JP2002044762A - Electric appliance, component appliance and remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce load on an input processing of a control part, even in a simple configuration. SOLUTION: When remote controlling a VTR 1 by using a remote control device A, every part of the VTR 1 is controlled by a control part 10 based on an instruction data. When remote controlling a DVD player 2 by using the device A, the instruction data, which is recognized as the data not for the player 2, is transferred to the player 2 by the control part 10 via a transfer path B. Then every part of the player 2 is controlled by a control part 20 of the player 2 coresponding to the transferred data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric device in which not only its own device but also other electric devices connectable to its own device are remotely controlled by a remote control device, and a plurality of electric devices are remotely controlled by a remote control device. It relates to a remote control system and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Most of electric appliances such as a video, a television and a stereo are provided with a remote control device. Since many types of electrical devices are provided in ordinary households, it is inconvenient to use various types of remote control devices, so use a remote control device that can remotely control many types of electrical devices. Is increasing. In addition, VTR (Video Tape Recorder)
Component devices in which electric devices such as der) and DVD (Digital VideoDisk) players are combined are provided with similar remote control devices.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a conventional remote control system employed in a DVD / VHS table type component device. 4 in the figure is V
TR and 5 are DVD players, and A is a remote control device. VTR by remote control device A
4 and the DVD player 5 can be remotely controlled.

A VTR 4 is a remote control device A
, And a control unit 40 that controls each unit based on command data included in an output signal of the receiving unit 41. The same applies to the DVD player 5. The receiving unit 51 receives a transmission signal of the remote control device A, and the receiving unit 5
It has a control unit 50 that controls each unit based on the command data included in the output signal.

[0005]

However, in the case of the above conventional example, when the remote control device A is used to remotely control the VTR 4, the transmission signal of the remote control device A is also transmitted to the receiving section 50 of the DVD player 5. An interrupt process is performed in which the control unit 50 checks the content of the command data each time it is received. Since the VTR 4 and the DVD player 5 have different instruction data code systems, the DVD player 5 eventually ignores the instruction data, but performs unnecessary processing. In this respect, a problem has been pointed out that the load on the input processing of the control unit 50 is large. This is the same when the remote control device A remotely controls the DVD player 5.

[0006] However, in remote control of various types of electrical equipment by one remote control device,
As a remote control system having a common receiving unit, there are those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 625-284583, 57-36075, and 58-205395. The use of this system solves the above-mentioned problem, but has the essential disadvantage that the overall configuration becomes complicated and the cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the load on the input processing of the control unit while having a very simple configuration. A device, a component device, and a remote control system are provided.

[0008]

An electric device according to the present invention is an electric device in which not only its own device but also other electric devices connectable to its own device are remotely controlled by a remote control device. A receiving unit that receives a transmission signal of the device, and while controlling each unit based on command data included in an output signal of the receiving unit, when the command data is not directed to the own device, the command data is A control unit for transferring the command data to another electric device and a command data output terminal to which one end of a transmission line for leading the command data to the other electric device can be connected are provided.

The other electric device has a command data input terminal to which the other end of the transmission line can be connected, and a control unit that controls each unit based on command data input through the command data input terminal. It is good to use the thing of composition.

In such a configuration, when remote control of another electric device is performed using the remote control device, the command data at this time is transferred to the other electric device via the transmission line, and the command data is transmitted to the other electric device. Each part of the electric device is controlled according to the data. On the other hand, when the remote control of the electric device is performed using the remote control device, the command data at this time is not transferred to another electric device unlike the above.

[0011] Instead of the other electric equipment, a command data input terminal to which the other end of the transmission line can be connected, and each unit is controlled based on command data input through the command data input terminal. Is not directed to itself, a control unit for transferring the command data to another electric device, and a command data output connectable to one end of a transmission line for guiding the command data to the other electric device. A configuration having a terminal may be used. The other electrical device referred to herein includes a command data input terminal to which the other end of the transmission line can be connected, and a control unit that controls each unit based on command data input through the command data input terminal. It is good to use those. In the case of such a configuration, the same operation as described above is performed.

The component device of the present invention has a configuration in which the above-described electric devices are combined. Here, the component device refers to an electrical device in which a plurality of types and / or a plurality of electrical devices are manufactured and sold as one product.

A remote control system according to the present invention remotely controls the electric equipment, the other electric equipment, a transmission line for transferring command data connected between these electric equipments, and these electric equipments. And a remote control device.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control system, and FIG. 2 is a VTR included in the system.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a modified example of the remote control system, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining another modified example of the remote control system. is there.

In FIG. 1, A is a remote control device,
Is a VHS type VTR (Video Tape Rec
order), 2 is DVD (Digital Vid
eo Disk) player, B is a transmission line for command data transfer. The remote control device A remotely controls not only the VTR 1 but also the DVD 2 connectable to the VTR 1. Here, the component device has a configuration in which the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 are combined. That is, the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 are housed in the same case (not shown). Further, a cable or the like is used as the transmission line B.

The remote control device A includes a VTR 1
An operation switch (not shown) necessary for operating the DVD player 2 and the like is provided, and has a basic configuration for transmitting command data corresponding to the output of the operation switch as a signal such as infrared rays. The VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 are the same as the conventional one, including that the code system of the command data is different.

VTR 1 is a remote control device A
Receiving unit 11 for receiving the transmission signal of the receiver, and controlling each unit based on the command data included in the output signal of the receiving unit 11. If the command data is not directed to the own device, the command data is transmitted to the DVD. Control unit 10 for transferring to player 2
And a command data output terminal 12 to which one end of a transmission line B for guiding the command data to the DVD player 2 can be connected.

Here, a microcomputer is used as the control unit 10, and a control program as shown in FIG. 2 is recorded in its built-in memory in advance. A transmission buffer circuit (not shown) for transmitting the command data output from the control unit 10 as serial or parallel is provided between the control unit 10 and the command data output terminal 12.

The DVD player 2 has a command data input terminal 21 to which the other end of the transmission line B can be connected, and a control unit 20 for controlling each unit based on command data input through the command data input terminal 21. It has a basic configuration. Here, a microcomputer is used as the control unit 20. There is no change in the control program. The only change is that the command data input terminal 21 is newly added. The DVD player 2 is provided with a receiving unit equivalent to the receiving unit 51 shown in FIG. 5, but has been set to prohibit remote control and is not substantially functioning, so that it is not shown. Command data is input to the control unit 20 through a command data input terminal 21.

Next, the operation of the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 will be described, and the contents of the control program shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

First, when the remote control of the VTR 1 or the DVD player 2 is performed using the remote control device A, the transmission signal from the remote control device A
The signal is received by the receiving unit 11 of R1, and the output signal of the receiving unit 11 is input to the control unit 10. Then, the control unit 10
Are sequentially processed.

First, the contents of the command data included in the input output signal of the receiving unit 11 are checked, and it is determined whether or not this is command data directed to the own device (S1). When it is determined that the command data is directed to the own device, each unit is controlled in accordance with the command data (S2), and the processing of the control program ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the command data is not directed to the own device, the command data is transferred to the DVD player 2 (S3), and the processing of the control program ends.

In the DVD player 2, when the command data transferred from the VTR 1 is input to the control unit 20 through the command data input terminal 21, the control program is processed, so that each unit of the VTR 1 receives the command data. It is controlled accordingly.

That is, when the remote control of the VTR 1 is performed using the remote control device A, the VTR 1 operates as it is. At this time, since the instruction data is not transferred to the DVD player 2, the load on the input processing of the control unit 20 of the DVD player 2 is reduced. On the other hand, when the remote control of the DVD player 2 is performed using the remote control device A, the DVD player 2 operates as it is.

By making such a slight design change, the load on the input processing of the control unit 20 of the DVD player 2 can be reduced. In particular, since there is no need to change the program processed by the control unit 20, there is an advantage in the case where the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 are manufactured and sold as component devices, and the cost and performance of the component devices can be reduced. It becomes possible to plan. When the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2 are component devices, the receiving unit of the DVD player 2 can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced in this respect.

In the above embodiment, the remote control device A remotely controls the two electric devices, the VTR 1 and the DVD player 2, but as shown in FIG. 3, the VTR 1, the DVD player 2 ', and the TV ( TeleVi
sion) It is also possible to remotely control three electrical devices called three. The same parts as those in the above example are denoted by the same part numbers, and different parts will be mainly described.
As the transmission line C, a cable or the like is used similarly to the transmission line B.

The DVD player 2 ′ controls each unit based on command data input terminal 21 to which the other end of the transmission line B can be connected and command data input through the command data input terminal 21. If it is not directed to itself, it has a control unit 20 'for transferring the command data to the TV 3, and a command data output terminal 22 to which one end of a transmission line C for leading the command data to the TV 3 can be connected. It has a basic configuration.

Here, a microcomputer is used as the control unit 20 ', and a control program similar to that shown in FIG. 2 is recorded in its internal memory in advance.
The major difference from the control program shown in FIG.
The only difference is that when command data is transferred from 1 and input to the control unit 20 ', the control program is sequentially processed.
A transmission buffer circuit (not shown) for transmitting the command data output from the control unit 20 as serial or parallel is provided between the control unit 20 and the command data output terminal 22.

The TV 3 has a basic configuration having a command data input terminal 31 to which the other end of the transmission line C can be connected, and a control unit 30 for controlling each unit based on the command data input through the command data input terminal 31. It has become. Here, a microcomputer is used as the control unit 30.
There is no change in the control program. What has changed is
The only difference is that the command data input terminal 31 is newly added. The TV 3 is provided with a receiving unit as in the case of the DVD player 2, but is set to prohibit remote control and is not substantially functioning. Command data is input to the control unit 30 through a command data input terminal 31.

In the above-described configuration, when the VTR 1 or the DVD player 2 ′ is remotely controlled using the remote control device A, the V
The TR1 and the DVD player 2 'operate according to the operation. On the other hand, the TV 3
Is performed, the command data transferred from the VTR 1 is transmitted to the control unit 3 of the TV 3 via the DVD player 2 ′.
0 is input, and as a result, the TV 3 operates according to the operation. When the remote control of the VTR 1 or the DVD player 2 ′ is performed, the command data is not transferred to the TV 3, so that the load on the input processing of the control unit 30 of the TV 3 is reduced, and there is the same advantage as the above example.

As shown in FIG. 4, not only the DVD player 2 but also the TV 3 may be connected to the other end of the transmission line B. In this case, when remote control of the VTR 1 is performed using the remote control device A, the command data is not transferred to the DVD player 2 and the TV 3, so that the same advantage as in the above example is obtained.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment in terms of the type and number of electric devices, and also does not limit whether or not a plurality of electric devices are component devices. Further, the control unit may be configured to realize the same function by hardware.

[0033]

As described above, in the case of the electric device, the component device, and the remote control system according to the present invention, if the command data included in the transmission signal of the remote control device is not directed to the own device, the command data is changed to another. Therefore, the load on the input processing of the control unit of another electric device can be reduced while having a very simple configuration. Since only a slight design change is required, there is an advantage in reducing costs and improving performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control program processed by a control unit of a VTR included in the system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a modified example of the remote control system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining another modified example of the remote control system.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a conventional remote control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 VTR 10 Control part 11 Receiving part 12 Command data output terminal 2 DVD player 20 Control part 21 Command data input terminal A Remote control device B Transmission line

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electric device in which not only its own device but also other electric devices connectable to its own device are remotely controlled by a remote control device, a receiving unit for receiving a transmission signal of the remote control device, A control unit that controls each unit based on the command data included in the output signal, and transfers the command data to the other electric device when the command data is not directed to the own device; and And a command data output terminal connectable to one end of a transmission line for guiding the signal to the other electric device. 2. An electric device connectable to the electric device according to claim 1, wherein command data input through a command data input terminal to which the other end of the transmission line is connectable and command data input through the command data input terminal. A control unit for controlling each unit based on the control unit. 3. An electrical device connectable to the electrical device according to claim 1, wherein the command data input terminal is connectable to the other end of the transmission line according to claim 1 and command data input through the command data input terminal. While controlling each unit based on, when the command data is not directed to its own device, a control unit that transfers the command data to another electric device, and to guide the command data to the other electric device And a command data output terminal to which one end of the transmission line is connectable. 4. An electric device connectable to the electric device according to claim 3, wherein command data input through a command data input terminal to which the other end of the transmission line can be connected, and command data input through the command data input terminal. A control unit for controlling each unit based on the control unit. 5. A component device having a configuration in which the electric device according to claim 1 and the electric device according to claim 2, 3 and / or 4 are combined. 6. The electric device according to claim 1, the electric device according to claim 2, 3 and / or 4, a transmission line for command data transfer connected between these electric devices, and these electric devices. And a remote control device for remotely controlling the remote control.