JP2010154273A - Remote control apparatus, and remote control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control apparatus and a remote control method, capable of referencing an operation which a device can perform, and capable of letting a corresponding operation be performed easily and quickly. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus has a data reading unit 102 for reading manual data relating to a manual of one or more devices connected to a network and operation signal data corresponded with display content of the manual, a display unit 124 for displaying the manual on a screen based on the manual data, an operation unit 122 for producing an operation signal corresponding to a selected display item based on the operation signal data when at least one of display items of the manual displayed on the screen is selected after receiving an operation from a user, and a transmitting unit 132 for transmitting the produced operation signal to a device corresponding to the manual displayed on the screen via the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device and a remote control method.

  A remote controller (remote control device) is used to control devices such as household electric devices, and remotely controls various devices using wireless communication or the like. Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose techniques capable of controlling a plurality of devices with respect to one remote controller. Patent Documents 5 and 6 disclose techniques related to a remote controller having a display unit having a touch panel.

International Publication No. WO / 2003/098960 Pamphlet Japanese Patent No. 4036823 JP 2004-254093 A JP 2007-110629 A JP 2007-295584 A JP 2008-153732 A

  By the way, electric appliances such as household electric appliances tend to be multifunctional in recent years. Therefore, in order to operate one electrical device, there are cases where a large number of buttons must be arranged on the remote controller. On the other hand, when it is possible to operate a plurality of devices with one remote controller, there is a problem that the arrangement of buttons on the remote controller becomes complicated when all functions are integrated into one remote controller. On the contrary, there is a problem that it becomes necessary to simplify the function of the remote controller when trying to solve this problem.

  In addition, due to the multi-functionality of the equipment, there is a problem that a manual with handling instructions becomes thick or difficult for users to refer to. In addition, even if the user reaches the relevant part of the manual, the operation is complicated and the desired action cannot be easily executed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to refer to operations that can be performed by the device, and to perform corresponding operations easily and quickly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote control device and a remote control method.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, manual data related to a manual of one or more devices connected to a network, and a data reading unit that reads operation signal data corresponding to display contents of the manual, , A display unit for displaying a manual on the screen based on manual data, and an operation corresponding to the selected display item when at least one of the manual display items displayed on the screen is selected by accepting an operation from the user There is provided a remote control device including an operation unit that generates a signal based on operation signal data, and a transmission unit that transmits the generated operation signal to a device corresponding to a manual displayed on a screen via a network. .

  With this configuration, the manual data related to the manual of one or more devices connected to the network and the operation signal data corresponding to the display content of the manual are read, and the manual is displayed on the screen based on the manual data. When at least one of the manual display items displayed on the screen is selected, an operation signal corresponding to the selected display item is generated based on the operation signal data. The generated operation signal is transmitted via a network to a device corresponding to the manual displayed on the screen.

  At least one of the character information of the manual data is recognized, and an operation signal corresponding to the recognized content is detected from the operation signal data.

  The apparatus further includes a receiving unit that receives information related to the device status from the device, and the display unit displays the device status on the screen based on the received device status information.

  The display unit is an electronic paper in which a material that reflects light is arranged, and a color to be reflected is adjusted by electrically rearranging display contents.

  The operation unit is provided so as to overlap the screen of the display unit and is a transparent member.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a step of reading manual data relating to a manual of one or more devices connected to a network and operation signal data corresponding to the display content of the manual A step of displaying the manual on the screen based on the manual data, and when at least one of the manual display items displayed on the screen is selected, an operation signal corresponding to the selected display item is based on the operation signal data. And a step of transmitting the generated operation signal to a device corresponding to the manual displayed on the screen via a network.

  The method further includes a step of receiving information on the state of the device from the device, and a step of displaying the state of the device on the screen based on the received device state information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to refer to operations that can be performed by the device, and it is possible to easily and quickly execute corresponding operations.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

(Configuration of one embodiment)
First, a remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a remote control system according to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of devices can be operated with respect to one remote controller 100. The remote controller 100 is an example of a remote control device. In the example shown in FIG. 1, as operation target devices, for example, a television receiver 40, a lighting fixture 50, an air conditioner (air conditioner) 60, a media recorder 80 capable of recording data on a medium such as a DVD or a hard disk drive, and the like. The example of the apparatus installed in one household was shown. Note that the operation target device is not limited to this example. In addition, regarding the installation location, the present embodiment can be applied to various locations such as companies and stores.

  The remote controller 100 is connected to the network 10 (for example, a home LAN) via the wireless communication device 30. In addition, each operation target device is also connected to the network 10. Each operation target device is identified by, for example, an IP address. Here, the IP address is used as an address of a private network such as a LAN.

  The operation signal is transmitted from the remote controller 100 to each operation target device via the network 10, and the operation target device performs an operation based on the operation signal. Information about the state of the device is transmitted from each operation target device to the remote controller 100 via the network 10, and the remote controller 100 displays the state of the operation target device on the screen based on the device state information.

  Next, the configuration of the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The remote controller 100 includes, for example, a control unit 102, a memory 104, a storage 106, a card I / F 108, an image signal processing unit 110, a touch panel 112, a display control unit 126, a wireless communication unit 132, and the like. .

  The control unit 102 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 102 functions as an arithmetic processing device and a control device according to a program, and controls each of the above-described components in the remote controller 100. The control unit 102 is an example of a data reading unit, and reads manual data recorded in the storage 106 or the memory card 20 and operation signal data corresponding to the display content of the manual.

  Manual data is electronic data composed of document data and chart data in which handling instructions for the device are recorded. The operation signal data includes various operation signals for operating the device. The operation signal data is table data or the like, and each operation signal is associated with the contents described in the manual. Alternatively, at least one of the character information of the manual data may be recognized, and an operation signal corresponding to the recognized content may be detected from the operation signal data.

  The memory 104 includes a storage unit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a cache memory, for example, and temporarily stores data related to the CPU processing of the control unit 102, a CPU operation program, and the like. It has a function to memorize.

  The storage 106 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The storage 106 holds manual data and operation signal data of each device described above. In addition, operation state data including information related to the operation state of each device, information in which the operation state of each device is associated with the display content on the screen, and the like is stored.

  The card I / F 108 is connected to the memory card 20 and reads each data from the memory card 20. The read data is recorded in the storage 106 or used directly by the control unit 102. For example, the memory card 20 is prepared for each device. When a device is newly connected to the network 10, the memory card 20 is connected to the remote controller 100, and manual data, operation signal data, and operation state data specific to each device are recorded from the memory card 20 to the storage 106. .

  The image signal processing unit 110 decodes the image signal and performs signal processing on the decoded image signal. The image signal processing unit 110 executes various necessary signal processing such as resolution conversion, luminance correction, color correction, and gamma correction for converting the image signal into the number of pixels of the display unit 124.

  The touch panel 112 includes a touch sensor 122, a display unit 124, and the like, and accepts a user operation when the touch sensor 122 detects contact. The touch panel 112 selects an item displayed on the screen or changes the display such as scrolling, enlarging or reducing the screen according to the contact operation or the contact position.

  The display unit 124 is, for example, electronic paper using a liquid crystal method. In the electronic paper, a material that reflects light is arranged, and the reflected color is adjusted by electrically rearranging display contents. For example, the electronic paper is energized only when the content of the cover is switched, and the display information is rewritten. After rewriting, power is not supplied until a next rewriting request is generated.

  By using electronic paper, the power consumption of the remote controller 100 can be suppressed. The display unit 124 is controlled by the display control unit 126. The display unit 124 displays a menu screen for displaying data titles, manuals for each device, and the like. The display control unit 126 drives the display unit 124 using the input image signal. As a result, an image corresponding to the image signal is displayed on the screen of the display unit 124.

  The touch sensor 122 is a planar transparent member provided to be superimposed on the screen of the display unit 124, and detects contact with a user's finger or stylus pen, or a contact position. The contact position detected by the touch sensor 122 is associated with the content of the screen displayed on the display unit 124. The configuration and operation method of the touch panel 112 include a resistance film method and a capacitance method. The touch panel 112 can be configured to be realized by a normal technique, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The touch panel 112 generates an operation signal based on the contact position and the like, and sends the generated operation signal to the control unit 102. For example, the touch panel 112 receives an operation from the user, and when at least one of the manual display items displayed on the screen is selected, an operation signal corresponding to the selected display item is based on the above-described operation signal data. Generate.

  For example, the wireless communication unit 132 establishes wireless communication with the wireless communication device 30. The wireless communication unit 132 is an example of a transmission unit, and transmits an operation signal to each operation target device via the wireless communication device 30 and the network 10. The wireless communication unit 132 is an example of a reception unit, and receives device state information from each operation target device via the network 10 and the wireless communication device 30.

  Next, with reference to FIG.3 and FIG.4, the external appearance of the remote controller 100 which concerns on this embodiment, a display example of a screen, and the operation example of the apparatus corresponding to a display are demonstrated. 3 and 4 are front views showing the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The remote controller 100 is, for example, a plate-like device, and the touch panel 112 is provided on one side. The touch panel 112 has a screen that can display characters on the manual in a size that can be distinguished even when the manual is displayed on the full screen. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a manual title 151, a manual table of contents 161, and buttons 152a, 152b, 152c, 152d, and 152e for selecting each device are displayed on the screen. The characters on the manual are displayed so as to be selectable. For example, when one item of the table of contents is selected, a linked page is displayed next as shown in FIG. Further, when one of the buttons 152a, 152b, 152c, 152d, and 152e is selected by the user, a manual of the device corresponding to the button is displayed. In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the air conditioner is selected.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, an arbitrary page 162 in the manual is displayed. Then, when a manual character or chart is selected, an associated operation signal is generated. As a result, the desired operation can be easily performed by the device. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, a page for handling instructions “Set an area where people are present and air-condition” is opened. Conventionally, a user has to read an operation method described in a manual and perform an operation in accordance with the operation method. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the characters and diagrams on the manual are associated with the operation signals, it is possible to cause the device to perform the operation desired by the user simply by selecting the characters and diagrams. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a chart of “installation example and wind direction” is shown in the manual, but the user selects the installation example and one example of the wind direction (for example, A in FIG. 4). The equipment can be started to operate as shown in the chart.

(Operation of one embodiment)
Next, the operation of the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. First, a process for reading manual data and the like will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the memory card 20 is connected to the remote controller 100 (step S101). For example, when the operation target device is newly connected to the network 10, the memory card 20 is connected to the remote controller 100. Then, the control unit 102 reads device-specific manual data, operation signal data, and operation state data recorded in the memory card 20 (step S102).

  Thereafter, the read manual data and the like are written in the built-in storage 106 (step S103). As a result, even when the memory card 20 is not connected to the remote controller 100, a manual can be displayed or an operation signal can be generated. When reading and writing of manual data or the like is completed, a message indicating that the writing has been completed is displayed on the display unit 124 (step S104), and the series of operations is terminated.

  Next, the processing operation of the remote controller 100 when operating the operation target device and displaying the state of the operation target device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the remote controller 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the touch panel 112 is touched by the user, energization is started and display is started (step S111). A plurality of devices that can be operated by the remote controller 100 are displayed on the screen. Then, the user selects a device to be operated (step S112). When a device is selected, a manual corresponding to the selected device is displayed on the screen (step S113). At this time, for example, a manual table of contents is displayed.

  When an item that can be selected is selected by the user (step S114), a page corresponding to the item is displayed on the screen (step S115). When an item corresponding to page turning is selected, a page is sent or an arbitrary page is skipped.

  When the user desires an operation corresponding to the content displayed on an arbitrary page, when the content is selected on the page (step S116), the remote controller 100 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the content (step S117). ). As a result, when the operation signal reaches the operation target device, the device performs an operation corresponding to the operation signal.

  Further, the remote controller 100 receives device state information from one or more devices connected to the network 10 (step S118). Then, for example, an authentication process is performed based on an authentication code from the device (step S119). It is determined whether or not access to the remote controller 100 of the device has been approved by the authentication process (step S120). By this authentication processing, it is possible to determine whether or not the device that is transmitting the device status information has access authority to the remote controller 100.

  When access to the remote controller 100 is approved, the device status is displayed on the screen of the remote controller 100 based on the received device status information (step S121). On the other hand, if access to the remote controller 100 is not approved, an error is displayed on the screen of the remote controller 100 (step S122). Alternatively, no display may be performed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 7, the processing operation of the operation target device when the operation target device operates in response to the operation signal from the remote controller 100 and when the state of the operation target device is transmitted to the remote controller 100. explain. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation target device according to the present embodiment.

  First, in response to the operation of step S117 of the remote controller 100 shown in FIG. 6, the device receives an operation signal (step S131). At this time, for example, an authentication process is performed based on an authentication code from the remote controller 100 (step S132). It is determined whether access to the operation target device of the remote controller 100 has been approved by the authentication process (step S133). By this authentication processing, it is possible to determine whether or not the operation signal received by the device is a signal from the remote controller 100 that is authorized to access the device. In addition, the device that has received the signal can determine whether it is an operation signal to another device or an operation signal to itself.

  If access to the device is approved, the device performs an operation based on the operation signal (step S134). On the other hand, when the access to the device is not approved, the operation execution process is not performed.

  In addition, the device confirms the internal operation state (power supply, operation status, error status, etc.) (step S135). Then, the device transmits device state information to the remote controller 100 based on the operation state (step S136). In response to this, the remote controller 100 executes the operations after step S118 in FIG.

(Data structure of this embodiment)
Next, an example of the data structure of data used in the remote control system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data structure according to the present embodiment.

  First, data when transmitting / receiving information unique to each operation target device will be described. FIG. 8A shows a data structure related to data having information unique to each operation target device.

  The data shown in FIG. 8A is data that is transferred from the memory card 20 specific to the operation target device to the storage 106 of the remote controller 100, for example. For example, when the operation target device is newly connected to the network 10, the data is transferred by connecting the memory card 20 to the remote controller 100. Alternatively, when the operation target device holds these data and the operation target device is connected to the network 10 for the first time, the data may be transferred to the remote controller 100 via the network 10.

  This data includes, for example, manufacturer ID, manufacturer name, device ID, device name, manual data, operation signal data (code), and status notification information (code). The manufacturer ID, manufacturer name, device ID, and device name are information for identifying the device. The manual data describes how to handle the equipment. The manual data is composed of document data, chart data, and the like, and includes information on the layout and material for display on the screen.

  The operation signal data (code) is an example of operation signal data, and is information related to an operation signal for operating the device. The operation signal data (code) has table data or the like that shows the relationship between the arrangement of selectable characters and buttons when the manual is displayed on the screen and the operation signals when those characters and buttons are selected by the user. .

  The status notification information (code) is information when the device confirms the internal operation and notifies the remote controller 100 of the status of the device. For example, the state notification information (code) includes a notification signal for the device to notify the remote controller 100 of the operation state, and display contents for displaying the operation state on the screen based on the notification signal.

  Next, data when the remote controller 100 transmits an operation signal to the operation target device will be described. FIG. 8B shows a data structure related to data when the remote controller 100 transmits an operation signal to the operation target device.

  This data includes, for example, a manufacturer ID, a device ID, an authentication code, and an operation signal. The manufacturer ID and the device ID can specify which device the operation signal is for operating. The authentication code indicates that the operation signal from the remote controller 100 is a signal with access authority. The operation signal is a signal generated based on the item selected by the user, and is generated by extracting from the operation signal data (code) shown in FIG.

  Further, data when the operation target device transmits an operation state to the remote controller 100 will be described. FIG. 8C shows a data structure related to data when the operation target device transmits operation state information to the remote controller 100.

  This data includes, for example, a manufacturer ID, a device ID, an authentication code, and a notification signal. The manufacturer ID and the device ID can specify from which device the state information is. Further, the authentication code indicates that the notification signal from the device is a signal that has the authority to access the remote controller 100. The notification signal is a signal generated based on the operation state of the device, and is the same type of signal as the information included in the state notification information shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, a manual for each operation target device is displayed on the remote controller 100, and an operation signal corresponding to the display item selected by the user is transmitted to the device. Therefore, the user need not read the manual and perform complicated operations, and can operate the device easily and quickly.

  Moreover, the remote controller 100 of this embodiment can suppress power consumption by using electronic paper. The remote controller 100 uses the touch panel 112, so that the user can intuitively operate the remote controller 100. Furthermore, the remote controller 100 can also display the operating state of the device, and the user can check how the device is currently operating and whether an error has occurred.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the remote control system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the remote controller which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a front view which shows the remote controller which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a front view which shows the remote controller which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the remote controller which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the remote controller which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the operation target apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data structure which concerns on the same embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Network 20 Memory Card 30 Wireless Communication Device 100 Remote Controller 102 Control Unit 104 Memory 106 Storage 108 Card I / F
110 Image signal processing unit 112 Touch panel 122 Touch sensor 124 Display unit 126 Display control unit 132 Wireless communication unit

Claims (7)

Manual data relating to the manual of one or more devices connected to the network, and a data reading unit for reading operation signal data corresponding to the display content of the manual;
A display unit for displaying the manual on a screen based on the manual data;
An operation unit that receives an operation from a user and generates an operation signal corresponding to the selected display item based on the operation signal data when at least one of the display items of the manual displayed on the screen is selected. When,
A transmitter that transmits the generated operation signal to the device corresponding to the manual displayed on the screen via the network;
Having a remote control device.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the character information of the manual data is recognized, and an operation signal corresponding to the recognized content is detected from the operation signal data. A receiving unit for receiving information on the state of the device from the device;
The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the state of the device on the screen based on the received device state information.   The remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display unit is an electronic paper in which a material that reflects light is arranged and a reflected color is adjusted by electrically rearranging display contents.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is provided so as to overlap with a screen of the display unit and is a transparent member. Reading manual data relating to a manual of one or more devices connected to the network, and operation signal data corresponding to the display content of the manual;
Displaying the manual on a screen based on the manual data;
Generating at least one operation signal corresponding to the selected display item based on the operation signal data when at least one of the manual display items displayed on the screen is selected;
Transmitting the generated operation signal to the device corresponding to the manual displayed on the screen via the network;
A remote control method. Receiving information on the status of the device from the device;
Displaying the status of the device on the screen based on the received device status information;
The remote control method according to claim 6, further comprising:

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