JP2003046801A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote controller which can be constituted cheap without using an expensive circuit device and can narrow a high frequency band limitation. SOLUTION: A storage device 2 of an AV apparatus remote control outputs an infrared light transmission carrier overlapping control code 21 and a control code 22 having no infrared light transmission carrier to an infrared light transmission part 3 and an electric wave remote control transmission part 4. The electric wave remote control transmission part 4 radiates electric waves via a transmission antenna 5, and a reception antenna 6 of an AV apparatus received them. They are demodulated by an electric wave remote control reception part 7 to obtain a reproduction signal (control code) 71. Further, an infrared light (IR) carrier 171 is reproduced by a programmable divider 17 based on a reference signal from a reference oscillator 16 and dividing data 151 from a controller 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device, for example, a remote control device for controlling AV (audiovisual) equipment or the like which uses radio waves as remote control means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various electronic devices and electronic applied devices such as TV receivers, VTRs (video tape players) and Cs.
For AV equipment such as D (Compact Disc) players, use a remote controller to control channel switching, audio output adjustment, playback / recording switching, disc switching, etc. at a position slightly distant from these devices. It is common to do. By using this remote controller, the above-described control can be performed at a distant position without standing up, which gives the viewer convenience.

However, such AV equipment is not necessarily a single manufacturer's product, and products of a plurality of manufacturers are often systemized and used. Further, even remote controllers of different manufacturers or remote controllers of the same manufacturer operate with different control methods or formats for each product.
Therefore, it is not always easy to control such an electronic device with a remote controller.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional remote control device, especially another company A.
It is a configuration (block) diagram of an example of a radio remote controller for controlling a V device. This conventional radio remote controller includes a control device 1, a storage device 2, an infrared transmitter 3, an radio remote controller transmitter 4, a transmitting antenna 5, a receiving antenna 6, a radio remote controller receiver 7, an infrared (IR) transmitter 8 and an AV of another company. Equipment 9
It is composed of In FIG. 3, components 1 to 5 are
It is included in the AV equipment remote control. In addition, the component 6 ~
8 is included in the AV equipment.

First, the radio remote control transmitter is equipped with an AV of another company.
EEPR in which a signal in which the control code of the device 9 and its infrared transmission carrier (carrier signal) are superimposed is already registered
A storage device 2 such as an OM (programmable read only memory) is installed. A case where the user wants to control the AV equipment 9 of another company by using the remote controller will be described. The user
By performing a specific key input operation, the control device 1
Calls the signal from the storage device 2 and outputs it to the infrared transmitter 3 and the radio remote controller transmitter 4. The radio remote controller transmission unit 4 converts the signal into a high frequency by subjecting it to ASK (amplitude shift keying) or FSK (frequency shift keying) modulation, and transmits it using the transmitting antenna 5.

In the AV equipment equipped with the corresponding radio remote controller receiver 7, the radio frequency remote controller receiver 7 receives the high frequency signal transmitted from the transmitter antenna 5 and receives it. Then, the control code of the AV device 9 of another company is output to the infrared transmitter 8 to control the AV device 9 of another company.

Next, FIG. 4 is a configuration (block) diagram of another example of a conventional remote control device for controlling the AV equipment of another company by a radio remote controller. In this conventional example, the same reference numerals are used for convenience in the components corresponding to the conventional example shown in FIG. In this conventional example, the control device 1, the storage device 2, the infrared transmission unit 3, the radio remote control transmission unit 4, the transmission antenna 5, the reception antenna 6, the radio remote control reception unit 7, the control device 10, the storage device 11, the infrared transmitter 8 are provided. And other company's AV equipment 9.

Similar to the case of the remote controller shown in FIG. 3,
By performing a specific key input operation from the storage device 2 such as the EEPROM, the control device 1 calls the signal from the storage device 2 and outputs the two-system control code.
Two output signals 21 and 22 are output from the storage device 2. The output signal 21 is the control code of the AV device 9 of another company on which the infrared transmission carrier is superimposed, and the output signal 22
Is an address value for specifying the control code of the other company's AV device 9 selected by the user by key input in a unique format. The output signal 21 is input to the infrared transmitter 3 mounted on the remote controller, as in the example of FIG. Further, the output signal 22 is modulated by the radio remote controller transmitter 4 such as ASK or FSK modulation, converted into a high frequency, and transmitted through the transmitting antenna 5.

An AV device equipped with a corresponding radio remote control receiver 7 demodulates the radio remote controller receiver 7 to a high frequency signal received by the receiving antenna 6. The control device 10 judges the demodulated address signal, and the storage device 11 such as an EEPROM in which the control code of the other company's AV device 9 mounted on the AV device and already superposed with the infrared transmission carrier is registered.
The control code of the other company's AV device 9 specified by is output to the infrared transmitter 8 to control the other company's AV device 9.

[0010]

In the case of the conventional remote controller shown in FIG. 3 described above, since the infrared carrier is already superposed on the control code input to the radio remote controller transmitter 4, it depends on the modulation method. Causes the signal occupied band of the high frequency signal after modulation to be too wide. Therefore, the limited frequency band of the high frequency band limiting circuit of the radio remote controller receiver 7 cannot be sufficiently narrowed, and the radio remote controller receiver 7
It has been difficult to improve the reception sensitivity as. Further, in the case of amplitude modulation, it is difficult to reproduce the correct phase of the received signal of the frequency component because the occupied band of the signal is widened.

On the other hand, in the case of the remote control device shown in FIG. 4, since the signal to be transmitted is an address signal in a unique format, the signal occupied band of the high frequency signal after modulation is sufficient depending on the speed of the signal. Since it can be narrowed and the band limitation of the high frequency band limiting circuit of the radio remote control receiver 7 can be made sufficiently narrow, the reception sensitivity can be improved. Further, since the reproduction signal itself of the radio remote controller reception unit 7 is not used as the control code of the AV equipment 9 of another company, if the address signal can be specified no matter how bad the reception condition is, the infrared transmission carrier of the correct phase is always superimposed. The control code of the AV device 9 of another company can be output. But,
Since more than two storage devices (2, 11) such as EEPROM are required, it becomes very expensive.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device which can solve or alleviate the above-mentioned problems.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the remote control device according to the present invention adopts the characteristic structure as described below.

(1) In a remote control device that uses a radio remote controller including a radio remote controller control section and a transmitting antenna to control other companies' AV equipment by infrared rays through an AV apparatus including a receiving antenna and a radio remote control receiving section. ,
The radio remote controller control unit of the radio remote controller receives an infrared transmission carrier-less control code from a storage device that pre-registers a control code of the AV device of another company,
For devices, a remote control device that plays back an infrared carrier for infrared transmission.

(2) The remote control device according to (1), wherein the infrared carrier is reproduced by a reference oscillator that outputs a reference signal and a programmable frequency divider that controls the reference signal based on frequency division data from a control device.

(3) The remote control device according to (1) or (2), further including an infrared transmission carrier superimposing circuit for superimposing the reproduction control code reproduced by the radio remote controller reception unit on the reproduced infrared carrier.

(4) The remote control device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the storage device includes an EEPROM or the like.

(5) The storage device outputs the infrared transmission carrier-less control code and the infrared transmission carrier superposition control code to an infrared transmission section that transmits an infrared control signal to the AV equipment of the other company. The remote control device according to any one of 4).

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration and operation of a preferred embodiment of a remote control device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a remote control device for controlling AV equipment according to the present invention. This remote control device includes a control device 1, a storage device 2, an infrared transmission unit 3, a radio remote control transmission unit 4, a transmission antenna 5, a reception antenna 6, a radio remote control reception unit 7, a control device 15, a reference oscillator 16, and a programmable frequency divider. 1
7, an infrared carrier superimposing circuit 18, an infrared transmitter 8, and an AV device 9 of another company.

To explain the operation, the control code of the other company's AV equipment 9 specified by the user's key input operation is output from the storage device 2 such as an EEPROM registered in advance under the control of the control device 1. The infrared transmission (or light emission) unit 3 outputs the infrared transmission carrier superposition control code 21 of the other company's AV device 9 on which the infrared (IR) transmission carrier is superposed. On the other hand, the infrared remote controlless control code 22 is output from the storage device 2 to the radio remote controller transmission unit 4. In this radio remote controller transmission unit 4, ASK
Or, after applying modulation such as FSK modulation and high frequency amplification,
It is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 5.

The receiving antenna 6 of the corresponding device receives the signal from the radio remote controller transmitting unit 4, demodulates and reproduces it in the radio remote controller receiving unit 7, and then inputs it to the control unit 15. Then, the custom code in the control code of the AV device 9 of another company is determined. At this time, it is assumed that the custom code that is a code for identifying another company and the infrared transmission carrier frequency for controlling the AV device 9 of another company are both known.

The control device 15 which has discriminated the custom code
Specifies the control infrared transmission carrier frequency and outputs the frequency division signal (frequency division data) 151 for reproducing the infrared transmission carrier of another company which is already registered in the internal storage device. The frequency division data 151 controls the programmable frequency divider 17. That is, the programmable frequency divider 17 divides the reference signal from the reference oscillator 16 by the frequency division data 151 from the control device 15. As a result, a signal having the same frequency as the target infrared transmission carrier, that is, the IR carrier 17
Play 1.

An AV of another company in which the infrared transmission carrier (IR carrier) 171 reproduced as described above and the infrared transmission carrier output from the radio remote controller receiver 7 are not superposed.
The control code (reproduction signal) 71 of the device 9 is mixed in the infrared transmission carrier superposition circuit 18 such as an OR (logical sum) circuit. And another company's AV with the infrared transmission carrier superimposed
Obtain the control code of the device 9. Other company A obtained in this way
The control code of the V device 9 is transferred to the other company's AV by the infrared transmitter 8.
It is transmitted to the device 9 and is controlled.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the remote control device according to the present invention. Note that, for convenience of explanation, components corresponding to those in FIG.
Similar reference numerals are used. In this embodiment, the control device 1, the storage device 2, the radio remote controller transmitting unit 4, the transmitting antenna 5, the receiving antenna 6, the radio remote controller receiving unit 7, the controller 15, the reference oscillator 8, the programmable frequency divider 17, the infrared transmitting carrier. The superposition circuit 18, the infrared transmitter 8, and the AV equipment 9 of another company.

As is clear from comparison with the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in the other embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the signal transmitted from the AV equipment remote controller is only a control address signal by radio waves (RF), and infrared ( IR) Do not send. In this case, the control code transmitted from the radio remote controller transmission unit is limited to the case where there is no infrared signal and only radio waves. When controlling the AV equipment 9 of another company, the signal is output to the infrared transmitter 8 connected to the AV equipment equipped with the radio remote control receiver to control the AV equipment 9 of another company. The other operations are the same as in the case of FIG. 1, and thus detailed description will be omitted.

[0027]

As can be understood from the above description, the remote control device of the present invention has the following remarkable practical effects. That is, it is possible to realize the control of another company's AV equipment using the radio remote controller without using a plurality of expensive storage devices such as EEPROM. Further, the circuit of the radio remote controller receiver can be simplified, so that it can be realized at low cost.
Furthermore, since the occupied band of the transmitted radio wave does not become wide, it is possible to narrow the high frequency band limitation of the radio remote control receiver.
It is possible to improve the reception sensitivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a preferred embodiment of a remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of another implementation failure of the remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first conventional example of a remote control device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second conventional example of a remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 control device 2 storage devices 3 Infrared transmitter 4 Radio remote control transmitter 5 transmitting antenna 6 receiving antenna 7 Radio remote control receiver 8 infrared transmitter 9 Other companies' AV equipment 10 Control device 11 Storage device 15 Control device 16 Reference oscillator 17 Programmable frequency divider 18 Infrared transmission carrier superposition circuit 21 Infrared transmission carrier superimposition control code 22 Control code without infrared transmission carrier 71 Playback signal (control code) 151 frequency division data 171 Reproduction IR (infrared) carrier

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device for controlling other companies' AV equipment and the like by infrared rays through an AV equipment including a reception antenna and a radio remote control reception section, using a radio remote control including a radio remote control control section and a transmission antenna, The radio remote controller control unit of the radio remote controller receives an infrared transmission carrier-less control code from a storage device that pre-registers a control code of the AV device of another company,
A remote control device that reproduces an infrared carrier for infrared transmission in equipment and the like. 2. The infrared carrier is reproduced by a reference oscillator that outputs a reference signal, and a programmable frequency divider that controls the reference signal based on frequency division data from a control device. The described remote control device. 3. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising an infrared transmission carrier superposition circuit that superimposes a reproduction control code reproduced by the radio remote controller reception unit on the reproduced infrared carrier. . 4. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device includes an EEPROM or the like. 5. The storage device outputs the infrared transmission carrier-less control code and the infrared transmission carrier superposition control code to an infrared transmission unit that transmits an infrared control signal to the AV equipment of the other company. 1 to 4
The remote control device according to any one of 1.