JP2000324565A - Method for bidirectional remote control communication and device for bidirectional remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bidirectional remote control device which can find a fault in its early stage, make an early recovery, and minimize inconvenience due to the fault. SOLUTION: When the home electronics controller 3 of home electronic equipment is irradiated with a test command start signal from the test command circuit of the bidirectional remote controller 1 through infrared communication using infrared rays 2 by means of an infrared-ray emission circuit, the home electronics controller 3 receives this test command start signal, takes a self- diagnosis by its internal fault detecting circuit, and sends the diagnosis result information back to the bidirectional remote controller 1 by infrared communication using infrared rays 4, the bidirectional remote controller 1 sends a fault detection signal to a fault transmitter 6 by infrared rays 5 when its internal fault detecting circuit detects a fault, and the fault transmitter 6 sends a fault recovery demand to a service station 8 through a network, so that the service station 8 makes a recovery from the fault.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a bidirectional remote controller to perform bidirectional communication between the bidirectional remote controller and a home electronic device, thereby causing a failure from the bidirectional remote control to the home electronic device. The present invention relates to a bidirectional remote control communication method and a bidirectional remote control device which transmit a diagnostic test command signal and a test signal so that a failure diagnosis result of a home electronic device can be returned to the bidirectional remote control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information is one-way. For example, whether it is a broadcast medium represented by a television broadcast or a print medium such as a newspaper or a magazine, there is a sender of information anyway. Is that the recipients at best select the information. However, with the development of electronics technology and the advance of information processing technology and communication technology centering on personal computers (hereinafter abbreviated as personal computers), information transmission from now on becomes bidirectional. Along with this, the recipients so far will also be senders of their own will and information.

[0003] Therefore, in such an era, one of the information distributed from the sender is selected and received,
It can be viewed, listened, stored, and controlled by information captured by electronic devices in the home. Also, "OK", "N"
O's will will be returned and questions will be asked. In the case of such bidirectional communication, it is considered that an intelligent remote controller using infrared rays as an information transmission medium is used as a response input means on the receiver side.

[0004] Regarding the two-way remote control communication using infrared rays, it is known that information can be exchanged with a television or a personal computer using infrared rays communication.
For example, a program guide distributed by digital television broadcasting can be called up by a remote controller and displayed on a liquid crystal display device. In addition, if information displayed on a remote screen is drawn to the user's hand, it is possible to instruct selection and recording of a program by a simple operation.

[0005]

When such two-way remote control communication using infrared rays is put into practical use, it is very convenient for sending and receiving information, but on the other hand, failure of the remote control cannot be tolerated. If the remote controller breaks down, the so-called "home electronics controller" for controlling the home electronic devices will go down, and if it is not recovered quickly, it will cause inconvenience in daily life.

To cope with this, 24
It is necessary to provide a time-operated self-diagnosis function or a backup function. Having a backup function for all the functions of the remote control almost means having another remote control, and the backup function is still limited to some important functions. As described above, the self-diagnosis function using the remote control is important in performing the remote control operation of the home electronic device.

The present invention has been made in view of the importance of the self-diagnosis function of the remote controller, and has been disclosed in the art.
Fast recovery is possible, inconvenience due to failure can be minimized, and failure repair side can easily predict the location of failure, which can reduce the labor and time required for repair. Provided is a two-way remote control communication method and a two-way remote control device that can minimize the addition of a backup function to a two-way remote controller, promote digitization of home appliances, and contribute to improvement of daily life. The purpose is to:

In order to achieve the above object, a bidirectional remote control communication method according to the present invention transmits a test command start signal transmitted from an interactive remote control through an information transmission medium to a home electronic device. A failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device based on the start signal is transmitted from the home electronic device to the bidirectional remote controller.
Further, the bidirectional remote control device of the present invention diagnoses the presence or absence of a self-failure by the self-failure detecting circuit when the test command signal is received by the test command signal receiving means transmitted by the information transmission medium, and the diagnosis result is obtained. A home electronic device for transmitting, and a bidirectional remote controller for transmitting the test command signal to the home electronic device via the information transmission medium and receiving the diagnosis result transmitted from the home electronic device. It is characterized by the following.

Therefore, according to the bidirectional remote control communication method and the bidirectional remote control device of the present invention, the bidirectional remote control transmits a test signal for self-diagnosis of a failure in a home electronic device, and the home electronic device. Since the failure diagnosis result information is returned to the bidirectional remote controller, early detection and recovery of the failure can be expected when a failure occurs. Therefore, even if a backup function is added to the bidirectional remote controller, While being able to limit to the minimum necessary,
Inconvenience due to a failure can be minimized. In addition, since the failure repair side can predict the location of the failure, the labor required for repair and the time required for repair can be reduced.
In addition, the digitalization of home appliances can be promoted, which contributes to improving the convenience of daily life.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a bidirectional remote control communication method and a bidirectional remote control device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a first embodiment of a bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a bidirectional remote controller 1 performs bidirectional remote control communication with a home electronic device using, for example, infrared rays as an information transmission medium.

Therefore, although not shown in FIG. 1, the bidirectional remote controller 1 is provided with an infrared emitting circuit, a test command circuit is provided, and the test command circuit uses the infrared emitting circuit. In this case, a test start command signal using the infrared ray 2 is transmitted to a home electronic device (not shown in FIG. 1) and a home electronic control device (hereinafter, referred to as HEC) 3 provided in the home electronic device. . The HEC 3 controls operation of home electronic devices. These home electronic devices and the HEC 3 are also provided with an infrared receiving unit and an infrared emitting circuit, respectively. As the home electronic device, for example, a digital video disk driver (hereinafter referred to as a DVD, a display, an audio device, or the like) is applicable, and the HEC 3 is provided in the home electronic device as described above. .

The bidirectional remote control 1 is also provided with an infrared light receiving section so that the self-diagnosis result information based on the infrared rays 4 transmitted from the home electronic device and the infrared emitting circuit of the HEC 3 can be received by the bidirectional remote control 1. I have. Further, the bidirectional remote controller 1 also includes a failure detection circuit. As described above, each home electronic device and the HEC 2 transmit and receive the bidirectional remote controller 1 at a predetermined distance by using the infrared rays 2 and 4. The bidirectional remote controller 1 can determine whether there is a failure in the HEC 3 based on the self-diagnosis result information from the HEC 3 received by the infrared receiving unit.

When the bidirectional remote controller 1 detects a failure of the HEC 2 from the information on the result of the self-diagnosis, it can transmit a failure detection signal to the failure transmitter 6 by infrared rays 5. Upon receiving the failure detection signal, the failure transmitter 6 transmits a failure recovery request to the service station 8 via the network 7.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the bidirectional remote controller of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described. The description of this operation also serves as the description of the first embodiment of the bidirectional remote control communication method of the present invention. The HEC 3 is always checked by the bidirectional remote controller 1 to determine whether the remote control function is working properly. That is, it is checked whether or not this device is operating normally. The test command start signal output from the test command circuit provided in the bidirectional remote controller 1 is transmitted by the infrared ray 2 using the infrared emission circuit, The information is transmitted to each home electronic device and the HEC 3 by communication.

[0015] Infrared light receiving portion and H of each home electronic device
The infrared light receiving section of EC3 receives this test start command signal. Thereby, each home electronic device and H
The EC 3 performs a self-diagnosis as to whether or not a normal electric signal is generated by a failure detection circuit provided therein. As a result of this self-diagnosis, each home electronic device and HE
C3 returns diagnostic result information to the bidirectional remote controller 1 using the infrared ray 4, that is, by infrared communication.

The bidirectional remote controller 1 is provided by the infrared communication.
The diagnostic result information returned to the bidirectional remote controller 1 is used to detect the presence or absence of a failure by a failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote controller 1. When a failure is detected, a failure detection signal of the infrared ray 5 is transmitted from the failure detection circuit of the bidirectional remote controller 1 to the failure transmitter 6. Upon receiving the failure detection signal, the failure transmitter 6 transmits a failure recovery request to the service station 8 through the network 7.

Upon receiving the failure recovery request, the service station 8 executes the service of the home electronic device in which the failure has occurred or the failure location of the HEC 3. Accordingly, it is possible to detect a failure of the home electronic device or the HEC 3 at an early stage, and to recover the failure at an early stage, thereby minimizing inconvenience caused by the failure. In addition, since the repairing side can predict the location of the failure, the labor required for repair can be reduced and the time can be shortened. In addition, even when the backup function is added to the interactive remote control 1, the required minimum can be obtained. Can be limited.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment of the bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention. The description of the second embodiment also serves as the description of the second embodiment of the bidirectional remote control communication method according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, the home electronic device, the HE
Whether the C3 is operating normally or not can be checked by transmitting a test start command signal from the test command circuit of the bidirectional remote controller 1 to these home electronic devices and HEC3. The self-diagnosis is performed by a failure detection circuit inside the home electronic device, whereas in the second embodiment, whether the home electronic device and the HEC 3 are operating normally or not is checked bidirectionally. The test function circuit is provided on the remote controller 1 side.

Various test signals are sent from the test function circuit of the bidirectional remote controller 1 to the respective home electronic devices and the HEC 3 by infrared communication using infrared rays 2 using the infrared emission circuit. Send to. These various test signals are sent to each home electronic device, HEC
3 is received by the infrared light receiving circuit. Each home electronic device and the HEC 3 receive various test signals, and perform self-diagnosis based on the test signals as to whether the internal functional circuit is operating normally or not.

As a result of the self-diagnosis, self-diagnosis result information is returned to the bidirectional remote controller 1 by infrared communication using the infrared light 4 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. As described above, since the interactive remote control 1 is used, self-diagnosis of each home electronic device and the HEC 3 becomes possible. Also, by using the interactive remote control 1 as described above,
An optimal method can be obtained by combining the first and second embodiments of the bidirectional remote control communication method of the present invention.

Further, the failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote controller 1 can have a function of diagnosing a symptom of the failure. By providing this function, the home electronic device and the HEC 3 can be provided. It is possible to determine which of the constituent ICs (integrated circuits) is defective.

Next, a third embodiment of the bidirectional remote control communication method and the bidirectional remote control device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment of the bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the home electronic device more specifically, for example, a case where a DVD 9, a display 10, an audio device 11, and an HEC 3 are installed.

The DVD 9, the display 10, the audio equipment 11, and the infrared transceivers 9a, 1 of the HEC 3
Reference numerals 0a, 11a, and 3a denote test start instruction signals output from the test instruction circuit in the bidirectional remote controller 1, which are emitted from the infrared emission circuit and received by infrared communication using infrared rays 2a to 2d emitted from the infrared irradiation section 1a. I am trying to do it. DVD9, display 1
0, the information of the self-diagnosis result from each of the infrared transmitting / receiving sections 9a, 10a, 11a, 3a of the audio equipment 11, and the HEC 3 is returned to the bidirectional remote controller 1 by infrared communication using infrared rays 4a to 4d. Light receiving unit 1
b, the infrared rays 4a to 4d are received.

With this configuration, the bidirectional remote controller 1 receives the information of the result of the failure diagnosis based on the infrared rays 4a to 4d.
When a failure is detected by a failure detection circuit inside the device, a failure detection announcement 5a using infrared rays 5 is transmitted to the failure transmitter 6. When the failure detection circuit 6 receives the failure detection signal 5a, a failure recovery request is not shown in FIG. 2 from the failure transmitter 6 through the network 7 in the same manner as described in the first embodiment, The data is transmitted to the service station as in the case of FIG.

In response, the service station receives the failure recovery request, and receives the failure DVD 9, display 10, audio device 11, H
The service of the fault location such as EC3 is executed. Therefore, it is possible to quickly detect a failure of the failed DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, the HEC 3, and the like, and to recover the failure early, thereby minimizing inconvenience due to the failure. Also in the third embodiment, the failure repair side can predict the location of the failure, so that the labor and time required for the repair can be reduced.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the bidirectional remote control communication method and the bidirectional remote control device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of a bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention. As the home electronic devices in the third embodiment shown in FIG. The device 11 and the HEC 3 are each connected to a home network 12, and the home network 12 is connected to a personal computer 13.

The personal computer 13 is provided with an infrared emitting circuit and an infrared receiving section, and these are collectively shown as an infrared transmitting / receiving section 13a in FIG. The infrared transceiver 13a faces the infrared irradiator 1a and the infrared receiver 1b of the bidirectional remote controller 1.
Infrared light 2 emitted from the infrared irradiator 1a of the bidirectional remote controller 1 is received by the infrared transceiver 13a of the personal computer 13, and infrared 4 emitted from the infrared transceiver 13a is received by the infrared receiver 1b of the bidirectional remote controller 1. I am trying to be.

As described above, by interposing the personal computer 13 between the interactive remote controller 1 and the DVD 9, display 10, audio equipment 11, and HEC 3 as home electronic devices, the personal computer 13 is newly connected to the home network 12. And the DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, and the HEC3. When a failure is detected by a failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote controller 1 from information on the self-diagnosis result of the DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, and the HEC 3 by the infrared light 4 radiated from the infrared transmission / reception unit 13a of the personal computer 13. The infrared ray 5 is emitted from the infrared emitting unit 1a of the bidirectional remote controller 1, a failure detection signal based on the infrared ray 5 is transmitted to the failure transmitter 6, and the failure transmitter 6 is connected to the service station through the network 7 (FIG. 3). (Not shown) is the same as that in FIG. 2 described above.

Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment of the bidirectional remote control communication method and the bidirectional remote control device according to the present invention shown in FIG. 3 will be described. In this FIG.
When the personal computer 13 is used, home electronic devices such as the DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, and the HEC 3 are controlled by the personal computer 13. Also, the bidirectional remote controller 1 is
The test start command signal from the test command circuit in the infrared 2
Transmitted by infrared communication, the infrared transmission / reception unit 13a of the personal computer 13 receives the test start command signal by the infrared light 2, whereby the personal computer 13 transmits the test start signal through the home network 12 to the DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, The data is sent to a home electronic device such as HEC3, and the personal computer 13 detects a failure of the DVD 9, the display 10, the audio device 11, the HEC 3, and the like.

The personal computer 13 has a DVD 9 and a display 1
0, when the failure of the audio equipment 11 and the HEC 3 is detected, the result of the self-failure diagnosis is transmitted to the bidirectional remote controller 1 by the infrared communication using the infrared light 4 emitted from the infrared transmission / reception unit 13a of the personal computer 13 as in the first embodiment. Information is sent. The result information of the self-diagnosis diagnosis using the infrared rays 4 is received by the infrared light receiving section 1b of the bidirectional remote controller 1, and the failure diagnosis is performed between the personal computer 13 and the bidirectional remote controller 1 in the same manner as in the above embodiment. A response is made. In this case, the personal computer 13 is caused to perform a self-diagnosis by the internal failure detection function of the personal computer 13. In the case of a failure of each electronic control device of the device, the bidirectional remote control 1 can be returned.

A personal computer 1 is provided on the interactive remote control 1 side.
A failure diagnosis function of the third aspect may be provided. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the self-diagnosis function of the failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote controller 1 has been described on the assumption that the self-diagnosis function operates for 24 hours. The self-diagnosis function is not necessarily limited to 24 hours full time, and may be executed, for example, once an hour. In short, any time may be used. Further, the communication between the bidirectional remote controller 1 and the home electronic device has been described in the case of performing communication using infrared rays. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Sound waves, radio waves, visible light,
It goes without saying that any information transmission medium such as a laser beam can be used.

[0032]

As described above, according to the bidirectional remote control communication method and the bidirectional remote control device of the present invention, a test signal for self-diagnosis of a failure in a home electronic device is transmitted from the bidirectional remote control. , The result information of the failure diagnosis from the home electronic device is returned to the interactive remote control, so that early detection and recovery of the failure can be expected when a failure occurs. Therefore, a backup function is added to the interactive remote control. Even if it does, it can be limited to the minimum necessary, and the inconvenience due to the failure can be suppressed to the minimum. In addition, since the failure repair side can predict the location of the failure, the labor required for repair and the time required for repair can be reduced. In addition, the digitalization of home appliances can be promoted, which contributes to improving the convenience of daily life.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a device showing a functional configuration of a first embodiment of a bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of a bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of a bidirectional remote controller according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... bidirectional remote controller, 1a ... infrared emitting section, 1b
... Infrared light receiving sections, 22a to 2d, 4, 5, 7... Infrared rays, 3... Home electronic controller (HEC), 3a, 9a, 10a, 11a, 13a.
Infrared transmitting / receiving section, 5a ... announcement signal, 6 ... fault transmitter, 7 ... network, 8 ... service station, 9 ... digital video disk driver (DVD), 10 ... display, 11 ... Audio equipment, 12 home network, 13 personal computer.

Claims (39)

[Claims] 1. A test start command signal transmitted from an interactive remote control through an information transmission medium to a home electronic device, and a failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device based on the test start command signal is transmitted to the home electronic device. A bidirectional remote control communication method, comprising transmitting from the device to the bidirectional remote control. 2. The two-way remote controller, when detecting a failure from the failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device, transmits a failure detection signal to the failure transmitter through an information transmission medium, thereby transmitting the failure detection signal from the failure transmitter through a network. 2. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing the service station to make a failure recovery request. 3. The bidirectional remote control communication according to claim 1, wherein the bidirectional remote control performs a self-diagnosis of a failure of the home electronic device by a self-diagnosis function of the bidirectional remote control itself. Method. 4. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the bidirectional remote controller has a self-diagnosis function that operates for 24 hours. 5. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein said bidirectional remote control has a self-diagnosis function that operates for an arbitrary time. 6. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein in the home electronic device, a remote control function is always operated by a home electronic controller. 7. The self-diagnosis of the failure of the home electronic device by the self-diagnosis function of the home electronic device based on the test start command signal and the self-diagnosis function of the bidirectional remote control. 2. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of detecting a failure of said home electronic device. 8. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the bidirectional remote control causes a failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote control to detect a symptom of a failure. 9. The failure detection announcement signal transmitted by the information transmission medium when the two-way remote control detects a failure from the failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device by the self-diagnosis function of the two-way remote control itself. 2. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting a failure recovery request to the service station through the network from the failure transmitter by transmitting the request to the failure transmitter. 10. The personal computer which receives the test start command signal transmitted from the bidirectional remote controller via an information transmission medium to detect a failure of a home electronics controller of the home electronic device. 2. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the detection is performed by the personal computer, and the detection result is returned from the personal computer. 11. The bidirectional remote controller according to claim 10, wherein when the personal computer detects its own failure, the personal computer returns the detection result from the personal computer to determine the detection result of the failure. Bidirectional remote control communication method. 12. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 10, wherein said bidirectional remote control has a failure detection function of said personal computer. 13. The home electronic device may be a digital
2. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the bidirectional remote control communication method is a video disk driver. 14. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein said home electronic device is an audio device. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the home electronic device is a display. 16. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein said information transmission medium is infrared rays. 17. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission medium is an ultrasonic wave. 18. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission medium is a laser beam. 19. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission medium is a radio wave. 20. The bidirectional remote control communication method according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission medium is a visible light. 21. A home electronic device for diagnosing presence / absence of a self-failure by a self-failure detection circuit when a test command signal is received by a test command signal receiving means transmitted by an information transmission medium, and transmitting the diagnosis result. A bidirectional remote controller that transmits the test command signal to the home electronic device via the information transmission medium and receives the diagnosis result transmitted from the home electronic device. Directional remote control device. 22. The bidirectional remote controller, when detecting a failure from the result of the failure diagnosis of the home electronic device, transmits a failure detection signal to the failure transmitter using an information transmission medium, and transmits the failure detection signal through the network from the failure transmitter. 22. The bidirectional remote control device according to claim 21, wherein the service station makes a failure recovery request. 23. The two-way remote controller according to claim 21, wherein the self-diagnosis function of the two-way remote controller itself performs a self-diagnosis of a failure of the home electronic device.
An interactive remote control device as described. 24. The remote controller according to claim 21, wherein the interactive remote controller has a self-diagnosis function that operates for 24 hours.
An interactive remote control device as described. 25. The bidirectional remote controller has a self-diagnosis function that operates for an arbitrary time.
2. The bidirectional remote control device according to 1. 26. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein the home electronic device has a remote control function always operated by a home electronic controller. 27. A self-diagnosis of a failure of the home electronic device by a failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device based on the test start command signal and a self-diagnosis function of the interactive remote control itself. 22. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein a failure of the home electronic device is detected from the following. 28. The bidirectional remote control device according to claim 21, wherein the bidirectional remote control causes a failure detection circuit in the bidirectional remote control to detect a symptom of a failure. 29. The bidirectional remote controller transmits a failure detection announcement signal using an information transmission medium when a failure is detected from a failure diagnosis result of the home electronic device by a self-diagnosis function of the bidirectional remote controller itself. 22. The bidirectional remote controller according to claim 21, wherein the failure transmitter transmits a failure recovery request to the service station through the network by transmitting the failure transmission to the remote controller. 30. The bidirectional remote controller causes a personal computer that receives the test start command signal from the bidirectional remote controller via an information transmission medium to detect a failure of the home electronics controller of the home electronic device. And returning a detection result from the personal computer.
2. The bidirectional remote control device according to 1. 31. The two-way remote controller according to claim 30, wherein when the personal computer detects its own failure, the personal computer returns the detection result from the personal computer to determine the failure detection result. Directional remote control device. 32. The bidirectional remote control device according to claim 30, wherein said bidirectional remote control has a function of detecting a failure of said personal computer. 33. The home electronic device is a digital electronic device.
31. The interactive remote control device according to claim 30, wherein the remote control device is a video disk driver. 34. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein said home electronic device is an audio device. 35. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein the home electronic device is a display. 36. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein said information transmission medium is infrared rays. 37. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein said information transmission medium is an ultrasonic wave. 38. The bidirectional remote controller according to claim 21, wherein the information transmission medium is a laser beam. 39. The interactive remote control device according to claim 21, wherein the information transmission medium is a radio wave.