JP2010056821A - Remote controller with learning function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote controller with a learning function improved in operability of keys in learning. <P>SOLUTION: A light emitting part 3 for transmitting information to an external apparatus by an infrared signal is arranged on the upper surface of each housing. A light reception part 4 receiving the infrared signal is arranged on a side face of the housing. The remote controllers 1, 10 are prevented from facing each other in opposite directions in learning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote controller with a learning function, and more particularly to a remote controller with a learning function that improves operability during learning.

  When operating a television or a DVD player, a remote controller (so-called remote controller) is used. Usually, one remote controller is attached to one device, and the user uses different remote controllers depending on the device to be used.

  By the way, when watching a DVD, for example, first, the TV input is switched with the remote controller attached to the TV, then the DVD player is operated with the remote controller attached to the DVD player, and the volume is adjusted again with the TV remote controller in hand. There are many users who feel annoyed.

  One way to eliminate this annoyance is to arrange all devices at the same manufacturer and perform batch operations using the remote control with the selection function of the manufacturer, but in many cases, devices from different manufacturers are used in combination. Most of them.

  Therefore, a remote control with a learning function is useful in such a case. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a remote controller with a learning function receives an infrared signal from a remote controller attached to another device in addition to a light emitting unit for transmitting infrared rays toward an operation target device. A light receiving portion is provided.

  When learning with a remote controller with a learning function, send infrared rays from the target remote controller toward the light receiver, analyze the infrared signal, and store the infrared signal wavelength and other information in the internal memory of the remote controller with the learning function. By registering information, the remote control function of another device can be added to one remote control.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-223489 (FIG. 5)

  However, the conventional remote controller with a learning function has the following problems. In other words, in the conventional remote controller with a learning function, the light receiving part and the light emitting part are provided on the same plane, usually on the upper side. Therefore, when learning, it is necessary to operate the light emitting parts of the two remote controls facing each other. There is.

  Therefore, since the direction of one remote controller is the forward direction and the other remote controller is the reverse direction, it is difficult to intuitively grasp key operations, and it takes time and effort to complete learning registration. In particular, recent remote controllers have a large number of types and numbers of operation keys.

  On the other hand, a method has also been proposed in which a light-emitting unit is provided on the top surface of the remote control, and a light-receiving unit is provided on the bottom surface of the remote control (the surface facing the light-emitting unit). However, since the battery space is arranged on the rear end side of the remote controller, there are various restrictions for providing the light receiving unit on the bottom surface of the remote controller.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote controller with a learning function that improves the operability of keys during learning.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention has several features described below. According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided an operation key for selecting a device, a channel, and the like, a light emitting unit for sending an input signal from the operation key to an external device as an infrared signal, and a light emitting unit of an external remote control device. In a remote controller with a learning function having a light receiving unit for receiving a received signal, the remote controller with a learning function has a housing with a predetermined three-dimensional shape, the operation keys are arranged on the front of the housing, and the upper surface of the housing A light emitting portion is disposed, and the light receiving portion is provided on one side surface of the casing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the light receiving portion is provided adjacent to the light emitting portion on a side surface of the casing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the light emitting unit is provided on the upper surface of the housing and the light receiving unit is installed on the side surface of the housing, even if the remote controllers face each other at the time of learning, one side is reversed. Therefore, the key operation can be performed more intuitively.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by providing the light receiving portion on the side surface adjacent to the light emitting portion, it is possible to operate the remote controllers facing each other in a C shape, and the operability is further improved. To do.

  Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a remote controller with a learning function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view thereof. FIG. 3 is a front view of the remote controller with a learning function, and FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram thereof. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a learning state of the remote controller with a learning function, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of learning steps.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the remote controller 1 with a learning function has a rectangular cubic housing made of synthetic resin, and a number of operation keys 2 are arranged on the front of the housing. In this example, all the operation keys 2 are formed of push buttons, and the number and arrangement of these buttons can be arbitrarily selected according to specifications.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation key 2 includes a power button 21a arranged at the upper right of the upper part, a set button 21b used for learning, and an input switching button 21c for performing input switching on the television side.

  Below that, a function button group 21d for selectively switching the remote control function among “TV”, “tuner”, “DVD” and “video” is provided. In this example, an LED is incorporated in the function button group 21d so that the currently selected button is lit.

  Below the function button group 21d, an input source switching button group 21e that is selectively selected from “terrestrial digital”, “terrestrial analog”, “BS”, and “CS” is provided. In this example, the input source switching button group 21e is a three-wave compatible type, but may be other than this.

  Below the input source switching button group 21e, a channel button group 21f for selectively selecting channels “1” to “12” is provided. Below the channel button group 21f, an off timer 21g, an audio switching button 21h, a DVD / HDD switching button 21i, and a screen display switching button 21j are provided side by side.

  Below that, an operation button group 21k for operating data broadcasting in digital broadcasting is provided. The operation button group 21k includes a menu button for starting a menu screen, a program guide button for starting a program guide, various function selection buttons, a “return” button for returning the operation to the previous one, a cross cursor key, and a determination button.

  Below the operation button group 21k, there is provided a multi-function button group 21l composed of four buttons of “blue button”, “red button”, “green button” and “yellow button” which is also used when using data broadcasting and program guide. It has been.

  Below the multifunction button group 21l, a volume up / down button 21m is arranged on the left side, and a channel selection up / down button 21n is arranged on the right side. Next to the volume up / down button 21m, a mute button 21o is provided.

  Below the volume up / down button 21m, there are a “play / program content button”, “fast reverse / media switch button”, “fast forward / device navigation button”, “chapter return / video switch button”, “chapter feed / number input button”, “ A device operation button group 21p including a pause / d (data) button, a “record button”, and a “stop button” is provided.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 again, on the upper surface (the upper left surface in FIG. 2) of the remote controller 1 with a learning function, a light emitting unit 3 for sending an infrared signal toward an operation target device (not shown) is provided. Yes.

  The light emitting unit 3 has an infrared light transmitting panel 31 fitted over the upper surface of the remote control housing, and an infrared light emitting LED (not shown) is provided on the back surface of the infrared light transmitting panel. The shape and presence / absence of the infrared translucent panel 31 can be arbitrarily changed according to specifications.

  On the side surface (left side surface in this example) of the installation surface (upper surface) of the light emitting unit 3, a light receiving unit 4 for receiving an infrared signal emitted from an external remote controller during the learning function is provided. Similarly to the light emitting unit 3, the light receiving unit 4 includes an infrared light receiving LED (not shown) covered with an infrared light transmitting panel 41.

  The light receiving unit 4 is preferably provided in the vicinity of the corner of the side surface so as to be adjacent to the installation surface of the light emitting unit 3. According to this, as shown in FIG. 5, the operability of both remote controllers during learning is further improved by operating the remote controller 1 with a learning function and the remote controller 10 to be learned to face each other in a letter C shape. To improve. In this example, the light receiving unit 4 is provided on the left side of the light emitting unit 3, but may be provided on the right side.

  Next, the internal configuration of the remote controller with a learning function will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In the remote controller 1 with a learning function, an operation key (input unit) 2 and a calculation unit 5 for processing various input signals from the light receiving unit 4 and individual information such as an infrared signal wavelength determined for each manufacturer are stored in advance. A storage unit 6, a power supply unit 7 that supplies power, and a display unit 8 that expresses the situation with sound and light are provided.

  In this invention, the specific structure of the calculating part 5, the memory | storage part 6, the power supply part 7, and the display part 8 is arbitrary, These may be arbitrarily selected according to a specification.

  With reference to FIG. 6, an example of a learning method of the remote controller 1 with a learning function will be described. First, before performing the learning operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the light-receiving unit 4 of the remote controller with learning function 1 is arranged in a square shape so that the light-emitting unit 3 of the remote controller 10 to be learned faces.

  After arranging each remote controller 1, 10, the user first simultaneously sets the SET button 21 b of the remote controller 1 with a learning function and two function buttons (in this example, “TV” button) to be stored in the remote controller from the function button group 21 d. Press and hold for more than a second (step ST1).

  When pressed for 2 seconds or longer, the calculation unit 5 determines that the mode has shifted to the learning mode, issues a command to the display unit 8, and lights the LED of the selected “TV” button together with a confirmation sound of “beep” ( Step ST2).

  Next, a button to be learned is selected from the channel button group 21f (in this example, “1”). When the “1” channel button is selected, the calculation unit 5 first inquires whether or not the selected button has already been registered in the storage unit 6 (step ST4).

  When it is determined that the registration has been completed (Y), the calculation unit 5 once turns off the LED of the “TV” button together with the warning sound “peep” via the display unit 8, and then turns on again after 3 seconds. Let After that, the routine is repeated to repeat step ST3 (step ST5).

  If it is determined that there is no registration (N), the calculation unit 5 issues a command to the display unit 8, and the LED of the “TV” button starts blinking together with a confirmation sound of “beep”. As a result, the remote controller 10 on the other side enters an input standby state (step ST6).

  When any button of the remote controller 10 to be learned is pressed in the input standby state, infrared light is transmitted from the light emitting unit 3 of the remote controller 10 and is incident on the light receiving unit 4 of the remote controller 1 (step ST7).

  When the infrared signal is incident, the calculation unit 5 analyzes the incident infrared signal and specifies whether the infrared signal is a valid remote control signal (step ST8).

  When the input signal is valid and not a remote control signal (N), the arithmetic unit 5 once turns off the LED of the “TV” button together with the warning sound “Peep” via the display unit 8, and then again after 3 seconds. Turn it on again. After that, the routine is repeated to repeat step ST3 (step ST5).

  When it is determined that the remote control signal is valid (Y), the computing unit 5 emits a confirmation sound “Peep-Peep” via the display unit 8 and informs the user that the registration is completed (step ST9). . Subsequently, when learning other buttons, the work is repeated from step ST3.

  When ending the learning mode, the “SET” button 21b and the stored “TV” button of the function button are simultaneously pressed (step ST10). Thereby, the calculation unit 5 turns off the LED of the “TV” button via the display unit 8 (step ST11). Thus, the learning mode ends.

  Although an example of the learning mode has been described above, the present invention is characterized by the layout of the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit, and the specific operation procedure of the learning mode may be arbitrarily changed according to the specification. In addition, work procedures in various work modes other than these are similarly arbitrary.

The front side perspective view of the learning remote control which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The back side perspective view of the said learning remote control. The front view of the said learning remote control. The block block diagram of the said learning remote control. The schematic diagram which shows the arrangement | positioning method of a remote control at the time of learning work. The flowchart explaining the flow of learning mode.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control with learning function 2 Operation key 3 Light emission part 4 Light receiving part 5 Calculation part 6 Memory | storage part 7 Power supply part 8 Display part

Claims (2)

Operation keys for selecting devices, channels, etc .; a light emitting unit that sends input signals from the above operation keys to external devices as infrared signals; and a light receiving unit that receives signals sent from the light emitting unit of an external remote control device In a remote control with a learning function having a part,
The housing has a predetermined three-dimensional shape, the operation keys are disposed on the front surface of the housing, the light emitting unit is disposed on the top surface of the housing, and the housing is disposed on one side surface of the housing. A remote controller with a learning function, wherein the light receiving unit is provided.   The remote controller with a learning function according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving unit is provided adjacent to the light emitting unit on a side surface of the housing.

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