JP2002142268A - Housing type remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the power consumption of a remote control transmitter by reducing the consumption of a battery as much as possible even at the time of making it possible to interrupt the power source of the remote control transmitter when it is not used, and to simultaneously monitor the power supply voltage. SOLUTION: A remote controller housing part 20 is provided with an insulating element 5, a contact element 6, and a contract switch 7. One face of the insulating element 5 is formed of an insulator 8 for preventing currents, and the other face is formed of a conductor 9 for allowing currents to flow, and the face of the conductor 9 is connected to a CPU 1 for detecting a voltage. On the other hand, the contact element 6 is formed of a conductor, and connected to the CPU for detecting a voltage. Also, the contact switch 7 is operated when the remote control transmitter is attached or detached, and the information is transmitted to the CPU 1 in main body equipment 30, and a main power source circuit 3 is operated so that the power source can be turned on and off.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a retractable remote control device for a television receiver or the like, and more particularly to a retractable remote control device capable of issuing a battery exhaustion warning and reducing power consumption of a main unit. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Television receivers, audio equipment, etc.
It is common to use remote control transmitters (hereinafter referred to as remote control transmitters) that operate them from a remote location. In addition, the functions of recent remote control transmitters have become increasingly sophisticated, and accordingly, the burden on a power supply (generally using a battery) has been increasing. Under such circumstances, many conventional remote control transmitters always supply a current even when they are not used so that they can be used at any time. Therefore, it is often troublesome to run out of batteries when trying to use it. For the purpose of solving the problem, it is practical to display the battery consumption on the remote control transmitter body when the battery is consumed, and several methods for reducing the current consumption of the remote control transmitter have been proposed.

[0003] Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-54419 (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No.
The specification and the drawings of No. 167177) disclose a structure in which a remote control transmitter is provided with a push switch for power supply, and when housed in the main device, the push switch is operated to turn off the power of the remote control transmitter. In addition, JP
JP-A-00-78031 discloses that when a main device receives a remote control signal, the main device sends a power cutoff signal to the remote control transmitter, thereby cutting off a part of the power of the remote control transmitter to reduce power consumption. Techniques for reducing are disclosed.

[0004]

According to the prior arts disclosed in the above publications, although the consumption of the battery can be suppressed, there is no means for displaying or warning the degree of consumption of the battery. The inconvenience of suddenly running out of battery could not be avoided. As a countermeasure for this, there is a conventional example in which the degree of battery consumption is displayed on the remote control transmitter main body, but since the remote control transmitter is originally used for operating a television receiver or the like, the remote control transmitter main body is not often used. There is a drawback in that the user does not look carefully and tends to overlook the display (warning). In addition, extra current is consumed for display.

Further, in the conventional remote control device, although the consumption of the battery of the remote control transmitter can be suppressed, the power consumption of the main unit such as the television receiver is not taken into consideration, and the power is wasted due to forgetting to turn it off. Power consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to monitor a power supply voltage of a remote control transmitter on a main unit side so as to prevent battery exhaustion. When the remote control transmitter is stored, shut off the main power of the main unit,
The standby state is to reduce the power consumption of the main body.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a remote control transmitter for transmitting a remote control signal, a remote control receiving section for storing the remote control transmitter, and receiving the remote control signal. And a main unit having a receiving unit, wherein the main unit has a function of detecting a power supply voltage of the remote control transmitter when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit. And a function of alerting or displaying when the power supply voltage drops below a predetermined value for at least a certain period of time.

According to the present invention, there is provided a remote control transmitter for transmitting a remote control signal.
In a storage-type remote control device including a remote control storage unit that stores the remote control transmitter and a main unit that includes a reception unit that receives the remote control signal, the main unit includes:
When the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit, the remote control transmitter detects that the remote control transmitter is mounted, and shuts off a main power supply of the main device.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 3 are views for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main device. The main device 10 having the main device internal circuit 10a includes a remote control transmitter (not shown).
Is provided with a remote control storage section 10b to which the user can attach and detach.
The remote control housing 10b is provided with an insulating element 5 and a contact element 6 for turning on and off a power switch of the remote control transmitter, and a contact switch 7 that operates when the remote control transmitter is attached and detached. The insulating element 5 includes an insulator 5a for blocking a current and a conductor 5 for sensing a voltage.
b. On the other hand, the contact element 6 is entirely formed of a conductor, and a signal (a voltage sensing signal) from the contact element 6 and the conductor 5b is applied to the C
It is input to the voltage sensing input terminal of PU1. The contact switch 7 is similarly connected to the on / off input terminals of the CPU 1 in the main unit, and the CPU 1 operates the main power supply circuit 3 based on a signal (power on / off signal) from the contact switch 7. Switches on and off the main power supply.
Normally, the power supply of the CPU 1 is driven by a standby power supply (not shown), and is always operating as long as the outlet of the main device 10 is connected, so that the CPU 1 can operate even when the main power supply is cut off. The main device internal circuit 10a further includes an RGB output circuit 2 that receives a video demodulation signal and outputs an RGB signal, and a display 4 that displays an image based on the signal.

FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a state in which a remote control transmitter 20 is mounted on a remote control storage unit 10b provided in the main device 10, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the remote control storage unit 10b. FIG. In FIG. 2A, the remote control transmitter 20 is shown by a virtual line to make it easier to see the state of the remote control storage unit 10b. As shown in FIG. 2, the contact switch 7 is provided at the center of the lowermost part of the remote control storage unit 10b, and the insulating element 5 and the contact element 6 are provided side by side below the remote control storage unit 10b. The remote control transmitter 20 is mounted so as to overlap the remote control storage unit 10b, and the contact switch 7 is a switch that operates when pressed from above.

FIG. 3 shows a switch S of the remote control transmitter 20.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between W1 and SW2 and an insulating element 5 and a contact element 6 of the remote control storage unit 10b described with reference to FIG. The remote control transmitter 20 is provided with switches SW1 and SW2 in series with the circuit on both the positive and negative poles of the battery 9, and the distance between the switches SW1 and SW2 is set between the insulating element 5 and the contact element 6 on the remote control storage unit 10b. It is made equal to the interval. When the remote control transmitter 20 is detached from the remote control storage section 10b, both terminals of the switch SW1 and the switch SW2 are connected by the contact fittings 8, respectively. That is, the contact fitting 8 is a conductor having elasticity, and closes the switches SW1 and SW2 by its elasticity in a normal state.
As a result, a current flows through the power supply circuit and the remote control transmitter 20
Works fine. When the remote control transmitter 20 is stored in the remote control storage section 10b,
Is inserted into the switches SW1 and SW2 in the remote control transmitter in the direction of the arrow, whereby the contact fitting 8 is opened from the contact of the switch, and the circuit current is insulated by the switch SW1. Blocked by the insulator 5a of the element 5, the conductor 5b contacts the contact on the anode side of the battery 9. The contact element 6 inserted into the switch SW2 comes into contact with the contact on the cathode side of the battery 9 via the contact fitting 8.

Hereinafter, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
First, the remote control transmitter 20 operates the main unit 10 by transmitting a signal from a transmission unit for transmitting a remote control signal (not shown) to a remote control receiving unit (not shown) of the main unit 10. Here, it is assumed that the main device 10 is mounted in the remote control storage unit 10b in a state where the main power of the main device 10 is not shut off by a signal from the remote control transmitter 20. Remote control storage unit 10
When the remote control transmitter 20 is stored in b, as shown in FIG. 3, when the insulating element 5 and the contact element 6 are inserted into the switches SW1 and SW2, the contact fittings 8 of the switches SW1 and SW2 are simultaneously pushed up. Can be The insulator 5a of the insulating element 5 is inserted on the circuit side of the switch SW1,
Cut off the current. On the other hand, the conductor 5b connected to one of the voltage sensing input terminals of the CPU 1 is connected to the switch SW.
1 is connected to the anode side of the battery 9. The contact element 6 connected to the other of the voltage sensing input terminals of the CPU 1 is also connected to the cathode side of the battery 9 via the switch SW2. It should be noted that an insulating element made of an insulator and a conductor may be used instead of the contact element 6 on the side of the battery inserted into the switch SW2 on the cathode side.

In FIG. 1, a CPU 1 comprises an insulating element 5,
The battery voltage input through the contact element 6 is detected, and when the battery voltage becomes lower than a certain voltage (about 60% of the power supply voltage of the remote control transmitter), the CPU 1 outputs a caution display image signal and outputs R
The data is displayed on the display 4 through the GB output circuit 2.
No display is performed when the voltage is higher than a certain voltage. However, before the remote control transmitter 20 is mounted in the remote control storage unit 10b, if a signal of power-off is sent from the remote control transmitter 20,
The main device 10 receives the signal, shuts off the main power by the main power circuit 3, and enters a standby state. When the remote control transmitter 20 is mounted in the remote control storage unit 10b from this state, the power of the remote control transmitter 20 is shut off as described above, but the main power of the main device 10 is already turned off.
Power voltage warnings cannot be displayed.

Since the means for detecting the voltage in the CPU 1 is generally input to an analog I / O port, when the input impedance is low, a slight current flows into the port. To prevent this, the connection from the switch SW1 is opened internally to cut off the current from the switch SW1. As a result, the power supply current of the remote control transmitter 20 does not flow, and the consumption of the battery can be suppressed. Alternatively, a CMOS circuit having a very high input impedance may be used. Further, in this embodiment, the contact switch 7 is
The contact switch 7 operates to transmit information to the CPU 1 when the remote control transmitter 20 is mounted. The CPU 1 transmits this information to the main power supply circuit 3 and shuts off the main power supply of the main device 10. The main power supply is cut off with a certain time lag after the warning content is displayed. When the remote control transmitter 20 is removed, the main power is turned on.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, a contact piece 11 made of an elastic conductive material is used instead of the switch SW2 of the first embodiment.
Is used. When the remote control transmitter 20 is mounted in the remote control storage section 10b, the contact element 6 comes into contact with the contact piece 11 to detect the potential of the battery 9 on the cathode side. The electrical operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and appropriate changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Things. For example, in the present embodiment, the insulating element 5 is provided on the anode side of the battery 9;
The cathode side may be used. Further, by detecting the ground potential of the remote control transmitter circuit by the contact switch 7,
The switch SW2 and the contact element 6 in FIG. 3 may be deleted. In the embodiment, the remote control transmitter is mounted so as to cover the main device. However, the remote control transmitter may be slid and stored. Further, in the embodiment, the warning display when the battery voltage is lowered is displayed on the display, but a warning may be given by a speaker instead. Or you may make it call attention by both a display and a sound.

[0017]

As described above, the stowable remote control device according to the present invention detects the voltage of the battery and displays it on the display of the main unit when the remote control transmitter is stored in the remote control storage unit. Therefore, since the remaining battery value is known in advance, it is possible to prevent the battery from running out. Then, by turning off the power of the remote control transmitter at this time, the life of the battery in the remote control transmitter can be extended. Further, at this time, since the main power supply of the main device is automatically cut off, the entire power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the remote control transmitter is stored in the remote control storage section and a perspective view of the remote control storage section, for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the relationship between the switches SW1 and SW2 of the remote control transmitter, the insulating element of the remote control storage unit, and the contact element.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a switch SW1 of a remote control transmitter, a contact piece, an insulating element of a remote control storage unit, and a contact element for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 RGB output circuit 3 Main power supply circuit 4 Display 5 Insulating element 5a Insulator 5b Conductor 6 Contact element 7 Contact switch 8 Contact fitting 9 Battery 10 Main device 10a Main device internal circuit 10b Remote control storage unit 11 Contact piece 20 Remote control transmission Machine

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A retractable remote control device comprising: a remote control transmitter for transmitting a remote control signal; a main unit having a remote control receiving section for receiving the remote control transmitter and a receiving section for receiving the remote control signal; The main device has a function of detecting the power supply voltage of the remote control transmitter when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit, and at least when the power supply voltage falls below a predetermined value, A stowable remote control device having a function of warning or displaying for a fixed time. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main device is a television receiver, and the warning or displaying function is achieved by using one or both of a display and a speaker of the television receiver. 2. The storage type remote control device according to 1. 3. The main unit according to claim 1, wherein when the remote control transmitter is mounted on the remote control storage unit, the main unit detects the fact and shuts off a main power supply of the main unit. A stowable remote control device as described. 4. A stowable remote control device comprising: a remote control transmitter that transmits a remote control signal; a main unit including a remote control storage unit that stores the remote control transmitter and a reception unit that receives the remote control signal; The stowable remote control device, wherein the main unit detects that the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit, and shuts off a main power supply of the main unit. 5. A contact switch which is operated by pressing the remote control transmitter in the remote control storage unit, and the detection that the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit is performed by the contact switch. The storage type remote controller according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the operation is performed according to the following conditions. 6. A power switch is inserted into one side of a battery of the remote control transmitter, and the power switch is shut off when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit. The stowable remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The power switch has a normally closed contact, and the normally closed contact is provided by an insulating element provided in the remote control storage unit when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit. 7. The retractable remote controller according to claim 6, wherein the remote controller is opened. 8. The insulation element is formed by an insulator and a conductor, and the conductor is connected to a battery-side terminal of the power switch when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage unit. The storage type remote control device according to claim 7, wherein the storage type remote control device is electrically connected. 9. A contact element for contacting a power supply circuit of the remote control transmitter when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage section, wherein the contact element is provided in the main body. 9. The retractable remote control device according to claim 8, wherein the retractable remote control device is connected to a voltage detection circuit of the device so that the main device can detect the battery voltage of the remote control transmitter. 10. A contact piece is provided on the other side of the battery, and a contact element that contacts the contact piece when the remote control transmitter is mounted in the remote control storage section is provided in the remote control storage section. 9. The retractable remote control device according to claim 8, wherein the contact element and the conductor are connected to a voltage detection circuit of the main device. 11. A circuit for connecting between the voltage detection circuit and the remote control transmitter is automatically cut off after the voltage detection circuit detects a battery voltage of the remote control transmitter. The storage remote control device according to claim 9. 12. The retractable remote controller according to claim 9, wherein at least a circuit of an input unit of said voltage detection circuit is constituted by a CMOS circuit.