JP2008244731A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably and surely communicate with a device of a control object with a remote control transmitter mounted on a wall while maintaining the beauty of the transmitter, in a remote controller. <P>SOLUTION: The remote controller 1 is provided with a remote control transmitter 2 having an antenna 21 and a housing 23, and a case 3 for holding the housing 23 for mounting the remote control transmitter 2 on the wall. A conductive part 31 for wave guide for guiding radio waves and a conductive part 32 for reflection for reflecting the radio waves are mounted near the antenna 21 of the case 3. Consequently, the positional relation of the conductive parts 31 and 32 and the antenna 21 can be adjusted in a state in which the remote control transmitter 2 is mounted on the wall by changing the positions of the conductive parts 31 and 32 for wave guide and reflection. Then, directivity in the above state can be adjusted so that stable and reliable communication can be performed with the device of a control object. Further, since the antenna 21 does not have to be projected from the housing 23 to change its direction, or the like for directivity adjustment, the beauty of the transmitter can be maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote controller including a remote control transmitter and a case installed on a wall surface for attaching the remote control transmitter to a wall.

  Conventionally, a remote control transmitter is formed so that a user can carry it and can be stored in a case installed on a wall surface. This remote control transmitter is a device that wirelessly communicates with a device to be controlled using radio waves, and the device is equipped with an antenna for radiating radio waves. Since the antenna has directivity, the electric field radiated from the remote control transmitter has different electric field strengths depending on the radiation direction.

  Therefore, in order to obtain a desired directivity, an antenna including a waveguide electrode that radiates radio waves in the direction from the radiation electrode and a reflective electrode that reflects radio waves from the radiation electrode is known. For example, an antenna is known in which a plurality of strip lines are provided inside a rectangular dielectric, one strip line is used as a radiation electrode, and the other strip line is a waveguide electrode whose line length is shorter than that of the radiation electrode. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). The antenna is provided with a reflective electrode made of a strip line having a line length equal to that of the radiation electrode instead of or together with the waveguide electrode.

  Moreover, it is an air conditioner equipped with an antenna for receiving radio waves, not an antenna for radiating radio waves, and a slit that resonates at a frequency lower than the resonance frequency of the receiving antenna on a metal plate for mounting the indoor unit of this apparatus on the wall surface There is known an air conditioner provided with (for example, see Patent Document 2). The slit reflects the received radio wave in the antenna direction and improves the antenna gain from the front side to the bottom side of the indoor unit. Furthermore, in this apparatus, a conductor that resonates at a frequency higher than the resonance frequency of the antenna is provided at the front lower side of the antenna. This conductor guides the received radio wave in the antenna direction and improves the antenna gain from the front side to the bottom side of the indoor unit.

  By the way, when attaching the case of the remote controller to a wall or the like, the position may be limited according to the structure of the building. For example, when a remote control transmitter has a human sensor and operates according to its output, in order to enable control of the device by the remote control transmitter even when the remote control transmitter is housed in a case, The remote control transmitter needs to be arranged along the trajectory. For this reason, the attachment position of the case is limited, and the attachment place may be a place where the device to be controlled is located in a direction where the electric field strength is weak. Therefore, in a state where the remote control transmitter is attached to the wall, the remote control transmitter may be able to detect a person, but it may be difficult to communicate with the device to be controlled.

In the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, the positions of the antenna, the waveguide electrode, the conductor, and the like cannot be changed according to the mounting position of the remote control transmitter. Cannot adjust. For this reason, in this technology, when it is difficult for the remote control transmitter and the device to be controlled to communicate as described above, the remote control transmitter is configured so that stable and reliable communication can be performed between the remote control transmitter and the device. It is difficult to adjust the directivity. Therefore, a remote control transmitter capable of arbitrarily changing the direction and shape of the antenna has been proposed in order to adjust the directivity of the remote control transmitter. However, in order to be able to change the direction of the antenna, the antenna needs to protrude outside the remote control transmitter. For this reason, the aesthetics of the remote control transmitter may be impaired. On the other hand, if the aesthetics of the remote control transmitter are prioritized and the antenna is built into the remote control transmitter, it is difficult to adjust the directivity of the remote control transmitter because the direction and shape of the antenna cannot be changed easily. Become.
JP-A-11-145723 JP-A-10-205862

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and performs stable and reliable communication with a device to be controlled in a state in which a remote control transmitter is attached to a wall while maintaining an aesthetic appearance. An object is to provide a remote controller capable of performing the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises a remote control transmitter and a case installed on a wall for mounting the remote control transmitter on a wall, wherein the remote control transmitter is an antenna that radiates radio waves. A communication unit that communicates with other devices using the antenna, a control unit that controls communication by the communication unit, and a trigger signal that triggers a control operation in the control unit based on an external input operation In a remote controller having an input unit for transmitting the signal, and a housing in which the antenna, the communication unit, the control unit, and the input unit are accommodated and held by the case, a radio wave is provided near the antenna of the case. Is provided with a conductive portion that guides or reflects light.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the remote controller according to the first aspect, an insulating member is provided between the conductive portion and the antenna.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, by changing the position of the conductive portion on the case, the positional relationship between the conductive portion and the antenna when the remote control transmitter is held by the case can be adjusted. For this reason, the directivity in a state where the remote control transmitter is attached to the wall can be adjusted. Therefore, the electric field intensity of the radiated radio wave in the above state can be increased in accordance with the direction in which the device to be controlled is present, and stable and reliable communication with the device to be controlled can be performed in the same state. Further, it is not necessary to change the direction of the antenna by projecting the antenna from the housing of the remote control transmitter for directivity adjustment, so that the aesthetic appearance can be maintained.

  According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to prevent contact between the conductive portion and the antenna and prevent the conductive portion from guiding or reflecting radio waves.

  Hereinafter, a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 2A to 2C show a configuration of the remote controller 1 according to the present embodiment and a usage pattern thereof. The remote controller 1 includes a remote controller transmitter 2 and a case 3 for attaching the remote controller transmitter 2 to the wall W. The remote control transmitter 2 is for remotely controlling an electric device such as the lighting fixture 50 wirelessly. The remote control transmitter 2 can be carried by the user U and can be stored in the case 3, and can be operated by the user U while being carried or stored. The case 3 is installed on the wall surface W1. The case 3 is provided with a waveguide conductive part 31 (conductive part) for guiding radio waves and a reflective conductive part 32 (conductive part) for reflecting radio waves. Hereinafter, the configurations of the remote control transmitter 2, the case 3, the waveguide conductive portion 31, and the reflective conductive portion 32 will be described in detail.

  The remote control transmitter 2 has an antenna 21 that radiates radio waves (indicated by a broken line frame) and an input unit 22 that can be operated by the user U. Based on an external input to the input unit 22, Radio waves are radiated from the antenna 21. The input unit 22 includes, for example, a button pressed by the user U and an input circuit that generates a signal corresponding to the button operation. The input unit 22 is not limited to a button, and may be configured by a switch, a sensor, or the like, and the input circuit may operate according to a switch operation or a sensor detection output.

  Further, the remote control transmitter 2 has a housing 23. The housing 23 contains the antenna 21 and accommodates the input unit 22 with the buttons of the input unit 22 exposed on the front surface. The antenna 21 is disposed, for example, on the upper portion of the housing 23. Moreover, the housing | casing 23 consists of nonelectroconductive members with insulation, such as resin. The size of the housing 23 is a size that can be gripped by the user U, and the shape thereof is, for example, a substantially quadrangular prism or a rectangular parallelepiped.

  The case 3 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the housing 23 of the remote control transmitter 2, and an opening is formed in the upper part. For this reason, it is possible to insert / remove the remote control transmitter 2 from above the case 3 through this opening. Case 3 holds the casing 23 of the remote control transmitter 2 in a state where the remote control transmitter 4 is inserted, and fixes the remote control transmitter 2. An opening is provided on the front surface of the case 3. The opening is formed so that the user U can operate the input unit 22 in a state where the remote control transmitter 2 is inserted into the case 3. In order to install the case 3 on the wall surface W1, the back surface of the case 3 is fixed to the wall W by a simple method such as screwing, pasting or embedding.

  The waveguide conductive portion 31 and the reflective conductive portion 32 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like) are provided near the antenna 21 of the case 3. Of the radio wave radiation from the antenna 21, the radiation in the direction in which the radio wave is guided by the waveguide conductive unit 31 is enhanced, and the radiation in the direction in which the radio wave is reflected by the reflective conductive unit 32 is enhanced.

  Each of the waveguide conductive portions 31 and the like is composed of a conductive member. These conductive members function as parasitic antenna elements. Specifically, the conductive member of the waveguide conductive portion 31 functions as a waveguide by resonating with the radio wave from the antenna 21, and the conductive member of the reflective conductive portion 32 reflects the radio wave from the antenna 21. And function as a reflector. The conductive member is, for example, transparent, and the shape thereof is, for example, an elongated sheet. The shape of the conductive member is not limited to the above. The conductive members constituting each of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the reflective conductive portion 32 may be the same or different.

  The waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like are installed at a position near the antenna 21 in a state where the remote control transmitter 2 is held by the case 3. Specifically, the waveguide conductive portion 31 is arranged at the upper portion of the front surface of the case 3 and outside thereof in accordance with the position of the antenna 21. The waveguide conductive portion 31 may be disposed inside the front surface portion of the case 3. On the other hand, the reflective conductive portion 32 is disposed inside the back portion of the case 3.

  In addition, an adhesive is applied to the conductive member such as the waveguide conductive portion 31, and the conductive member is attached to the case 3 and fixed by the adhesive. The conductive member can be removed again after being attached to the case 3. For this reason, a conductive member can be arrange | positioned in a position with favorable communication sensitivity by adjusting the sticking position of a conductive member, performing communication between the remote control transmitter 2 and the electric equipment to be controlled.

  In the above configuration, the antenna 21 is housed in the housing 23 made of an insulating member, and the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like are attached to the case 3 that holds the housing 23. Contact with the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like can be prevented. For this reason, it can prevent that the conductive part 31 for waveguide does not play the role as a director, and the conductive part 32 for reflection cannot play the role as a reflector.

  Note that the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like are not limited to attachment with an adhesive, and may be detachably fixed to the case 3 by fitting, screwing, or a combination thereof, for example. For example, in the case of fixing by fitting or screwing, the case 3 is formed with a plurality of recesses and screw holes for fitting. The position of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like can be freely changed by changing the concave portion and the screw hole for fixing the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like. Next, the electrical configuration of the remote controller 1 will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows an electrical configuration of the remote controller 1. The remote control transmitter 2 includes an antenna 21, an input unit 22, a communication unit 24 that communicates with other electric devices to be controlled using the antenna 21, and a control unit 25 that controls communication by the communication unit 24. . The antenna 21, the input unit 22, the communication unit 24, and the control unit 25 are accommodated in the housing 23.

  The input unit 22 includes buttons and an input circuit. The input circuit generates a trigger signal that triggers a control operation of the control unit 25 based on an external input operation, that is, a button pressing operation by the user U, and sends the trigger signal to the control unit 25.

  The control unit 25 is configured by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU. This microcomputer uses the trigger signal as a trigger to send a control signal corresponding to the communication content to the communication unit 24. The communication unit 24 is configured by a communication circuit. This communication circuit radiates radio waves from the antenna 21 based on a control signal from the control unit 25.

  The input unit 22, the communication unit 24, and the control unit 25 are formed on, for example, a single circuit board. The antenna 21 is formed by routing a wiring pattern on the circuit board. For example, the antenna 21 is configured by a strip line formed by pattern routing. The electrical length of the antenna 21 is, for example, approximately ½ or ¼ of the wavelength of the radio wave radiated from the antenna 21. The shape of the antenna 21 is not limited to the above.

  The electrical length of the waveguide conductive portion 31 is shorter than the electrical length of the antenna 21. For this reason, the conductive member of the waveguide conductive portion 31 functions as a director and enhances radiation in the direction in which the conductive member 31 is installed (waveguide direction). Therefore, the electric field strength in the above direction is increased. On the other hand, the electrical length of the reflective conductive portion 32 is longer than the electrical length of the antenna 21. For this reason, the conductive member of the conductive portion 32 for reflection functions as a reflector. Accordingly, the electric field strength in the reflection direction is increased.

  Since the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like are attached to the case 3, they can be prevented from coming into contact with the input portion 22, the communication portion 24, the control portion 25, and the circuit board on which they are formed. For this reason, it can prevent that the electroconductive part 31 for waveguides and the electroconductive part 32 for reflection lose the role of a waveguide or a reflector, respectively. Next, the directivity of the remote controller 1 having the above configuration will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows the directivity of the remote controller 1 when the remote controller transmitter 2 is removed from the case 3, that is, the directivity of the remote controller transmitter 2 alone. The antenna 21 has a specific directivity. In the figure, the front surface lobe of the remote control 1 and the back surface (wall direction) lobe are two-dimensionally shown by dotted lines, the front surface lobe is represented by L1, and the back surface lobe is represented by L2. The shapes of the lobes L1 and L2 are substantially equal. The radiation characteristic of the antenna 21 may be non-directional.

  FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6A, 6B show an arrangement example of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the remote control when the remote control transmitter 2 is held in the case 3 in the same arrangement example. 1 directivity is shown. This directivity varies depending on the position of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like. Specifically, when the position of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like in the case 3 is adjusted, the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the antenna 21 when the remote control transmitter 2 is held by the case 3 The positional relationship changes. Along with this change in the positional relationship, the electric field strength distribution of the radio wave radiated from the remote controller 1 changes, and the electric field strength in a predetermined direction increases. As a result, the directivity of the remote controller 1 changes.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the waveguide conductive portion 31 is disposed on the upper portion of the front surface of the case 3 and on the left side of the front view, and the reflective conductive portion 32 is disposed on the case 3. When it is arranged on the upper part of the rear part of the remote control and on the right side when viewed from the front, the electric field strength of the radio wave in the right front (direction indicated by the arrow D1) when viewed from the remote control transmitter 2 is increased. In particular, when the waveguide conductive portion 31 is arranged in the direction of the arrow D1 when viewed from the remote control transmitter 2, and the reflection conductive portion 32 is arranged in the direction opposite to the arrow D1 direction, that is, the waveguide conductive portion 31 When the waveguide direction and the reflection direction of the reflective conductive portion 32 are made to coincide with the arrow D1 direction, the electric field strength in the arrow D1 direction is increased. For this reason, the lobe L1 in the front direction of the remote controller 1 faces the direction of the arrow D1, increases in size, and forms a main lobe. On the other hand, the lobe L2 in the rear direction of the remote controller 1 faces in the direction opposite to the arrow D1 direction, and the size thereof is reduced to form a side lobe.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the waveguide conductive portion 31 is disposed at the upper part of the front portion of the case 3 and on the right side of the front view, and the reflective conductive portion 32 is provided in the case 3. When the remote control transmitter 2 is disposed at the upper part of the rear part of the rear part and the left side when viewed from the front, the electric field strength of the radio wave in the front left direction (direction indicated by the arrow D2) is increased. In particular, when the waveguide conductive portion 31 is disposed in the direction of the arrow D2 as viewed from the remote control transmitter 2, and the reflective conductive portion 32 is disposed in the direction opposite to the arrow D2 direction, that is, the waveguide conductive portion 31 When the waveguide direction and the reflection direction of the reflective conductive portion 32 are made to coincide with the arrow D2 direction, the electric field strength in the arrow D2 direction increases. For this reason, the lobe L1 in the front direction of the remote controller 1 is directed in the direction of the arrow D2, increases in size, and forms a main lobe. On the other hand, the lobe L2 in the rear direction of the remote controller 1 faces in the direction opposite to the arrow D2 direction, and the size thereof is reduced to form a side lobe.

  As described above, the position of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the antenna 21 when the remote control transmitter 2 is held by the case 3 is changed by changing the position of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the like on the case 3. The relationship can be adjusted. For this reason, it is possible to adjust the directivity of the remote controller 1 when the case 3 is installed on the wall surface W1, that is, when the remote control transmitter 2 is attached to the wall W. Therefore, the electric field strength of the radiated radio wave in the above state can be increased in accordance with the direction in which the device to be controlled is located or the structure of the building. As a result, stable and reliable communication can be performed with the device to be controlled in the above state. Further, stable and reliable communication can be performed in a state where the antenna 21 is built in the housing 23 of the remote control transmitter 2. For this reason, it is not necessary to change the direction and shape of the antenna 21 by projecting the antenna 21 from the housing 23 of the remote control transmitter 2 for directivity adjustment. Therefore, the beauty of the remote controller 1 can be maintained.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible according to a use purpose. For example, the case 3 may be formed so that the remote control transmitter 2 can be attached and detached from the front. In addition, in the case 3, either one of the waveguide conductive portion 31 and the reflective conductive portion 32 may be fixed, and either one may be fixed.

(A) is a figure which shows an example of the usage pattern of the remote controller which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the other example of the usage pattern. (A) is a perspective view of the remote controller, (b) is a side view thereof, and (c) is a perspective view showing a state where a remote control transmitter is held in a case in the remote controller. The electrical block diagram of the said remote controller. The perspective view which shows an example of the directivity of the said remote control transmitter. (A) is a perspective view which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the electroconductive part for waveguide in the said remote controller, and the electroconductive part for reflection, (b) is the same remote controller when the said remote control transmitter is hold | maintained in a case in the example of arrangement | positioning The perspective view which shows the directivity of. (A) is a perspective view which shows the example of arrangement | positioning different from the above, (b) is a perspective view which shows the directivity of the said remote controller when the said remote control transmitter is hold | maintained in the case in the example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote controller 2 Remote control transmitter 21 Antenna 22 Input part 23 Case 24 Communication part 25 Control part 3 Case 31 Conductive part for waveguide (conductive part)
32 Conductive part for reflection (conductive part)

Claims (2)

A remote control transmitter, and a case installed on a wall for attaching the remote control transmitter to a wall,
The remote controller transmitter is based on an antenna that radiates radio waves, a communication unit that communicates with other devices using the antenna, a control unit that controls communication by the communication unit, and an input operation from the outside, A remote controller comprising: an input unit that sends a trigger signal that triggers a control operation to the control unit; and a housing that accommodates the antenna, the communication unit, the control unit, and the input unit and is held by the case In
A remote controller characterized in that a conductive portion for guiding or reflecting radio waves is provided in the vicinity of the antenna of the case. The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein an insulating member is provided between the conductive portion and the antenna.

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