the following, in order to distinguish from the direction rotating body 305. )
FIG. The orientation rotating body 305 is formed with three kinds of holes (hereinafter, referred to as C hole, B hole, and A hole from the side closer to the rotation center) at different distances from the rotation center. These A holes, B holes, and C holes are not on a straight line and are arranged so as to be offset from each other. Therefore, when the rotating body 305 rotates in the positive direction in the figure, pulses are generated in the order of A hole, B hole, and C hole, and when the rotating body 305 rotates in the negative direction in the figure, A A pulse is generated by them in the order of hole, C hole, and B hole. If the pulse signals from the holes A, B, and C of the rotating body 303 can be detected as different signals, the direction can be detected by the different order.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the control of equipment is
Since it can be done by moving the portable device itself, for example, if the operator is visually impaired, or if the environment is dark even if the operator is not visually impaired, people who are unfamiliar with the language or marks Even a child who has not been taught how to read can perform the operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an acceleration sensor.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an acceleration detection unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of an acceleration detection unit when a rightward acceleration is generated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an acceleration sensor attached to a portable device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing acceleration information detected by a front-rear direction sensor when the portable device is projected forward.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a control information table when the control target device is a television.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a speed detection device showing the principle of speed detection.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a plan view of a rotating body when detecting a direction.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 201 detection unit 202 control unit 203 transmission unit 204 portable device 205 reception unit 206 control unit 207 reception means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A remote unit comprising a portable portable device and receiving means for receiving transmission information from the portable device and controlling a device to be controlled based on a control command based on the transmission information. In the control device, the portable device includes a detection unit that detects a movement of the portable device itself, and the reception unit includes a control unit that causes the device to perform control corresponding to a result of the detection. Remote control device characterized by. 2. A first direction line detection unit for detecting at least a movement of the portable device along a first direction line, and a detector for detecting a movement of the portable device along a second direction line. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the remote control device comprises a two-way line detection unit. 3. The hand-held device includes a direction detector that generates a different signal in each of the direction lines when the hand-held device moves in a positive direction and when it moves in a negative direction. The moving direction of the portable device is the same, and the control content of the control means corresponding to the case where the moving direction is positive and the case where the moving direction is negative are selected to have mutually opposite meanings. The remote control device according to claim 2.