JP2008085603A - Remote controlled transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a convenient remote controlled apparatus when switching an operation screen. <P>SOLUTION: In step S1 processing is started, and in step S2 a user waits until operation of a remote control button is performed. When the operation is detected (Y), inclination of a remote control device is detected utilizing the operation of a user as a trigger (step S3). Detection results are noticed by an indicator. For example, if the inclination is left(Y), then the operation advances to a step S4 (for example, a right half of the indicator flashes) and a signal indicating that the right screen is operated is transmitted to a television receiver together with a signal based on the operation. If the inclination is left (N), then the operation advances to step S5 and a signal indicating that a left screen is operated is transmitted to the television receiver together with a signal based on the operation. Sound noticing switching may be output instead of the indicator. Through the above processings, the operation can be conducted while selecting any of the left and right screens. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to screen control between a remote control transmitter and a television receiver in a television.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a multi-screen display technique has been proposed and realized in which a display based on a plurality of channels and a plurality of input signals is simultaneously displayed on a plurality of screens on a single television. In such multi-screen display, it is necessary to perform the operation of the remote control device separately for each screen.

  Therefore, a remote controller is disclosed that can send a remote control code to a remotely operated device (remote receiving device) based on the posture detected by the tilt posture detecting means (see Patent Document 1). In this remote control device, when the user tilts the remote control device while holding the remote control device, a remote control code for selecting a screen that the user wants to operate among a plurality of screens is transmitted, and a remote control code by a user key operation, for example, The channel selection up key code can be transmitted. The television receiver side receives the key code for switching to the screen to be operated, and then receives the tuning up key code, so it is convenient to execute the tuning up process for the screen selected by the tilt. It is. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in such a remote control system. As shown in FIG. 7, first, in step S101, processing is started, and in step S102, it is determined whether or not a remote control button has been operated. If it has been operated (Y), the process proceeds to step S103, and the tilt code transmission flag is turned on by timer start (restart). Next, in step S104, a key corresponding to the remote control button is transmitted, and the process returns to step S102.

  If N in step S102, the process proceeds to step S105, where it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out. If timed out (Y), the timer is stopped in step S106 and the inclination code transmission flag is turned on. To do. If N, the process returns to step S102. The processing flow shown in FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an operation example when the flag is on. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the process is started in step S121, it is determined in step S122 whether or not the inclination code transmission flag is turned on. In the case of Y, the process proceeds to step S123, and it is determined whether it is a key transmission timing. In the case of Y, the process proceeds to step S124, and it is determined whether or not the inclination is right. In the case of Y, the key is sent to the screen displayed on the right side in step S125. In the case of N, the key is sent to the screen displayed on the left side. These processes are the same in the case of vertical display. In the case of N in step S122, in the case of N in step S123, the process returns to step S122. Through the above processing, one of the left and right display screens can be selected and operated by tilting the remote control.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-236034

  However, the above technique has the following problems.

  1. Since the two operations of operation switching (sending by tilting) and key operation are performed independently, there is a possibility that the remote control code is a separate code and so-called crying that receives only one of them. That is, if only a key operation is received without receiving a code due to the tilt of the remote control device, there is a problem that an unintended screen operation is performed.

  2. Since the code transmission process based on the inclination is performed, operation switching may occur even when the user does not intend, and there is a problem that it is difficult to interpret the subsequent operation keys and to control the voice switching by the operation switching. In other words, when multiple people own multiple remote controls, it is easy for a user who is not intending to operate to send out a tilt code, and interference based on the remote control signal of the person who wants to operate. A phenomenon may occur or an unintended screen may be selected. Further, in a receiving apparatus that switches output sound in conjunction with operation switching, there is a possibility that the sound is switched every time a user moves such as placing a remote control.

  3. Since the remote control signal is sent with the magnitude and time of the tilt as parameters, it is difficult for the user to know how much tilt is detected to actually detect tilt and how long the tilt is detected. Unless we actually checked the cursor movement on the screen, there was an inconvenience that the clear threshold was difficult to understand and had to be memorized.

  4). In order to allow the user to customize the threshold value, it has been conventionally disclosed to change the setting value from a PC or the like. There is also a problem that a procedure is required and it takes time to tune the setting value.

  5. For example, when the left and right screens are made to correspond to the left and right tilts of the remote control, the operation screen is switched and the operability is deteriorated by simply crossing the threshold value a little (due to an unintended operation such as shaking hands). There was also.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use remote controller when switching operation screens.

  A remote control transmitter having the following means is characterized in that, when an operation related to each screen is performed during display of a plurality of screens, a key operation only for switching operations is not required.

  1) Using the user's key operation as a trigger, the inclination at the time of the key operation is read, and the code is sent as a single code corresponding to the operation key and the inclination (even if divided, it is not decoded as a single code).

  2) From the information obtained by combining the tilt information and the key operation, the receiver side switches the operation side to the operation screen intended by the user, and performs an operation corresponding to the key code.

  3) Sending a remote control code according to the tilt In the remote control device, an indicator such as a LED that changes when a change or time elapses beyond the threshold value in at least one of the tilt angle or the tilt period, and a clear threshold is provided. Is notified to the user.

  4) In the remote controller with an indicator of 3), the user can change the threshold value. Thereby, it becomes possible to cope with a change in a room or an electronic device. With the indicator, setting change and effect confirmation can be completed only by remote control operation.

  5) Provide a buffer area related to the tilt without adding the operation switching information. At this time, since the screen selection information based on the tilt is not included in the transmission code, the receiver (controlled electronic device side) performs the same operation as when the operation code on the previous operation screen side is received.

  Selection and operation of either the left or right screen can be performed with a single operation. Therefore, there is an advantage that the remote control operation in the two-screen operation is simplified.

  Hereinafter, a remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a television receiver that is controlled by the remote control device in the remote control system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the arrangement of the television screen and the remote control device in the television receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of the remote control device, and FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the remote control device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of determination criteria for remote control in the remote control system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the television receiver A has two series of processing systems so that two-screen display (or more) is possible. That is, it is possible to control the antenna 1, the front ends 3 and 11, the demultiplexers A5 and B15, the video / audio decoding units A7 and B17, the screen synthesis unit 21, the RAM 23 and the ROM 25, and the timer 24 as a whole. A control unit 27 having an HTML browser 31 and a BML browser 32, a voice switching unit 33, a display unit 35, voice output units A37 and B41, an internet unit 43, and a remote control light receiving unit 45. And have. Some of these may be provided arbitrarily.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 35 of the television receiver A displays a right screen display 35 a and a left screen display 35 b as an example, and the remote control device B is directed to the remote control light receiving unit 45. Yes. A remote control device B shown in FIG. 3 includes a remote control signal sending unit 105, a remote control operation key 102, a known tilt detection unit 115 that detects the tilt of the remote control, and a notification unit (indicator) 103 that reports the tilt state of the remote control and the like. And have. As shown in FIG. 4, which is a drawing corresponding to FIG. 3, the remote control device includes various functions including a control unit 107 that controls the device and a storage unit 111 that stores a remote control code and the like.

  When the remote control device B is tilted, the tilt amount is detected by, for example, an acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor is based on the direction of gravity when determining the direction of acceleration, and can also be used as a sensor that senses the tilt posture. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor uses a direction perpendicular to the direction of gravity. An inclination amount in two orthogonal axes in a plane is detected, and a digital signal corresponding to the detected value is output as an inclination detection value.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of detection characteristics of the inclination detection unit 115 in the remote control device B. The characteristic shown in FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a first relationship between the tilt angle of the remote controller and screen selection in the case of left and right two-screen display. As shown in FIG. 5A, the left screen and the right screen are selected as the boundary (L1) for selection between the left screen and the simulated screen when the screen is tilted to the left or right with a tilt of 0 degrees. It is a figure which shows a mode that it has come to be. In the detection characteristic shown in FIG. 5 (b), the current screen selection (previous selection) is maintained until the left and right inclinations are to some extent (for example, 10 degrees). ), The screen in that direction tilted to the left and right is selected. In the detection characteristics shown in FIG. 5B, when the user slightly tilts while holding the remote control device, it is determined that the tilt is not due to the user's will. When an inclination exceeding a certain angle is detected, it is determined that the inclination is significant for the first time, and screen selection is performed. This area is called a buffer area (angle). In this buffer area, operations may be performed on both the left and right screens. It can be set in advance which of the buffer areas should be handled.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the multiple screen selection process by the remote control device according to the present embodiment. First, in step S1, the process is started, and in step S2, the process waits until the remote control button is operated. When an operation is detected (Y), the tilt of the remote control device is detected using the user's remote control operation as a trigger (step S3). The detection result is notified by an indicator. For example, if the inclination is right (Y), the process proceeds to step S4 (for example, the right half of the indicator blinks), and a signal for operating the right screen is transmitted to the television receiver A together with a signal based on the operation. If the inclination is left (N), the process proceeds to step S5 (for example, the left half of the indicator blinks), and a signal indicating that the left screen is operated is sent to the television receiver A together with a signal based on the operation. Instead of the indicator, a sound for informing the switching may be output. When either one of the left and right screens is selected, display may be performed so that the selected screen and the non-selected screen can be distinguished. With the above processing, selection and operation of either the left or right screen can be performed with a single operation. Therefore, there is an advantage that the remote control operation in the two-screen operation is simplified.

  In the above example, the inclination in the left and right directions is detected. For example, two such detectors are mounted, and the left and right inclinations are detected on the one hand and the vertical inclination on the other hand. By doing so, it is possible to easily perform the selective operation on the four screens in the up, down, left and right directions. That is, it can be applied to multi-screen operation.

  The notification unit 103 may notify the detected inclination, or there is a change in the inclination angle, which is detected as a true inclination exceeding a certain buffer area as described below, for example. Then, you may provide the inclination change alerting | reporting part which alert | reports that to a user. Further, for example, when the tilted period is long to some extent (for example, about 1 s: buffer time), it may be detected as a true tilt, and the user may be notified by an indicator exceeding this period. Preferably, the threshold values of these buffers can be changed while looking at the indicator.

  In the above embodiment, a television device capable of multi-screen display has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be used for a remote control device of other electronic devices. For example, when operating two personal computers, the personal computers can be installed on the left and right sides, and the personal computers can be selectively operated while selecting by tilting one remote controller. In addition, when two recorders are displayed on two screens or two monitors, the operation can be performed with one remote controller. When these are applied to a device that is not a single electronic device such as a two-screen television, the remote control code does not necessarily have to be a screen selection and control code, but the remote control stores a unique code for each device. By having the means, the application range is further expanded.

  The present invention is applicable to a remote control device for a multi-screen television device.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the television receiver which is the control object by the remote control apparatus in the remote control system by this Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the arrangement of the television screen and the remote control device in the television receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating a configuration example of the remote control device. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the remote control device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of determination criteria for remote control in the remote control system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process of the remote control which can send out a remote control code to a remote operation apparatus (remote control receiving side apparatus) based on the attitude | position detected by the inclination attitude | position detection means.

Explanation of symbols

A ... TV receiver, 1 ... antenna, 3.11 ... front end, 5 ... demultiplexer A, 7 ... video / audio decoding unit A, 15 ... demultiplexer B, 17 ... video / audio decoding unit B, 21 ... screen Synthesis unit, 23 ... RAM, 24 ... timer, 25 ... ROM, 27 ... control unit, 31 ... HTML browser, 32 ... BML browser, 33 ... voice switching unit, 35 ... display unit, 35a ... right screen display, 35b ... left Screen display 37 ... Audio output unit A 41 ... Audio output unit B 43 ... Insernet unit 45 ... Remote control light receiving unit 102 ... Remote control operation key 103 ... Notification unit 105 ... Remote control signal sending unit 107 ... Control , 111... Storage unit, 115... Tilt detection unit.

Claims (10)

A remote control device capable of operating each of a first operation target screen and a second operation target screen of an electronic device,
A key operation unit;
A tilt detector for detecting the tilt of the remote control device;
Using the key operation as a trigger, the tilt of the remote control device at the time of key operation is detected by the tilt detection unit, and the first operation target screen and the second operation target are detected according to the instruction based on the key operation and the detected tilt. A remote control device, comprising: a control unit that controls to send an instruction based on a key operation to a current operation target based on a predetermined rule relating to which of the screens is currently the operation target.   The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein an instruction based on the operation key and an instruction related to an operation target screen based on the tilt are transmitted as a single code.   The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising an inclination notifying unit that notifies the inclination.   4. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first notification unit that notifies a change in the tilt angle. 5.   5. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the tilt detection unit has a buffer angle related to tilt. 6.   6. The remote control device according to claim 5, wherein the buffer angle is an angle at which an operation target screen is not selected until the buffer angle is tilted to at least one direction with a tilt of 0.   The remote control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination detection unit has a buffer time related to inclination detection.   The remote control device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising: a second notification unit that notifies that effect when the buffer angle or the buffer time is exceeded.   9. The remote control device according to claim 5, wherein threshold values of these buffers can be changed by a user operation. An electronic device operated by the remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
An electronic apparatus comprising: a control unit that switches an operation side to an operation screen intended by a user from information obtained by combining tilt information and key operation, and performs an operation corresponding to a key code.

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