JP2002271871A - Remote control system and remote controller compatible with household lan - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control system and a remote controller that can simply support operations and actions of household electric appliances independently of whether or not the system is compatible with a home network. SOLUTION: Household appliances electric installed in a home 10 comprise network compatible appliances 12 compatible with the home network 16 and network incompatible appliances 13 not compatible with the home network. A remote controller 36 transmits an operation command employing an infrared ray to remotely control the network incompatible appliances 13. The remote controller 36 incorporates a memory storing operation commands of another remote controller and also a communication interface interfacing the home network 16 to make data communication. When the remote controller 36 is connected to the home network 16, the remote controller 36 can download an operation manual and newest setting information of household electric appliances via the Internet 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home remote control system and a remote control device for operating home electric appliances used at home.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Televisions and video tape recorders (VT)
R), a remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) for remotely controlling each device is widely known as an operation support device for home electric appliances (hereinafter, referred to as home appliances) used at home such as an air conditioner. The remote controller transmits an operation command, for example, as an infrared signal, and remotely controls the home electric appliance. Many remote control devices are provided with such remote controls as accessories.

However, the remote controller provided as an accessory is a dedicated remote controller, and cannot operate other home electric appliances. For this reason, a dedicated remote control must be used for each home appliance, and the operation is complicated. Therefore, in an information system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-79847, a special connection device for connecting a plurality of home appliances is used, and a plurality of electric devices can be operated by one remote control via the special connection device. I have to.

In recent years, among home electric appliances, a device called a home network compatible device has been proposed.
Here, the home network refers to a home LAN (Local Area Network) including home electric appliances and a communication cable for performing data communication with the home electric appliances.
The home network compatible device has a function of transmitting and receiving various data via the communication cable.

[0005] Various usages of this home network have been proposed. For example, JP-A-7-2
The device support device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 84164 is installed in a home network, and provides operation support and operation support such as operation of a plurality of home network compatible devices and monitoring of a failure state.

[0006] Other methods of using the home network include, for example, connecting the home network to a telephone line, remotely operating a home network compatible device from outside through the telephone line, and connecting the home network to the Internet. It has been proposed to connect and download operation manual information and the latest setting information for each device from a web page of a home appliance manufacturer.

[0007]

However, the device support apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-28416 can support a device compatible with a home network, but does not support a device compatible with a home network (a device not compatible with a home network). Equipment).

On the other hand, in the information system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-79847, one
Can be operated with one remote control. However, since this information system uses a special connection device, it cannot be operated by the remote control unless the home appliance supports the connection device. Therefore, when a new home appliance is added and the home appliance does not support a special connection device, a dedicated remote controller must be used, which is troublesome.

[0009] In the near future, it is expected that these home network compatible devices and home network non-compliant devices will coexist in the home. In such a situation, a remote controller, a device support device, and a special connection device must be prepared for each device. Further, in order to remotely control a device that is not compatible with the home network using the home network, a special device must be newly provided in addition to the remote controller and the like.

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a remote control device capable of easily supporting operation and operation of home electric appliances regardless of whether or not it is compatible with a home network. The purpose is to:

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a home LAN remote control system according to the present invention comprises at least one remote controllable home appliance and a remote control for the home appliance. It is characterized by comprising a remote control device having an operation function and connectable to a home LAN, and operating home appliances using the home LAN. It is preferable that the remote operation be performed by infrared communication, which is a widely used method.

Further, the remote control device of the present invention includes a transmission unit for transmitting an operation command to the home electric appliance using a wireless transmission medium, and the remote control device for remotely operating the home electric appliance. It is characterized by comprising a means for storing operation commands and a communication means for performing data communication by connecting to a home LAN. When infrared rays are used as the wireless transmission medium, the transmitting unit is an infrared transmitting unit.

It is preferable that the remote control device can transmit the operation command based on information received from the home LAN. By doing so, it is possible to remotely control home electric appliances from outside the house via a telephone line or the like.

[0014] It is preferable that the remote control device includes display means for displaying information received by the communication means. This information is, for example, operation manual information of home electric appliances.

It is preferable that the operation command is fetched via the communication means and stored in the storage means.
In addition, the remote control device may be provided with an infrared receiving unit that receives an infrared operation command, and the operation command may be fetched through the infrared receiving unit and stored in the storage unit.

It is preferable that the communication means can be connected to the Internet via a home LAN. In this case, it is preferable to provide a means for storing the address of a website on the Internet to which the operation manual information has been uploaded, and to download and display the uploaded operation manual information as necessary.

As a communication protocol for connecting to the Internet, Internet Protocol standard IPv
4 or a communication protocol compatible with the Internet Protocol Standard IPv6.

[0018] It is preferable that the infrared transmitting section is composed of a plurality of LEDs that emit infrared light.

[0019]

FIG. 1 shows various home electric appliances installed in a home 10. As shown in FIG. The home electric appliances include a home network compatible device (hereinafter, network compatible device) 12 and a home network non-compliant device (hereinafter, referred to as non-network compatible device) 13. The network-compatible device 12 is connected to the device support device 14 via a communication cable to form a home network 16. As a communication cable, a commercial power line 1 for supplying power to each of the devices 12 and 13 is used.
8 and a LAN cable 19 are used. LAN
As the cable 19, for example, a 10BASE-T cable, a 100BASE-T cable, or the like is used.

The commercial power line 18 and the LAN cable 19 are connected via a modem 21. The modem 21 is provided with, for example, a connector called an information outlet, and the LAN cable 19 is connected to the information outlet.

As shown in FIG. 2, the modem 21 superimposes a signal wave 82 from the LAN cable 19 on a 50 Hz or 60 Hz AC power supply waveform 81 flowing through the commercial power supply line 18 by modulation. AC power wave 8
The signal wave 82 superimposed on 1 is taken out by demodulation, and the commercial power line 18 functions as a communication cable. Reference numeral 22 denotes a filter for removing noise of the AC power supply wave 81 sent from the power transmission line into the house 10.

The network compatible device 12 includes a refrigerator 12a,
There are a washing machine 12b and a microwave oven 12c, which are connected to a power outlet 24. These network-compatible devices 12 are provided with a modulation / demodulation unit (not shown) having the same function as the modem 21. The modulation / demodulation unit extracts the signal wave 82 superimposed on the power supply wave 81 and superimposes the signal wave 82 on the power supply wave 81.

The LAN cable 19 is connected to the device support device 14 and the Internet 26 via a repeater such as a hub 26 or a router 27. Home network 1
6 and the Internet 29 may be connected using a telephone line or a dedicated cable.

The device support device 14 is for supporting the operation of a home network compatible device.
It receives a notification sent from the network compatible device 12 to monitor a failure status, manages inventory from the refrigerator 12a based on a notification of an inventory status of foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator, and performs The progress of the washing process such as water supply, washing, and dehydration is displayed based on the notification sent from the machine 12b.

The device support device 14 downloads the latest setting information of the network device 12 from the manufacturer's website via the Internet 29 and registers the downloaded information in the network device 12. Do. The setting information includes, for example, an operation program corresponding to a menu of a new dish in the case of a microwave oven, and an operation program of a washing machine for each material in the case of a washing machine.

In addition to the setting information, for example, an operation manual or the like may be downloaded. In this case, the manufacturer only needs to upload the operation manual on the web site, so that it is not necessary to provide the operation manual with the product, and the product cost can be reduced. Also,
It is convenient for the user without having to search for the operation manual.

Various other uses of the device support device 14 are possible. For example, when inventory management of the refrigerator 12a is performed, a shortage of groceries can be transferred to a grocery store via the Internet. May be automatically ordered.

Further, the home network 16 may be used to perform remote control such as turning on / off the power of the network-compatible device 12 from outside the home 10. In this case, the user connects to the home network 16 via a telephone line and operates each network-compatible device 12.

The non-network-compatible device 13 includes, for example, a television 13a, a VTR 13b, a printer 13c, and an air conditioner 1.
There is 3d. These are connected to a power outlet 34 and receive power from the commercial power line 19. These non-network-compatible devices 13 are remotely operated by one remote controller 36. The non-network-compatible device 13 is provided with an infrared light receiving unit 39 for receiving infrared light.

The remote controller 36 is provided with a light emitting / receiving section 37 for emitting and receiving infrared rays. Remote control 36
Can operate a plurality of non-network-compatible devices 13,
A plurality of types of operation commands corresponding to each device are stored. An operation command for each device is transmitted from the light emitting / receiving unit 37. The remote controller 36 can register an operation command of another remote controller. When the remote controller 36 performs this registration, for example, the light emitting and receiving unit 37 and the transmission unit of another remote controller face each other, and the transmission is performed. An operation command sent from the unit is received by the light emitting / receiving unit 37.

As will be described later, the remote control 36
A communication function is provided, and various types of information can be downloaded from the device support device 14 and the Internet 29 by connecting to the home network 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, a liquid crystal panel (LCD) is used as the operation panel 44 of the remote controller 36, and a touch sensor 74 (see FIG. 9) is connected to the liquid crystal panel. Various operation screens are displayed on the operation panel 44. When an operation button in the operation screen is touched, the touch sensor responds, and an operation command corresponding to each operation button is transmitted.

On the initial screen of the operation panel 44, a selection button 46a for selecting a device to be operated by the remote controller 36 is displayed.
To 46d are displayed. Each selection button 46a-46d
Respectively correspond to the television 13a, the VTR 13b, the printer 13c, and the air conditioner 13d. When any one of the buttons is pressed, an operation screen of the corresponding device is displayed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a power button 49a, a volume button 49b,
Channel button 49c, video input switching button 4
9d, a manual button 49e, and the like are displayed. The switching button 49d is a button for switching a video input source. With this button, for example, switching between antenna input and video input is performed.

The manual button 49e is a button for displaying a television operation manual. The remote controller 36 stores the URL address of the website of the television maker in association with the manual button 49e.

Remote controller 36 and home network 16
When the manual button 49e is pressed in a state in which is connected, the operation manual is downloaded from the manufacturer's website and displayed on the operation panel 44. By displaying the operation manual on the remote controller 36 in this manner,
The trouble of searching for an operation manual can be saved. Further, since only the data of the URL address is stored in the remote controller 36, it is not necessary to mount a large-capacity memory for storing the data of the operation manual.

The video operation screen displays a play button, a stop button, a recording button, and the like, and the printer operation screen displays a print start button and the like. On the operation screen of the air conditioner, a button for selecting heating or cooling, a temperature setting button, a button for adjusting an air volume and a wind direction, and the like are displayed. In addition, the operation screen of each of these devices also
As with the operation screen of the TV, a manual button is provided.
The RL address is stored.

The multifunction button 47 is used to transmit a plurality of operation commands for a plurality of devices by one operation, such as when reproducing a video or printing a screen displayed on the television 13a to the printer 13c. Used for When the multifunction button 47 is pressed, a menu screen 51 for selecting a multifunction is displayed as shown in FIG.

On the menu screen 51, for example, a video playback button 51a and a screen print button 51b are displayed. When the video playback button 51a is pressed, the TV 1
3a, the power switch of the VTR 13b is turned on, and the TV 1
The video input of 3a is switched from the antenna to the video input. Then, the reproduction of the VTR 13b is started. When the screen print button 51b is pressed, the printer 13 is pressed.
The power switch c is turned on, and the image displayed on the screen of the television 13a is printed.

Such a series of operation commands are combined in advance, and when the video playback button 51a and the screen print button 51b are pressed, these series of operation commands are transmitted to the respective devices. Various functions other than video reproduction and screen printing can be considered as the composite function. Also, for example, by allowing a user to arbitrarily combine operation commands,
This may be registered as a composite function.

The registration button 48 is a button used when registering an operation command of another remote controller. When this registration button 48 is pressed, for example, a registration screen (not shown) is displayed, and designation of a device corresponding to an operation command to be registered is performed according to guidance on this screen. After this designation, an operation command is transmitted from another remote controller to register the operation command. When the operation command is registered, a button corresponding to the registered operation command is displayed on the operation screen of the specified device. Alternatively, when an operation command for a new device is registered, a selection button for the device is added to the initial screen.

With this registration function, it becomes possible to operate a new home appliance with the remote controller 36. This allows
Even if the number of home appliances increases, the number of remote controllers does not increase unnecessarily, and the operation is prevented from becoming complicated.

As shown in FIG. 6, a transparent cover 41 is provided in the light emitting / receiving section 37, and a light emitting element 42 for emitting infrared rays and a light receiving element 43 for receiving infrared rays are provided behind the transparent cover 41. Is arranged. For example, a photo sensor or the like is used as the light receiving element 43, and converts the received operation command into an electric signal.

As the light emitting element 42, for example, an LED is used. A plurality of light emitting elements 42 are provided. This is to widen the propagation range of the operation command transmitted from the remote controller 36. Further, each light emitting element 42a-
The surface on which 42d is arranged is convex, so that the operation command propagates at a wider angle. For example,
Even when the television 13a and the VTR 13b are installed in remote places, it is not necessary to operate the remote controller for each device.

As shown in FIG. 7, a connector 62 for connecting a communication cable 61 is provided at the rear of the remote controller 36.
Is provided. Through this connector 62, information is downloaded. As the communication cable 61, for example, a LAN cable is used.

As the information to be downloaded, in addition to the above-mentioned operation manual, for example, the latest setting information corresponding to the non-net-compatible device 13 and the non-net-compatible device 13 are issued similarly to the case of the net-compatible device 12. There is explanation information of status messages. As setting information,
For example, in the case of the air conditioner 13d, an energy saving operation program or the like is used.

Further, when a new home electric appliance is purchased, operation commands of the dedicated remote controller may be collectively downloaded. In this case, together with the operation command, if necessary, a communication protocol which is an agreement for communication between the non-network-compatible device 13 and the remote controller 36 is also downloaded. This way,
The operation of registering the operation commands becomes simpler than the case where the operation commands are registered one by one from the light receiving element 43.

In order to make it easier to download operation commands and the like for new home appliances, a list of major home appliance manufacturers registered in advance is displayed on a screen displayed at the time of downloading. Good. And
If the URL address is stored in association with the name of each home appliance maker, the web site of the maker can be accessed simply by specifying the maker name from the remote controller 36. On the manufacturer's website, for example, the model number list of the device corresponding to the uploaded operation command is
It is displayed on a page, and the user clicks a desired model number to download.

Further, a manufacturer name and a model number are input from the remote controller 36, and a web site is accessed based on the input.
You may make it download. In this case, it is necessary to display a character input unit such as a keyboard on the operation panel 44 of the remote controller 36 so that a manufacturer name or a model name can be input from the character input unit.

The connection between the remote controller 36 and the Internet 29 may be made via the device support device 14 or without using the device support device 14. When connecting via the device support apparatus 14, the communication cable 61 is
An SB cable or the like may be used.

Further, the remote controller 36 can be used in place of the device support device 14 by utilizing the communication function of the remote controller 36. That is, the remote controller 36 is connected to the home network 16 to download setting information of the non-network-compatible device 13 and to monitor a failure state. In this case, it is necessary to install fault condition monitoring software or the like on the remote controller 36.

Further, if the remote controller 36 and the home network 16 are connected, the non-network-compatible device 13 can be remotely controlled from outside the home 10. In this case, the remote controller 36 is operated via the telephone line and the home network 16. Then, the remote controller 36 transmits an operation command to the non-network-compatible device 13 according to an instruction from the user. By doing so, the remote controller 3 connects the network-compatible device 12 and the non-network-compatible device 13 to one
6 can be operated. In addition, non-net compatible device 1
Since the device 3 is operated by an infrared command as before, it is not necessary to prepare a special device for remote control.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the remote controller 36. The controller 71 controls each unit. The memory 72 has a command storage area 72a and an address storage area 72b. Various operation commands are stored in the command storage area 72a. A URL address is stored in the address storage area 72b. In the memory 72, in addition to the above information, various screen information, a communication protocol, and the like are stored. As this communication protocol, for example, the current Internet protocol standard IP
The one corresponding to v4 is used. In the future, when a transition is made to the next-generation Internet Protocol standard IPv6, the one corresponding to that will be used.

The LCD driver 73 drives the operation panel 44. The network I / F circuit 76 controls communication. The infrared modulation / demodulation circuit 77 converts the operation command to A / D
This is a circuit for conversion. The operation command converted into digital data by the infrared modulation / demodulation circuit 77 is converted into an analog signal and sent to the light emitting element driver 78. The light emitting element driver 78 drives each of the light emitting elements 42a to 42d based on the analog signal. Conversely, the infrared modulation / demodulation circuit 77 converts an analog signal sent via the infrared light receiving circuit 79 into digital data.

Hereinafter, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When operating the non-network-compatible device 13 with the remote controller 36, an operation command is transmitted by operating the operation screen of the operation panel 44. When an operation on a plurality of devices such as video playback is required, a video playback button 51a is pressed from the menu screen 51. Then, a series of operation commands is 1
The television 13a and the video 13b are transmitted by the above operation.

When the operation of the non-network-compatible device 13 is lost, the remote controller 36 is switched to the home network 16.
And press the manual button. Then, the operation manual is downloaded from the manufacturer's website on the Internet 29 and displayed on the operation panel 44.

When new home appliances increase,
The operation command corresponding to the device is registered in the remote controller 36. This registration may be performed using a dedicated remote controller attached to the device, or may be performed by downloading an operation command from a manufacturer's website. This allows
The remote controller 36 enables the operation of new home appliances.

In the above example, a LAN cable is used as a data transmission medium in the home network. Alternatively, a wireless LAN may be configured using radio waves or infrared rays. Also, communication between the remote controller and the home network or the terminal device may be performed wirelessly instead of the communication cable.

Also, in the above example, an example is described in which a non-net-compatible device is remotely controlled by receiving an infrared operation command from a remote controller. However, the wireless transmission medium for transmitting the operation command is not necessarily infrared. For example, an ultrasonic wave may be used. In this case, the remote control requires an ultrasonic transmission unit, and the non-net compatible device requires an ultrasonic reception unit. Further, the remote controller is described as a wireless (wireless) remote controller, but a wired remote controller connected to a non-net-compatible device by a cable may be used.

[0060]

As described in detail above, the present invention provides
Since the remote control device having a function of operating the home appliance by infrared communication can be connected to the home LAN, the operation and operation of the home appliance can be performed regardless of whether the home appliance supports the home network. Can be easily supported.

Also, the remote control device includes:
Since the operation command of another remote controller can be stored, all the electric apparatuses can be operated by one remote controller regardless of the number of the electric apparatuses.

When the remote control and the Internet are connected via the home LAN, operation manual information and the like of the electric equipment can be downloaded. In this case, if only the website address is stored and the operation manual is downloaded and displayed when it is desired to be displayed, the entire operation manual information is not stored and stored in the remote control. I'm done. As a result, it is not necessary to mount a large-capacity memory, so that the product cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of various home electric appliances arranged in a home.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a waveform obtained by superimposing a signal wave on an AC power supply wave.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the remote controller.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a television operation screen.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a menu screen of a composite function.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a light emitting and receiving unit of the remote controller.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a connector of a remote controller.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the remote controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Internet compatible device 13 Non-net compatible device 16 Home network 18 Commercial power line 19 LAN cable 36 Remote control

Claims (13)

[Claims] An electronic device comprising at least one remote controllable home appliance and a remote control device having an operation function for remotely controlling the home appliance and connectable to a home LAN. A home LAN-compatible remote control system characterized in that the home appliance is operated by using the home LAN. 2. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein said remote operation is performed by infrared communication. 3. A remote control device for remotely controlling a home appliance, comprising: a transmission unit for transmitting an operation command to the home appliance using a wireless transmission medium, wherein: a means for storing an operation command of at least one home appliance; A remote control device comprising communication means for performing data communication by connecting to a home LAN. 4. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein the wireless transmission medium is an infrared ray, and the transmitting unit is an infrared transmitting unit. 5. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein the operation command is transmitted based on information received from the home LAN. 6. The remote control device according to claim 3, further comprising display means for displaying information received by said communication means. 7. The remote control according to claim 3, further comprising an infrared receiver for receiving an infrared operation command, fetching the operation command through the infrared receiver, and storing the operation command in the storage unit. Control device. 8. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein an operation command is fetched via said communication means and stored in said storage means. 9. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein said communication means is connectable to the Internet via a home LAN.
9. The remote control device according to any one of items 1 to 8. 10. The remote control device according to claim 6, wherein the information is operation manual information of the home electric appliance. 11. The operation manual information is uploaded to a Web site on the Internet, a means for storing an address of the Web site is provided, a connection is made to the Web site based on the address, and the operation manual information is stored. The remote control device according to claim 10, wherein the remote control device is downloaded and displayed. 12. A communication protocol for connecting to the Internet, the Internet protocol standard IP.
The remote control device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein a communication protocol corresponding to v4 or internet protocol standard IPv6 is used. 13. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the infrared transmitting unit includes a plurality of LEDs that emit infrared light.
13. The remote control device according to any one of 12.