JP2008289097A - Electrical apparatus and operation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical apparatus capable of urging an operator for turning a remote controller toward the direction where a code accepting part is installed, and to provide a method of operating the electrical device. <P>SOLUTION: A television receiver 1 comprising light-receiving units 111-114 each for accepting a code signal from a remote controller 2 outputs information about positions at which the light-receiving units 111-114 are installed. Furthermore, there is outputted information about a position at which a light-receiving unit selected from the light-receiving units 111-114 is installed. Moreover, the information about the positions at which the light-receiving units 111-114 are installed is outputted, by emitting light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 117-120 corresponding to the relevant photodetection units or outputting audio. Then, the information about the positions at which the light-receiving units 11-114 are installed is outputted as an image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric device provided with a code receiving unit for receiving a code signal emitted from a remote controller and an operation method for operating the electric device.

  Conventionally, electric devices such as a television receiver that receives a television broadcast signal, and a recording / reproducing device that records the television broadcast signal received by the television receiver and reproduces it on the television receiver when requested are widely used. ing. The electric device includes a code receiving unit for receiving a code signal emitted from a remote controller so that the remote operation can be performed.

  However, the code signal carrier medium such as infrared rays has directivity, and the remote optical device emits the infrared light so that the optical axis of the infrared rays is accurately directed to the position where the code receiving unit is installed. It was necessary to handle the operating device, which had the problem of imposing a burden on the operator.

Thus, for example, a remote control device has been proposed in which a lens is installed in a code receiving unit of a television receiver so that the code receiving unit can receive a wide-angle infrared ray (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-177679

  However, the device described in Patent Document 1 can accept a code signal in the code accepting unit when the direction of the optical axis of the infrared light emitted from the remote controller is out of the range in which the code accepting unit can receive light. Therefore, it does not surely solve the conventional problems. In particular, a large television receiver has a large frontal view area and can be installed in various places with a code reception unit. Therefore, an operator cannot correctly understand the direction in which the remote controller should be directed and handles the remote controller correctly. The case where it is not possible is assumed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the purpose thereof is to inform the operator of the position where the code receiving unit is installed, so that the code receiving unit is installed on the remote controller. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric device that can prompt an operator to turn in the direction in which it is directed and a method for operating the electric device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electrical device according to the present invention is an electrical device that includes a code receiving unit that receives a code signal emitted from a remote controller, and that outputs the position information where the code receiving unit is installed. Means are provided.

  In the present invention, the code receiving unit is installed in the operator by outputting the position information where the code receiving unit is installed in the electric device including the code receiving unit that receives the code signal emitted from the remote controller. The position is notified and the remote controller is urged to point in the direction in which the code receiving unit is installed.

  Further, in the electric device according to the present invention, a plurality of the code receiving units are installed at different locations, and means for receiving identification information indicating a code receiving unit that should receive the code signal among the plurality of code receiving units. The output means outputs position information where the code receiving unit indicated by the received identification information is installed.

  In the present invention, a plurality of code receiving units that receive code signals emitted from the remote controller are installed at different locations, and a code receiving unit that is selected from the plurality of installed code receiving units is to receive the code signal. By receiving the identification information shown, for example, even if the code signal emitted from the remote controller cannot be received by one code receiving unit due to being blocked by the obstacle, it is blocked by the obstacle. The code signal is received by switching to another code receiving unit that is not present. In addition, by outputting the position information where the code receiving unit indicated by the received identification information is installed, the operator is informed of the position where the code receiving unit that should receive the code signal is installed, and the remote controller is coded. Encourage the user to turn in the direction in which the reception unit is installed.

  The electrical device according to the present invention includes an output unit that outputs light or sound corresponding to the code receiving unit, and the output unit outputs the position information and outputs the position information to the code receiving unit. Light or sound is output from the corresponding output unit.

  In the present invention, when an electric device including a code receiving unit that receives a code signal emitted from a remote operation outputs position information where the code receiving unit is installed, an output unit corresponding to the code receiving unit that outputs the position information In the direction in which the code receiving unit is installed, the operator is notified so that the position where the code receiving unit is installed can be intuitively grasped by outputting light or sound. Urge you to turn to.

  The electrical device according to the present invention is characterized in that the electrical device includes display means for displaying an image, and the output means displays the position information as an image on the display means. .

  In the present invention, a television receiver having a code receiving unit that receives a code signal emitted from a remote controller displays the position information where the code receiving unit is installed as an image, whereby the code receiving unit is installed. The operator is informed so that the current position can be visually grasped, and the remote controller is directed to the direction in which the code receiving unit is installed.

  In addition, an operation method according to the present invention is an operation method in which a code signal emitted from a remote controller is received by a code receiving unit included in an electric device, and the electric device is operated based on the received code signal. When the operation is started by power feeding, the position information where the code receiving unit is installed is output, and the code receiving unit from which the position information is output receives a code signal emitted from a remote controller. To do.

  In the present invention, when the operation is started by power supply from the power source, the electric device including the code receiving unit that receives the code signal emitted from the remote controller outputs the position information where the code receiving unit is installed, The operator who starts the operation is notified of the position information where the code receiving unit is installed, and the operator is prompted to point the remote controller in the direction in which the code receiving unit is installed.

  In the present invention, by urging the operator to point the remote control device in the direction in which the code reception unit is installed, the code reception unit can reliably receive a code signal emitted from the remote control device.

  Hereinafter, an electric device and an operation method of the electric device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an electric device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the electric device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an example in which the electric device according to the present invention is a television receiver will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even a device capable of remote operation such as a projection projector or an audio device may be used. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the television receiver 1 includes a monitor 107 formed of a rectangular liquid crystal display panel in which a plurality of liquid crystal elements are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix at the center of the front. Further, the left side light receiving unit 111, the upper side light receiving unit 112, and the right side light receiving unit that receive infrared rays emitted from the remote controller 2 on the four sides surrounding the monitor 107, that is, the left side, the upper side, the right side, and the lower side around the monitor 107. The unit 113 and the lower light receiving unit 114 are provided. Also, a left LED (Light Emitting Diode) 117, an upper LED 118, a right LED 119, and a lower LED 120 are located near the installation positions of the left light receiving unit 111, the upper light receiving unit 112, the right light receiving unit 113, and the lower light receiving unit 114, respectively. It is installed corresponding to each light receiving part.

  In addition to the configuration described above, the television receiver 1 includes a ROM 101, a RAM 102, a tuner 103, an input control unit 104, an operation button 105, an image output control unit 106, a monitor 107, an audio output control unit 108, a speaker 109, and light reception control. Unit 110, position information detection unit 115, LED control unit 116, control unit 121, and power source 3. Each hardware is connected to each other via a signal line 100.

  The ROM 101 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a PROM or a flash memory. The ROM 101 includes a position information table T or the like in which identification information of the light receiving unit, position information where the light receiving unit is installed, and identification information of the LED installed in the vicinity of the light receiving unit are stored in association with each other. Various data are stored. The identification information and position information are written in the ROM 101 when the television receiver 1 is shipped from the factory (at the time of initial setting). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be updated by an operator's input after the factory shipment. . The ROM 101 writes or reads data in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 121.

  Here, the position information table T stored in the ROM 101 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a storage example of the position information table T. In the position information table T, light receiving part identification information, light receiving part position information, LED identification information, and a selection flag are stored in one record. The identification information of the light receiving unit and the position information of the light receiving unit are given to each light receiving unit when the television receiver 1 is shipped from the factory. Further, the LED identification information is given to each LED when the television receiver 1 is shipped from the factory. The selection flag indicates that the position information of the light receiving unit is output when the value is 1, and the position information of the light receiving unit is not output when the value is 0. All values of the selection flag are set to 1 when the television receiver 1 is shipped from the factory, but the selection flag is appropriately changed by the operator.

  The RAM 102 is configured by a semiconductor memory such as SRAM or flash memory. The RAM 102 stores, for example, a program for causing the television receiver 1 to execute the operation method according to the present invention and various data generated by executing the program. In the RAM 102, information is written or read according to an instruction from the control unit 121.

  The tuner 103 is a device for receiving, for example, a UHF television broadcast signal, a VHF television broadcast signal, a BS broadcast signal, a CS broadcast signal, and the like, and receives a broadcast signal corresponding to a broadcast channel selected by an operator. Then, the image information included in the received signal is transmitted to the image output control unit 106, and the audio information included in the program data is transmitted to the audio output control unit 108.

  A plurality of operation buttons 105 are connected to the input control unit 104. The input control unit 104 receives a code signal generated when the operation button 105 is pressed as information, and transmits the received information to the RAM 102. The transmitted information is stored in the RAM 102. The operation button 105 is a button for inputting an operation code of the television receiver 1.

  The image output control unit 106 is connected to the monitor 107 and is a device for receiving the image information transmitted from the tuner 103 and displaying an image based on the received image information on the monitor 107. The monitor 107 is a device that displays an image using a liquid crystal display panel in which a liquid crystal element is incorporated, and outputs an image included in broadcast program data. Further, the monitor 107 outputs position information where the light receiving unit is installed as an image. A display example on the monitor 107 will be described later. In this embodiment, an example in which the monitor 107 is configured by a liquid crystal display panel has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the monitor 107 may be configured by a cathode ray tube.

  The audio output control unit 108 is connected to the speaker 109, receives audio information transmitted from the tuner 103, and outputs audio based on the received audio information from the speaker 109.

  The light receiving control unit 110 is connected to a light receiving unit which is a code receiving unit of the present invention. The left light receiving unit 111, the upper light receiving unit 112, the right light receiving unit 113, and the lower light receiving unit 114 each receive infrared rays emitted from the remote controller 2, convert them into predetermined electric signals, and perform light reception control on the converted electric signals. To the unit 110. In the present embodiment, an example in which four light receiving units, that is, the left light receiving unit 111, the upper light receiving unit 112, the right light receiving unit 113, and the lower light receiving unit 114 are connected will be described. Alternatively, a plurality of light receiving units may be connected.

  The light reception control unit 110 receives the electrical signal transmitted from each light reception unit, analyzes the received electrical signal, and detects the code signal input by the remote controller 2. The light reception control unit 110 transmits the detected code signal to the control unit 121. The control unit 121 executes processing according to the received code signal.

  The position information detection unit 115 is a device for detecting position information of a light receiving unit that should receive infrared rays emitted from the remote controller 2. When the television receiver 1 is shipped from the factory, the light receiving unit receives infrared rays from all the light receiving units. The position information detecting unit 115 includes a left light receiving unit 111, an upper light receiving unit 112, and a right light receiving unit 113. All the position information of the lower light receiving unit 114 is transmitted to the control unit 121. When the position information transmitted from the position information detection unit 115 is received, the control unit 121 displays the received position information as an image on the monitor 107.

  In addition, the light receiving unit can receive infrared rays at a light receiving unit selected from the left light receiving unit 111, the upper light receiving unit 112, the right light receiving unit 113, and the lower light receiving unit 114 as desired by the operator. When one of the light receiving units is selected by the operator and the identification information of the selected light receiving unit is received, the selection flag in the position information table T is updated to 1 or 0. The position information detection unit 115 extracts the position information of the light receiving unit whose selection flag is 1 from the position information table T and transmits it to the control unit 121. When the position information transmitted from the position information detection unit 115 is received, the control unit 121 displays the received position information as an image on the monitor 107. In this way, in the present invention, by selecting only the light receiving unit in the direction that is easy for the operator to operate, it is ensured that the infrared light emitted from the remote controller 2 is received by the light receiving unit. it can.

  The LED which is the output unit of the present invention is connected to the LED control unit 116. The LED control unit 116 receives an instruction for lighting from the control unit 121 and turns on the LED according to the instruction. Specifically, the LED control unit 116 selects an LED whose selection flag in the position information table T is 1, and lights the selected LED. The lighting of the LED is not limited to lighting constantly, but may be lighting that draws the operator's attention, such as lighting for a predetermined time and extinguishing, or blinking. In this embodiment, an example in which the left LED 117, the upper LED 118, the right LED 119, and the lower LED 120 are connected is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or a plurality of LEDs may be connected.

  The control unit 121 controls each hardware of the television receiver 1 described above. Further, the control unit 121 performs an operation process for executing the operation method according to the present invention in accordance with a program stored in the RAM 102. The procedure of operation processing executed by the control unit 121 will be described later.

  The power source 3 is a device for supplying power to each hardware included in the television receiver 1. The television receiver 1 starts to operate when power is supplied from the power source 3. The power source 3 has an electric cord 31. The electric cord 31 has an insertion plug 32 at one end. The insertion plug 32 is inserted into an insertion port that is a power supply port, and takes in external electricity into the television receiver 1. The power source 3 controls whether or not to supply power in response to an on / off instruction input via a main power button included in the operation button 105.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the remote controller 2 includes a plurality of operation buttons 201 for inputting an operation code and an infrared irradiation LED (not shown). The remote controller 2 generates a code signal when the operation button 201 is pressed by the operator, and irradiates infrared light with an infrared irradiation LED in accordance with the generated code signal. The irradiated infrared light is received by the light receiving unit of the television receiver 1. As described above, the remote controller 2 performs wireless communication using infrared rays with the television receiver 1.

Example 1.
Next, an operation process procedure of the operation method according to the present invention executed by the control unit 121 of the television receiver 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of operation processing executed by the control unit 121 of the television receiver 1, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a screen showing a display example of the monitor 107.

  The operator inputs an on / off instruction via the main power button included in the operation button 105. When the power supply 3 accepts the input instruction, it takes in external electricity and starts supplying power to the hardware including the control unit 121. The television receiver 1 starts to operate when power is supplied from the power source 3. Thereafter, the power supply 3 continues to supply power to each hardware until it receives a turn-off instruction.

  The control unit 121 of the television receiver 1 determines whether or not the television receiver 1 is in a power supply start state (S101), and determines that the television receiver 1 is not in a power supply start state (S101). NO), the operation process is terminated. Here, the power supply start refers to the moment when the power supply 3 starts to supply power to each hardware in response to an on instruction. On the other hand, if power supply is not started, the power supply 3 has stopped supplying power in response to an instruction to turn off, the power supply 3 has continued to supply power in response to an instruction to turn on, or the power supply 3 has been turned on. The remote controller 2 is turned off and is in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 121 determines that the television receiver 1 is in a power supply start state (YES in S101), the selection flag in the position information table T stored in the ROM 101 is 1. If it is determined that there is no selection flag set to 1 (NO in S102), that is, all the selection flags are 0, the position information of the light receiving unit is obtained. If it is set not to output, the operation process ends.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 121 determines that there is a selection flag that is 1 (YES in S102), the position information detection unit 115 uses the position information of the light receiving unit whose selection flag is 1 as the position information. Extracted from the table T (S103), the extracted position information of the light receiving unit is displayed as an image on the monitor 107 (S104), and the operation process is terminated when a predetermined time has elapsed. For example, the control unit 121 displays a schematic diagram of the front view of the television receiver 1 on the monitor 107, and displays a message and an arrow symbol indicating the position of the light receiving unit capable of receiving infrared rays in the diagram ( (See FIG. 5). After the end of the operation process, the control unit 121 shifts to a process for receiving a normal television broadcast.

Example 2
In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the control unit 121 displays the position information of the light receiving unit on the monitor 107 as an image has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an example in which the control unit 121 turns on the LED to indicate the position of the light receiving unit will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of an operation process executed by the control unit 121 of the television receiver 1 in another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of outputting the position information of the light receiving unit with LEDs.

  The operator inputs an on / off instruction via the main power button included in the operation button 105. When the power supply 3 accepts the input instruction, it takes in external electricity and starts supplying power to the hardware including the control unit 121. The television receiver 1 starts to operate when power is supplied from the power source 3. Thereafter, the power supply 3 continues to supply power to each hardware until it receives a turn-off instruction.

  The control unit 121 of the television receiver 1 determines whether or not the television receiver 1 is in a power supply start state (S201), and determines that the television receiver 1 is not in a power supply start state (S201). NO), the information processing is terminated. Here, the power supply start refers to a habit of starting power supply to each hardware in response to an instruction to turn on the power supply 3. On the other hand, if power supply is not started, the power supply 3 has stopped supplying power in response to an instruction to turn off, the power supply 3 has continued to supply power in response to an instruction to turn on, or the power supply 3 has been turned on. The remote controller 2 is turned off and is in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 121 determines that the television receiver 1 is in a power supply start state (YES in S201), the selection flag in the position information table stored in the ROM 101 is set to 1. It is determined whether or not there is any (S202), and if it is determined that no selection flag is 1 (NO in S202), that is, all selection flags are 0, and the position information of the light receiving unit is output. If it is set not to, the operation process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 121 determines that there is a selection flag of 1 (YES in S202), the LED control unit 116 selects an LED whose selection flag is 1 (S203). The LED is turned on (S204), the LED is turned on until a predetermined time elapses, and the operation process is terminated. For example, the control unit 121 turns on an LED installed in the vicinity of the light receiving unit that should output position information (see FIG. 7). After the end of the operation process, the control unit 121 shifts to a process for receiving a normal television broadcast.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the code signal generated from the remote controller 2 is wirelessly communicated to the television receiver 1 using infrared rays has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, wireless communication may be performed using a medium having directivity.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the position information where the light receiving unit is installed is displayed as an image on the monitor 107. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a voice message may be output from the speaker 109. .

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the LED emits light as an output unit has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and sound may be output by a small speaker.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example (Example 1) of displaying as an image on the monitor 107 and an example of causing LED to emit light (Example 2) are described in order to output position information where the light receiving unit is installed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the position information where the light receiving unit is installed is displayed as an image on the monitor 107, an LED installed near the position may be caused to emit light. In such a case, the control unit 121 executes a process for displaying position information on the monitor 107 according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and a process for causing the LED to emit light according to the flowchart of FIG.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the electric equipment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric equipment which concerns on this invention. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of storing a position information table T. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of operation processing executed by the control unit 121 of the television receiver 1. 6 is a schematic diagram of a screen showing a display example of a monitor 107. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the operation process which the control part 121 of the television receiver 1 in another Example performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example which outputs the positional information on a light-receiving part by LED.

Explanation of symbols

1 Television receiver 101 ROM
102 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 Tuner 104 Input control part 105 Operation button 106 Image output control part 107 Monitor 108 Audio | voice output control part 109 Speaker 110 Light reception control part 111 Left side light reception part 112 Upper side light reception part 113 Right side light reception part 114 Lower side light reception part 115 Position information detection part 116 LED control unit 117 Left LED
118 Upper LED
119 Right LED
120 Lower LED
121 Control unit 2 Remote controller 3 Power supply

Claims (5)

In an electrical device including a code receiving unit that receives a code signal emitted from a remote controller,
An electric device comprising output means for outputting position information where the code receiving unit is installed. A plurality of the code receiving units are installed at different locations,
Means for receiving identification information indicating a code receiving unit that should receive the code signal among a plurality of the code receiving units,
2. The electric apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs position information where a code receiving unit indicated by the received identification information is installed. An output unit that outputs light or sound corresponding to the code receiving unit;
3. The output unit according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the position information and outputs light or sound from the output unit corresponding to a code receiving unit that outputs the position information. Electrical equipment. The electrical device includes display means for displaying an image,
The electric device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output means displays the position information as an image on the display means. In an operation method in which a code signal emitted from a remote controller is received at a code receiving unit of the electric device, and the electric device is operated based on the received code signal,
When starting operation by power supply from a power source, the position information where the code receiving unit is installed is output,
An operation method, wherein a code signal emitted from a remote controller is received by a code receiving unit from which the position information is output.

Images