JP2006324707A - Remote control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control apparatus with enhanced ease of use by displaying only operation keys congenial to a user. <P>SOLUTION: The remote control apparatus 10 is provided with a touch panel 17 located on a liquid crystal display section 12 and is configured with the steps of: displaying registered user names to urge the user to select any of the user names; displaying manufacturer's names to urge the user to select any of the names; displaying type names to urge the user to select any of the names; displaying model names to urge the user to select any of the names; displaying the arrangement of operation keys registered in advance corresponding to the manufacturer's name, the type name and the model name to urge the user to revise the layout of the operation keys; revising the layout of the operation keys in response to the entry of deletion of operation keys or movement of the arrangement of the operation keys; urging the user to enter a registration name after the layout revision; and registering the arrangement of the operation keys after the layout revision, the registration name and the user name. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a remote control device including a display unit that displays an image of an operation key and a touch panel provided on the display unit.

Many commercially available electric appliances come with a remote control device for remote operation, and there are many remote control devices in the home. As described above, when there are various remote control devices, there is a problem that the management becomes complicated. For this reason, there has been proposed a remote control device in which a liquid crystal display unit with a touch panel is mounted on a remote control device and the display of operation keys is changed according to various electrical devices (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, a remote control device in which a layout of operation keys is changed by operating a rewrite instruction button in a remote control device equipped with a liquid crystal display unit with a touch panel has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).
International Publication No. 02/021877 Pamphlet JP 2001-22508 A

However, simply replacing it with a remote control device equipped with a liquid crystal display with a touch panel will increase the number of operation keys and increase the number of dual-purpose keys in recent electric devices with complicated functions, so the complexity of operations will change. Absent. In addition, those that can change the layout of the operation keys are those that are selected and displayed from those registered at the time of manufacture, and are not user-registrable, so users who find it difficult to use There is also.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device that displays only operation keys that match a user's preference and has improved usability.

In order to achieve the above object, a remote control device according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image of an operation key and a touch panel provided on the display unit. A step of displaying the layout and prompting a layout change; a step of changing the layout of the operation keys in response to an input of the operation key deletion or layout movement; and a step of registering the layout of the operation keys after the layout change. It is provided with.

According to this configuration, the user himself / herself can register a favorite key layout suitable for the operation of each device.

The remote control device described above further includes a step of prompting input of a user name and a step of registering the user name in correspondence with the layout of operation keys after the layout change.

According to this configuration, a plurality of users can register a favorite key arrangement with each user name in one remote control device.

The above remote control device includes a step of displaying a manufacturer name and prompting selection, a step of displaying a model name and prompting selection, a step of displaying a model name and prompting selection,
When the pre-registered operation key arrangement is displayed, the pre-registered operation key arrangement corresponding to the manufacturer name, the model name, and the model name is displayed.

According to this configuration, by selecting the manufacturer, model, and model, the operation keys that can be used in the model can be read, and all necessary operation keys are displayed, so that the layout can be easily changed.

Further, the remote control device includes a step of prompting input of a registered name after layout change, and a step of registering the registered name corresponding to the arrangement of operation keys after layout change.

According to this configuration, when using the remote control device, a desired arrangement can be easily selected from a plurality of registered operation key arrangements.

In addition, the remote control device of the present invention includes a liquid crystal display unit that displays an image of an operation key, a touch panel provided on the liquid crystal display unit, a remote control transmission unit that transmits a signal corresponding to an input from the touch panel, In a remote control device including a ROM for storing each registered information and program, a RAM for storing information registered by the user, and a CPU for controlling each unit, the registered user name is displayed and selected. Prompts you with the manufacturer name,
A step for prompting selection, a model name displayed, a step for prompting selection, a step for displaying a model name and prompting selection, and the manufacturer name, the model name, and the model name are registered in advance. Displaying the operation key layout and prompting the user to change the layout; changing the operation key layout in response to the input of the operation key deletion or layout movement; and prompting the user to input the registered name after the layout change This is realized by including a step and a step of registering the operation key arrangement after the layout change, the registered name, and the user name.

According to the present invention, since a user can register a favorite key arrangement suitable for the operation of each device, a remote control device with improved usability can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the remote control device. The remote control device 10 has a central processing unit (CPU) 11, which controls the liquid crystal display unit 12, touch panel control unit 13, remote control transmission unit 14, ROM 15, and RAM 16. The touch panel control unit 13 is connected to a touch panel 17 provided on the liquid crystal display unit 12.

The liquid crystal display unit 12 is a display unit that displays an operation key and an image at the time of layout change, and other display methods can also be used.

The touch panel control unit 13 controls the touch panel 17 so as to correspond to the operation keys displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 12, and processes input by the user from the touch panel 17.

The remote control transmission unit 14 includes an infrared communication unit and the like, and transmits a signal corresponding to an input from the touch panel 17.

The ROM 15 stores manufacturer information 15a, model information 15b, model information 15c, basic layout information 15d, layout change program 15e, and the like.

The manufacturer information 15a is information that collects names of manufacturers that manufacture electrical devices that can be remotely operated by the remote control device 10. For example, company A, company B, and the like are registered. Model information 15
“b” is information obtained by collecting models of electrical devices corresponding to the manufacturer information 15a. For example, TV, DVD, VCR and the like are registered corresponding to the company A. The model information 15c is information obtained by collecting models corresponding to the model information 15b. For example, the model information 15c corresponds to the TV of company A, model I,
Model II etc. are registered. The manufacturer information 15a, model information 15b, and model information 15c are registered at the time of manufacture.

The basic layout information 15d is an arrangement of operation keys registered in advance corresponding to the model name. When the manufacturer name, model name, and model name are determined by the user, first, operation keys are displayed in the arrangement registered in the basic layout information 15d.

The layout change program 15e is a program that enables a layout change by deleting an operation key or moving an arrangement based on basic layout information 15d or a layout already registered by a user. The operation key deletion or arrangement movement is processed in response to an input from the touch panel. For example, the operation key may be arranged and moved by dragging and dropping the operation key.

The RAM 16 stores registration information 16a, user identification information 16b, and the like. The registration information 16a is information that stores the operation key arrangement after the user has changed the layout by deleting or moving the operation key as desired using the operation key arrangement of the basic layout information 15a. Users can name each registered content, for example, for DVD playback,
Names for DVD recording, DVD editing, etc. are used.

The user identification information 16b is information for identifying who registered each information of the registration information 16a, and is information that stores a user name corresponding to the registration information 16a. This information enables a plurality of users who use the remote controller 10 to individually register the favorite registration information 16a, and to read and display the registration information 16a registered by the user.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the remote control device when changing the layout of the operation keys. When the setting key is pressed on the menu screen of the remote control device 10, the operation key layout change / registration mode is entered. In step S10, the user identification information 16b is read out, and the registered user name as shown in FIG. Is displayed as selectable. Here, the user name displayed in advance in the user registration mode is displayed. Step S10
The user name may be prompted for input instead of displaying the user name.

The process proceeds from step S10 to step S11 to determine whether or not a user name has been selected.
If any one of the user names is pressed on the screen of FIG.
a is read, and the manufacturer name is displayed so as to be selectable as shown in FIG.

The process proceeds from step S12 to step S13 to determine whether or not a manufacturer name has been selected. If any manufacturer name is pressed on the screen of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S14, where model information 1
The model name corresponding to the manufacturer name selected in step S13 is read from 5b, and the model name is displayed so as to be selectable as shown in FIG.

The process proceeds from step S14 to step S15 to determine whether or not a model name has been selected. When any model name is pressed on the screen of FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step S16, and the model name corresponding to the model name selected in step S14 is read out from the model information 15c, as shown in FIG. The model name is displayed as selectable.

The process proceeds from step S16 to step S17 to determine whether or not a model name has been selected. When any model name is pressed on the screen of FIG. 6, the process proceeds to step S18, and the basic layout corresponding to the model name selected in step S17 is read out from the basic layout information 15d, as shown in FIG. In this way, operation keys are arranged along the basic layout. FIG. 7 is a screen in the case where the model I DVD of company F is selected. In FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 described later, a grid is displayed for layout.

At this screen, the user can change the layout by dragging and dropping each operation key to change the layout, and can also delete the selected operation key by pressing the delete key after selecting the operation key. Yes (steps S19 and S20). For example, DV
When it is desired to create a screen for D playback, it is possible to delete the operation keys unnecessary for playback and arrange the remaining operation keys appropriately to obtain a screen as shown in FIG.

The operation keys may be enlarged or reduced when the layout is changed. Usability is improved by enlarging frequently used keys and reducing less frequently used keys.

When the change to the desired layout is completed and the setting key is pressed by the user (step S21)
), The process proceeds to step S22, and a screen prompting the input of a registered name as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.
When a registered name (for example, “for DVD playback”) is input (step S23), step S2
Proceeding to 4, the layout of the operation keys after the layout change is registered in the registration information 16a and associated with the user identification information 16b. A plurality of registration information 16a can be registered by repeating the above steps. When the “return” key shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 is pressed, the screen returns to the previous screen.

The registered information 16a once registered can be called at any time. The calling procedure is
By selecting a user name from the menu screen of the remote control device 10 and selecting a desired registered name from the displayed registered names, the registration information 16a is read and displayed. The layout of the operation keys may be changed based on the registered information 16a that has been called.

As described above, since a favorite key arrangement suitable for the operation of the device can be registered for each user, it is possible to provide a remote control device with improved usability.

The remote control device of the present invention can be widely used as a remote control device for electric devices such as TV, DVD, VCR and the like that can be remotely operated.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the remote control apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the remote control apparatus at the time of changing the layout of the operation key of this invention. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change. It is an example of the screen at the time of layout change.

Explanation of symbols

10 Remote control device 11 CPU
12 Liquid crystal display unit 13 Touch panel control unit 14 Remote control transmission unit 15 ROM
16 RAM
17 Touch panel

Claims (5)

A liquid crystal display unit that displays an image of operation keys, a touch panel provided on the liquid crystal display unit, a remote control transmission unit that transmits a signal corresponding to an input from the touch panel, and each information and program registered in advance ROM to store and RA to store information registered by user
In a remote control device including M and a CPU for controlling each unit,
Displaying the registered user name and prompting for selection;
Displaying the manufacturer's name and prompting for selection;
A step to display the model name and prompt selection,
Displaying the model name and prompting selection,
Displaying the layout of operation keys registered in advance corresponding to the manufacturer name, the model name, and the model name, and prompting a layout change;
Changing the layout of the operation keys in response to an input of deletion or arrangement movement of the operation keys;
Prompting for the registered name after the layout change,
A remote control apparatus comprising: an operation key layout after layout change, and a step of registering the registered name and the user name. In a remote control device including a display unit that displays an image of an operation key and a touch panel provided on the display unit,
Displaying pre-registered operation key layouts and prompting layout changes;
Changing the layout of the operation keys in response to an input of deletion or arrangement movement of the operation keys;
And a step of registering operation key arrangement after layout change. Prompting for a username,
3. The remote control device according to claim 2, further comprising a step of registering the user name in correspondence with the layout of the operation keys after the layout change. Displaying the manufacturer's name and prompting for selection;
A step to display the model name and prompt selection,
Including displaying the model name and prompting for selection,
When displaying the pre-registered operation key arrangement, the pre-registered operation key arrangement corresponding to the manufacturer name, the model name, and the model name is displayed. Item 4. The remote control device according to Item 2 or 3. Prompting for the registered name after the layout change,
5. The remote control device according to claim 2, further comprising a step of registering the registered name in correspondence with the layout of the operation keys after the layout is changed.

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