JP2008311958A - Cellular phone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cellular phone capable of remotely controlling a plurality of remote control object apparatuses and improve operability of each apparatus for a user. <P>SOLUTION: The cellular phone provided with a function for requesting an apparatus to be an object of remote control for a control code for designating a function to be achieved by remote control by a short range communicating means is provided with a function selecting means for selecting a function; a data transmitting and receiving means for outputting to the short range communicating means a transmission request signal for requesting only a control code for designating the function selected by the function selecting means; a storing means for associating the control code that the data transmitting and receiving means receives from the apparatus through the short range communicating means with data showing an operation key in the operating part to store them in a memory means; and a code selecting part for reading a control code corresponding to data showing the operation key from the memory means and outputting the control code to the short range communicating means when the operation key is pressed down. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone provided with short-distance communication means in addition to communication means for calling and data communication.

  A user can remotely operate an AV (Audio Visual) device such as a television receiver, a DVD playback device, and a DVD recorder with a remote control device (hereinafter referred to as a remote control device). In general, a dedicated remote control device is prepared for each AV device. In many cases, there is no compatibility between remote control devices corresponding to each AV device.

  Then, when using a plurality of AV devices, the user needs to use different remote control devices corresponding to the respective devices. For example, when five AV devices are used, it is necessary to use five remote controllers separately, which is troublesome for the user. Also, a place to place five remote control devices is required.

  In view of this, a method has been realized in which a variety of devices are remotely operated using a short-range communication function provided in a mobile phone (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this method, one mobile phone can function as one remote control device that can remotely control a plurality of devices.

  However, in order to realize remote operation by this method, the user needs to download and install a dedicated application program from a website to a mobile phone. In general, application programs are downloaded for a fee. Moreover, it is necessary to search, for example, on a website whether or not the device used by the user is compatible with the method, which is troublesome.

  Patent Document 1 also describes a method that eliminates the need to download an application program when one mobile phone is made to function as one remote control device that can remotely control a plurality of devices. In this method, a user transmits a request signal from a mobile phone to a device (remote operation target device) to be remotely operated. The mobile phone receives the remote operation information transmitted by the remote operation target device in response to the request signal and stores it in the memory.

  Patent Document 2 describes a remote control device that can remotely control a plurality of devices and includes an image display unit provided with a touch panel. When the remote control device described in Patent Literature 2 generates an operation screen (user interface screen) for remotely operating a remote operation target device without using a user operation so as to suit the situation of the remote operation target device. Has been.

JP2003-92788 (paragraphs 0004-0009) JP 2002-199475 A (paragraphs 0004-0008)

  The remote control device described in Patent Document 2 needs to include a display unit that displays a user interface screen. Then, a PDA terminal having a screen size larger than the screen size of the display unit of the mobile phone must be used as the remote control device. It is hard to say that PDA terminals and the like are popular in general households. Further, when using a PDA terminal or the like, the remote control device becomes expensive. Although it is conceivable to use a dedicated remote control device that is not a general-purpose product such as a PDA terminal, when using such a remote control device, unlike a PDA terminal or the like, it cannot be used for other purposes. Will be more expensive.

  Since the remote control device described in Patent Document 1 uses a widely used mobile phone as the remote control device, the remote control device can be realized substantially inexpensively. However, the remote control device described in Patent Document 1 simply realizes remote operation based on remote operation information transmitted by the remote operation target device, and does not improve user convenience. Absent. For example, in the remote control device described in Patent Document 1, it is said that the operations are unified when a plurality of remote operation target devices are remotely operated, but this may be inconvenient for the user. For example, even when different types of devices are operated, if the operations are unified, it is possible that operability suitable for the operation of each device cannot be ensured.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone that can remotely operate a plurality of devices to be remotely operated and can improve the operability of each device for a user.

  A cellular phone according to the present invention is a cellular phone having a function of requesting a device to be remotely operated by a short-range communication means for a control code designating a function realized by remote operation, and selects the function. A function selection unit; a data transmission / reception unit that outputs a transmission request signal that requests only a control code that specifies the function selected by the function selection unit to the short-range communication unit; and a data transmission / reception unit from the device via the short-range communication unit A storage unit that stores the received control code in the storage unit in association with data indicating the operation key in the operation unit, and a control code that corresponds to the data that indicates the operation key when the operation key is pressed from the storage unit And a code selection unit that reads out and outputs the code to the short-range communication means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to remotely operate a plurality of devices to be remotely operated, and to improve the operability for each device for the user.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile phone according to the present invention together with the configuration of AV equipment. FIG. 1 shows only blocks related to functions related to remote operation in the mobile phone 20.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile phone 20 includes an infrared communication circuit 21 that performs communication based on, for example, the IrDA standard using infrared rays, a memory 22 that includes a flash memory, a control unit 23 that includes a CPU that performs device control according to a program, a key An operation unit 24 including a switch (hereinafter referred to as a button) and a display unit 25 such as an LCD are provided.

  The AV apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an infrared communication circuit 11 that performs communication based on, for example, the IrDA standard using infrared rays, a memory 12, and a control unit 13 that includes a CPU that performs device control according to a program.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing an appearance of an example of the mobile phone 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 20 includes a selection key 241 that is a key included in the operation unit 24 and can be pressed vertically and horizontally, and a button group 242 including a plurality of buttons in the operation unit 24. . In FIG. 2, only 6 out of 18 buttons in the button group 242 are displayed as “buttons”, and the other 12 are displayed as “buttons”. ing. Further, the central portion of the selection key 241 functions as an enter key.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functional blocks of the control unit 23 in the mobile phone 20. The control unit 23 inputs data based on the infrared signal received by the infrared communication circuit 21 from the infrared communication circuit 21, and outputs data that is a source of the infrared signal to be transmitted by the infrared communication circuit 21 to the infrared communication circuit 21. Functions are assigned to buttons in the data transmission / reception unit 231, a function selection unit 232 that performs a process of selecting a function corresponding to a control code (a code that specifies a function realized by remote operation) to be collected from the AV device 1, and a button group 242. A button selection unit 233 for performing processing (equivalent to processing for assigning a control code), and a code selection for reading out a control code corresponding to the button pressed by the user from the memory 22 and outputting the control code to the infrared communication circuit 21 via the data transmission / reception unit 231 The function of the unit 234 is provided. Since the control code is transmitted from the mobile phone 20 to the AV device 1 by infrared communication during remote operation, it is also referred to as a transmission code hereinafter. Note that the storage means for storing in the memory (storage means) 22 in association with the data indicating the buttons in the operation unit 24 is realized by the button assignment unit 233.

  4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing how the mobile phone 20 receives a transmission code for realizing the function from the AV device 1 and stores it in the memory 22. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration example of the setting information table.

  As shown in FIG. 4, setting information (setting information A in FIG. 4) is stored in advance in the memory 12 of the AV device 1. The setting information is information in which a transmission code and data indicating a function are associated with each function. In response to a transmission request from the mobile phone 20, the AV device 1 transmits the setting information A stored in the memory 12 to the mobile phone 20 by infrared communication. In the mobile phone 20, the setting information A received from the AV device 1 is stored in the memory 22.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which setting information from a plurality of AV devices is stored in the memory 22 of the mobile phone 20. In the example shown in FIG. 5, setting information A received from the AV device 1, setting information B received from the AV device 2, and setting information C received from the AV device 3 are stored in the memory 22 of the mobile phone 20. Is done. Hereinafter, the setting information portion in the memory 22 is referred to as a setting information table.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of data storage in the setting information table. As shown in FIG. 6, in the setting information table, data indicating individual buttons in the button group 242, data indicating functions, and sending codes are stored in correspondence with each setting information. The function refers to a function for remote control, for example, power on / off, volume increase / decrease, channel change, and the like.

  In this embodiment, the mobile phone 20 collects control codes (transmission codes) for remotely operating the respective AV devices 1, 2, 3 from the AV devices 1, 2, 3, but the mobile phone 20 One or more specific control codes can be requested from the AV devices 1, 2, and 3. That is, the function to be used can be selected. In the mobile phone 20, an arbitrary function can be assigned to the button.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit 25 for selecting a function to be used. The memory 22 of the cellular phone 20 stores data indicating functions assumed to be used for many types of AV devices in advance. When a user performs an operation input for setting the mobile phone 20 to the function selection mode from the operation unit 24 of the mobile phone 20 in order to obtain a control code (transmission code) from a certain AV device, the control unit 23 of the mobile phone 20 Then, a list of functions is displayed on the display unit 25 based on the data stored in the memory 22.

  The user can move the cursor on the display screen using the selection key 241. FIG. 7 shows that the cursor is at the “power on / off” position. When the enter key is pressed, the control unit 23 determines that the function indicated at the position where the cursor is is selected. The control unit 23 temporarily stores data indicating the selected function in the memory 22.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit 25 for assigning functions to buttons. FIG. 8 shows a display example when the function of “power on / off” is assigned to any button in the button group 242. The user can move the cursor on the display screen using the selection key 241. FIG. 8 shows that the cursor is at the position of “button 1”. When the determination key is pressed, the control unit 23 determines that the button indicated at the position where the cursor is located has been selected. When the cursor is at the position shown in FIG. 8 and the enter key is pressed, the control unit 23 sets the button 1 to the “power on / off” control code (send code) received from the AV device. assign. That is, in the setting information table, the “power on / off” control code (transmission code) and the data indicating the button 1 are set in association with each other.

  Next, the operation when the mobile phone 20 requests a control code (transmission code) from the AV device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, an example of an operation when a control code (transmission code) is requested from the AV device 1 will be described. When the user wants to set the cellular phone 20 in a state in which the AV device 1 can be remotely operated, the user performs an operation input to put the cellular phone 20 in the function selection mode from the operation unit 24 (step S11). The control unit 23 sets its own mode to the function selection mode according to the operation input. That is, the operation input input to the operation unit 24 is regarded as an input related to function selection.

  In the function selection mode, the function selection unit 232 in the control unit 23 executes a function selection process (step S12). In the function selection process, the function selection unit 232 causes the display unit 25 to display a display screen illustrated in FIG. When the user sequentially selects functions using the selection key 241 (including the determination key), the function selection unit 232 temporarily stores data indicating the selected function in the memory 22. When the user performs a predetermined operation input for finishing the selection, the data transmission / reception unit 231 in the control unit 23 requests a control code (transmission code) corresponding to the function indicated by the data selected and temporarily stored in the memory 22. Therefore, the transmission request code is output to the infrared communication circuit 21. The infrared communication circuit 21 transmits a transmission request code with an infrared signal (step S13).

  The transmission request code for requesting the control code (transmission code) corresponding to the selected function is, for example, a code in a form in which data indicating the selected function is attached as a parameter to the header indicating the transmission request. It is.

  In the AV device 1, when receiving the transmission request code via the infrared communication circuit 11, the control unit 13 extracts data indicating a function from the transmission request code. Then, each control code (transmission code) corresponding to the data indicating the function is read from the memory 12. In addition, a series of read control codes (transmission codes) are output to the infrared communication circuit 11 as setting information A. The infrared communication circuit 11 transmits the input setting information A as an infrared signal. The transmitted setting information A is a collection of pairs of data indicating functions and control codes (transmission codes) corresponding thereto.

  In the mobile phone 20, when the data transmitting / receiving unit 231 in the control unit 23 receives the setting information A from the AV device 1 via the infrared communication circuit 11 (step S 14), the control unit 23 stores the received setting information A in the memory 22. Is temporarily stored (step S15). Next, the button assignment unit 233 in the control unit 23 performs button assignment processing based on the setting information A received by the data transmission / reception unit 231, specifically based on the setting information A temporarily stored in the memory 22 ( Step S16).

  In the button allocation process, the button allocation unit 233 causes the display unit 25 to display a display screen as illustrated in FIG. Note that the display screen illustrated in FIG. 8 is displayed for each function. That is, when a button is assigned to a certain function, the button assigning unit 233 causes the display unit 25 to display a display screen illustrated in FIG. 8 for other functions to which no button is assigned. When the user selects a button using the selection key 241 (including the determination key), the button assignment unit 233 displays the function in the temporarily stored setting information A (in the example shown in FIG. 8, “power on / off”). The data indicating the selected button is temporarily stored in association with the data indicating the function).

  When buttons are assigned to all functions in the setting information A, the button assignment unit 233 stores the temporarily stored setting information A in the memory 22 as the finally created setting information A (see FIG. 6). Store (step S17).

  Here, the operation when requesting a control code (transmission code) from the AV device 1 is taken as an example. However, the control unit 23 also requests the control code (transmission code) from the AV devices 2 and 3. The same operation is performed.

  Next, an operation when the mobile phone 20 is used as a remote control device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When using the mobile phone 20 as a remote control device, the user performs an operation input for setting the mobile phone 20 in the remote control mode from the operation unit 24 (step S21). The control unit 23 sets its own mode to the remote control mode according to the operation input. That is, the operation input that is input to the operation unit 24 is regarded as an input related to the remote operation. In a situation where a plurality of types of setting information are stored in the memory 22, the control unit 23 causes the display unit 25 to display a screen for selecting whether to remotely operate the AV device as a target, and the AV of the remote operation target. Let the user select a device. The code selection unit 234 in the control unit 23 reads the transmission code from the setting information of the selected AV device in the memory 22. Hereinafter, a case where the user selects the AV device 1 is taken as an example. Therefore, the orientation of the mobile phone 20 is set by the user so that an infrared signal is transmitted toward the AV device 1.

  When the user presses any button in the button group 242 in the remote control mode, a press signal is input to the control unit 23 from the button. The code selection unit 234 refers to the setting information A set in the setting information table in the memory 22 and checks whether or not the transmission code corresponding to the pressed button is set in the setting information table (step S22). , S23). FIG. 11 shows an example of referring to the item of the button 1 in the setting information A when the button 1 is pressed. In FIG. 11, the selection key 241 is not shown.

  When the transmission code corresponding to the pressed button is set in the setting information table, the code selection unit 234 reads the transmission code and outputs it to the infrared communication circuit 21. The infrared communication circuit 21 transmits the input transmission code as an infrared signal. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the transmission code A1 corresponding to the button 1 is transmitted. Note that the orientation of the mobile phone 20 is set by the user so that an infrared signal is transmitted toward the AV device 1.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, in the AV device 1, the control unit 13 receives the transmission code A <b> 1 via the infrared communication circuit 11 and performs control for realizing the function corresponding to the transmission code A <b> 1.

  In this embodiment, since the mobile phone 20 directly collects transmission codes for realizing the functions from the AV devices 1, 2, and 3, it functions as one remote control device that can remotely control a plurality of devices. Can be made. Moreover, it is not necessary to download an application program.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the mobile phone 20 can collect only the transmission codes corresponding to the functions desired by the user when collecting the transmission codes from the AV devices 1, 2, and 3. A remote control device that meets your needs can be realized. In addition, since a button on the mobile phone 20 can be assigned to a function, a remote control device that matches the user's preference and necessity can be realized. Also, the buttons can be assigned to the functions corresponding to the AV devices 1, 2, and 3, respectively. This also makes it possible to realize a remote control device that matches the user's preferences and needs.

  In the above embodiment, the infrared communication function is used as an example of the short-range communication function. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case of using another type of short-range communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). .

  In the above embodiment, an AV device is taken as an example of a remote operation target device. However, a device that can be remotely operated by the mobile phone 20 according to the present invention is not limited to an AV device. Other devices that can be operated with a remote control device such as home appliances other than AV devices can be remotely operated.

  In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the user selects a target AV device when remotely operating a certain AV device, but the functions of all AV devices 1, 2, and 3 (cell phone 20) are assumed. When different buttons are assigned over the function (corresponding to the transmission code set in step 1), that is, when one function is assigned to one button over all AV devices 1, 2, and 3. Even if the user does not select the target AV device, all the AV devices 1, 2, and 3 can be remotely operated. In addition, all AV devices 1, 2, and 3 can be remotely operated at a time.

  When assigning one function to one button across all AV devices 1, 2, and 3, it may be left to the user to select, but the control unit 23 is prohibited from assigning a plurality of functions to one button. You may make it perform control to perform. For example, in the button assignment process in step S16, when the button assignment unit 233 in the control unit 23 selects a certain button, if the data indicating the button already exists in the setting information table, the button is displayed. Information indicating that it is recommended to select another button is displayed on the display unit 25 without setting the indicated data in the setting information.

  The present invention can be applied to a mobile phone having a near field communication function such as an infrared communication function.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone by this invention with the structure of AV apparatus. It is a front view which shows the external appearance of an example of a mobile telephone. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function of the control part in a mobile telephone. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the mobile telephone receives the transmission code for implement | achieving a function from AV apparatus, and stores it in memory. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the mobile telephone receives the transmission code for implement | achieving a function from AV apparatus, and stores it in memory. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of a setting information table. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the display part for selecting the function to be used. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the display part for assigning a function with respect to a button. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when a mobile telephone requests | requires a control code from AV apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when using a mobile telephone as a remote control device. It is explanatory drawing which shows search and transmission of a transmission code.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3 AV equipment 11 Infrared communication circuit 12 Control unit 13 Memory 20 Mobile phone 21 Infrared communication circuit 22 Control unit 23 Memory 24 Operation unit 25 Display unit 231 Data transmission / reception unit 232 Function selection unit 233 Button allocation unit 234 Code selection unit 241 selection key 242 button group

Claims (6)

In a mobile phone having a function of requesting a control code for specifying a function realized by remote operation to a device to be remotely operated by a short-range communication means,
A function selection means for selecting a function;
Data transmission / reception means for outputting a transmission request signal for requesting only a control code designating the function selected by the function selection means to the short-range communication means;
Storage means for storing in the storage means the control code received from the device via the short-range communication means by the data transmission / reception means in association with data indicating operation keys in the operation unit;
A mobile phone comprising: a code selection unit that reads a control code corresponding to data indicating an operation key from the storage unit and outputs the control code to the short-range communication unit when the operation key is pressed. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the control code received from one device in a region different from the region of the storage unit in which the control code received from another device is stored. The mobile phone according to claim 2, wherein the code selection unit reads the control code from an area in the storage unit in which the control code for the device is stored when it is designated to remotely operate the device. The mobile phone according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising button selection means for performing a process of assigning a control code received from a device to a selected operation key. The mobile phone according to claim 4, wherein the button selecting means assigns one control code to one operation key over the functions of a plurality of devices. The mobile phone according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the short-range communication means is an infrared communication means.

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