JP2000209676A - Remote control receiver, electronic device, signal processing method, and storage medium by computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and accurately analyze a remote control signal received by each reception section when a plurality of reception sections for the remote control signal are provided to receive the remote control signal from various directions. SOLUTION: A capture control section 4, capture registers 5, 6 and a free running counter 7 of a microcomputer 3 decode remote control signals S1, S2 received nearly simultaneously by light receiving sections 1, 2. Contents of the decoded signals are checked and a signal with higher order of priority (e.g. a stop signal, in the case of a VTR, from among the stop signal and a play signal or the like) is validated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control receiving apparatus having a plurality of light receiving sections for receiving infrared remote control signals, an electronic apparatus, a signal processing method, and a computer-readable storage medium used in these apparatuses. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a means for operating an electric device or the like from a remote position, a method of transmitting a remote control signal by infrared rays has been widely used. However, infrared rays have high rectilinearity, and the light-receiving part that receives the remote control signal has directivity. For example, even if a remote control signal is transmitted from the opposite side to the light-receiving part, the light cannot be received properly. In some cases, a plurality of light receiving units are provided to receive remote control signals from various directions.

[0003] Among those provided with a plurality of light receiving sections, there are provided one for adding the output of the light receiving section and supplying it to one decoder, and a switch circuit for selecting one of the outputs of each light receiving section. The switch circuit is sequentially switched and supplied to one decoder. If the signal from the selected light receiving section is a specific pattern, the switch is held so that the signal from the light receiving section is input to the decoder, and the decoding is performed. There is one that obtains an output (JP-A-6-105382).

[0004]

However, in the former having a plurality of light receiving parts, if the noise enters one light receiving part, it is added even if the other light receiving part receives a legitimate remote control signal. There was a problem that it was not decoded correctly. Also, the latter is strong against noise because it detects whether or not it contains a specific pattern, but when different commands are entered almost simultaneously at each light receiving unit, only one of the commands can be received, There is a problem that the response from the transmitting side is delayed due to the sequential switching, and the space and cost are disadvantageous because a hardware switching circuit is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a remote control receiver, an electronic device, and a signal processing method capable of responding quickly and accurately according to an input signal to each light receiving unit. It is to be.

[0006]

In a remote control receiving apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of receiving means for receiving a remote control signal; a plurality of decoding means for decoding each remote control signal respectively received by the plurality of receiving means; Processing means for each remote control signal decoded by the plurality of decoding means.

In the computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention, a receiving process of receiving a remote control signal by a plurality of receiving means, a decoding process of separately decoding the received plurality of remote control signals, A program for executing signal processing for processing each remote control signal is stored.

In an electronic device according to the present invention, a plurality of receiving means for receiving a plurality of remote control signals transmitted from a plurality of devices, and a plurality of decoding means for decoding each remote control signal received by the plurality of receiving means are provided. Processing means for selecting a device to be controlled based on each signal decoded by the plurality of decoding means.

In the signal processing method for an electronic device according to the present invention, a plurality of remote control signals from a plurality of devices received by a plurality of receiving units are decoded by a plurality of decoding units, and each of the plurality of decoded remote control signals is decoded by the plurality of decoding units. Select the device to be controlled based on the signal.

In a computer readable storage medium according to the present invention, a plurality of remote control signals received from a plurality of devices by a plurality of receiving units are decoded by a plurality of decoding units by an electronic device, and the plurality of decoding units decode the plurality of remote control signals. A program for realizing selection of a device to be controlled based on each decoded signal is stored.

In a remote control communication system according to the present invention, a plurality of receiving units for receiving a remote control signal, a plurality of decoders for decoding received output signals respectively output from the plurality of receiving units, A data processing unit for comparing output data to determine reliability.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote control receiver, FIG. 2 is an example of a remote control signal, FIG. 3 is a timing chart, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart. . In FIG. 1, 1,
Numeral 2 denotes a light receiving section for infrared remote control signals, which includes a light receiving section sensor, a band pass filter for extracting a remote control signal, an amplifier, and the like. The light receiving units 1 and 2 are mounted, for example, before and after the device so that light can be received from various directions.
Output signals S1 and S2 of the light receiving units 1 and 2 are input to a capture control unit 4 inside the microcomputer via a port of the microcomputer 3.

FIG. 2 shows an example of S1 or S2. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis is a time axis, in which the leader code portion, the custom code portion, the custom code inversion portion, the data code portion, and the data code inversion portion constitute one cycle in the order of transmission, and this cycle is repeated thereafter. Here, the leader code is a trigger for starting a remote control signal, the custom code indicates a code of each manufacturer or a code of a device, and the data code is a command or the like. The pulse width and the like of each code are determined in advance.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, when S1 is input, the capture control unit 4 generates a trigger signal T1 at the time of rising and falling, and is input to the capture register 5. Similarly, at the time of rising and falling of the S2 signal, a trigger signal T2 is generated and input to the capture register 6. On the other hand, the outputs of the free running counter 7 are also input to the capture registers 5 and 6, and the values of the free running counter 7 at the time when the trigger signals T1 and T2 are input are taken into the respective capture registers 5 and 6. Also, capture registers 5 and 6, ROM 10
The RAM 9 is connected to the internal bus 8.

The ROM 10 is a storage medium according to the present invention, and stores a program for the microcomputer 3 to execute a process according to a flowchart shown in FIG. As the storage medium, a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic medium, or the like is used.

Next, a method of decoding a remote control signal received by the light receiving section 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the rising signal of the leader code portion of the output signal S1 is input from the light receiving unit 1 to the capture control unit 4, the trigger signal T1
Occurs, the value a of the free-running counter at that time is taken into the capture register 5, and this value a is sent to the RAM 9 via the internal bus 8.

Next, a trigger signal T1 is also generated at the falling edge of the leader code section, and the value b of the free running counter at that time is taken into the capture register 5, and R
It is sent to AM9. Here, the period of "H" of the leader code is given by the following equation, and is obtained by the arithmetic means inside the microcomputer. (Ba) x (internal clock)

In the same manner, the "H" and "L" periods of each code portion of the remote control signal are obtained. When it is determined that the leader code and the custom code match the pattern stored in advance, the data (command) of the data code is written to the RAM 9 and compared with the command data stored in advance to determine which command was received. Judge.

Similarly, the output signal S2 from the light receiving section 2 can be decoded using the trigger signal T2 and the capture register 6. Even if S1 and S2 are input to the microcomputer 3 at the same time, since they have independent trigger signals T1 and T2 and capture registers 5 and 6, respectively, it is possible to judge each command.

Next, the remote control signal is decoded as described above and the data code (here, command data) is decoded.
After this is determined, the operation of the present embodiment realized by the software of the microcomputer 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a VTR is taken as an example. That is, the light receiving units 1 and 2 and the microcomputer 3 are provided inside the VTR.
And performs an operation in response to a command from a remote controller.

Here, the priority order for receiving each command is as follows. First, stop the tape operation.
Command ”has the highest priority and performs the playback operation.
The "LAY command" is the second, and the other commands have the same order. D1 in FIG. 4 is command data received and decoded by the light receiving unit 1 for the remote control signal, D2 is command data received and decoded by the light receiving unit 2 for the remote control signal,
DSTOP is data of a STOP command, and DPLAY is data of a PLAY command. In the case where either D1 or D2 command data is known and the other is noise or a code of another manufacturer's model, the former command is of course valid.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the microcomputer when a valid command is input to the two light receiving units 1 and 2 at the same time. First, if the command data from both light receiving units 1 and 2 are the same in step 101, step 1
In step 02, the command corresponding to this data is validated. Here, even if there is a shift in the remote control signals input to the light receiving sections 1 and 2 due to reflection or the like, if the cycle for calling the routine of FIG. 4 is made larger than the maximum possible shift amount, this shift is eliminated. Can be absorbed.

If the command data of D1 and D2 are different, if either of them is the data of the STOP command in steps 103 and 105, step 104
To make the STOP command valid. Both are ST
If it is not an OP command, if either is the data of the PLAY command in steps 106 and 108, the process proceeds to step 107, where the PLAY command is validated. If neither is a PLAY command, the flow advances to step 109 to invalidate both commands.

According to the present embodiment, two light receiving sections 1,
2, even if different commands are received, the commands can be prioritized only by the software of the microcomputer 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the device is the same as that of FIG.
The normal remote control signal has a pattern as shown in FIG. 2 as one cycle, and this pattern is repeated while a button on the remote control transmitter is pressed. Therefore, in FIG.
EW is updated with the latest command data from the light receiving unit 1 and D1O
LD is the command data from the immediately preceding light receiving unit 1. Similarly, D2NEW is the latest command data from the light receiving unit 2, and D2OLD is the command data from the immediately preceding light receiving unit 2.

First, in step 201, the command data of D1 is checked twice for coincidence.
At 02, the command data of D2 is checked twice. If they match, it is determined that D2 has higher reliability, and the command corresponding to D2 is validated in step 203. If the data is different at step 202, D1
It is determined that the reliability of D2 is low, and both commands are invalidated in step 204.

Similarly, when the data matches in step 201 and the data in D2 differs in step 205, it is determined that D1 has higher reliability, and the command corresponding to D1 is validated in step 206. Further, in step 205, D2
If these data also match, the process returns to step 1 again and is repeated until the more reliable command data becomes valid.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to judge which command has higher reliability only by the software of the microcomputer.

In the first and second embodiments, the transmission by infrared rays is taken as an example of the remote control signal. However, it goes without saying that the invention can be applied to light rays other than infrared rays, radio waves, or wires. Further, the present invention is realized by using a capture and a free-running counter as a decoding means. However, other than this, for example, even by using an interrupt timer, it can be realized only by a microcomputer. Further, the case where there are two remote control receiving units is taken as an example, but it goes without saying that three or more remote control receiving units can be similarly realized.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are diagrams for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows IrDA in a personal computer.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a device (remote control receiver), FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data format of one system of IrDA,
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the signal processing operation.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 301 denotes an IrDA circuit for transmitting and receiving data by infrared light; 302, an infrared light emitting section for transmission; and 303 and 304, respectively, infrared light receiving sections for reception (receiving means). ), Comprising a light receiving sensor, an amplifier, and the like. The light receiving units 303 and 304 are mounted, for example, before and after a personal computer so that light can be received from various directions. 305 is an encoder unit, 306 and 307 are decoder units (decoding means), and 308 is a data bus inside the personal computer.

As shown in FIG. 7, data is transmitted and received in frame units. The beginning of a frame is called BOF and the end is called EOF, and application data is written in an information section.

In the above configuration, the light receiving section (1)
At 303, when a certain infrared light is received, it is amplified and sent to the decoder (1) 306. The decoder (1) 306 determines whether the transmitted signal has the IrDA data format as shown in FIG. 7 and determines necessary data (the information section in FIG. 7).
Is output to the data bus 308. The same applies to the light receiving unit (2) 304 and the decoder (2) 307. On the other hand, at the time of transmission, data is transmitted from the data bus 308 to the encoder 305, the encoder 305 converts the data into an IrDA data format, and transmits infrared light to another device via the light emitting unit (2) 304. Do.

Next, after the light receiving signal is decoded and found to be IrDA data as described above, the light receiving signal is realized by software of a personal computer (a ROM (not shown)).
(Executed by a processing unit (not shown) based on the program stored by the CPU) (Operation of this embodiment) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this embodiment, the decoder (1) 306, the decoder (2) 307, and the processing means (not shown) are incorporated in one microcomputer (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer) (configured on the same chip).

In the personal computer according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the priority of receiving a command from another device is device A> device B, and the command from the other device is invalid. Also, the data decoded by the decoder (1) 306 is
1. The data decoded by the decoder (2) 307 is
2 and the number of the transmitter in the data (device A, device B)
Is included.

First, in step 401, it is determined whether or not D1 is sent from the device A. If the device A is the device A, the process proceeds to step 402 to make D1 valid. If it is not the device A, the process proceeds to step 403, and it is determined whether D2 is transmitted from the device A. If the device A is the device A, the process proceeds to step 404 to make D2 valid. If it is not device A, step 40
Proceeding to 5, it is determined whether or not D1 is sent from the device B. In the case of the device B, the process proceeds to step 402 to make D1 valid. If the device is not the device B, the process proceeds to step 406 and D2
Is determined to have been sent from the device B, and in the case of the device B, the process proceeds to step 404 to make D2 valid. If it is not the device B, the process proceeds to step 407, and both D1 and D2 are invalidated.

In the case of this embodiment, even if the two light receiving units receive commands from different devices, it is possible to prioritize the devices only by the software of the personal computer.

In this embodiment, the normal IrDA
Is repeated several times in a frame pattern as shown in FIG.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, D1NEW is the latest command data from the light receiving unit 301, D1OLD is the command data from the immediately preceding light receiving unit 301, and D2NEW is the same as the light receiving unit 30.
2 as the latest command data, and D2OLD as 1
The reliability of the command data can be determined by performing the same processing as in the flowchart of FIG. 5 using the command data from the immediately preceding light receiving unit 302 as the command data.

Thus, the reliability of the data command can be determined by the microcomputer software. The number of remote control receiving units is not limited to two, but may be three or more.

As described above, the simple configuration including only a plurality of remote control receiving units and a microcomputer has good space efficiency and low cost. In addition, since a plurality of remote control reception processes can be individually performed almost at the same time, a response to transmission is quick, a time lag due to reflection or the like can be absorbed, and a highly reliable receiving device that is resistant to noise can be provided.
Further, since most of the processing is performed by the software of the microcomputer, various reception characteristics can be obtained only by changing the program, and the versatility is high.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since each remote control signal received by a plurality of receiving means can be independently processed in parallel, different signals including noise from each receiving means can be analyzed quickly and reliably.

According to the present invention, since a plurality of decoding means and processing means are built in one microcomputer,
The response after receiving the remote control is faster, the space efficiency is good, and it can be realized at low cost.

Since the signal with the highest priority among the remote control signals received at substantially the same time is made effective, the most important signal can be responded even when each receiving means receives a different remote control signal. .

Also, since the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received at substantially the same time is made valid, it is possible to respond to the most reliable signal even when each receiving means receives a different remote control signal. Can be.

Further, since the processing means validates the signal of the highest priority among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously, even if a different remote control signal is received by each receiving means, the signal becomes the most important signal. Can respond.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote control receiver according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing an example of a remote control signal.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the operation of a capture register.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an IrDA data format according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a signal processing operation according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 light receiving unit 2 light receiving unit 3 microcomputer 4 capture control unit 5 capture register 6 capture register 7 free running counter 8 internal bus 9 random access memory (RAM) 10 read-only memory (ROM) 301 IrDA circuit 302 light receiving unit 303 light receiving unit (1 ) 304 light receiving section (2) 305 encoder 306 decoder (1) (decoding means) 307 decoder (2) (decoding means) 308 data bus

Claims (20)

[Claims] A plurality of receiving means for receiving a remote control signal; a plurality of decoding means for decoding each remote control signal received by the plurality of receiving means; and a plurality of remote control signals decoded by the plurality of decoding means. A remote control receiving device comprising a processing unit. 2. The remote control receiving device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of decoding means and said processing means are built in one microcomputer. 3. The remote control receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means validates a signal having the highest priority among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously. 4. The remote control receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means validates the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously. 5. A receiving process for receiving a remote control signal by a plurality of receiving means, a decoding process for separately decoding the received plurality of remote control signals, and a signal process for processing each decoded remote control signal. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed. 6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein said signal processing validates a signal having the highest priority among remote control signals received substantially simultaneously. 7. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein the signal processing validates the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously. 8. A plurality of receiving means for receiving a plurality of remote control signals transmitted from a plurality of devices, a plurality of decoding means for decoding each remote control signal received by the plurality of receiving means, and the plurality of decoding means Processing means for selecting a device to be controlled based on each signal decoded by the electronic device. 9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the decoding unit and the processing unit are configured on a same chip. 10. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit validates a signal having the highest priority among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously. 11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit validates the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received almost simultaneously. 12. A plurality of remote control signals from a plurality of devices received by a plurality of receiving units are decoded by a plurality of decoding units, and a device to be controlled is selected based on each signal decoded by the plurality of decoding units. A signal processing method for an electronic device, comprising: 13. The signal processing method for an electronic device according to claim 12, wherein a signal having the highest priority among the remote control signals received substantially simultaneously is made valid. 14. The signal processing method for an electronic device according to claim 12, wherein the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received substantially simultaneously is made effective. 15. An electronic device, wherein a plurality of remote control signals from a plurality of devices received by a plurality of receiving units are decoded by a plurality of decoding units, and control is performed based on the signals decoded by the plurality of decoding units. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for realizing selection of a device. 16. The computer-readable program according to claim 15, wherein a program for realizing a signal having the highest priority among the remote control signals received substantially simultaneously is stored. Storage medium. 17. The computer-readable program according to claim 15, wherein a program for realizing the most reliable signal among the remote control signals received substantially simultaneously is stored. Storage medium. 18. A plurality of receiving sections for receiving a remote control signal, a plurality of decoders for decoding received output signals respectively output from the plurality of receiving sections, and data respectively output from the plurality of decoders. And a data processing unit for determining reliability by remote control. 19. The data processing unit, for each of the plurality of decoders, compares the latest data with the data immediately before the latest data to determine whether they match, and 19. The remote control communication system according to claim 18, wherein data reliability determination results are determined by comparing data match determination results for each decoder. 20. The remote control communication system according to claim 18, wherein said plurality of decoders and said signal processing section are built in one microcomputer.