JP4298941B2 - Remote control device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a remote control device (remote controller) for remotely operating various electronic devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, AV equipment such as a television receiver, a video tape recorder, or a stereo device, and electrical equipment such as an air conditioner and a lighting device are remotely operated by a remote control device. That is, the remote control device includes a plurality of operation buttons, and an infrared signal corresponding to the operation button pressed by the user is transmitted.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, when an electric device is to be operated using a remote control device, the user needs to find an operation button corresponding to a desired operation by visually recognizing the remote control device and press the operation button. is there. However, there is a problem that the operation of finding and pressing a desired operation button is a heavy burden on, for example, an elderly person or a person who cannot operate a finger. Particularly in recent years, with the diversification of functions of electronic devices, a large number of small operation buttons are often provided on the remote control device, and the above problem can become more serious under such circumstances.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide a remote control device having excellent operability.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, a remote control device according to the present invention includes a housing, detection means for detecting movement of the housing, an operator operated by a user, movement contents of the housing, and operation instructions. Storage means storing a signal generation table storing a plurality of correspondences with contents, and an operation instruction signal according to the movement contents of the casing detected by the detection means while the operation element is operated , A control unit that generates the signal generation table with reference to the signal generation table during the operation, and, when a specific operation is performed on the operator, an operation in the signal generation table corresponding to the operation Control means for specifying instruction contents and changing the movement contents associated with the specified operation instruction contents to movement contents according to the detection contents of the detection means after the specific operation is performed; and By means Characterized by a transmitting means for transmitting an optical signal waveform indicating made the operation instruction signal.
[0006]
According to this remote control device, an operation instruction signal for instructing the operation of the electronic device is transmitted according to the movement content of the housing. Therefore, the user can operate the electronic device by moving the casing.
[0007]
Here, “movement of the casing” in this specification is a concept including not only moving the casing from one position to another position but also tilting the casing from one attitude to another. is there.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment shows one aspect of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.
[0009]
<A: Configuration of remote control device>
First, the configuration of the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. This remote control device is for remotely operating a television receiver. The user can switch channels to be displayed on the television receiver and adjust the volume by remote control using the remote control device.
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a remote control device according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the remote control device 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 11. An infrared transmission surface 161 for transmitting an infrared signal to the television receiver is provided on one side end surface in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11. In the following, as shown in FIG. 1, the center line in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11, that is, the direction from the side end surface on which the infrared transmission surface 161 is provided to the side end surface on the opposite side is represented as the Y axis. On the other hand, the center line orthogonal to the Y axis and extending in the width direction of the housing 11 is denoted as the X axis.
[0011]
Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the remote control device 1. As shown in the figure, an operator 12, a tilt sensor 13, an acceleration sensor 14, a control unit 15, a signal transmission unit 16, and a storage unit 17 are accommodated in the casing 11 of the remote control device 1. However, the infrared transmission surface 161 that constitutes a part of the signal transmission unit 16 is exposed from the housing 11 as described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the operation element 12 is provided so that a part thereof protrudes from one surface of the casing 11 (hereinafter referred to as “main surface”), and is pressed by the user. It has come to be. When the operator 12 is pressed by the user, the controller 12 outputs a signal indicating that to the control unit 15.
[0012]
The inclination sensor 13 and the acceleration sensor 14 shown in FIG. 2 are sensors for detecting the movement of the casing 11 (the entire remote control device 1) when the user moves the remote control device 1. Among these, the tilt sensor 13 outputs a signal indicating the tilt of the housing 11 (hereinafter referred to as “tilt signal”) to the control unit 15. Specifically, the tilt sensor 13 according to the present embodiment determines which of the casings 11 is centered on the Y axis with reference to the attitude of the casing 11 when the main surface is arranged parallel to the horizontal plane. Detect if it is tilted. On the other hand, the acceleration sensor 14 outputs a signal (hereinafter referred to as an “acceleration signal”) representing an acceleration (force) in the X-axis direction accompanying the movement of the housing 11 to the control unit 15.
[0013]
The control unit 15 controls the operation of the remote control device 1 by exchanging signals with other units in the housing 11. More specifically, the control unit 15 determines a signal (hereinafter referred to as “operation”) based on the tilt signal supplied from the tilt sensor 13 or the acceleration signal supplied from the acceleration sensor 14 according to the movement content of the remote control device 1. The operation instruction signal is output to the signal transmission unit 16. The signal transmission unit 16 modulates the carrier wave with the operation instruction signal given from the control unit 15, and transmits the infrared signal obtained thereby from the signal transmission surface 161. As a result, an operation instruction signal corresponding to the movement content of the housing 11 is received by the television receiver.
[0014]
However, in the remote control device 1 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 15 generates the operation instruction signal only while the operator 12 is pressed. Therefore, the infrared signal corresponding to the operation instruction signal is transmitted only while the operation element 12 is pressed. In this way, the operation of the remote control device 1 is limited if the operation instruction signal according to the movement content of the casing 11 is transmitted to the television receiver in any case. Even when the operation of the television receiver is not intended (for example, when the position of the remote control device 1 is changed without intending the operation of the television receiver), the operation instruction according to the movement content of the housing 11 is given. This is because the signal is transmitted to the television receiver and the volume and the display channel are changed.
[0015]
Next, the storage unit 17 stores a signal generation table. This signal generation table is a table that is referred to when the operation instruction signal is generated by the control unit 15, and as shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the movement of the housing 11 and the television when the contents are moved are displayed. The contents of instructions to be given to the John receiver are associated with each other. For example, according to the content of the first row from the top of the signal generation table shown in FIG. 3, the movement content “the casing 11 of the remote control device 1 is tilted in the A1 direction (clockwise) around the Y axis”. Is associated with the instruction content “increase volume”. Also, as shown in the third row from the top in FIG. 3, the movement content “the casing 11 moves in the positive direction of the X axis” is associated with the instruction content “channel forward”. Note that “channel sequential forwarding” means that the channels to be displayed by the television receiver are cyclically switched sequentially from the channel assigned the lower number to the channel assigned the higher number. On the other hand, “channel reverse feed” means an operation of sequentially switching from a channel assigned a large number to a channel assigned a small number.
[0016]
Further, the contents of the signal generation table can be changed as appropriate by the user. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily set the movement contents of the housing and the contents to be instructed to the television receiver when the movement indicated by the contents is performed.
[0017]
The television receiver that has received the operation instruction signal from the remote control device 1 performs various operations such as volume adjustment or channel switching in accordance with the operation instruction signal, but the configuration of the television receiver itself. Since this is the same as a well-known one, its description is omitted in this specification.
[0018]
<B: Operation of remote control device>
Next, the operation of the remote control device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, when remotely operating the television receiver, the user presses the operation element 12 with the infrared transmission surface 161 of the remote control device 1 facing the receiving unit of the television receiver. When a signal is output from the operator 12 as the button is pressed, the control unit 15 starts a process for transmitting an operation instruction signal corresponding to the movement content of the housing 11.
[0019]
That is, when the user tilts the casing 11 in the A1 direction (clockwise) around the Y axis while maintaining the state where the operator 12 is pressed, the tilt sensor 13 sends a tilt signal corresponding to the tilt. Is output. When receiving the tilt signal, the control unit 15 refers to the signal generation table stored in the storage unit 17 and generates an operation instruction signal indicating the instruction content associated with the tilt signal. More specifically, in the signal generation table shown in FIG. 3, since the movement content “inclination in the A1 direction” is associated with the instruction content “volume increase”, the control unit 15 Then, an operation instruction signal indicating that the volume should be increased is generated (see FIG. 4).
[0020]
However, the control unit 15 does not generate an operation instruction signal when the inclination of the housing indicated by the inclination signal is an inclination that does not satisfy a predetermined threshold value. That is, the operation instruction signal is generated only when the casing 11 moves so as to have an inclination exceeding the threshold value. For example, if an operation instruction signal is generated by reflecting any inclination, the operation instruction signal reflecting an inclination caused by, for example, a hand tremor is generated, which is contrary to the intention of the user. This is because the television receiver may be operated.
[0021]
The operation instruction signal generated by the control unit 15 is output to the signal transmission unit 16. The signal transmission unit 16 transmits an infrared signal obtained by modulating a carrier wave with the operation instruction signal from the infrared transmission surface 161. This infrared signal is received by a receiving unit provided in the television receiver. As a result, the volume output from the television receiver is increased in accordance with the operation instruction signal obtained by demodulating the signal. Here, the case where the casing 11 is tilted in the A1 direction around the Y axis is illustrated, but the opposite direction, that is, the case where the casing 11 is tilted in the A2 direction (counterclockwise) around the Y axis. In the same manner as described above, an operation instruction signal indicating that the volume should be reduced is generated and transmitted as an infrared signal.
[0022]
On the other hand, when the user moves the casing 11 in the positive direction of the X-axis while maintaining the state where the operator 12 is pressed, the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 14 corresponds to the acceleration (force) associated with the movement. Is output. The control unit 15 generates an operation instruction signal indicating the instruction content associated with the acceleration signal by referring to the signal generation table. For example, in the signal generation table shown in FIG. 3, since the movement content “move the casing 11 in the positive direction of the X axis” is associated with the instruction content “channel forward”, the control unit 15 generates an operation instruction signal indicating that the channel should be forwarded. In this case as well, the control unit 15 generates the operation instruction signal only when the acceleration indicated by the acceleration signal exceeds the predetermined threshold, and the acceleration is less than the threshold. In some cases, no operation instruction signal is generated.
[0023]
The operation instruction signal thus generated by the control unit 15 is output from the signal transmission unit 16 as an infrared signal. In the television receiver that has received the infrared signal, the channels are forwarded in accordance with an operation instruction signal obtained by demodulating the infrared signal. Here, it is assumed that the casing 11 moves in the positive direction of the X axis. However, the same operation is executed when the casing 11 moves in the opposite direction, that is, in the negative direction of the X axis.
[0024]
Thus, according to this embodiment, since the television receiver which is the operation target can be remotely operated by moving the casing 11 of the remote control device 1, the volume corresponding to the increase or decrease or the operation corresponding to each channel. There is no need to search for buttons or press these buttons. Therefore, the burden on the user who operates the television receiver can be significantly reduced.
[0025]
Further, in the present embodiment, the operation instruction signal is generated only while the operation element 12 is pressed. When the user does not intend to operate the electronic device, the operation element 12 is not pressed. Therefore, even when the housing 11 is moved, the electronic device is not operated when the user does not intend. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid an erroneous operation of the electronic device (an operation not intended by the user).
[0026]
Next, an operation when the user changes the contents of the signal generation table will be described. In the signal generation table shown in FIG. 3, the instruction content “increase in volume” is associated with the movement content “inclination in the A1 direction” and the instruction content “decrease in volume” is “in the A2 direction”. The content was associated with the movement content “tilt”. Therefore, in the following, the operation for changing the signal generation table so that the correspondence relationship is reversed, that is, the content of the signal generation table shown in FIG. An operation for changing the instruction content “increase in volume” to the content associated with the movement content “inclination in the A2 direction” while being associated with the movement content “inclination in the direction” will be described.
[0027]
First, the user performs a predetermined operation according to an instruction target desired to change the setting (for example, either volume adjustment or channel switching) to change the setting to the control unit 15. Give instructions. Here, since it is assumed that the content related to the volume adjustment is changed, the user performs a specific operation corresponding to the “change related to the volume adjustment” (for example, pressing the operator 12 continuously three times). To do. When a setting change instruction is given by such an operation, the control unit 15 starts an operation for changing the signal generation table without generating an operation instruction signal.
[0028]
That is, after the setting change instruction, when the user tilts the housing 11 in the A2 direction (counterclockwise), a tilt signal corresponding to the tilt is output from the tilt sensor 13. The control unit 15 searches for “increase in volume” which is one of the instruction contents related to “adjustment of sound volume” stored in the signal generation table, and displays the movement contents associated with the instruction contents as an inclination sensor. The movement content is updated according to the tilt signal output from 13. More specifically, in the signal generation table shown in FIG. 3, the movement content “inclination in the direction A1” associated with the instruction content “increase in volume” is set as the movement content “A2” of the casing 11 this time. It is updated to “inclination in the direction”. Further, the control unit 15 sets the movement content “inclination in the A2 direction” associated with the instruction content “decrease in volume” opposite to the “increase in volume” as the movement content performed by the user this time. It is updated to “inclination in the A1 direction” which is the opposite movement content. With the above processing, the signal generation table is updated. Here, the case where only the portion related to volume adjustment in the signal generation table is changed is illustrated, but the same processing is executed when the portion related to channel switching is changed.
[0029]
Thus, according to this embodiment, the user can arbitrarily change the contents of the signal generation table. Therefore, for example, the contents of movement and the corresponding instruction contents can be set in a combination that is easy for the user to remember, so that a remote control device that is easy to use for the user can be realized.
[0030]
<C: Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications can be made to the above embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. As modifications, for example, the following can be considered.
[0031]
<C-1: Modification 1>
In the said embodiment, although the structure which provided the inclination sensor 13 and the acceleration sensor 14 was illustrated, the combination of the sensor for detecting the movement of the housing | casing 11 is not restricted to this. For example, in addition to the tilt sensor 13 and the acceleration sensor 14 according to the above embodiment, by providing an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in the Y-axis direction, not only the tilt of the housing 11 and the movement in the X-axis direction but also the Y-axis direction. This movement may also be detected and reflected in the operation instruction of the electronic device. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation instruction signal for adjusting the volume and switching the channel is output according to the detection contents by the inclination sensor 13 and the acceleration sensor 14 in the X-axis direction, and in the Y-axis direction. You may make it switch ON / OFF of the power supply of an electronic device according to the detection content by the acceleration sensor 14. FIG.
[0032]
Further, the control unit 15 may generate an operation instruction signal according to a combination of signals output from a plurality of sensors. For example, when the inclination signal indicating “inclination in the A1 direction” is received from the inclination sensor 13 and the acceleration signal indicating “movement of the X axis in the positive direction” is received from the acceleration sensor 14, the volume is increased. For example, an operation instruction signal indicating power should be generated.
[0033]
Furthermore, the types of sensors applicable to the present invention are not limited to tilt sensors and acceleration sensors, and various known sensors such as speed sensors can be used.
[0034]
<C-2: Modification 2>
In the above embodiment, the remote control device 1 having only one operation element 12 is illustrated, but in addition to this, a plurality of operation buttons (that is, the volume level and each channel) provided in a conventional general remote control device are provided. (The operation button assigned to) may be provided together. That is, not only a function of transmitting an operation instruction signal corresponding to the movement content with the movement of the housing 11, but also a function of transmitting an operation instruction signal corresponding to the pressed operation button, as in a normal remote control device. It is good also as a structure which also has. When this configuration is adopted, a changeover switch is further provided, and the operation shown in the above embodiment and the operation of the normal remote control device are performed in accordance with the “ON” or “OFF” of the changeover switch. It is good also as a structure to switch. That is, when the change-over switch is “ON”, an operation instruction signal corresponding to the movement of the housing 11 is transmitted (operation of the above embodiment), while when the change-over switch is “OFF”, an operation instruction according to the pressing of the operation button is transmitted. For example, a signal is transmitted (normal operation of the remote control device).
[0035]
<C-3: Modification 3>
In the above-described embodiment and each modification, the configuration in which the operation instruction signal is generated only while the operation element 12 is pressed is illustrated, but the operation element 12 is not necessarily required. That is, the remote controller 1 may be configured not to have the operation element 12 and the control unit 15 may generate an operation instruction signal every time movement of the housing 11 is detected. In this way, when the electronic device is operated, the user does not need to perform an operation of pressing down the operation element 12, so that the burden on the operation can be further reduced.
[0036]
Moreover, in the said embodiment and each modification, although it was set as the structure which detects the movement of the remote control device while the operation element 12 is pressed down and transmits the operation instruction signal according to this, as the following structures Also good. That is, a changeover switch is provided in place of the operation element 12, and when this changeover switch is "ON", an operation instruction signal according to the movement of the housing 11 is transmitted, while the changeover switch is turned "OFF". In such a case, the transmission of the operation instruction signal may be stopped (that is, the operation instruction signal is not generated). In this way, it is not necessary to press the operation element 12 when the remote control device is moved to operate the electronic device, and thus the operability can be further improved.
[0037]
<C-4: Modification 4>
In the above embodiment and each modified example, the operation instruction signal is generated according to the content of the movement such as “inclination in the A1 direction” or “movement in the positive direction of the X axis”. The content of the operation instruction signal may be varied depending on the degree. For example, an operation instruction signal indicating that the volume is significantly increased when the inclination is large, and an operation instruction signal indicating that the volume is increased when the inclination is small is generated. The amount of change in volume may be varied according to the degree of inclination of the body 11. In this case, a table in which the degree of inclination of the housing 11 and the instruction content to the electronic device are associated with each other may be used as the signal generation table.
[0038]
<C-5: Modification 5>
In the above embodiment, the case where the object remotely operated by the remote controller 1 is a television receiver is exemplified, but it is needless to say that the object to be operated by the remote controller according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied as a remote control device for operating various types of electrical equipment such as AV equipment such as a video tape recorder and a stereo device, an air conditioner, and a lighting device. Furthermore, although the case where the remote controller device 1 is used to indicate the volume and display channel of the television receiver has been illustrated in the above embodiment, the target of the instruction is not limited to this. For example, when the remote control device according to the present invention is applied to a video tape recorder, an operation such as video tape playback / stop or fast forward / rewind may be instructed according to the movement content of the remote control device. However, when applied to a stereo apparatus, it may be possible to instruct the magnitude of the output musical sound and the reproduction / stop of the musical sound according to the movement content of the remote control device. Further, when the remote control device according to the present invention is applied to an air conditioner, an operation such as switching between cooling / heating and raising / lowering of a set temperature may be instructed according to the movement contents of the remote control device. However, when applied to an illuminating device, it is conceivable to instruct operations such as lighting on / off and adjusting the brightness of the illumination according to the movement contents of the remote control device. In addition to these, the remote control device according to the present invention can be applied as a device for remotely operating various electric devices.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the operability of the remote control device can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the remote control device.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing specific contents of a signal generation table in the remote control device.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between movement contents of a casing and instruction contents to an electronic device in the remote control device.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the contents of movement of a casing and the contents of instructions to an electronic device in a remote control device according to a modification of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Remote control device, 11 ... Housing, 12 ... Operating element, 13 ... Inclination sensor (detection means), 14 ... Acceleration sensor (detection means), 15 ... Control part (control means), 16 ... ... Signal transmission unit (transmission means), 161 ... Infrared transmission surface, 17 ... Storage part (storage means).

Claims (1)

A housing,
Detecting means for detecting movement of the housing;
An operator operated by the user;
Storage means for storing a signal generation table storing a plurality of correspondences between the movement contents of the housing and the contents of operation instructions;
Control means for generating an operation instruction signal corresponding to the movement content of the housing detected by the detection means while the operation element is operated with reference to the signal generation table during the operation ; ,
When a specific operation is performed on the operator, the operation instruction content in the signal generation table corresponding to the operation is specified, and the movement content associated with the specified operation instruction content is specified. , A control means for changing the movement contents according to the detection contents of the detection means after the specific operation is performed ;
A remote control device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits an optical signal wave indicating an operation instruction signal generated by the control unit.

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