JP2004328056A - Wireless remote controller and wireless remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless remote controller capable of controlling more functions than before. <P>SOLUTION: The remote wireless controller is provided with a slave unit antenna section 2; a surface acoustic wave device 6 wherein a pair of interdigital electrodes 5a, 5b on a piezoelectric substrate 4 are connected to the slave unit antenna section; and a switch section 7. Then, the switch section is provided with row wirings 8a, 8b, 8c; column wirings 9a, 9b, 9c; and individual switches capable of interconnecting optional row wiring and optional column wiring, a pair of the interdigital electrodes 5a, 5b have IDT groups A, B, the IDT group A is constituted of comb-teeth 13 on a first bus bar side connected to a bus bar 10a, and comb-teeth 14 on a row wiring side connected to the row wiring, the IDT group B is constituted of comb-teeth 15 on a second bus bar side connected to a bus bar 10b, and comb-teeth 16 on a column wiring side connected to the column wirings, and the comb-teeth on an optional row wiring side and the comb-teeth on the optional column wiring side can be connected by the individual switches. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wireless remote controller using a surface acoustic wave device and a wireless remote control system including the wireless remote controller.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A remote controller is indispensable for home appliances, and a wireless remote controller is being applied to a product in which a wired remote controller such as a game machine has been mainstream. Furthermore, there is a demand for wirelessly accessing a keyboard of a personal computer. However, since a mainstream of such a remote controller uses an infrared LED and is operated by a battery, a battery frequently operated quickly consumes a battery. . Therefore, the entire market uses an enormous number of batteries, which imposes a heavy burden on the production, disposal, recycling, and environment of batteries such as dry batteries. Therefore, a remote controller that does not use a battery is desired.
[0003]
In recent years, as a part of the technology, for example, as described in Patent Literature 1 below, a surface acoustic wave (hereinafter abbreviated as SAW: Surface Acoustic Wave) device is used and wirelessly senses the state of a switch. Wireless remote control systems have been proposed.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
US Pat. No. 6,144,288.
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the following problems remain in the above prior art. That is, since the above-mentioned prior art is developed to detect the state of a switch on a steering wheel of an automobile, the number of switches that can be detected is small, and a large number of switches such as a home appliance, a remote control of a game machine, and a keyboard of a personal computer are used. It was difficult to control the functions of Further, due to the structure of the SAW device, the SAW is attenuated as the number of interdigital electrodes (hereinafter, abbreviated as IDT) increases. In the above prior art, since one individual switch is connected to one IDT, which is one excitation electrode, the number of individual switches is limited.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to overcoming the above-mentioned problems of the related art. A wireless remote controller and a wireless remote controller capable of sensing the state of a large number of individual switches and thus controlling a large number of functions. It is an object to provide a wireless remote control system including a remote controller.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has the following features to attain the object mentioned above. That is, a wireless remote controller according to the present invention includes: an antenna unit for transmitting and receiving radio waves; a surface acoustic wave device in which a pair of comb-shaped electrodes disposed on a piezoelectric substrate to face each other are connected to the antenna unit; And a plurality of individual switches capable of connecting a plurality of row wirings and column wirings arranged in a matrix, and any of the row wirings and the column wirings. Wherein the pair of comb-shaped electrodes comprises at least a pair of main comb teeth connected to a pair of bus bars, and a plurality of first comb teeth groups arranged at different distances from the main comb teeth. A second comb tooth group, wherein the first comb tooth group includes a plurality of first bus bar side comb teeth connected to one of the bus bars and a plurality of rows respectively connected to the corresponding row wiring. From the wiring side comb teeth Wherein the second group of comb teeth is composed of a plurality of second bus bar side comb teeth connected to the other of the bus bars and a plurality of column wiring side comb teeth respectively connected to the corresponding column wiring. The row switch side comb teeth and the column line side comb teeth can be connected by the individual switch.
[0008]
In the wireless remote controller according to the present invention, an arbitrary row arrangement side comb tooth and a column arrangement side comb tooth can be connected by an individual switch. By pressing, two response signals are transmitted at time intervals corresponding to the row array side comb teeth and the column array side comb teeth selected from the first comb tooth group and the second comb tooth group. That is, when one individual switch is turned on, one comb-teeth electrode is paired with the corresponding row-arrangement side comb-teeth and column-arrangement-side comb tooth in the first comb tooth group and the second comb tooth group. Will be selected one by one. Then, the SAW generated in the main comb tooth portion after receiving the radio wave reaches the row-arranged comb teeth of the selected first comb tooth group and is converted into a first response signal, and thereafter, is selected. The second comb teeth of the second comb teeth group also reach the comb-arranged comb teeth and are converted into a second response signal. At this time, the first response signal and the second response signal are generated at different times in accordance with the positions (distance from the main comb teeth) of the selected row array side comb teeth and column array side comb teeth. Therefore, the pressed individual switch can be identified from the time combination of these two signals. Therefore, even if it is not necessary to provide the same number of comb-shaped electrodes as the number of individual switches, individual combs are arranged in a matrix corresponding to two groups in which the first comb teeth are rows and the second comb teeth are columns. By the number of switches, different identifiable response signals can be transmitted without power supply.
Therefore, for example, if the number of IDTs of the first comb tooth group is 10 and the number of IDTs of the second comb tooth group is 10, connection to 100 individual switches by a total of 20 IDTs is achieved. And the number of individual switches that can be sensed can be greatly increased.
[0009]
Further, in the wireless remote controller according to the present invention, the comb tooth portion includes a marker comb tooth group connected to the bus bar between the first comb tooth group and the second comb tooth group. Is preferred.
That is, in this wireless remote controller, since the comb teeth portion includes the marker comb teeth group connected to the bus bar between the first comb teeth group and the second comb teeth group, Based on the response signal, it is possible to more accurately identify the generation time of the two response signals in the selected first and second comb teeth. That is, after the SAW generated in the main comb teeth portion reaches the first comb teeth group and before it reaches the second comb teeth group, it always arrives at the marker comb teeth group for a fixed time, and A response signal is generated. Therefore, the response signal generated before the beacon response signal is from the selected first comb group, and the response signal generated after the beacon response signal is the selected second comb group. Can easily be identified.
[0010]
In the wireless remote controller according to the present invention, it is preferable that the antenna unit and the bus bar are connected via a matching circuit that performs impedance matching.
That is, in this wireless remote controller, since the antenna unit and the bus bar are connected via a matching circuit that performs impedance matching, reflection of a signal generated between the antenna unit and the bus bar is suppressed, Signal transmission can be performed efficiently.
[0011]
A wireless remote control system according to the present invention includes a wireless remote controller according to the present invention, and a parent remote controller capable of transmitting a burst signal to the wireless remote controller by radio waves and receiving a response signal from the wireless remote controller. Machine.
This wireless remote control system has a master unit capable of transmitting a burst signal to the wireless remote controller of the present invention by radio waves and receiving a response signal from the wireless remote controller. By simply selecting an individual switch with a remote controller, the selected individual switch can be easily identified on the master device side. That is, while transmitting a burst signal from the master unit and arbitrarily selecting an individual switch on the wireless remote controller side, the master unit receives two response signals generated at time intervals corresponding to the individual switch. , The selected individual switch can be identified.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a wireless remote controller and the wireless remote control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless remote controller 1 of the present embodiment includes a slave unit antenna unit 2 for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a matching circuit 3 for performing impedance matching, and a pair of comb-shaped electrodes disposed on a piezoelectric substrate 4. Each of 5 a and 5 b has a SAW device 6 connected to the slave unit antenna unit 2 and a switch unit 7 connected to the SAW device 6. The SAW device 6 uses, for example, a piezoelectric substrate 4 of LiNbO ₃ , quartz (LiTaO ₃ ), or langasite (La ₃ Ga ₅ SiO ₁₄ ).
[0014]
The switch unit 7 includes row wirings 8a, 8b, 8c, column wirings 9a, 9b, 9c arranged in rows and columns, arbitrary row wirings 8a, 8b, 8c and column wirings 9a, 9b, 9c. And nine switches that can be connected.
That is, the switch unit 7 includes a switch (individual switch) S11 that can connect the row wiring 8a and the column wiring 9a, a switch S12 that can similarly connect the row wiring 8a and the column wiring 9b, and a switch S12 that connects the row wiring 8a and the column wiring 9b. A switch S13 that can connect the wiring 9c, a switch S21 that can connect the row wiring 8b and the column wiring 9a, a switch S22 that can connect the row wiring 8b and the column wiring 9b, a row wiring 8b and the column wiring 9c. , A switch S31 that can connect the row wiring 8c and the column wiring 9a, a switch S32 that can connect the row wiring 8c and the column wiring 9b, and a row wiring 8c and the column wiring 9c. And a connectable switch S33.
[0015]
The pair of comb-shaped electrodes 5a and 5b are composed of a main IDT (main comb tooth portion) 11 connected to the pair of bus bars 10a and 10b, and an IDT group A (first comb) disposed at a different distance from the main IDT 11. A tooth group) and an IDT group B (second comb group) and a sign IDT (mark comb group) 12 connected to the bus bar 10a and the bus bar 10b between the IDT group A and the IDT group B. ing.
The main IDT 11 has a plurality of pairs of comb teeth, and is disposed at the base end of the bus bars 10a and 10b.
[0016]
The IDT group A includes the first bus bar-side comb teeth 13 connected to the bus bar 10a, and the row wiring side comb teeth 14 connected to the corresponding row wirings 8a, 8b, 8c, respectively. A second bus bar-side comb tooth 15 connected to the bus bar 10b, and a column wiring side comb tooth 16 connected to the corresponding column wiring 9a, 9b, 9c, respectively.
[0017]
The first busbar-side comb teeth 13 are composed of three sets of comb-teeth electrodes, IDTa11, IDTa21, and IDTa31. The row wiring side comb teeth 14 are composed of three sets of IDTa12, IDTa22, and IDTa32, which are comb electrodes. The IDTa 12 is connected to the row wiring 8a, the IDTa 22 is connected to the row wiring 8b, and the IDTa 32 is connected to the row wiring 8c.
The second busbar-side comb teeth 15 are composed of three sets of IDTb12, IDTb22, and IDTb32, which are comb electrodes. The column wiring side comb teeth 16 are composed of three sets of IDTb11, IDTb21 and IDTb31, which are comb electrodes. The IDTb11 is connected to the column wiring 9a, the IDTb21 is connected to the column wiring 9b, and the IDTb31 is connected to the column wiring 9c.
[0018]
Also, IDTa1 is formed by IDTa11 and IDTa12, and IDTa2 is formed by IDTa21 and IDTa22. In addition, IDTa3 and IDTa32 form IDTa3, and IDTb11 and IDTb12 form IDTb1. Further, IDTb2 is formed by IDTb21 and IDTb22, and IDTb3 is formed by IDTb31 and IDTb32.
[0019]
The slave unit antenna unit 2 includes an antenna 2a and an antenna 2b. Depending on the frequency, a whip antenna or a small antenna is used. For example, in the case of a 400 MHz band, the length of the whip antenna is about 18 cm, and in the case of using a helical antenna, the length is only 2 to 3 cm.
The matching circuit 3 includes a capacitor C and an inductor L. The capacitor C is connected between the antennas 2a and 2b, and the inductors L1 and L2 are connected between the bus bar 10a and the antenna 2a. It is connected between the antenna 10b and the antenna 2b.
[0020]
Next, a wireless remote control system using the wireless remote controller of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The wireless remote control system according to the present embodiment includes a master unit 17 that can transmit a burst signal to the wireless remote controller 1 by radio waves and can receive a response signal from the wireless remote controller 1.
[0021]
The base unit 17 includes a base unit antenna unit 18 for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a matching circuit 19 connected to the base unit antenna unit 18 for performing impedance matching, and an RF switch connected to the matching circuit 19 for switching and controlling high-frequency transmission and reception. Unit 20, a receiving circuit 21 connected to the RF switch unit 20 for demodulating a received high-frequency signal, and an arithmetic circuit 22 connected to the receiving circuit 21 and connected to a controlled device body such as a household appliance. And a transmitting circuit 23 connected to the arithmetic circuit 22 and outputting a high-frequency signal (burst signal) in accordance with an instruction from the arithmetic circuit 22.
The arithmetic circuit 22 supports transmission of a high-frequency signal to the transmission circuit 23 and performs processing for determining the state of the switch based on the response signal received by the reception circuit 21.
[0022]
Next, a remote control method in the wireless remote controller and the wireless remote control system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0023]
First, as shown in FIG. 3, when a burst signal is transmitted from the master unit antenna unit 18 in a state where all the switches of the switch unit 7 are not operated, the burst signal is received by the slave unit antenna unit 2. . Then, the received signal is transmitted to the bus bars 10 a and 10 b via the matching circuit 3, a SAW is generated on the surface of the SAW device 6 by the main IDT 11 and the marker IDT 12, and propagates on the SAW device 6 in a facing manner. . These two SAWs are converted into electric signals by the sign IDT 12 and the main IDT 11 and returned from the slave unit antenna unit 2. As a result, the signal shown in FIG. Since the main IDT 11 and the sign IDT 12 are arranged at a fixed distance from each other, the response signal of the wireless remote controller 1 is a reflected radio wave signal from a space or the like, and a response by the SAW propagated between the main IDT 11 and the sign IDT 12. The signals are received on the time axis in the order of the signals.
[0024]
Next, a state in which a certain switch in the switch unit 7 is operated will be considered. For example, when the switch S11 in the switch unit 7 is turned on, the row wiring 8a and the column wiring 9a are connected via the switch S11, and the IDTa12 in the IDT group A and the IDTb11 in the IDT group B are connected. Connected. Therefore, the IDTa12 forms a pair of comb-teeth electrodes with the IDTb12 via the row wiring 8a, the column wiring 9a, and the IDTb11. That is, IDTa11 and IDTb12 are connected to bus bars 10a and 10b by IDTa12 and IDTb11 which are connected in series and function as a capacitor.
[0025]
Here, when the burst signal is transmitted from the base unit antenna unit 18, a SAW is generated in the same manner as described above, propagates on the SAW device 3, and is converted into an electric signal by the main IDT11, the sign IDT12, the IDTa1, and the IDTb1. Is returned from the handset antenna unit 2.
[0026]
As a result, the signal shown in FIG. Since the distance from the main IDT 11 is set to be longer in the order of IDTa1 in the IDT group A, IDT12 in the IDT group, and IDTb1 in the IDT group B, the response signal of the wireless remote controller 1 is a reflected radio wave signal from a space or the like. , The response signal from the tag IDT12, and the response signal from the IDTb1 in this order on the time axis. Further, by adjusting the logarithm of each IDT, the strength and width of the returned signal can be changed, and each signal can be distinguished.
[0027]
Next, let us consider a case where a burst signal is transmitted from base unit antenna unit 18 with switch S22 turned on. When the switch S22 is turned on, the IDTa22 in the IDT group A and the IDTb21 in the IDT group B are connected via the switch S22 as described above. Here, a response signal is returned from the slave unit antenna unit 2 in the same operation order as described above. As a result, the signal shown in FIG. Since the IDTa2 in the IDT group A is located farther from the main IDT11 than the IDTa1, the response signal from the IDTa2 is transmitted later on the time axis than the response signal from the IDTa1. Further, since the IDTb2 in the IDT group B is located farther from the main IDT11 than the IDTb1, the response signal from the IDTb2 is transmitted later on the time axis than the response signal from the IDTb1.
[0028]
The base unit 17 receives the radio wave returned from the base unit antenna unit 2 from the base unit antenna unit 18 and demodulates the high frequency switched by the RF switch unit 20 via the matching circuit 19 for performing impedance matching. Further, the arithmetic circuit 22 determines which switch in the switch section 7 is turned on. Then, the arithmetic circuit 22 controls the apparatus main body based on the function or command assigned to the determined switch.
[0029]
The base unit 17 basically identifies the ON state of a single switch of the wireless remote controller 1, but when the switch S11 and the switch S22 in the switch unit 7 are turned on at the same time, the base unit 17 Consider a case where a burst signal is transmitted from the antenna unit 3. At this time, it is assumed that there is a slight shift in the time when the switches are turned on, the switch S11 is turned on first, and the switches S11 and S22 are subsequently turned on while S11 is in the on state. FIG. 4 shows a transmission signal of the base unit 17 and a response signal of the wireless remote controller 1 at this time. When the switch S11 is turned on, a response signal is transmitted from the slave unit antenna unit 2 in the same operation order as described above. As a result, the signal shown in FIG. Subsequently, when the switches S11 and S22 are turned on, the signal shown in FIG. 4C is obtained in the receiving circuit 21 in the same operation order as described above. At this time, since the response signal is complex, the switch that has been turned on cannot be identified.
[0030]
Therefore, the switch S11 pressed first due to the time lag when the switch is turned on is stored, and the response signal of the switch S11 turned on first is removed from the composite signal to identify the switch S22 turned on later. The signal processing is performed by the arithmetic circuit 22 so that
Therefore, even if a composite signal response occurs at the same time, since there is a time difference in a normal case, it can be identified by the above method.
[0031]
When a plurality of keys are pressed with a short time difference that cannot be identified by the above-described method, the arithmetic circuit 22 determines the received signal as an error, and prevents a malfunction of the device by not outputting a control signal.
[0032]
The response signal pulse can be strengthened by setting the logarithm of the main IDT 11 to be larger than that of the other IDTs. Further, by making the distance between the main IDT 11 and another IDT longer than the distance between the left end of the IDT group A and the right end of the IDT group B, the response signal and the unnecessary signal can be separated by time.
[0033]
As described above, in the wireless remote controller and the wireless remote control system according to the present embodiment, the IDT groups A are arranged in rows and the IDT groups B are arranged in columns, without providing the same number of comb electrodes as the number of individual switches. Different identifiable response signals can be transmitted without power supply by the number of individual switches arranged in a corresponding matrix.
Further, since the pair of comb-shaped electrodes 5a and 5b includes the sign IDT12 connected to the bus bars 10a and 10b between the IDT group A and the IDT group B, the comb electrodes 5a and 5b are selected based on the response signal in the sign IDT12. It is possible to more accurately identify the generation time of the two response signals in the IDT groups A and B.
[0034]
Further, according to the wireless remote controller of the present embodiment, there is an advantage that the battery is not used for the wireless remote controller 1 so that it is environmentally friendly, there is no poor contact due to the battery terminals, and there is no failure due to battery leakage.
In addition, since radio waves are used, transmission and reception can be performed even when there is an obstacle between the base unit 17 and the wireless remote controller 1, and by using weak radio waves, the communication distance can be limited to prevent interference. . In addition, interference between adjacent devices of the same type can be prevented by being attenuated by the walls of the building.
[0035]
The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of IDTs in the IDT group A and the IDT group B is three is an example, but the number of switches that can be connected can be increased by increasing the number of IDTs. For example, when the number of IDT groups is 10 in each of A and B, the number of connected switches is 100. Further, the slave unit antenna unit 2 may be a monopole with the PCB as a ground.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
According to the wireless remote controller of the present invention, the number of switches that can be sensed without providing the same number of IDTs as the number of switches can be significantly increased compared to the related art. Therefore, the attenuation of the SAW can be suppressed, and the number of switches can be increased to control many functions without power supply.
[0037]
According to the wireless remote control system of the present invention, since the base unit capable of transmitting and receiving the response signal of the wireless remote controller of the present invention is provided, just selecting an individual switch arbitrarily with a wireless remote controller without power supply, Individual switches selected from a large number of switches can be easily identified on the master device side, and can be applied to various devices that require a large number of functional controls.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram including a circuit configuration in a wireless remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating a wireless remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing signal strengths with respect to time when a single switch is turned on in a wireless remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating signal strengths with respect to time when two switches are turned on in a wireless remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
1: wireless remote controller 2: slave unit antenna unit 3: matching circuit 4: piezoelectric substrate 5a, 5b: comb-shaped electrode 6: surface acoustic wave device 7: switch unit 8a, 8b, 8c: row wiring 9a, 9b, 9c: column Wirings 10a, 10b: bus bar 11: main IDT (main comb tooth group) 12: marker IDT (mark comb tooth) 13: first bus bar side comb tooth 14: row wiring side comb tooth 15: second bus bar side comb tooth 16: Column wiring side comb teeth 17: master unit A: IDT group A (first comb group) B: IDT group B (second comb group)

Claims (4)

An antenna unit for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a surface acoustic wave device in which a pair of comb-shaped electrodes disposed opposite to each other on a piezoelectric substrate are connected to the antenna unit, and a switch unit connected to the surface acoustic wave device. Prepare,
The switch unit includes a plurality of row wirings and column wirings arranged in a matrix, and a plurality of individual switches that can connect any of the row wirings and the column wirings,
The pair of comb-shaped electrodes include at least a pair of main comb teeth connected to a pair of bus bars, and a plurality of first comb teeth and a second comb arranged at different distances from the main comb teeth. With teeth,
The first group of comb teeth includes a plurality of first bus bar side comb teeth connected to one of the bus bars, and a plurality of row wiring side comb teeth respectively connected to the corresponding row wiring.
The second comb teeth group is composed of a plurality of second busbar-side comb teeth connected to the other of the bus bars, and a plurality of column wiring-side comb teeth respectively connected to the corresponding column wiring.
A wireless remote controller, wherein any of the row wiring side comb teeth and the column wiring side comb teeth can be connected by the individual switch. The wireless remote controller according to claim 1,
A wireless remote controller, wherein the comb tooth portion includes a marker comb tooth group connected to the bus bar between the first comb tooth group and the second comb tooth group. The wireless remote controller according to claim 1 or 2,
A wireless remote controller, wherein the antenna unit and the bus bar are connected via a matching circuit that performs impedance matching. A wireless remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and
A wireless remote control system, comprising: a master unit capable of transmitting a burst signal to the wireless remote controller by radio waves and receiving a response signal from the wireless remote controller.

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