JP2006079975A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device moderately changing illuminance, capable of preventing wasteful energy consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic device 1, equipped with lighting means (an LCD display face and an operation button) 3, 4, of which light emission is controlled in order to illuminate an object to be illuminated mounted on a vehicular electronic device body 2, comprises a detection signal outputting part (an infrared-ray LED) 5 outputting detection signals (infrared rays) S outward from the electronic device body 2; a detection signal detecting part (an infrared-ray detection sensor) 6 detecting the detection signals S reflected by an object (the hand of a user) H; a distance calculating means (distance calculation part) 11 calculating the distance between the object H and the electronic device body 2 in accordance with the output of the detection signal detecting part 6; and an illuminance changing means (an illuminance changing part) 12 changing the illuminance of illumination means 3, 4 in accordance with the result of calculation at the distance calculating means 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including an illumination unit that illuminates an illumination target outside a vehicle-mounted electronic apparatus main body.

  As a conventional lighting fixture, a sensor for detecting a hand of a user who uses the lighting fixture is provided, and the lighting device is controlled to be turned on / off when the hand is held over the detection area of the sensor ( Patent Document 1).

In addition, in-vehicle electronic devices that are disposed inside a vehicle such as an automobile, it is conceivable that the illuminance of a lighting device provided in the electronic device can be adjusted by the brightness outside the vehicle.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-17996

  By the way, in the lighting fixture which controls on / off of the lighting device by holding the hand over the detection area of the sensor, the illuminance of the lighting fixture cannot be changed, so that the lower part of the lighting fixture always has a constant illuminance.

  In addition, in an electronic device that can adjust the illuminance of the lighting device provided in the electronic device according to the brightness outside the vehicle, the lighting device is not used according to the brightness outside the vehicle even if the lighting is unnecessary without using the electronic device. Since it may light up, the problem of wasting energy has arisen.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of appropriately changing the illuminance and preventing consumption of energy consumption.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an electronic device including an illumination unit that is provided in a vehicle-mounted electronic device main body and is controlled to emit light in order to illuminate an illumination target. A detection signal output unit that outputs a detection signal outward from the electronic device body, a detection signal detection unit that detects a detection signal reflected by the object, and the target according to the output of the detection signal detection unit A distance calculating means for calculating a distance between an object and the electronic device main body, and an illuminance changing means for changing the illuminance of the illuminating means according to the calculation result of the distance calculating means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is an electronic device provided with a lighting unit that is provided in a vehicle-mounted electronic device main body and is controlled to emit light so as to illuminate an object to be illuminated, and outward from the electronic device main body. An infrared LED that emits infrared light, an infrared detection sensor that detects infrared light reflected by the object, and a control unit that controls light emission of the illumination unit based on the detection output of the infrared detection sensor, The infrared determination unit that determines whether or not the infrared ray detected by the infrared detection sensor is reflected by the object, and the infrared determination unit determines that the infrared ray is reflected by the object. A distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between the object and the electronic device main body according to the output of the infrared detection sensor, and the illuminance of the illumination unit is changed according to the calculation result of the distance calculation unit It is characterized in that it has a luminance changing unit that.

  According to the electronic device of the present invention, the detection signal is output outward from the electronic device body, the detection signal reflected by the object is detected, and the distance between the object and the electronic device body is calculated. Since the illuminance of the illumination means can be changed, the illuminance of the illumination means can be changed to an appropriate illuminance according to the distance from the object.

  Therefore, it is possible to change the illuminance to an appropriate illuminance that is easy to operate the electronic device main body, and it is possible to suppress wasteful illumination and prevent consumption of energy consumption.

  Hereinafter, an electronic apparatus according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.

  An electronic device 1 according to the present invention is, for example, an audio device or the like disposed in a vehicle interior of a vehicle such as an automobile, and includes an electronic device main body (hereinafter referred to as “device main body”) 2.

  The device main body 2 is covered with an instrument panel (not shown) when disposed in the vehicle compartment so that only the front surface 2a is visible to the user.

  On the front surface 2a of the device main body 2, an LCD display screen (liquid crystal character display) 3 and a plurality of operation buttons 4, which are illumination means that are controlled to emit light to illuminate an object to be illuminated, and outward from the device main body 2 An infrared LED 5 that outputs an infrared ray S as a detection signal and an infrared detection sensor 6 that detects the infrared ray S reflected by an object, here, a user's hand H, are provided.

  The LCD display screen 3 which is an illumination means displays a song number such as a CD being played, a song title, a radio channel selection number, and the like as appropriate. The LCD display screen 3 can display a predetermined content when a light emitting element disposed therein emits light. Since this configuration is well known, a description thereof is omitted here.

  As with the LCD display screen 3, the plurality of operation buttons 4 that are illumination means can be turned on and off to perform predetermined switch operations. Each operation button 4 is formed with a light-emitting unit (not shown) that incorporates an LED, and the light-emitting unit can emit light by appropriately emitting light.

  The infrared LEDs 5 are detection signal output units that output infrared rays S that are detection signals. Here, a pair of infrared LEDs 5 are provided on both sides of the front surface 2 a of the device body 2.

  The infrared detection sensor 6 is a detection signal detection unit that detects an infrared ray S that is a detection signal, and is provided at approximately the center of the front surface 2 a of the device main body 2 here.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a control unit 10 that controls the light emission of the LCD display screen 3 and the plurality of operation buttons 4 based on the detection output of the infrared detection sensor 6 is provided inside the device main body 2.

  The control unit 10 is a so-called microcomputer (microcomputer; CPU) provided inside the device main body 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 includes a distance calculation unit 11 that is a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between the user's hand H and the front surface 2 a of the device body 2 according to the output of the infrared detection sensor 6. The illuminance changing unit 12 is provided as illuminance changing means for changing the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 in accordance with the calculation result of the distance calculating unit 11. In addition, the control unit 10 is provided with an infrared ejection signal output unit 13 that performs control to emit infrared S from the infrared LED 5.

  The distance calculation unit 11 is connected to the infrared detection sensor 6 via an amplifier (AMP) 20, a resistor 21, and a capacitor 22, and a detection signal detected by the infrared detection sensor 6 is input thereto.

  Here, the detection signal is input to the distance calculation unit 11 through a circuit in which the amplifier 20, the series circuit of the resistor 21 and the capacitor 22, and the capacitor 22 are connected in parallel to each other. . Thereby, the noise component can be removed and the detection signal can be input stably.

  The detection signal input to the distance calculation unit 11 is input after being converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (not shown).

  The distance calculation unit 11 calculates the distance between the user's hand H and the front surface 2 a of the device main body 2. Here, the distance is determined based on the strength of the input signal. The stronger (larger) the input signal is, the closer the distance between the user's hand H and the device body 2 is, and the weaker (smaller) the input signal is the user's hand H. And the device body 2 are determined to be far away.

  The illuminance changing unit 12 is connected to the LCD display screen 3 and the plurality of operation buttons 4, respectively. The illuminance changing unit 12 is controlled by the calculation result of the distance calculating unit 12 and outputs a change signal for appropriately changing the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4.

  The infrared emission signal output unit 13 is connected to the infrared LED 5 and outputs a transmission signal to the infrared LED 5 so as to output infrared S when a main power supply (not shown) of the device body 2 is turned on. .

  Next, the operation of the electronic device 1 of the present invention will be described.

  In order to use the electronic apparatus 1, first, a main power supply (not shown) is turned on. When the main power supply is turned on, a transmission signal is output from the infrared injection signal output unit 13 of the control unit 10 to the infrared LED 5. Then, infrared rays S are output outward from the infrared LEDs 5 as indicated by broken lines in FIG.

  The output infrared ray S is reflected by the user's hand H located in front of the device body 2. Then, the reflected infrared ray S indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2 is detected by the infrared detection sensor 6.

  A detection signal detected by the infrared detection sensor 6 is input to the distance calculation unit 11 of the control unit 10 via the amplifier 20, the resistor 21, and the capacitor 22.

  The distance calculation unit 11 determines the strength of the input detection signal, and calculates the distance between the user's hand H and the device main body 2 based on the strength of the detection signal. Based on the calculation result, the distance between the user's hand H and the device body 2 is determined by the control unit 10.

  Further, when the control unit 10 determines that the distance between the user's hand H and the device main body 2 is within a certain distance, the LCD display screen 3 and all the operation buttons 4 are turned on (turned on). The illuminance changing unit 12 is controlled as described above, and a change signal is output from the illuminance changing unit 12.

  Then, the LCD display screen 3 and all the operation buttons 4 emit light by the change signal output from the illuminance changing unit 12 in this way and are automatically turned on.

  Further, when the control unit 10 determines that the distance between the user's hand H and the device main body 2 is equal to or greater than a certain distance, the LCD display screen 3 and all the operation buttons 4 are not turned on (the off state is set). In this case, the change signal is not output from the illuminance changing unit 12.

  Furthermore, after the LCD display screen 3 and all the operation buttons 4 are turned on, if the infrared detection sensor 6 does not detect the infrared S for a certain period of time, for example, 60 seconds, the control unit 10 causes the user's hand H and the device main body. 2 is determined to be equal to or greater than a certain distance.

  Then, a change signal is output from the illuminance changing unit 12, and the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 is lowered (darkened) so as to be a constant illuminance, and all the operation buttons 4 are turned off.

  Thus, in the electronic device 1 of the present invention, the infrared ray S output from the infrared LED 5 is detected by the infrared detection sensor 6, and the user's hand H and the device body 2 are detected according to the detection output of the infrared detection sensor 6. Is calculated by the distance calculation unit 11. And according to this calculation result, the change signal which changes the illumination intensity of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 is output from the illumination change part 12, and the illumination intensity of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 comes to be changed suitably. ing.

  Therefore, it is possible to detect whether or not the user's hand H has approached the device main body 2 by the infrared detection sensor 6. When it is determined that the user's hand H does not approach the device main body 2 and the device main body 2 is not operated, the LCD display screen 3 or the operation button 4 as the illumination means is turned on regardless of the external brightness. I will not let you.

  Therefore, unnecessary lighting can be suppressed and consumption of energy consumption can be prevented.

  Further, the distance between the user's hand H and the device body 2 can be determined from the detection signal detected by the infrared detection sensor 6, and the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 is determined according to this distance. It can be automatically changed and adjusted to the appropriate illuminance.

  Then, the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 can be easily changed to an illuminance that is easy to operate.

  Although one embodiment according to the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a detection signal (hereinafter simply referred to as a detection signal) detected by the infrared detection sensor 6 is input to the distance calculation unit 11, but as shown in FIG. This detection signal may also be input to the infrared determination unit 14.

  The infrared determination unit 14 is provided in the control unit 10 and determines whether or not the detection signal is reflected by the user's hand H that is an object.

  The infrared determination unit 14 is connected to the infrared detection sensor 6 via an amplifier (AMP) 20 and can determine whether or not infrared rays are detected. The detection signal input to the infrared determination unit 14 is input after being converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (not shown).

  In this way, the detection signal is input to the infrared determination unit 14, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is reflected by the user's hand H, which is the object, so that the user is based on the noise. The distance between the hand H and the device body 2 can be calculated to prevent the device body 2 from malfunctioning.

  In the above-described embodiment, the LCD display screen 3 and the operation button 4 are shown as the illumination means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a lamp (interior light) for illuminating the vehicle interior and time display are provided. It may be a watch.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the illuminance of the LCD display screen 3 is reduced by one step (darkening) according to the distance between the user's hand H and the device body 2, but the illuminance is gradually changed in multiple steps. May be.

  In this case, the illumination intensity can be changed to a more appropriate illuminance according to the position of the user's hand H, and the device body 2 can be operated more easily.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the electronic device concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the electronic device concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the electronic device concerning the other example of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic device 2 Device body 3 LCD display screen (lighting means)
4 Operation buttons (lighting means)
5 Infrared LED (detection signal output unit)
6 Infrared detection sensor (detection signal detector)
11 Distance calculation part (distance calculation means)
12 Illuminance change part (illuminance change means)
S Infrared (detection signal)
H User's hand (object)

Claims (2)

An electronic device provided with a lighting unit that is provided in a vehicle-mounted electronic device main body and controlled to emit light to illuminate an object to be illuminated,
A detection signal output unit that outputs a detection signal outward from the electronic device body, a detection signal detection unit that detects a detection signal reflected by the object, and the target according to the output of the detection signal detection unit An electronic apparatus comprising: distance calculating means for calculating a distance between an object and the electronic apparatus main body; and illuminance changing means for changing the illuminance of the illuminating means according to a calculation result of the distance calculating means. An electronic device provided with a lighting unit that is provided in a vehicle-mounted electronic device main body and controlled to emit light to illuminate an object to be illuminated,
Infrared LED that outputs infrared rays outward from the electronic device main body, an infrared detection sensor that detects infrared rays reflected by the object, and light emission control of the illumination unit based on the detection output of the infrared detection sensor A control unit,
The control unit determines whether the infrared ray detected by the infrared detection sensor is reflected by the object, and determines that the infrared ray is reflected by the object by the infrared determination unit. A distance calculation unit that calculates a distance between the object and the electronic device main body according to the output of the infrared detection sensor, and changes the illuminance of the illumination unit according to the calculation result of the distance calculation unit An electronic device comprising an illuminance changing unit.

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