JP2003323257A - Wireless mouse with microphone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a wireless mouse having a voice input function, which is used as an input device for a personal computer, a home station, a video telephone system or the like, to be used as a voice input of the video telephone and also an input device for the home station or the like simultaneously. <P>SOLUTION: The input device has a voice input means to operate information devices by wireless, transmits a voice signal to a first information device and operates a second information device simultaneously. The input device and the information devices are connected via Bluetooth (R) to form a piconet by the input device and a plurality of information devices. A voice input function and a mouse operation function of the input device can operate the home station with transmitting voice to the video telephone by establishing links to separate information devices respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input device for operating a plurality of devices with a single wireless mouse, an input setting method, and an information device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, information devices such as game terminals and computers have been introduced not only in offices but also in homes. As these user interfaces, peripheral devices such as a microphone, a speaker, a keyboard and a mouse are connected to the information device as the main body. Since many peripheral devices are connected to one information device, the wiring thereof is troublesome and difficult for beginners. Furthermore, when the number of information devices is increased to two or three, the peripheral devices are also increased in number, which makes wiring more difficult and makes the appearance worse.

Under such circumstances, wireless peripheral devices have been desired. Therefore, peripheral devices for wireless connection using infrared rays or weak radio waves have appeared. Since these connections are wireless, there is no troublesome wiring, and the point that the range for limiting the distance between the information device and the peripheral device is sufficiently wide is improved. Further, since the peripheral device is wireless, it is possible to operate (connect) a plurality of information devices with one type of peripheral device.

For example, a mouse or the like can be used as an input means for several information devices by changing the radio frequency used. While this solved the wiring problem, it also caused a channel setting problem. In order to make the mouse correspond to a plurality of information devices, the frequency information channel is set and the corresponding information device is selected by changing the channel. However, the number of this frequency is a limited number (the number of channels), and it was not possible to easily know which frequency (channel) was set or was not set.

On the other hand, a microphone, which is one of the peripheral devices, has been attached to a display or an information device body as a means for solving the wiring problem. However, when inputting the voice of the user, the face had to be brought close to the display, which made it difficult to use. Therefore, there are some proposals to attach a microphone to a mouse, which is a peripheral device near the user.

As one of the conventional examples, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-24
There is an 8878 publication "Mouse with Microphone". It equips a mouse with a microphone, and a signal line dedicated to audio signals is built in the cord connecting the mouse and the computer.
On the computer side, the mouse port and the voice input port are separate, so the connector is branched.
In this conventional example, since the code has a signal line for a voice signal built therein, it is unavoidable that the code becomes thick and the operability of the mouse is deteriorated. Further, since it is not wireless, it must be operated near a computer (information device), which limits the range of use and the above-mentioned wiring problem.

As another conventional example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-3
There is a "Microphone integrated mouse" in Japanese Patent No. 01710. In this system, a microphone is integrally incorporated in a mouse, and a cable and a terminal of the mouse body are shared to input a voice signal of the microphone to a computer. As a method for realizing this, the USB cable is used for the mouse cable and the mouse connector, and the audio signal and the mouse signal are transmitted to the personal computer (information device) by USB. The original thick code, which was a problem in the previous example, does not cause a problem because the standard code is used. However, since the cables, connectors, and signal standards are limited to USB, the main computer and information equipment are USB
Must correspond to. In addition, there is the above-mentioned problem because it is not wireless.

[0008]

As described above, the problem with the conventional mouse and microphone of the information equipment is that the wiring is troublesome because it is not wireless, and it is difficult for beginners. Moreover, when the number of information devices increases, the number of peripheral devices also increases, further increasing the wiring problem.

In addition, the wireless mouse using infrared communication or weak radio waves has a limited number of channels, and the set channel cannot be easily known, which makes it difficult for the main body and the mouse to correspond to each other. is there.

Regarding the microphone, in the conventional example in which the microphone and the mouse are integrated, since the main body and the cord are connected, the wiring problem described above remains. In addition, by combining them, voice and mouse information can be sent to one information device, so it can be said that a voice signal is sent to one information device and mouse information is sent to another information device. There wasn't.

The present invention proposes a wireless mouse with a microphone that solves the above problems.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the wireless mouse with a microphone of the present invention comprises:
An input device for wirelessly operating information equipment, comprising voice input means and display means, wherein the display means includes information equipment and a transmission method for transmitting voice, and information for transmitting control information for operating the information equipment. The device and the transmission method are displayed, and the information device for transmitting audio and the information device for transmitting control information are the same or different information devices.

Further, the transmission method for transmitting voice is synchronous transmission, and the transmission method for transmitting control information for operating the information equipment is asynchronous transmission.

In addition, synchronous transmission for transmitting voice is performed by Blu
The asynchronous transmission of the control information for controlling the information equipment is the asynchronous transmission by the Bluetooth, and is the asynchronous transmission by the Bluetooth.

Further, when the voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone is used as voice input to the videophone, the videophone and the wireless mouse are connected between the videophone and the other party in response to the start of the telephone connection with the other party. ,
It is characterized by establishing a voice channel link.

When the voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone is used as a voice input to a videophone, a voice is transmitted between the videophone and the wireless mouse in response to disconnection of the videophone. The feature is that the link of the channel is disconnected.

Further, the voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone turns on the voice input means in accordance with a command from the information device.

Further, the voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone is characterized in that the voice input means is turned off in accordance with a command from the information device.

Further, the voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone is characterized in that, in response to a command from the information device, the voice input means is turned on and at the same time, a voice channel is established.

The voice input means of the wireless mouse with a microphone disconnects the voice channel link according to a command from the information device, and at the same time,
It is characterized in that the voice input means is turned off.

Further, the input device of the wireless mouse with a microphone is an optical pointing device, which is a wireless mouse with a microphone.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) An embodiment of a wireless mouse with a microphone of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an information device used in a general home. The system shown in the figure is a non-personal computer-based system centered on a home station that realizes functions specialized for multimedia, such as storing and playing back digital video and images taken with a digital camera.

Reference numeral 201 denotes a home station main body, which realizes various functions specialized for multimedia. The image communication unit 202 is called an image communication unit and realizes functions such as a videophone, an IP phone, and data communication. Reference numeral 203 denotes a microphone-equipped wireless mouse of the present invention, which has both a voice input function and a wireless mouse function. Reference numeral 204 denotes a remote controller for remotely operating the home station body.

Reference numeral 205 denotes a digital video, which is used for video input and audio input of the image communication unit (202). Moreover, in order to save the video data, the home station (201) is sent to the IEEE 13
94 to connect, send data, hard disk inside home station and CD-R (both not shown)
Or to record. A digital camera 206 stores captured image data in a medium inside the home station.

A printer 207 prints out image data and the like stored in the home station.
Reference numeral 208 denotes a TV monitor, which is used to watch the data stored in the home station or to watch the video when making a videophone call with the image communication unit. 209 is a network hub. The home station and the image communication unit are connected to an access point suitable for connecting to the Internet.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the connection of the mouse (203) of the present invention with the home station (201) and the imaging communication unit (202). In addition, FIG. 3 shows a state mode of the mouse of the present invention and a mouse display section in the mode (see FIG.
4) is shown.

The mouse (103) of the present invention communicates with the home station (101) or the imaging communication unit (102) as the main body by Bluetooth. When the mouse starts communication, the device recognition mode (S
can, Discovery) (Fig. 3-31)
0). The mouse display part at this time is shown in FIG. 3-300. In the mode, the mouse recognizes the home station body (101) and the communication unit (102) and forms a piconet. The device recognition mode is started by pressing a button (105) provided on the mouse (103).

Next, when the mouse of the present invention recognizes a device existing in the surroundings, it moves to a device selection mode (FIG. 3-311) in which the device is listed and a device for establishing a communication channel is determined. . The mouse has two functions, a voice input function and a mouse operation function. Therefore, the device that uses each function is individually determined.

FIG. 3-301 is a mouse display section for selecting a device for mouse operation. On the display,
The devices, home stations and imaging communication units that have been recognized in the previous recognition mode and that form a piconet are listed. Further, in the list, there is “NONE” as an option for not allowing the function of the mouse to correspond to the device. The option'N
ONE 'effectively disables mouse functionality. Use the left mouse button to select a device from the ones listed. Here, as an example, the operation of operating the home station with a mouse will be described. Move the cursor to the device (home station) to select and press the button (Fig. 1-105) attached to the mouse to determine the corresponding device.

The transmission method with the device thus associated only transmits intermittent information because its content is a control signal for mouse operation, and therefore the transmission method is asynchronous transmission (ACL: Asynchronous Conne
ction-Less Link) is enough.

Next, another function of the mouse, that is, a selection display of voice input (FIG. 3-302) is displayed. Decide which device should be used as the voice input.
Select NE 'to disable the voice input function. That is,
The voice channel does not establish a link with any device,
Set to the standby state (Standby). Move the cursor to'NO
After adjusting to NE ', the button attached to the mouse (Fig. 1-10
5) Press. The mouse state mode changes from the device selection mode (Fig. 3-311) to the normal operation mode (Fig. 3-31).
Go to 2). The display part of the mouse at this time is as shown in FIG.
As shown in 3, a device corresponding to the mouse function is displayed.

As described above, it is assumed that the digital camera album is edited on the home station by operating the mouse with the mouse and the corresponding device associated with each other. The operation method when a videophone call is received from the outside will be described below.

By default, the voice input of the videophone is
The voice input that the mouse of the present invention has is selected. When a videophone call is received from the outside to the image communication unit, the (videophone) application sends an inquiry (Inquiry) to the mouse (FIG. 2-203) to establish the voice channel that was in the standby state (Standby). To call and connect to the voice channel. The image communication unit and mouse have already formed a piconet, and Active
Since the member address is assigned, it is possible to start the voice communication simply by establishing the voice channel link.

A voice signal used in a videophone uses a synchronous transmission (SCO: Synchronous Connection) as a transmission method.
-Oriented Link) is selected. By performing synchronous transmission,
The voice signal can realize natural conversation without interruption, and can secure the sound quality. Although it is possible to transmit a voice signal using asynchronous transmission, the quality is poor and the voice is interrupted for use in a videophone application or the like, and the conversation cannot be performed.

By using the wireless mouse of the present invention, it is possible to continue operating the home station with the mouse, and the voice signal is input by voice from the mouse in the hand of the user. It has a high sound effect, and you can talk on a videophone without taking an uncomfortable posture.
Further, the synchronous transmission can realize a conversation with secured quality.

After the end of the videophone call, the voice channel can be disconnected from the application side and the voice input function of the mouse can be disabled.

Also, in consideration of the power consumption of the mouse of the present invention, the power of the voice input means can be turned on or off from the information terminal side.

In response to the start of the videophone, the voice channel link is established, the power of the voice input means of the mouse is turned on, and in response to the end of the videophone, the voice input means is turned on. At the same time as turning off the
Break the voice channel link. As a result, the power supply of the voice input means can be controlled remotely, which is convenient.

[0040]

As described above, the mouse according to the present invention has a voice input function, a mouse operation function, and a display means, and the display means has an information device corresponding to the voice input function or a mouse operation. Information devices corresponding to the functions are displayed, and devices corresponding to the respective functions can be individually associated. Therefore, while operating one information terminal with a mouse, it also serves as a voice input device for another information terminal. Furthermore, audio signals are transmitted synchronously (SCO), and control signals for mouse operation are transmitted asynchronously (AC
By performing the communication according to L), the quality of the voice signal is secured, and "natural conversation", which is important in videophone and IP telephone applications, can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a wireless mouse with a microphone of the present invention and an information device.

[Fig. 2] Diagram of the system centered on the home station

Figure 3: Wireless mouse status mode and mouse display

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Home Station 102 Image Communication Unit 103 Wireless mouse with microphone 104 display 105 button 201 Home Station 202 Image Communication Unit 203 Wireless mouse with microphone 204 remote control 205 digital video 206 digital camera 207 printer 208 monitor 209 Access Point Hub 300 Display in device recognition mode 301 Display when selecting a device for mouse operation 302 Display when selecting a device for voice input 303 Display in normal operation mode 310 Device recognition mode 311 Device selection mode 312 Normal operation mode

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An input device for wirelessly operating an information device, comprising an audio input means and a display means, wherein the display means transmits an audio information device and a transmission method, and a control for operating the information device. An information device for transmitting information and a transmission method are displayed, and the information device for transmitting voice and the information device for transmitting control information are the same or different information devices. A wireless mouse with a microphone. 2. The microphone-equipped wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission method for transmitting voice is synchronous transmission, and the transmission method for transmitting control information for operating information equipment is asynchronous transmission. mouse. 3. The synchronous transmission for transmitting voice according to claim 2 is synchronous transmission by Bluetooth, and the asynchronous transmission of control information for controlling information equipment is Blue.
A wireless mouse with a microphone characterized by asynchronous transmission by tooth. 4. The voice input means according to claim 1 is used as voice input to a videophone, and in response to the start of a telephone connection with the other party, between the videophone and the wireless mouse, Wireless mouse with microphone, characterized by establishing a voice channel link. 5. When the voice input means according to claim 1 is used as voice input to a videophone, a voice is sent between the videophone and the wireless mouse in response to disconnection of the videophone. A wireless mouse with a microphone that disconnects the channel link. 6. The wireless mouse with a microphone according to claim 1, wherein the voice input means turns on the voice input means in accordance with a command from the information device. 7. The wireless mouse with a microphone according to claim 1, wherein the voice input means turns off the voice input means in accordance with a command from the information device. 8. The wireless mouse with a microphone according to claim 1, wherein a voice channel is established at the same time when the voice input means is turned on in accordance with a command from the information device. 9. The wireless mouse with a microphone according to claim 1, wherein the voice input means disconnects the link of the voice channel and simultaneously turns off the voice input means in accordance with a command from the information device. . 10. A wireless mouse with a microphone, wherein the input device according to claim 1 is an optical pointing device.