JP4765209B2 - Remote control system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a remote operation system capable of remotely operating a plurality of electric devices such as a television, a radio, and an air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as “air conditioner”).
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the recent development of digital communication technology, electrical devices such as televisions and radios in the home can be controlled by remote operation using a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as “remote control”). ing. Such remote operation of various devices can be performed by preparing a remote controller dedicated to the device. For this reason, the same number of remote controllers as the number of each device are required, the number of remote controllers increases, and the selection becomes troublesome.
[0003]
In consideration of such circumstances, a general-purpose remote controller that can control driving of various devices such as a television and a radio has been developed. According to the general-purpose remote controller, since a plurality of electrical devices can be remotely controlled by one remote controller, the number of remote controllers can be reduced.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, each electric device is usually installed in various places in the room, and in order to operate each electric device, it is necessary to point a general-purpose remote controller toward each electric device. Therefore, the user must be in a room where each electric device is installed, point the general-purpose remote control in the direction of these electric devices, and operate the remote control while watching the state of each electric device.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote operation system that enables a user to perform a remote operation while viewing the state of each electric device even when the user is not in the room.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an electric device that transmits an identification signal for identifying an electric device, a transmission unit that transmits an image captured by the camera and the camera, and an electric device that corresponds to the identification signal when the identification signal is received. Operations of a control device including an identification unit that transmits a signal indicating a signal and a control unit that controls the electric device, a receiving unit that receives a signal indicating the electric device, a transfer unit that transfers an image captured by the camera, and an operation of the control device A server including a control unit for controlling the image, a display unit for displaying the transferred image, and an instruction terminal including an instruction unit for instructing the control content of the control device to the server. Upon receiving a signal indicating the electrical device from the control unit, remote control system, characterized by transmitting an image of a combination of a control image of an image and the electric device captured by the camera to the instruction terminal It is.
[0007]
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if a user is not indoors, the remote operation system which can perform remote operation while seeing the state of each electric equipment is obtained.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention according to claim 1 includes an electric device that transmits an identification signal for identifying an electric device, a transmission unit that transmits an image captured by the camera and the camera, and an electric device that corresponds to the identification signal when the identification signal is received. Operation of a control unit including an identification unit that transmits a signal indicating the control unit and a control unit that controls the electric device, a receiving unit that receives a signal indicating the electric device, a transfer unit that transfers an image captured by the camera, and the control device A server including a control unit for controlling, a display unit for displaying the transferred image, and an instruction terminal including an instruction unit for instructing the control contents of the control device to the server. Upon receiving a signal indicating the electrical equipment from the apparatus, it is a remote control system and transmits an image of a combination of a control image of an image and the electric device captured by the camera to the instruction terminal Controlling an image that combines the control image of the image and each electrical apparatus entered by the camera of the apparatus by displaying the instruction terminal of the user, the user performing the remote operation of each electrical device while observing the image Is possible.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 2 is the remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the instruction terminal is connected to the server via the Internet, and the image input by the camera of the control device and each electric device An image combined with the control image is displayed on the user's instruction terminal via the Internet, and the user remotely instructs the control contents of the control device to the server via the Internet while viewing the image. Can be operated.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 3 is the remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the instruction terminal is a mobile phone terminal or computer terminal connectable to the Internet, and there is a mobile phone terminal or computer terminal connectable to the Internet If there is an environment to be used, an image obtained by combining an image input by the camera of the control device and a control image of each electric device is displayed on these instruction terminals via the Internet, and further, the Internet is transmitted from these instruction terminals to the server. It is possible to remotely instruct the control contents of the control device via the and operate each electric device.
[0011]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an instruction terminal attached to the remote control device of FIG.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, the remote control device according to the embodiment of the present invention drives each electric device such as a television T, a video deck V, an air conditioner A, and an electric blind curtain B installed indoors. A mobile robot 1 having a function as a remote controller for controlling the operation, a server 2 for controlling the operation of the robot 1, and a cellular phone terminal 3a or a computer shown in FIG. It is comprised by instruction | indication terminals, such as the terminal 3b.
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the robot 1 of FIG.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the robot 1 includes a camera 12 and a remote control signal transmission / reception unit 13 on a head 1 a that can be swung by a motor 11, and left and right tires 15 a and 15 b that are driven by drive motors 14 a and 14 b, respectively. It can be moved by. The remote control signal transmission / reception unit 13 transmits / receives a remote control signal for controlling driving of each electric device.
[0016]
The robot 1 also includes a wireless unit 16 and an antenna 17 for communicating with the server 2. The motor 11, the camera 12, the collision sensor 13, the drive motors 14 a and 14 b, and the wireless unit 16 are controlled by the control unit 18. Image information input by the camera 12 is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless unit 16 to the server 2 via the antenna 17 by the control unit 18.
[0017]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the server 2 of FIG.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 4, the server 2 includes a storage unit 21 that stores state information of each electrical device, a line connection unit 22 such as a modem for connecting to the Internet (not shown) via the telephone line P, and each unit. A control unit 23 for controlling the radio, a radio unit 25 for transmitting and receiving an analog signal wirelessly via an antenna 24, and converting the instruction data from the control unit 23 into an analog signal and converting the analog signal received by the radio unit 25 into digital data It comprises a DA / AD converter 26 for converting into
[0019]
The control unit 23 controls the robot 1 by wireless communication from the wireless unit 25 based on an instruction of control content transmitted from the instruction terminal such as the mobile phone terminal 3a or the computer terminal 3b transmitted via the Internet. Instruct. In addition, the control unit 23 acquires the state information of each electric device transmitted from the robot 1 by the wireless unit 25 and stores it in the storage unit 21, and also stores the state information via the Internet to the mobile phone terminal 3 a and the computer terminal. Send to the instruction terminal such as 3b.
[0020]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile phone terminal 3a of FIG.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 5, the mobile phone terminal 3a includes a display unit 31a for displaying characters, images, and the like, a keyboard 32a for inputting characters, numbers, symbols, and the like, and a cursor key 33a for operating a cursor displayed on the display unit 31a. A wireless unit 34a that performs wireless communication with a base station (not shown), a control unit 35a that controls each unit, and a DA converter 37a that converts audio data from the control unit 35a into an analog signal and outputs the sound from the speaker 36a. And an AD converter 39a for digitally converting the analog signal of the voice input by the microphone 38a.
[0022]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the computer terminal 3b of FIG.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 6, the computer terminal 3b includes a display unit 31b for displaying characters, images, etc., a keyboard 33b for inputting characters, numbers, symbols, etc., a mouse 32b for operating a cursor, etc. displayed on the display unit 31b, the Internet And a control unit 35b for controlling each unit.
[0024]
The drive control of the electric equipment by the remote operation device having the above configuration will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following example, the computer terminal 3b is described as an example of the instruction terminal, but the same processing can be performed in the mobile phone terminal 3a.
[0025]
First, in step S101 shown in FIG. 7, a connection request is sent from the computer terminal 3b to the server 2. In step S102, the server 2 performs an authentication process for the connection request, and permits access to the computer terminal 3b in step S103.
[0026]
In the robot 1, the image input by the camera 12 is transmitted to the server 2 by the wireless unit 16 in step S <b> 111. In the server 2, the image transmitted from the robot 1 is received by the wireless unit 25, and transferred to the computer terminal 3b from the telephone line P via the Internet in step S112. In the computer terminal 3b, the image transmitted from the server 2 is received by the wireless unit 34a and displayed on the display unit 31b in step S113. Hereinafter, the process of step S111-step S113 is performed at any time.
[0027]
On the other hand, each electric device transmits an identification signal for identifying the device as needed (step S121). When the robot 1 receives this identification signal in step S122, the robot 1 determines which identification signal is received in step S123. A signal indicating whether it is transmitted from the device is transmitted to the server 2. That is, by receiving the identification signal, the robot 1 determines which device the robot 1 is currently facing and is shooting with the camera 12, and transmits a signal corresponding to the device. In step S124, the server 2 receives this signal, and in step S125, the server 2 transmits to the computer terminal 3b an image obtained by superimposing the control image of the device corresponding to the image from the robot 1.
[0028]
The computer terminal 3b receives this image in step S126, and displays it on the display unit 31b in step S127. Here, FIGS. 9 to 11 show examples of camera images superimposed on the control screen of each device (electric blind curtain B, air conditioner A, video deck V) displayed on the display unit 31b of the computer terminal 3b. . The images 51, 52, and 53 shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, respectively, are the images 51a, 52a, and 53a captured by the camera 12, the control images 51b, 52b, and 53b of the robot 1, and the control images 51c of each device. , 52c, 53c are superimposed.
[0029]
In step S128, using the keyboard 33b and the mouse 32b of the computer terminal 3b, the control content of each device is input by the control images 51c, 52c, and 53c of FIGS. The control content input here is transmitted from the computer terminal 3b to the server 2 in step S129, and transferred to the robot 1 by the server 2 in step S130. In step S131, the control content is converted into a remote control signal by the robot 1, and is transferred to each electric device by the remote control signal transmission / reception unit 13. Each electric device receives the remote control signal in step S132, and performs control according to the remote control signal in step S133.
[0030]
Subsequently, in step S134 shown in FIG. 8, a signal notifying that the control according to the remote control signal is completed is transmitted to the robot 1. When receiving the notification signal, the robot 1 transfers the signal received in step S135 to the server 2. In step S136, the server 2 receives this signal, and in step S137, the server 2 updates the contents stored in the storage unit 21 (state information of each electrical device). In step S138, a control completion notification is transmitted to the mobile phone terminal 3a. In step S139, the cellular phone terminal 3a receives this control completion notification, and in step S140, displays that the control is completed on the display unit 31a.
[0031]
If no identification signal is received in step S122 described above, the robot 1 is not facing any device. Therefore, in step S141, the server 2 controls the robot 1 in an image captured by the camera 12 of the robot 1. The image on which the business images are superimposed is transmitted to the computer terminal 3b.
[0032]
The computer terminal 3b receives this image in step S142, and displays it on the display unit 31b in step S143. FIG. 12 shows an example of a camera image obtained by superimposing the robot control screen. In the image 54 shown in FIG. 12, the robot control image 54 b is superimposed on the image 54 a captured by the camera 12 of the robot 1.
[0033]
In step S144, the control contents of the robot 1 are input by the control image 54b of FIG. 12 using the keyboard 33b and the mouse 32b of the computer terminal 3b. The control content input here is transmitted from the computer terminal 3b to the server 2 in step S145, and transferred to the robot 1 by the server 2 in step S146. In step S147, the robot 1 performs operation control according to the instructed control content.
[0034]
As described above, according to the remote control device of the present embodiment, even when the user is not in the room, the control image 51c of each electric device superimposed on the captured images 51a, 52a, 53a by the camera 12 of the robot 1 is used. , 52c, 53c are displayed on the display unit 31b of the computer terminal 3b so that the state of each electric device can be seen, and remote control is performed from the control images 51c, 52c, 53c by the keyboard 33b and the mouse 32b. be able to.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, an image obtained by combining an image input by a robot camera and a control image of each electric device is transmitted from the server to the instruction terminal, and the transmitted image is displayed on the instruction terminal. Even if the person is not in the room, the person can perform a remote operation while looking at the state of each electric device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an instruction terminal attached to the remote control device of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile phone terminal in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the computer terminal in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of electric device drive control by the remote control device in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing steps following FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a camera image superimposed on the control screen of the electric blind curtain. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a camera image superimposed on an air conditioner control screen. FIG. 11 is an example of a camera image superimposed on a video deck control screen. It shows an example of a to FIG. 12 is a camera image of the control screen of the robot superimposed EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot 1a Head 2 Server 3a Mobile phone terminal 3b Computer terminal 11 Motor 12 Camera 13 Remote control signal transmission / reception part 14a, 14b Drive motor 15a, 15b Tire 16 Radio | wireless part 17 Antenna 18 Control part 21 Storage part 22 Line connection part 23 Control part 24 antenna 25 radio unit 26 DA / AD converter 31a display unit 31b display unit 32a keyboard 32b keyboard 33a cursor key 33b mouse 34a radio unit 34b connection device 35a control unit 35b control unit 36a speaker 37a DA converter 38a microphone 39a AD converter 51, 52, 53, 54 Images 51a, 52a, 53a, 54a Captured images 51b, 52b, 53b, 54b, 51c, 52c, 53c Control images

Claims (3)

An electrical device that transmits an identification signal identifying the electrical device; and
A camera, a transmission unit that transmits an image captured by the camera, an identification unit that transmits a signal indicating the electrical device corresponding to the identification signal when the identification signal is received, and a control unit that controls the electrical device Control device,
A server including a receiving unit that receives a signal indicating the electrical device, a transfer unit that transfers an image captured by the camera, and a control unit that controls the operation of the control device;
An instruction terminal provided with a display unit for displaying the transferred image and an instruction unit for instructing the control content of the control device to the server;
When the server receives a signal indicating the electrical device from the control device, the server transmits an image obtained by combining the image captured by the camera and the control image of the electrical device to the instruction terminal. Operation system . The remote operation system according to claim 1, wherein the instruction terminal is connected to the server via the Internet. The remote operation system according to claim 2, wherein the instruction terminal is a mobile phone terminal or a computer terminal connectable to the Internet.

Images