JP2003204448A - Electronic apparatuses, operation control system thereof and operation control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable easy control of a plurality of electronic apparatuses irrespective of positions of the apparatuses. <P>SOLUTION: When an infrared rays signal outputted from a light emitting part 42 of a remote-controller 40 is received by a light receiving part 12 of a VTR 10, the signal is converted to a signal for remote-controlling a television receiver 1 on the basis of data stored in an EEPROM included in the VTR 10, and transmitted to a cable mouse 20 via an USB cable 30. The infrared rays signal outputted from a light emitting part 21 of the cable mouse 20 is received by a light receiving part 3 of the television receiver 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control system for electronic equipment, an electronic equipment and an operation control method for electronic equipment, and more particularly to the operation of an electronic equipment capable of easily controlling a plurality of electronic equipment. The present invention relates to a control system, an electronic device, and an operation control method for the electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Television receivers, VTRs (Video Ta
pe Recorder) and AV (Audio Visual) equipment that can be controlled by a remote controller such as audio equipment,
In addition, when controlling an electronic device such as a living device (for example, a fluorescent lamp that can be controlled by a remote controller, an air conditioner) including an infrared light receiving unit, a dedicated infrared light emitting device represented by a remote controller can be used.
It is known to send and control infrared signals to the device.

However, when controlling electronic equipment by a dedicated remote controller,
There is a problem in that a dedicated remote controller must be prepared for each, and the user must have a plurality of remote controllers.

Therefore, a remote controller compatible with a plurality of electronic devices can be considered.

[0005]

However, even if one remote controller is made to correspond to a plurality of devices, when the user controls each electronic device, the user points the remote controller in the direction of the electronic device. There is a problem that the operability is poor, for example, an electronic device placed in a position that cannot be directly viewed from the operating position cannot be operated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to reliably control a plurality of electronic devices regardless of their positions.

[0007]

An operation control system for electronic equipment according to the present invention converts a signal of a first format into a signal of a second format, and converts the signal of the second format into a cable based on the USB standard. And an infrared signal for receiving a second format signal transmitted by the electronic device via a cable based on the USB standard and causing another electronic device to perform a predetermined operation. An operation control system for an electronic device, comprising: an infrared signal generating device for generating, wherein the electronic device includes a first receiving means for receiving a signal of a first format transmitted by a remote controller, and a first receiving means. Converting means for converting the signal of the first format received by the converter into a signal of the second format, and the second signal converted by the converting means. And a second receiving means for receiving the signal of the second format transmitted from the electronic device. Generating means for generating an infrared signal corresponding to the second format signal received by the second receiving means.

The infrared signal generator may have a plurality of generating means.

The electronic equipment of the present invention receives the signal of the first format transmitted by the remote controller, and converts the signal of the first format received by the receiving means into the signal of the second format. Converting means for converting the signal of the first format into a signal of the second format, and a storage means for storing the correspondence between the signal of the first format and the signal of the second format. And a transmission means for transmitting the signal of the second format converted by the method to another electronic device.

The storage means stores, as a signal of the second format, a signal for causing another electronic device to continuously perform a plurality of operations in response to the signal of the first format. Can be

The storage means stores, as a signal of the second format, a signal for causing each of the plurality of other electronic devices to execute a predetermined operation in response to the signal of the first format. You can

The storage means may store a signal for causing the transmission means to perform transmission at an arbitrary time as a signal of the second format corresponding to one signal of the first format. it can.

The receiving means can receive the infrared signal of the first format output from the remote controller.

The transmitting means may transmit an infrared signal corresponding to the second format signal.

An operation control method for an electronic apparatus according to the present invention comprises a receiving step of receiving a signal of the first format transmitted by a remote controller, and a signal of the first format received by the processing of the first receiving step. To a signal of the second format and a correspondence relationship between the signal of the first format and the signal of the second format for converting the signal of the first format to the signal of the second format And a transmitting step of transmitting the signal of the second format converted by the processing of the converting step.

In the operation control system for electronic equipment of the present invention, the electronic equipment receives the signal of the first format transmitted by the remote controller, and the received signal of the first format is of the second format. It is converted into a signal, and the converted second format signal is transmitted via a cable based on the USB standard. Further, the infrared signal generator receives the second format signal transmitted from the electronic device and generates an infrared signal corresponding to the received second format signal.

In the electronic device and the operation control method of the electronic device of the present invention, the signal of the first format transmitted by the remote controller is received, and the received signal of the first format is the signal of the second format. Storage of the correspondence between the first format signal and the second format signal for converting the first format signal to the second format signal is controlled and converted to 2 format signals are transmitted.

[0018]

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an AV system to which the present invention is applied. This AV system is
Television receiver 1, VTR (Video Tape Recorde)
r) 10, a cable mouse 20, and a remote controller 40.

The display unit 2 of the television receiver 1 displays an image based on the broadcast data received from the broadcasting station. The light receiving unit 3 also receives an infrared signal emitted from a slave unit such as a dedicated remote controller (not shown).

The television receiver 1 is also connected to the VTR 10 via a cable 31. VTR10
Reproduces a magnetic tape contained in a video tape (not shown) inserted from the tape insertion port 11 or records the received video signal and audio signal on the magnetic tape. The light receiving unit 12 is a dedicated remote controller 40.
Receive the infrared signal from.

The television receiver 1 sends the video signal and the audio signal reproduced by the VTR 10 to the cable 3
Receive via 1. Display unit 2 of television receiver 1
Displays an image based on the received data.

The VTR 10 also has a USB cable 30.
The cable mouse 20 is connected via. When the data from the VTR 10 is input via the USB cable 30, the cable mouse 20 generates an infrared signal based on the data from the light emitting section 21 thereof. The light receiving section 3 of the television receiver 1 receives the infrared signal generated from the light emitting section 21 of the cable mouse, and executes processing based on the received infrared signal.

The remote controller 40 is the VTR 10
It is provided in advance in the VTR 10 as a child device for performing remote operation of the VTR 10 and for operating other electronic devices (for example, the television receiver 1) via the cable mouse 20. The remote controller 40 includes an operation unit 41, and when the user operates the operation unit 41 of the remote controller 40, operation information based on the user's operation is generated from the light emitting unit 42 as an infrared signal. This infrared signal is received by the light receiving section 12 of the VTR 10.

When the user wants to operate another electronic device (for example, the television receiver 1) with the remote controller 40, the operating unit 41 can select the electronic device. At this time, the infrared signal emitted from the light emitting section 42 is also received by the light receiving section 12 of the VTR 10. In other words, the user is
Need not be operated toward the electronic device that is the operation target (in this case, the light receiving unit 3 of the television receiver 1), but is always operated toward the light receiving unit 12 of the VTR 10.

The received infrared signal is sent to the television receiver 1 by the MPU 75 of FIG.
Is converted into a signal corresponding to and transmitted to the cable mouse 20 via the USB cable 30. Cable mouse 2
The 0 light emitting unit 21 generates the received data as an infrared signal. The light receiving unit 3 of the television receiver 1 receives the infrared signal and executes processing based on the signal.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a structural example of the television receiver 1 of FIG. In the figure, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted because it is repeated. The light emitting portion 21 of the cable mouse 20 is provided so as to protrude from the tip of the cable mouse 20. As a result, the infrared signal generated from the light emitting section 21 of the cable mouse 20 is received by the light receiving section 3 of the television receiver 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the television receiver 1 of FIG.

The television receiver 1 includes an internal bus 61.
Via tuner 62, decoder 63, MPU 64 (Mi
The cro processing unit) and the input / output interface 65 are connected to each other. Further, the display unit 2 and the light receiving unit 3 are further connected to the internal bus 61.

The MPU 64 controls each section based on a command from the user. The tuner 62 receives a broadcast signal. The decoder 63 is, for example, an MPEG (Motion Pictur).
e Experts Group) method to decode data.

The input / output interface 65 is connected to the input / output interface 78 shown in FIG. 4 of the VTR 10 via the cable 31 and executes interface processing.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the VTR 10 shown in FIG.

The VTR 10 is connected to the VTR 10 via the internal bus 71.
Tuner 72, decoder 73, encoder 74, MPU
75, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable R
An ead-only memory) 76, a recording / reproducing unit 77, an input / output interface 78, and a USB controller 79 are connected to each other, and the light receiving unit 12 is further connected.

The tuner 72 receives a broadcast signal. M
The PU 75 controls each unit. The recording / reproducing unit 77 records or reproduces video data and audio data on the mounted video tape. The decoder 73 uses MP
The data encoded by the EG method is decoded. The encoder 74 encodes video data and audio data by the MPEG method.

The EEPROM 76 stores data for remote control of a plurality of other devices other than the VTR 10. Data of other devices, for example,
The user uses a VTR to send an infrared signal from a remote controller (not shown) that is pre-installed in another device.
It is added or rewritten by generating it toward the light receiving unit 12 of 10 and receiving light.

When the user transmits an infrared signal for controlling a device other than the VTR 10 (for example, the television receiver 1), the MPU 75 stores the data received by the light receiving unit 12 in the data stored in the EEPROM 76 ( Based on the conversion table, a process of rewriting the data corresponding to the target device (television receiver 1) is performed.

The input / output interface 78 executes interface processing with a device (television receiver 1) connected via the cable 31. USB
The controller 79 executes interface processing with the cable mouse 20 via the USB cable 30.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the cable mouse 20 of FIG. Cable mouse 20
Via an internal bus 91, an MPU 92, a USB controller 93, and a RAM 94 (Random Access Memory).
y) is connected to each other, and the light emitting unit 21 is further connected.

The MPU 92 controls each part. RAM9
4 temporarily stores the data input from the USB controller 93.

In FIG. 5, the light emitting portion 21, the internal bus 91, the MPU 92, the USB controller 93, and the RAM 94 are provided inside the cable mouse 20, but the light emitting portion 21 and other portions are independent of each other. It may be configured.

FIG. 6 shows the remote controller 40 of FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of FIG. The remote controller 40 is provided with an operation unit 41 and a light emitting unit 42. The operation unit 41 is provided with a selection unit 111 for selecting a device and an operation for the selected device. The selection unit 111 allows a user to operate a device other than the VTR 10 on a display screen or a display screen. It has a selection button and the like. Further, for example, the selection unit 111 can also cause the user to perform selection by voice. When a command from the user is input to the operation unit 41 (selection unit 111), the operation detection unit 101 detects the operation and outputs the detection result to the MPU 102. The MPU 102 controls the light emitting unit 42 and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected result to the VT.
Output to R10.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10, a process of controlling the television receiver 1 by operating the remote controller 40 will be described.

First, the operation processing in the remote controller 40 will be described with reference to FIG. VTR
It is assumed that the EEPROM 76 of 10 stores in advance data relating to the remote control of the television receiver 1. Note that this process is started when the user operates the selection unit 111 of the remote controller 40.

In step S11, the selection unit 111
Accepts the selection of the device to be operated by the user. The operation detection unit 101 detects the operation selected by the selection unit 111 and outputs the result to the MPU 102. Thereby, for example, in this case, the television receiver 1 is selected.

In step S12, the selection unit 111
Accepts the operation of the selected device. Operation detector 1
01 detects the operation selected by the selection unit 111 and outputs the result to the MPU 102. This gives, for example,
The operation of "turning on the television receiver 1" is accepted.

In step S13, the MPU 102
Controls the light emitting unit 42 to cause the light emitting unit 42 to generate an infrared signal corresponding to the detection result.

Next, the processing in the VTR 10 will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that this process is started when the infrared signal generated from the light emitting unit 42 is received in the process of step S13 of FIG.

In step S21, the light receiving section 12
Generated from the light emitting unit 42 of the remote controller 40 (see FIG.
When the infrared signal is received in step S13), it is detected and output to the MPU 75.

In step S22, the MPU 75
The device selected from the signals received from the light receiving unit 12 (in this case, the television receiver 1) and the operation information of the selected device (in this case, "turn on the television receiver 1") Is read and converted into a signal of a format stored in the EEPROM 76 for remote control of the television receiver 1.

In step S23, the MPU 75
The converted signal is transmitted from the USB controller 79 to the cable mouse 20 via the USB cable 30.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, the cable mouse 2
The process of 0 will be described. It should be noted that this process is performed by the USB controller 7 in the process of step S23 of FIG.
It is started when the signal transmitted from 9 is received.

In step S31, the USB controller 93 receives the signal transmitted from the USB controller 79 of the VTR 10 (step S23 in FIG. 8) and outputs the received signal to the MPU 92.

In step S32, the MPU 92
The received signal is temporarily stored in the RAM 94, and the light emitting unit 21 is caused to generate an infrared signal corresponding to the received signal.

Next, the processing in the television receiver 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that this process is the same as the process of step S32 of FIG.
It is started when an infrared signal generated from is received.

In step S41, the light receiving section 3 receives the infrared signal generated from the light emitting section 21 of the cable mouse 20 (step S32 in FIG. 9) and outputs the infrared signal to the MPU 64.

In step S42, the MPU 64
The process corresponding to the received signal (in this case, "turn on the television receiver 1") is executed.

By the above-described processing of FIGS. 7 to 10, the infrared signal generated from the remote controller 40 becomes V
When the light is received by TR10, it is converted into a signal corresponding to the selected device, and is converted via the USB cable 30.
It is transmitted to the cable mouse 20. Cable mouse 20
Outputs the received signal to the selected device.

As described above, when the data relating to the remote control corresponding to another device (for example, the television receiver 1) is stored in the EEPROM 76 of the VTR 10, when another manufacturer or an AV device having a different format is purchased. Also in the remote controller 40
Can be operated with. This allows the cable mouse 20
Is arranged so as to face the electronic device to be controlled, the electronic device can be placed at the VTR 10 regardless of its position.
Remote controller 4 in the same direction as when controlling
It becomes possible to control with 0 pointing.

Further, in the processing as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, by storing the data corresponding to a plurality of devices in the EEPROM 76 of the VTR 10, the plurality of devices can be operated by one remote controller. In this embodiment,
Although the remote controller 40 attached to the VTR 10 is used for the operation, the remote controller that is not the attached remote controller can operate the VTR 10 and has a selection unit for operating other devices. Will also be possible.

Further, in the above, the VTR 10 is made to hold the conversion table.
Instead of 10, the light receiving section and the semiconductor memory (for example,
It may be held in a personal computer including an EEPROM or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. In this case, it becomes possible to download data corresponding to another device via the Internet. For personal computers, US
Many B controllers are provided in advance, so they can be easily connected.

Further, the EEPROM 76 can store signals for causing other electronic devices to continuously perform a plurality of operations. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to sequentially generate a signal from the light emitting unit 21 including a signal of "turn on the power of the television receiver 1" and a signal of "set the receiving channel of the television receiver 1 to 3". .

Further, the light emitting portion 21 of the cable mouse 20
When a plurality of electronic devices can receive the infrared signal generated by, the user can simultaneously operate the plurality of electronic devices. For example, a signal including a signal of "turn on the power of the television receiver 1" and a signal of "turn on of the air conditioner (not shown)" is generated in the light emitting unit 21, and the television receiver 1 and the air conditioner are generated. It is possible to let the processor execute the processing.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of another cable mouse to which the present invention is applied.

In this example, the main body 130 has an internal bus 91, an MPU 92, a USB controller 93, and a RAM.
94 are mutually connected, and an input / output interface 121 is further connected.

The input / output interface 121 is connected to the light emitting section 21A via the code 140A, the light emitting section 21B via the code 140B, and the light emitting section 21C via the code 140C.

The light emitting section 21A, the light emitting section 21B, and the light emitting section 21C are provided in different directions, and generate infrared signals to other electronic devices installed in various directions.

In the selection section 111 of the remote controller, the electronic device to be operated, the operation of the electronic device,
And the light emitting parts 21A, 21 of the cable mouse 120.
The information selected in which light-emitting unit of B and 21C is generated is set to V by the processing of step S13 of FIG.
Send to TR10. The processing of the VTR 10 is the same as that shown in FIG.

The USB controller 93 transmits from the USB controller 79 of the VTR 10 (step S2 in FIG. 8).
3) When the received signal is received, the received signal is MP
Output to U92. The MPU 92 sends the received signal to RA
The light is emitted from the light emitting unit 21A while being temporarily stored in the M94.
An infrared signal corresponding to a signal other than the signal related to the selection of the light emitting unit in the signal received by the selected light emitting unit is identified by identifying which light emitting unit is selected from the light emitting units 21B and 21C. Is generated and is received by the target device. The processing of the target device is the same as that shown in FIG.

As described above, the plurality of light emitting portions are connected to the main body 130 of the cable mouse 120 via the cords, and the respective light emitting portions are arranged so as to face the plurality of electronic devices installed in various directions. By doing so, even when a plurality of devices are installed in various directions, the plurality of electronic devices are directed to the remote controller 40 in the same direction as when controlling the VTR 10 regardless of their positions. Until,
It becomes possible to control.

The electronic device (VTR 10) and the infrared signal generator (cable mouse 20) are connected to the existing USB.
Since the connection is made via the cable 30, it is possible to flexibly cope with any device.

In addition, the USB cable is a USB power source.
Can be supplied from the connected device,
It is possible to build a compact system.

The remotely controlled electronic equipment may be a television receiver, a VTR, an air conditioner, an AV equipment, a fluorescent lamp, and other electronic equipment.

If the selection unit 111 of the remote controller 40 is selected to operate with a time difference (for example, a program such as a video recording reservation program),
It is also possible for the MPU 132 of the cable mouse 120 to temporarily record in the RAM 135 and generate and control with a time lag.

[0073]

As described above, according to the operation control system for electronic equipment, the electronic equipment, and the operation control method for electronic equipment,
It is possible to easily control a plurality of electronic devices regardless of their positions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an external appearance of an AV system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a configuration example of the television receiver of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the television receiver of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the VTR shown in FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the cable mouse of FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the remote controller of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process in the remote controller of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the VTR of FIG.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the cable mouse of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the television receiver of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the inside of the cable mouse to which the present invention has been applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 light receiving part, 12 light receiving part, 20 cable mouse, 21 light emitting part, 40 remote controller,
42 light emitting part, 65 input / output interface, 7
5 MPU, 76 EEPROM, 78 input / output interface, 79 USB controller

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device for converting a signal of a first format into a signal of a second format, and transmitting the signal of the second format via a cable based on the USB standard; and transmitting by the electronic device. An electronic device comprising: an infrared signal generating device for receiving the signal of the second format, which is generated via a cable based on the USB standard, and generating an infrared signal for causing another electronic device to perform a predetermined operation. In the operation control system, the electronic device includes a first receiving unit that receives a signal of the first format transmitted by a remote controller, and a signal of the first format received by the first receiving unit. To a signal of the second format, and a signal of the second format converted by the converter. And a transmitting means for transmitting the signal via the cable based on the USB standard, wherein the infrared signal generator receives second signal of the second format transmitted from the electronic device, An operation control system for electronic equipment, comprising: a generation unit that generates an infrared signal corresponding to the signal of the second format received by the second reception unit. 2. The operation control system for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the infrared signal generation device has a plurality of the generation means. 3. An electronic device for converting a signal of a first format into a signal of a second format and transmitting the signal of the second format via a cable based on the USB standard, which is transmitted by a remote controller. A receiving unit for receiving the signal of the first format, a converting unit for converting the signal of the first format received by the receiving unit into a signal of the second format, and a converting unit of the first format. Storage means for storing a correspondence relationship between the signal of the first format and the signal of the second format in order to convert the signal into the signal of the second format; and the storage means converted by the conversion means. An electronic device, comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits a signal in the second format to another electronic device. 4. The storage means, in response to one signal of the first format, causes the other electronic device to continuously perform a plurality of operations as the signal of the second format. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic signal is stored. 5. The storage means causes each of the plurality of other electronic devices to perform a predetermined operation as a signal of the second format in response to one signal of the first format. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein a signal for storing the signal is stored. 6. The storage means stores, as a signal of the second format, a signal for causing the transmission means to execute transmission at an arbitrary time, corresponding to one signal of the first format. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein: 7. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the receiving unit receives the infrared signal of the first format output from the remote controller. 8. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting unit transmits an infrared signal corresponding to the signal of the second format. 9. An operation control method for an electronic device, which converts a signal of a first format into a signal of a second format and transmits the signal of the second format, wherein the first signal transmitted by a remote controller is used. A receiving step of receiving a signal of a format; a converting step of converting the signal of the first format received by the processing of the first receiving step into a signal of the second format; A storage control step of controlling storage of a correspondence relationship between the signal of the first format and the signal of the second format for converting the signal into the signal of the second format; And a transmitting step of transmitting the converted signal of the second format. Operation control method.