JPH08289374A - Remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the remote control device which surely reports the consumption of a battery constituting a driving power source to an operator with respect to a wireless transmitter which doesn't have a display part. CONSTITUTION: A detection circuit to detect the consumption of a battery 20 is provided on the side of a transmitter 11, and a code signal indicating the consumption of the battery 20 is sent when this consumption is detected. When the consumption of the battery is received, information 15 indicating this consumption is displayed on the display part of a screen 14 on the side of a device to be controlled, for example, a television receiver 10.

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, and more particularly to a remote control device which causes a controlled device to perform a predetermined operation in response to a command signal from a transmitter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when receiving a television broadcast by a television receiver, channel selection and volume adjustment can be operated by a remote control transmitter at a position remote from the television receiver. By pressing the channel selection button of the transmitter, the channel of the television broadcast to be received is selected, and by operating the volume adjustment button, the level of the sound reproduced by the speaker is adjusted.

Even a video tape recorder can be operated normally by a remote controller. By pressing a mode selection button on the transmitter of the remote controller, a reproduction mode,
Various modes such as a recording mode, a fast-forward mode, and a rewinding mode can be selected.

[0004]

Thus, a remote control device in which a transmitter transmits a control signal from a position remote from a controlled device to perform remote control has a power supply inside the transmitter. The internal battery is accommodated, and the internal circuit is driven and the control signal is transmitted by such a battery.

Some transmitters of the remote control have a display unit, and some have only a control button and no display unit. In the case of a display unit, when the battery is exhausted, it is possible to display that fact, but such a display is so small that it is easy to miss it,
There is a problem that the operator cannot be surely made to recognize that the battery is exhausted. Further, in a transmitter that does not have a display unit, the user cannot know the battery consumption state. Further, providing such a display not only increases the cost but also has a problem that it is difficult to realize.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the battery constituting the power supply of the transmitter of the remote control device is exhausted, the remote control is provided so that it can be surely notified. The purpose is to provide an operating device.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a power source of the transmitter is configured in a remote control device which causes a controlled device to perform a predetermined operation in response to a command signal from the transmitter. Detection means for detecting the state of consumption of the battery,
When the detector detects that the battery is exhausted, the transmitter is provided with transmitting means for transmitting that fact, and when a signal indicating that the battery is exhausted is transmitted from the transmitter The present invention relates to a remote control device in which a device for displaying or warning is provided in a controlled device.

That is, the present invention comprises a transmitter which is operated by a battery and a controlled device which is remotely operated by the transmitter. The transmitter is provided with a battery exhaustion detecting means and the battery is exhausted. In that case, in addition to the original operation command on the transmitter side, a consumption state command is transmitted to the controlled device side, and the controlled device side gives an appropriate display or warning to the user. On the other hand, it is designed to prompt replacement of the battery.

The detecting means may detect the exhaustion of the battery by the voltage drop of the detecting resistor at the time of transmitting a normal command. Alternatively, the detection means is composed of a detection resistor, and the output terminal of this detection resistor is an A / D of the microcomputer.
It may be connected to the input terminal.

The display of the controlled device may display that the battery of the transmitter has been exhausted to prompt the operator to replace the battery. Alternatively, when the battery of the transmitter is exhausted, the sound output unit of the controlled device may give an alarm.

[0011]

When the detecting means of the transmitter detects that the battery is exhausted, the fact is transmitted to the controlled device. When the signal indicating that the battery is exhausted is transmitted, the controlled device displays or warns of the fact.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a television receiver 10 and a transmitter 11 which constitute a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The transmitter 11 is provided with a channel selection button, a volume control button, etc. When these buttons are operated, a command signal is transmitted. Then, this command signal comes to be received by the receiving section 12 of the television receiver 10, whereby the channel is switched and the volume of the speaker is adjusted.

In the television receiver 10, when the battery 20 of the transmitter 11 is exhausted, the fact is displayed as a battery exhaustion display 15 at a predetermined position of the screen 14, for example, the lower right part. By doing so, the operator is notified of the exhaustion of the battery of the transmitter 11.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit of the transmitter 11. The transmitter 11 is adapted to be driven by a battery 20. The battery 20 is connected to both ends of a series circuit including a detection resistor 21, a data signal transmission LED 22, and a transistor 23. Moreover, the base of the transistor 23 is connected to the output port of the microcomputer 24. A key switch 26 corresponding to the operation button of the transmitter 11 is connected to the input port side of the microcomputer 24.

The connection point between the detection resistor 21 and the battery 20 is connected to the emitter of the detection transistor 28, and the connection point between the detection resistor 21 and the LED 22 is connected to the base of the transistor 28. The collector of the transistor 28 is connected to another input port of the microcomputer 24. The resistor 21 and the transistor 28 constitute a detecting means for detecting the consumption of the battery 20.

In the above-mentioned structure, when the operation button of the transmitter 11 is operated, a predetermined key switch 26 is closed, so that the output of the key switch 26 is output from the microcomputer 2.
4 is input. The microcomputer 24 supplies the output signal of the code corresponding to the closed key switch 26 to the base of the transistor 23 through the output port. Then, the transistor 23 becomes conductive according to the output of the microcomputer 24. When the transistor 23 is turned on, a current flows through the resistor 21, the LED 22, the collector of the transistor 23, and the emitter of the transistor 20 in this order, and the LED 22 emits light in a pulsed manner. Therefore, the command signal is transmitted by such light emission of the LED 22.

Such a command signal is received by the receiving section 12 of the television receiver 10 shown in FIG. 1, and the television receiver 10 responds to a corresponding operation, for example, a code such as channel selection or volume adjustment. I am trying to do it.

During transmission by the transmitter 11, a current flows through the detection resistor 21 as described above. When the battery 20 is exhausted, the voltage drop across the detection resistor 21 decreases,
The potential difference between the emitter and base of the transistor 28 becomes small. As a result, the transistor 28 does not conduct. Therefore, by detecting such a non-conducting state of the transistor 28 by the microcomputer 24, the battery 20
It becomes possible to detect the consumption of.

FIG. 3 shows the operation of such a microcomputer 24. The microcomputer 24 determines whether or not a key of the transmitter 11 is pressed, and when the key is pressed, the command of the corresponding code is sent. Send a signal. Further, the microcomputer 24 detects the voltage at the time of sending by the detection resistor 21 and the transistor 28. Then, it is determined whether the voltage is proper or not depending on whether or not the transistor 28 is turned off. When the transistor 28 is no longer conducting, the microcomputer 24 determines that the voltage is low and transmits data indicating that the "battery has run out".
This transmission is also performed by switching the transistor 23 by the microcomputer 24.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of the controlled device, for example, the television receiver 10 side. Here, it is judged whether or not a command signal is received, and if it is received, the command is executed. . Execution of the command may be various operations such as channel selection and volume adjustment.

Further, after this, the television receiver 10 side determines whether or not the data indicating that the "battery has run out" is received, and "battery runs out".
When the data indicating that is received, as shown in FIG. 1, a display 15 such as "BATTERY" is displayed on the lower right portion of the screen 14, for example. Therefore, the operator can know from the display 15 displayed on the screen 14 of the television receiver 10 whether or not the battery of the power source of the transmitter 11 has been consumed.

Instead of the display 15 on the screen 14 of the CRT, the speaker of the television receiver 10 may be used to issue an alarm indicating "battery is exhausted".

As described above, in this embodiment, when the operation button is operated, the microcomputer 20 is operated by the built-in battery 20.
4 and the data transmission LED 22 are driven to cause the television receiver 10 to perform a predetermined operation, the transmitter 11 is provided with a detection circuit for detecting battery exhaustion. It is a thing.

For example, by detecting the voltage drop of the detection resistor 21 at the time of sending data, the increase in the internal resistance of the battery is detected and the life of the battery is judged. When the battery is exhausted, the fact that the battery is exhausted is displayed on the screen 14 of the television receiver 10.
Is displayed on the display unit 15. Therefore, even in the transmitter 11 which does not have a display unit itself, it is possible to reliably transmit the consumption of the battery to the user.
The transmitter 11 itself may have the display unit.

FIG. 5 shows a modified detection circuit. Here, in order to detect consumption of the battery 20, a series circuit of a resistor 31 and a capacitor 32 is connected to both ends of the battery 20. The connection point between the resistor 31 and the capacitor 32 is connected to the A / D input terminal 33 of the microcomputer 24. The microcomputer 24 can detect the consumption of the battery 20 by the voltage generated at the connection point between the resistor 31 and the capacitor 32 when the transistor 23 is turned on and data is transmitted.

According to such a modification, the voltage drop of the battery 20 can be directly detected from the voltage generated at the connection point between the resistor 31 and the capacitor 32. That is, the transistor 28 in the first embodiment can be omitted to detect the voltage of the battery 20.

6 and 7 show another modification. In this modification, the transmitter 11 is further provided with a battery check button 35 in addition to the normal operation button.
When 5 is pressed, the internal detection circuit detects the exhausted state of the battery 20.

FIG. 7 shows such an operation. When the battery check button 35 is pressed, it is detected whether or not the battery 20 is exhausted and whether or not the battery is normal. When the battery is exhausted, the transmitter 11 transmits data indicating that the battery is exhausted. Therefore, it suffices to display or give an alarm on the television receiver side 10. Such an alarm is displayed on the screen 14 as shown in FIG.
5 may be used. Alternatively, a speaker may be used to notify that the battery is exhausted by voice synthesis.

Although the above embodiment relates to a remote control device for a television receiver, the present invention is applicable to remote control devices for video tape recorders, audio equipment, and various other equipment.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the detecting means detects the exhausted state of the battery which constitutes the power source of the transmitter, and when the detecting means detects that the battery is exhausted, that fact is detected. Is transmitted to the controlled device side by the transmitting means, and when a signal indicating that the battery is exhausted is transmitted from the transmitter, the controlled device displays or warns.

Therefore, when the battery on the transmitter side is exhausted,
This can be surely notified to the operator by the display means or alarm means on the controlled device side.
Therefore, it becomes possible to make the operator surely recognize the fact that the battery is exhausted, especially in the transmitter having no display means.

According to the structure in which the detecting means of the transmitter detects the consumption of the battery by the voltage drop of the detecting resistor at the time of transmission, it becomes possible to detect the voltage by utilizing the drive current at the time of transmission. At the same time, whether or not the battery is exhausted is automatically detected during transmission.

According to the constitution in which the detecting means is composed of the detecting resistor and the output terminal of the detecting resistor is connected to the A / D input terminal of the microcomputer, the voltage of the battery is directly detected. And the detection circuit is simplified.

According to the configuration in which the display unit of the controlled device indicates that the battery of the transmitter is exhausted, the display unit of the controlled device can surely display the exhaustion of the battery, and It is possible to display the consumption of the battery without providing a display means.

According to the structure in which the voice output unit of the controlled device gives an alarm when the battery of the transmitter is exhausted, the voice output unit of the controlled device surely gives an alarm without providing special alarm means. Can be issued.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a transmitter.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transmitter.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation on the controlled device side.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit of a transmitter of a modified example.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a transmitter of a modified example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of a transmitter of a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Television Receiver 11 Transmitter 12 Receiver 14 Screen 15 Battery Display 20 Battery 21 Resistor (Detection Resistor) 22 LED (Data Transmitter) 23 Transistor 24 Microcomputer 26 Key Switch 28 Transistor 31 Resistor 32 Capacitor 33 A / D Input terminal 35 Battery check button

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device configured to cause a controlled device to perform a predetermined operation in response to a command signal from a transmitter, the detection being performed to detect a consumed state of a battery constituting a power source of the transmitter. Means and transmitting means for transmitting the fact that the battery is exhausted when the detecting means detects that the battery is exhausted, and a signal indicating that the battery is exhausted is transmitted from the transmitter. A remote control device in which a controlled device is provided with means for displaying or alarming that. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection means detects battery exhaustion by a voltage drop across a detection resistor during transmission. 3. The detection means is composed of a detection resistor, and the output terminal of the detection resistor is an A / D of a microcomputer.
The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the remote control device is connected to an input terminal. 4. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit of the controlled device indicates that the battery of the transmitter has been exhausted. 5. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein an alarm is output by a voice output unit of the controlled device when the battery of the transmitter is exhausted.