JP5063884B2 - Remote control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention can remotely control individual devices or a plurality of devices such as audio-visual devices (hereinafter abbreviated as “AV devices”) and home appliances (hereinafter abbreviated as “home appliances”). The present invention relates to a remote control device.

In recent years, devices that can be remotely operated by corresponding remote control devices (hereinafter referred to as “remote control compatible devices”) tend to increase more and more. When there are a plurality of remote control compatible devices in one room, it is inconvenient because it is necessary to carry out power-on operation and volume adjustment operation by changing each remote control device. Therefore, conventionally, a remote control device has been developed that can remotely operate a plurality of remote control-compatible devices with a single unit. Some of these types of remote control devices are: In other words, the electronic device to be controlled can be selected by using a page switching key provided on the LCD unit and by rotating a dial-like device selection key provided on the side surface up and down. it can. When the device selection key is operated or the field for displaying the current corresponding device name displayed on the LCD panel of the LCD unit is selected, a device selection list screen consisting of a plurality of device names is displayed accordingly. Is displayed. Therefore, device selection can be performed by rotating the device selection key up or down or operating a page switching key on the liquid crystal panel to select a desired device name (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-175800 ([0034], FIG. 5)

  In the above-described conventional remote control device, a page display indicating the page number of the screen is displayed at the lower right corner of the device selection list screen displayed on the LCD unit. Therefore, the operator needs to move the line of sight in the vertical direction of the screen of the LCD unit in order to search for a desired device name from the device selection list, and to check whether there are previous and next pages. You need to move the viewpoint to the lower right corner of the unit's screen. As a result, it takes time to find a desired device name, and there is a problem that operability is not good.

The inconveniences described above are that the number of functions to be selected is larger than the number of items that can be displayed on the display unit, and the function names and the like are displayed on the display unit over a plurality of pages in a remote control device capable of remotely operating a plurality of devices Or when the number of functions to be selected is larger than the number of items that can be displayed on the display unit and the function names are displayed on the display unit over multiple pages. The same applies to.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a remote control device that can solve the above-described problems.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a remote control device according to the first aspect of the present invention is configured to divide a plurality of function information corresponding to a plurality of functions into a plurality of pages so as to be displayed on a display unit, and to display the display In the page to be displayed in the section, the function information is arranged and displayed in a plurality of columns, the pointer displayed in the movement area between the columns is displayed, and the function information on both sides of the movement area is sequentially displayed. The function information selected by the operation of the operation unit is clearly indicated by the pointer by zigzag swinging so as to transition in the column direction while clearly indicating to the first and last page. Displays the movement limit of the pointer, and displays the movement limit of the pointer in a display form different from the first page and the last page .

The invention according to claim 2 relates to the remote control device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of devices can be remotely operated, and a plurality of pieces of device information corresponding to a plurality of devices to be remotely operated are displayed on a plurality of pages. In the page displayed on the display unit by being divided into two , the device information is arranged and displayed in a plurality of columns, and is displayed in a moving area between the columns. The device information selected by the operation of the operation unit is displayed by moving the pointer in a zigzag manner so as to transition in the column direction while clearly indicating the device information on both sides of the moving area. It is specified by a pointer, and when it is the first and last page, the movement limit of the pointer is displayed.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 relates to the remote control device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein among the plurality of functions, the functions can be set hierarchically, and the lower layer functions are sequentially applied to the display unit. The function that is displayed and can be selected is characterized in that the movement limit of the pointer is displayed in a different display form for each layer.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the remote control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the moving area of the pointer is displayed in a different display form for each page.

The invention according to claim 5 relates to the remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the function information or the device information is a name for identifying a corresponding function or device, a common name, It is characterized by being one of symbols, codes, other character strings, figures, or a combination thereof.

  According to the present invention, even when selectable items such as a plurality of devices and a plurality of functions are displayed on the display unit over a plurality of pages, the operator can change the page currently displayed on the display unit without changing the line of sight. You can check whether there are other pages before and after. As a result, the operator can select a desired item in a short time, and the operability is good.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of the remote control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention when the operation unit 2 is housed in the main body, and FIG. 2 shows the operation unit 2 in the remote control device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external configuration in a usable state, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external configuration in a usable state of the operation unit 2 in the remote control device shown in FIG. 1 to 3, each (a) is a plan view, each (b) is a corresponding left side view of (a), and each (c) is a corresponding right side view of (a).

  The remote control device according to the first embodiment is generally composed of a main body 1 and an operation unit 2. The main body 1 includes an upper main body 1a and a lower main body 1b, and is connected to each other at an upper end portion and a lower end portion. The operation unit 2 is configured to be housed in a space (hereinafter referred to as “housing space”) 1c formed between the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. The upper main body 1a has a substantially rectangular shape as viewed from above, but a constricted portion 1aa which is slightly constricted symmetrically with respect to the major axis is formed at a position slightly closer to the upper end than the center. The upper body 1a has a rounded bottom end. Further, although not shown, light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit infrared pulse control signals (hereinafter referred to as “remote control signals”) are attached to the upper ends of the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. A cover 3 made of translucent synthetic resin is fitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 2 (a), and 3 (a), the upper body 1a has a power button 11 and an input switch in order from left to right in the drawing in the vicinity of the upper end. A button 12, a screen display button 13, and a mute button 14 are provided side by side. Each time the power button 11 is pressed in a remote control mode, which will be described later, a device selected from among a plurality of devices that can be remotely operated by the remote control device according to the first embodiment, such as an AV device or a home appliance. This is a button for instructing power on or off. In the first embodiment, the power button 11 can be pressed to instruct a transition to a continuous power operation mode in which the power of the plurality of devices can be operated continuously. When a plurality of external devices are respectively connected to a plurality of input terminals of the selected device, the input switching button 12 is an external device that permits input of a signal from the corresponding input terminal each time it is pressed. This button is instructed to switch. When the selected device has a display unit, the screen display button 13 is pressed to instruct the display unit to display a channel signature or the like of the channel being selected. When the selected device has a sound output unit, the mute button 14 is alternately instructed to pause and cancel the sound output from the sound output unit each time it is pressed. Button.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 2 (a) and 3 (a), the upper main body 1a has a first function button (at a predetermined distance away from the power button 11 toward the lower end in the longitudinal direction). F1) 15 is provided, and a second function button (F2) 16 is provided at a predetermined distance from the mute button 14 toward the lower end in the longitudinal direction. The first function buttons (F1) 15 are a total of six command buttons (three rows and two columns) including tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 constituting the operation unit 2 in the device selection mode described later (FIGS. 10 to 10). 14 and FIG. 15 (a)) corresponding to the left tab (first row, first column) 92, and when pressed, the selection of “group 1” constituting each scene is instructed, or a remote controller to be described later Corresponds to the command buttons on the upper left side (first row, first column) of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15 (b) and 15 (c)) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the mode. When the button is pressed, execution of the function displayed on the command button is instructed.

Here, the device selection mode is used to select which of the plurality of devices that can be remotely operated by the remote control device according to the first embodiment, or any of the devices. This is a mode for controlling on / off of the power of the device. The remote control mode is a mode for transmitting a remote control signal to the device in order to remotely operate the device selected in the device selection mode.
The second function button (F2) 16 has a total of six command buttons (FIGS. 10 to 14 and FIG. 15 (FIG. 10)) including tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the device selection mode to be described later. corresponding to the tab (first row, second column) 97 on the right side of (a)), the selection of “group 2” constituting each scene is instructed by pressing, or the liquid crystal panel is in the remote control mode described later. The command buttons corresponding to the command buttons on the upper right side (first row, second column) of a total of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15B and 15C) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed in 58 are pressed. This is a button for instructing execution of the function displayed on the command button.

  A joystick 17 is provided in the approximate center of the constricted portion 1aa of the upper body 1a as shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 2 (a) and 3 (a). When the joystick 17 is tilted upward, downward, leftward, rightward or obliquely with respect to the plane of the main body 1, the liquid crystal panel 58 or the selected device has a display unit. Among the plurality of command buttons and selection items (hereinafter abbreviated as “command buttons”) displayed on the display unit, the focus is moved to a command button or the like existing in a tilted direction. Pointing device that is instructed to select a function corresponding to a command button or the like and that is instructed to execute a function corresponding to the selected command button or to select a selection item when pressed in the thickness direction of the main body 1 It is.

  Here, focus will be described. When multiple buttons, text boxes, etc. are displayed on the display screen, only one of them can accept input, but it has a focus on being in a state of accepting that input. That's it. Whether or not a button has focus is enclosed by a broken line in the case of a command button or highlighted, in the case of a text box, the cursor blinks internally, or in the case of a drop-down list box The menu can be selected or reversed.

  Further, a third function button (F3) 22 having a substantially arc shape in contact with the outer periphery of the upper left portion of the joystick 17 is a fourth function button (F4) 23 having a substantially arc shape in contact with the outer periphery of the upper right portion of the joystick 17. Are provided. Similarly, a fifth function button (F5) 24 having a substantially arc shape in contact with the outer periphery of the lower left portion of the joystick 17 is a sixth function button (F6) having a substantially arc shape in contact with the outer periphery of the lower right portion of the joystick 17. 25 are provided.

  The third function button (F3) 22 has a total of six command buttons (FIGS. 10 to 14 and FIG. 15 (FIG. 10)) including the tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the device selection mode described later. corresponding to the command button in the left middle (second row, first column) of (a)), the selection of the device displayed on the command button is instructed by being pressed, or the liquid crystal is in the remote control mode to be described later. Corresponds to the command buttons on the left middle (second row, first column) of the total of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15B and 15C) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed on the panel 58. This is a button for instructing execution of the function displayed on the command button.

  The fourth function button (F4) 23 is a total of six command buttons (FIGS. 10 to 14 and FIG. 15 (FIG. 10)) including the tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the device selection mode to be described later. corresponding to the command button in the right middle (second row, second column) of (a)), the selection of the device displayed on the command button is instructed by being pressed, or the liquid crystal is in the remote control mode described later. Corresponding to the command buttons in the middle of the right side (second row, second column) of a total of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15B and 15C) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed on the panel 58, they are pressed. This is a button for instructing execution of the function displayed on the command button.

  The fifth function button (F5) 24 has a total of six command buttons (FIGS. 10 to 14 and FIG. 15 (FIG. 10)) including tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the device selection mode described later. corresponding to the command button on the lower left side (third row, first column) of (a)), the selection of the device displayed on the command button is instructed by being pressed, or the liquid crystal is in the remote control mode to be described later. Corresponding to the command buttons on the lower left side (third row, first column) of the total of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15B and 15C) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed on the panel 58, they are pressed. This is a button for instructing execution of the function displayed on the command button.

  The sixth function button (F6) 25 has a total of six command buttons (FIGS. 10 to 14 and FIG. 15 (FIG. 10)) including tabs displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 in the device selection mode to be described later. corresponding to the command button on the lower right side (third row, second column) of (a)), the selection of the device displayed on the command button is instructed by being pressed, or the liquid crystal is in the remote control mode to be described later. Corresponding to the command buttons in the lower right column (third row, second column) of the total of six command buttons (see FIGS. 15B and 15C) of 3 rows and 2 columns displayed on the panel 58, they are pressed. This is a button for instructing execution of the function displayed on the command button.

  Further, in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3A, the lower part of the fifth function button (F5) 24 and the sixth function button (F6) 25 is shown so as to surround them. A device button 26, a blue button 27, a red button 28, a green button 29, and a yellow button 30 are arranged in order from the middle left to the right. The device button 26 is a button for instructing a transition between a remote control mode described later and a device selection mode described later when pressed. The blue button 27, the red button 28, the green button 29, and the yellow button 30 constitute a color button 31, and when the selected device is a device capable of receiving a digital broadcast, the digital broadcast electronic program guide ( Used to operate an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) or a data program, or to control the power on / off of a corresponding device when pressed within a predetermined time after the device button 26 is pressed in the device selection mode described later. Is a button for instructing.

Further, in FIG. 1A, FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, a channel button 32, a volume button 33, a channel selection button 34, and a broadcast switching button 35 are provided below the device button 26 and the color button 31, respectively. A rewind button 36, a play button 37, a fast forward button 38, a skip button 39, a stop button 40, a pause button 41, a cue button 42, a recording button 43, and a recording stop button 44 are provided. These buttons perform the function originally given to the button, that is, in order to remotely control the selected device, in addition to being used to instruct the device to transmit a remote control signal, any two other buttons are used. When the buttons, for example, the recording button 43 and the recording stop button 44 are simultaneously pressed for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) for a so-called “long press”, the standby state of the power supply of the remote control device is instructed. Here, in the standby state, in order to reduce the power consumption of the remote control device itself, the control unit constituting the remote control device does not execute a specific command but executes an empty command in a loop. State.
Below the various buttons described above, although not shown, a light emitting element composed of a white LED or the like is provided, and is configured to be continuously lit or flashing when the remote control device is used.

  Next, the configuration of the operation unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the external configuration of the remote control device shown in FIG. 1A with the upper body 1a removed. FIG. 5 shows the remote control device shown in FIG. 2A with the upper body 1a removed. It is a top view which shows the external appearance structure in a closed state. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing an external configuration in a state where the operation unit 2 can be used in the remote control device shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the operation unit 2 is configured by integrally forming a disk-shaped portion 51 having a substantially disk shape and a cube-shaped portion 52 having a substantially cubic shape. A through hole 51 a is formed in a substantially central portion of the disc-like portion 51. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a cylindrical shaft 53 is provided at a position slightly closer to the upper end than the center of the lower main body 1 b, and the through-hole 51 a of the operation unit 2 is formed on the shaft 53. The operation unit 2 is configured to be rotatable between the upper main body 1a and the lower main body 1b.

  A sub-direction key 54 is attached to the side surface of the end 51 b opposite to the cubic part 52 of the disk-like part 51. When the operation unit 2 is fixed in a usable state (see FIG. 2 (a) or FIG. 3 (a)), the sub-direction key 54 is moved up and down along the side surface of the end of the disk-shaped portion 51 (see FIG. 2 (a), FIG. 3 (a) and FIG. 5, direction a and b), and a direction toward the end side surface (FIG. 2 (a), FIG. 3 (a) and FIG. 5, direction c). It is configured to be operable. The details of the operation of the sub direction key 54 and the function corresponding to the operation will be described later.

  In addition, Hall ICs 55a and 55b are attached to the side surfaces of the end portions 51c and 51d of the disc-like portion 51 at positions symmetrical about the through hole 51a, respectively. When the Hall ICs 55a and 55b are rotated to a position where the operation unit 2 can be used (see FIG. 2 (a) or FIG. 3 (a)), the magnet 56 attached to the approximate center near the end of the lower main body 1b. Detects the magnetic field formed by each and supplies a detection signal to a control unit (not shown). A control unit (not shown) makes the operation unit 2 usable only when the detection signal is input, and displays a screen on the liquid crystal panel 58. Thereby, even when the operation unit 2 is taken out from the storage space 1c even though the operator does not intend to use, it is possible to prevent wasteful power consumption. When the operation unit 2 moves to the state shown in FIG. 2A or 3A and any one of the buttons (for example, the power button 11) is operated, a screen is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. You may comprise as follows.

  Furthermore, in the vicinity of the end portions 51c and 51d of the disc-like portion 51, the operator can move the surface of the operation unit 2 without covering the surface of the upper main body 1a when the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c. The blue LED 57a, the red LED 57b, the green LED 57c, and the yellow LED 57d are positioned so that each head protrudes slightly from the surface of the disk-shaped portion 51, in a position where the head is visible, that is, in the vicinity of the constricted portion 1aa of the upper body 1a. It is inset. The blue LED 57a and the red LED 57b are provided in the vicinity of the Hall IC 55a, and the green LED 57c and the yellow LED 57d are provided in the vicinity of the Hall IC 55b.

  A liquid crystal panel 58 is fitted in substantially the center of the cubic part 52, and a touch panel 59 is provided on the surface of the liquid crystal panel 58. The touch panel 59 detects a position touched by an operator's finger by an optical method, a pressure sensitive method, an electrostatic method, or an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave method, and supplies a detection signal to a control unit (not shown). On the other hand, a device switching button 60, a page switching button 61, and a setting button 62 are provided near the end of the cube-shaped portion 52, respectively. Whether the operation unit 2 is in the state shown in FIG. 2 or the operation unit 2 is in the state shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal panel 58 has a plurality of selection items in the same positional relationship, that is, the upper body. It is configured to be displayed in a positional relationship that is mirror-symmetric with respect to 1a.

  The device switching button 60 is a button that is pressed to instruct switching of a device to be controlled from among a plurality of devices that can be remotely operated by the remote control device. The page switching button 61 is a button that is pressed to instruct switching of a page unit of a list of selection items displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. The setting button 62 is a button that is instructed to switch between a setting menu screen (mode) and a remote control operation screen (mode) when pressed. The setting menu screen (mode) is a screen (mode) for adding or deleting a device to be controlled and various settings relating to the remote control device itself. On the other hand, the remote control operation screen (mode) is a screen (mode) for selecting a device to be controlled and transmitting a remote control signal to the device to perform various operations. Although not shown, the cube-shaped portion 52 includes a vibrator that vibrates the cube-shaped portion 52 when the touch panel 59 is operated. A control unit (not shown) described later includes a touch panel 59 corresponding to a command button on which a character representing a registered device or function is displayed on the surface among a plurality of command buttons displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. Drive the vibrator to indicate when the part has been pressed correctly.

  On the side surface of the end 52a opposite to the disc-like part 51 of the cubic part 52, as shown in FIG. 6, a guide groove extends from one end 52aa to the substantially central part and from the other end 52ab to the substantially central part. 63a and 63b are formed, respectively, and a bottomed hole 64 is formed in a substantially central portion. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a holding needle 65 is attached toward the upper end of the lower main body 1 b in the vicinity of the lower end of the lower body 1 b and is urged by the spring 66 in the upper end. Then, for example, when the operator rotates the operation unit 2 counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 2 and stores the operation unit 2 in the storage space 1c, first, the cubic portion 52 constituting the operation unit 2 is stored. The holding needle 65 urged by the spring 66 abuts on the bottom of the guide groove 63b at the other end 52ab, and the operator continues to push the operation unit 2 into the storage space 1c. The holding needle 65 moves while coming into contact with the bottom of the lens. When the operation unit 2 is completely stored in the storage space 1c, the holding needle 65 gets over the guide groove 63b and is loosely inserted into the bottomed hole 64. On the other hand, for example, when the operation unit 2 stores the operation unit 2 in the storage space 1c from the state shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 2 may be rotated clockwise.

  As can be seen from FIG. 1 (a), the operation unit 2 is slightly wider than the widths of the upper main body 1a and the lower main body 1b, so that the one end 52aa and the other end 52ab of the cube-shaped portion 52 are upper. It is slightly exposed from the left end and the right end of the lower ends of the main body 1a and the lower main body 1b. Therefore, when taking out the operation unit 2 from the storage space 1c of the remote control device, the operator is one of the one end portion 52aa or the other end portion 52ab of the cube-shaped portion 52 constituting the operation unit 2 on the side opposite to the take-out side. Is pushed into the storage space 1c. As a result, the tip of the holding needle 65 provided in the approximate center near the lower end of the lower body 1b is pushed out from the bottomed hole 64 drilled in the approximate center of the side surface of the end 52a of the cubical part 52. In addition to entering the guide groove 63a or 63b, the end on the side from which the operation unit 2 is taken out is exposed (protruded) from the left or right end of the lower end of the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. Therefore, the operator can take out the operation unit 2 by pinching the exposed portion with a finger even if the finger strength is weak, such as an infant or an elderly person. Further, when the operation unit 2 is not used, the touch panel 59 and the liquid crystal panel 58 can be prevented from being damaged, dirty, or malfunctioning. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to greatly change the shape of the main body 1, it is not necessary to break the design.

  In addition to the various buttons and the liquid crystal panel 58 described above, this remote control device includes a control unit, a storage unit, a warning sound generation unit, a communication unit, and the like (not shown). The control unit consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and executes various processes such as a device selection process based on various programs such as a device selection program stored in the storage unit to control the entire remote control device. To do. That is, for example, when the device selection program is read from the storage unit, it is read by the control unit and controls the operation of the control unit. When the device selection program is activated, the control unit executes device selection processing described later under the control of the device selection program.

  The storage unit includes a RAM, a ROM, or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. The storage unit stores various data in addition to various programs executed by the control unit. The warning sound generation unit generates a warning sound when an erroneous operation is performed under the control of the control unit. The communication unit includes, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface and the like, and is stored in the storage unit by being connected to a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “PC”) via a USB cable. Used when programs and control codes are upgraded. FIG. 6 shows a USB connector 67.

  Examples of devices that can be remotely operated by this remote control device include the following devices. That is, in AV equipment, a television receiver, a personal computer having a television reception function, a projector, a projector screen, a BS / CS tuner, a DVD recorder, a DVD player, a VTR, a video disc player, a CD player, an MD player, an amplifier , Radio cassette recorder, karaoke equipment, etc. On the other hand, in home appliances, air conditioners (hereinafter abbreviated as “air conditioners”), lighting devices (hereinafter abbreviated as “lighting”), air purifiers, petroleum fan heaters, ceramic fan heaters, halogen heaters, electric fans. , Humidifiers, dehumidifiers, clothes drying / dehumidifiers, ion conditioners, self-propelled vacuum cleaners, ventilation fans, game machines, and fixed telephones. Examples of other devices that can be remotely operated by the remote control device include a sunroof, a blind, a curtain, a skylight, a shutter, a security system, a system bus, and an interphone. It is assumed that the maximum number of devices that can be remotely operated by this remote control device is 16.

Next, a method of using the remote control device having the above configuration will be described. First, it is assumed that a house to which the remote control device is applied includes a living room and a theater room. In the living room, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a television receiver (hereinafter abbreviated as “liquid crystal television”) 71 using a liquid crystal panel as a display, a DVD recorder 72, and a BS / CS tuner 73. It is assumed that an air conditioner 74, an illumination 75, and an air purifier 76 are installed. On the other hand, the theater room, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the projector 81, the VTR82, an amplifier 83, a speaker 84 _L and 84 _R, an air conditioner 85, the lighting 86, installed an air cleaner 87 It is assumed that

  The living room is assigned to “scene 1” and the theater room is assigned to “scene 2”. In “scene 1”, the liquid crystal television 71, the DVD recorder 72, and the BS / CS tuner 73 are assigned to “group 1” (AV It is assumed that the air conditioner 74, the illumination 75, and the air purifier 76 are classified into “Group 2” (home appliance system). On the other hand, in “Scene 2”, projector 81, VTR 82 and amplifier 83 are classified as “Group 1” (AV equipment system), and air conditioner 85, lighting 86 and air cleaner 87 are classified as “Group 2” (home appliance system). It is assumed that

  Next, device selection processing executed by the remote control device having the above configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, as the current state, the power source of the remote control device is turned on, and as shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 2 is arranged on the left side of the main body with respect to the main body so as to be easily used by a right-handed operator. It is assumed that it is fixed at an angle of 90 degrees. Furthermore, it is assumed that the current operation mode of the remote control device is a remote control mode.

  In such a state and operation mode, when the device button 26 is pressed, the control unit of the remote control device shifts to the device selection mode after step SP2 shown in FIG. 9 (the determination result of step SP1 is “YES”). ). During the device selection mode, the device button 26, the first function button (F1) 15, the second function button (F2) 16, the third function button (F3) 22, and the fourth function button (F4) constituting the upper body 1a. 23, the LED provided at the lower part of each of the fifth function button (F5) 24 and the sixth function button (F6) 25 blinks. In addition, the LEDs provided below the blue button 27, red button 28, green button 29, and yellow button 30 constituting the upper body 1a are continuously lit, and other buttons constituting the upper body 1a The LED provided in each lower part is turned off. When a button other than the device button 26 is pressed, the control unit of the remote control device executes processing corresponding to the pressed button in the remote control mode, but directly with the first embodiment. Since it is not related, it will not be described here.

  In step SP2, the control unit of the remote control device displays on the liquid crystal panel 58 the names and the like of the scenes, groups, and devices belonging to the group that were selected when the device selection mode was last changed to the remote control mode. After the display on the panel 58, the process proceeds to step SP3. In this case, when the device selection mode is changed to the remote control mode last time, “LCD TV”, “VTR”, “BS / CS tuner” belonging to “Scene 1”, “Group 1” and “Group 1”. It is assumed that “Liquid Crystal TV” is selected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, the liquid crystal panel 58 has an LED mark 91 on the upper left and “scene 1” indicating that “scene 1” is selected to the right of the LED mark 91. Are displayed.

  The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a tab 92, a total of four command buttons 93 to 96 in two rows and two columns, and a tab 97. On the surface of the tab 92, the characters “Group 1” indicating that “Group 1” is selected are displayed on the surfaces of the command buttons 93, 94, and 96, respectively, and the liquid crystal television 71, BS / CS tuner 73, and DVD Characters “liquid crystal television”, “BS / CS tuner” and “VTR” indicating that each device of the recorder 72 can be selected are displayed. In “Group 1”, a maximum of four devices can be selected, but in this case, only three of the devices belonging to “Group 1” (AV device system) are included in the living room. Since the device is installed and the device is registered only in the command buttons 93, 94 and 96, nothing is displayed on the surface of the command button 95.

  Furthermore, a blue LED mark 93a is formed at the upper left corner of the command button 93, a yellow LED mark 94a is formed at the upper left corner of the command button 94, and a red LED mark 95a is formed at the upper right corner of the command button 95. In the upper right corner of the command button 96, a green LED mark 96a is displayed. These LED marks 93a, 94a, 95a and 96a correspond to the blue button 27, red button 28, green button 29 and yellow button 30 of the upper main body 1a. In addition, in order to indicate that “Group 2” is not selected, the tab 97 is displayed so as to be lower than the “Group 1” layer, and the characters “Group 2” are displayed on the tab 97 in white. It is displayed without it.

  For the device that was selected at the time of the transition from the device selection mode to the remote control mode last time, the LED mark displayed in the upper left corner or upper right corner of the command buttons 93 to 96 displaying the name of the device. 93a, 94a, 95a or 96a is displayed blinking. On the other hand, for devices that were not selected when the device selection mode was last changed to the remote control mode, LEDs displayed in the upper left corner or upper right corner of the command buttons 93 to 96 displaying the names of the devices. The marks 93a, 94a, 95a or 96a are continuously displayed.

  In this case, since the liquid crystal television 71 is selected, the LED mark 93a displayed at the upper left corner of the command button 93 is blinked and the LED mark 94a displayed at the upper left corner of the command button 94 is displayed. LED marks 95a and 96a respectively displayed at the upper right corners of the command buttons 95 and 96 are continuously displayed. It should be noted that any of the LED mark corresponding to the device that was selected when the device selection mode was last changed to the remote control mode and the LED provided below any one of the color buttons 31 corresponding to the LED mark. One or both of them may be configured to blink or be lit.

  Further, in FIG. 10A, a selection state display unit 99 is displayed substantially at the center. The selection state display unit 99 includes a hook part 100 extending vertically, an upper end ring part 101 provided at the upper end of the hook part 100, a crosspiece part 102 extending right or left in the horizontal direction from the middle of the hook part 100, and a crosspiece A white circle portion 103 provided at an end portion of the portion 102 and a lower end ring portion 104 provided at a lower end of the collar portion 100 are configured. The upper end ring part 101 and the lower end ring part 104 indicate the beginning and end of the page, respectively. Therefore, when either or both of the upper end ring portion 101 and the lower end ring portion 104 are not provided on either or both of the upper end and the lower end of the collar portion 100, either or both of the previous page and the rear page are provided. Indicates that more are available.

Further, the crosspiece part 102 and the white circle part 103 indicate that a tag or a command button existing on the extension line is selected, and the sub-direction key 54 is an end of the disk-like part 51 constituting the operation unit 2. It is configured that the selection is determined by operating in a direction toward the side surface (direction c in FIGS. 2A and 5).
Further, in FIG. 10 (a), the character “page” is displayed at the left end of the bottom row, the character “: scene change” is adjacent to the right, and the color button 31 provided on the upper body 1a is adjacent to the right. , A mark indicating a blue button 27, a red button 28, a green button 29, and a yellow button 30, and characters “: power operation of other devices” are sequentially displayed on the right side thereof. The white letters “page” and the letters “: scene change” adjacent to the right are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 when the page change button 61 constituting the cube-shaped portion 52 of the operation unit 2 is operated. This guides (guide display) that the “scene” can be switched.

  On the other hand, the mark indicating the color button 31 and the characters “: other device power operation” on the right side thereof are LED marks 93a, 94a, 95a and 96a displayed on the command buttons 93 to 96 on which the names of the devices are displayed. The blue button 27, the red button 28, the green button 29, and the yellow button 30 correspond to each other, and when any of the blue button 27, the red button 28, the green button 29, or the yellow button 30 is pressed, the corresponding device is displayed. On the other hand, it guides (guide display) that a power cord signal for turning on / off the power of the device is transmitted.

  In step SP3, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether or not switching of the scene is instructed. The control unit of the remote control device is (i) whether or not the page switching button 61 constituting the operation unit 2 is pressed, or (ii) the sub-direction key 54 constituting the operation unit 2 is the end of the disc-like part 51. The presence / absence of a scene switching instruction is determined based on whether or not so-called “long pressing” is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) in the direction toward the side surface (direction c in FIGS. 2A and 5). When the operator depresses the page switching button 61 or presses the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c in FIGS. 2A and 5, the determination result in step SP3 is “YES”, and the remote control device The control unit proceeds to step SP4.

In step SP4, the control unit of the remote control device determines a scene (hereinafter referred to as “second scene”) that is different from the scene to which the group that has been displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 until now belongs (hereinafter referred to as “first scene”). After displaying the group used when switching from the second scene to the first scene and the names of the devices belonging to the group on the liquid crystal panel 58, Proceed to step SP5.
In the initial setting, “Group 1” is set as a group displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 when the first scene is switched to for the first time, but no device is registered in “Group 1”. In this case, the control unit of the remote control device transitions to “group 2”. In this case, it is assumed that the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed from that shown in FIG. 10A to that shown in FIG. In FIG. 11A, portions corresponding to the respective portions in FIG. 10A are assigned the same reference numerals, and functions other than the command buttons 93 to 96 play the same role, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 11A, the LED mark 91 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “Scene 2” indicating that “Scene 2” is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 91, respectively. The The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a tab 92, a total of four command buttons 93 to 96 in two rows and two columns, and a tab 97. On the surface of the tab 92, the letters “Group 1” indicating that “Group 1” is selected are placed on the surfaces of the command buttons 93, 94 and 96 in the theater room shown in FIG. Characters “projector”, “amplifier”, and “DVD recorder” indicating that each of the projector 81, the amplifier 83, and the VTR 82 can be selected are displayed. In “Group 1”, a maximum of four devices can be selected. In this case, the theater room includes only the above three devices belonging to “Group 1” (AV device system). Since the device is installed and the device is registered only in the command buttons 93, 94 and 96, nothing is displayed on the surface of the command button 95.

  The device that was selected when the second scene was switched to the first scene last time is displayed in the upper left corner or upper right corner of the command buttons 93 to 96 on which the names of the devices are displayed. The LED mark 93a, 94a, 95a or 96a is displayed blinking. On the other hand, for devices that were not selected when the second scene was switched to the first scene last time, the names of the devices are displayed in the upper left corner or upper right corner of the command buttons 93 to 96 on which the names are displayed. The displayed LED marks 93a, 94a, 95a or 96a are continuously displayed.

  In the initial setting, the command button provided with a blue LED mark as the selected device among the devices constituting the group displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 when the first scene is switched to for the first time. Since the device displayed on the front surface is set, the control unit of the remote control device causes the blue LED mark to blink. On the other hand, if no device is registered in the command button provided with the blue LED mark, the control unit of the remote control device displays the command button provided with the yellow LED mark as the selected device. Select the device displayed on the surface of the LED to blink the yellow LED mark, and if no device is registered in the command button with either the blue or yellow LED mark, it will be selected. The device displayed on the surface of the command button provided with the red LED mark as the device to be selected is selected to blink the red LED mark, and any of the blue, yellow, and red LED marks is provided. If no device is registered in the command button, a green LE is selected as the selected device. Mark to blink an LED mark of the green by selecting the devices displayed on the surface of a command button provided.

In this case, if the VTR 82 is selected, the LED mark 96a displayed on the upper right corner of the command button 96 is flashed and the LED displayed on the upper left corner of each of the command buttons 93 and 94 is displayed. The marks 93a and 94a and the LED mark 95a displayed at the upper right corner of the command button 95 are continuously displayed.
A scene in which no device is registered, that is, a scene in which characters representing devices are not displayed on all surfaces of the four command buttons of group 1 and all of the four command buttons of group 2. When selected, the control unit of the remote control device controls the warning sound generation unit to output the warning sound without switching to the scene, and the liquid crystal panel 58 displays, for example, “selected. An error message such as "No device is registered in the scene" is displayed.

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step SP3 is “NO”, that is, if switching of the scene is not instructed, the control unit of the remote control device proceeds to step SP5. In step SP5, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether or not group switching is instructed. The control unit of the remote control device selects (A) a tab on which a name of a group different from the currently selected group is displayed by operating the sub direction key 54 in the a direction or the b direction, and the sub direction Whether or not it has been determined by the operation of the key 54 in the c direction, (B) whether or not the portion corresponding to the tab 92 or 97 of the touch panel 58 has been pressed, (C) the first function button (F1) 15 or the second The presence / absence of a group switching instruction is determined based on whether the function button (F2) 16 is pressed.

  When the operator performs any of the operations (A) to (C), the determination result in step SP5 is “YES”, and the control unit of the remote control device proceeds to step SP6. In step SP6, the control unit of the remote control device displays a group different from the group displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the names of devices belonging to the group on the liquid crystal panel 58, and then proceeds to step SP7. move on. In this case, it is assumed that the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed from that shown in FIG. 10A to that shown in FIG. In FIG. 10B, the same reference numerals are given to portions corresponding to the respective portions in FIG. 10A, and the parts other than the command buttons 110 to 113 and the LED marks 110a, 111a, 112a and 113a play the same role. The description is omitted.

  In FIG. 10B, a tab 97, a total of four command buttons 110 to 113 in two rows and two columns, and a tab 92 are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. On the surface of the tab 97, the characters “Group 2” indicating that “Group 2” is selected are placed on the surfaces of the command buttons 110, 111 and 113 in the living room shown in FIG. 7. The letters “air conditioner”, “air cleaner”, and “lighting” indicating that the air conditioner 74, the air purifier 76, and the lighting 75 can be selected are displayed. In “Group 2”, a maximum of 4 devices can be selected, but in this case, the living room has only the above 3 devices belonging to “Group 2” (home appliance system). Since the device is installed and registered only in the command buttons 110, 111 and 113, nothing is displayed on the command button 112.

Here, among the methods (A) to (C), the method (A) will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 12 to 14. First, a method of selecting and determining a tab or command button existing on the same display screen and the same “layer” displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 with the sub-direction key 54 will be described with reference to FIGS. To do. In FIG. 12A, the crosspiece portion 102 and the round portion 103 constituting the selection state display portion 99 are connected to the flange portion 100 so as to oppose the vicinity of the upper end portion of the tab 92, whereby the tab 92 is selected. Is displayed.
When the screen shown in FIG. 12A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed to FIG. As shown in (b), the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece portion 102 and the round portion 103 are connected to the collar portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end portion of the tab 97, and thereby the tab 97, , “Group 2” is selected.

  Next, when the screen shown in FIG. 12B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 12C, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece 102 and the circle 103 are connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 93. A state in which the command button 93 is selected, that is, a state in which the liquid crystal television 71 is selected as the device to be operated is displayed.

Next, in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 12C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 13A, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece 102 and the circular portion 103 are connected to the collar portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end portion of the command button 96. A state in which the command button 96 is selected, that is, a state in which the DVD recorder 72 is selected as the device to be operated is displayed.
Next, in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 13A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 13B, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece 102 and the circle 103 are connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 94. A state in which the command button 94 is selected, that is, a state in which the BS / CS tuner 73 is selected as the device to be operated is displayed.

Next, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 13B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 13C, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece 102 and the round portion 103 are connected to the collar portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end portion of the command button 95. A state in which the command button 95 is selected is displayed. In this case, since no device is registered in the command button 95, the operator temporarily presses the sub-direction key 54 in this state as shown in FIG. When the operation is performed in the direction c, the control unit of the remote control device controls the warning sound generation unit to output a warning sound, and the liquid crystal panel 58 displays, for example, “No device is registered”. of It is superimposed displays the error message.
Next, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 13C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 12A, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the crosspiece 102 and the round portion 103 are connected to the flange portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end portion of the tab 92. A state in which 92 is selected is displayed.

On the other hand, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction a shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 12A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is The screen is changed to the screen shown in FIG. Hereinafter, every time the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the direction a shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is the screen shown in FIG. 13B, the screen shown in FIG. The screen is sequentially changed to the screen shown in FIG. 12C, the screen shown in FIG. 12B, and the screen shown in FIG.
Therefore, when the screen shown in FIG. 12A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. After the screen shown in FIGS. 10A and 12B is changed, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed to the screen shown in FIG. The screen is changed to that shown in (b), and “Group 2” is selected.

In this case, the control unit of the remote control device includes a device button 26, a first function button (F1) 15, a second function button (F2) 16, a third function button (F3) 22, and a fourth function constituting the upper body 1a. “Group 1” is selected for the blinking pattern of the LEDs provided at the lower part of each of the function button (F4) 23, the fifth function button (F5) 24, and the sixth function button (F6) 25. The state is different from the state in which “Group 2” is selected.
When the screen shown in FIG. 10B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, “Group 2” is already selected. Therefore, the control unit of the remote control device does not perform any operation. The same applies to the methods (B) and (C) described above.

On the other hand, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction a shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 10B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is The screen is changed to the screen shown in FIG. Next, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed to the screen shown in FIG. 14B, and “Group 1” is selected. It becomes a state. When the screen shown in FIG. 14B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, “Group 1” has already been selected. Therefore, the control unit of the remote control device does not perform any operation. The same applies to the methods (B) and (C) described above.
When a group in which no device is registered, that is, a group in which characters representing the device are not displayed on all the four command buttons of the group is selected, the control unit of the remote control device Without switching to the group, the warning sound generator is controlled to output a warning sound, and the liquid crystal panel 58 displays, for example, “No device is registered in the selected group. Error message is displayed.

  Further, when “YES” in Step SP3, Steps SP4 and SP5 are processed, that is, after the scene is switched from “Scene 1” to “Scene 2”, the group is changed from “Group 1” to “Group 2”. When switched, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed from the one shown in FIG. 10A to the one shown in FIG. 11B through the one shown in FIG. In FIG. 11 (b), parts corresponding to those in FIG. 11 (a) are given the same reference numerals, and the parts other than the command buttons 110 to 113 and the LED marks 110a, 111a, 112a and 113a play the same role. The description is omitted.

  In FIG. 11B, a tab 97, a total of four command buttons 110 to 113 in two rows and two columns, and a tab 92 are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. On the surface of the tab 97, the characters “Group 2” indicating that “Group 2” is selected are installed in the theater room shown in FIG. 8 on the surfaces of the command buttons 110, 111, and 113. The letters “air conditioner”, “air cleaner”, and “lighting” indicating that the air conditioner 85, the air purifier 87, and the lighting 86 are selectable are displayed. In “Group 2”, a maximum of 4 devices can be selected. In this case, the theater room has only the above 3 devices belonging to “Group 2” (home appliances). Since the device is installed and the device is registered only in the command buttons 110, 111 and 113, nothing is displayed on the surface of the command button 112.

  In step SP7, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether any device has been selected from a maximum of four devices. The control unit of the remote control device (1) selects a command button corresponding to any device by operating the sub-direction key 54 in the direction a or b, and operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c. (2) whether any of the command buttons 93 to 96 and 110 to 113 constituting the touch panel 58 corresponding to one of the devices is pressed, or (3) a third function button ( F3) 22, fourth function button (F4) 23, fifth function button (F5) 24, and sixth function button (F6) 25 are used to determine whether or not there is a device selection instruction.

  When the operator performs any of the operations (1) to (3), the determination result in step SP7 is “YES”, and the control unit of the remote control device shifts to the remote control mode, and the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. Displays a device operation screen for operating the selected device. Here, a specific display example of the liquid crystal panel 58 when a device is selected will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15A is the same as FIG. 10A, that is, the operator stays in the living room, operates the remote control device to set the device to the device selection mode, and “group 1”. It is an example of the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 when it is set as the state which selected. It is assumed that the liquid crystal television 71 was selected when the device selection mode was last changed to the remote control mode. Accordingly, the LED mark 93a displayed on the upper left corner of the command button 93 is displayed in a blinking manner, and the LED mark 94a displayed on the upper left corner of the command button 94 and the upper right corner of each of the command buttons 95 and 96 are displayed. The displayed LED marks 95a and 96a are continuously displayed.

  In such a state, if the operator selects the operation of the liquid crystal television 71 by any one of the operations (1) to (3), for example, the screen shown in FIG. Is displayed. In FIG. 15B, the LED mark 120 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “liquid crystal television” indicating that the liquid crystal television 71 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 120, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 120 is displayed blinking. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of six command buttons 121 to 126 in three rows and two columns, and a page display 127. On the command buttons 121 to 126, characters “program guide”, “program information”, “AV position”, “back program guide”, “data link (d)”, and “3-digit input” are displayed, respectively.

  A command button 121 having a “program guide” displayed on the surface is for displaying an EPG on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 in order to search for a desired program of digital broadcasting or make a reservation. The command button 122 having “program information” displayed on the front surface is for displaying detailed information on the digital broadcast program being viewed on the display of the liquid crystal television 71. The command button 123 with “AV position” displayed on the front surface is stored in a storage unit (not shown) constituting the liquid crystal television 71 in accordance with the brightness of the living room where the liquid crystal television 71 is installed and the content of the reproduced video. This is for displaying on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 a setting screen relating to “AV position” which is a function for setting the stored video / audio to a desired one.

  The command button 124 with “back program guide” displayed on the front surface displays a back program guide composed of EPGs on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 when the user wants to know other programs of the digital broadcast while watching the program with the digital broadcast. It is for making it happen. The command button 125 having “data link (d)” displayed on the surface displays a data broadcast screen linked to the program on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 when there is a data broadcast linked to the digital broadcast program. belongs to. The command button 126 having “3-digit input” displayed on the front side is for inputting a 3-digit channel number and selecting a desired digital broadcast program. Further, the display of “¼” in the page display 127 indicates that the adjustable function of the liquid crystal television 71 is divided into four pages, and the screen is the first page.

  On the other hand, when the screen shown in FIG. 15A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the operator selects the operation of the DVD recorder 72 by any one of the above operations (1) to (3), For example, a screen shown in FIG. 15C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. In FIG. 15C, the LED mark 130 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “DVD recorder” indicating that the DVD recorder 72 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 130, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 130 blinks. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of six command buttons 131 to 136 in three rows and two columns, and a page display 137. On the command buttons 132, 133, 135, and 136, characters "Replay", "Zoom", "Skip 30 seconds", and "Chapter mark" are displayed, respectively.

  The command button 131 is a button for instructing frame advance one frame each time the button is pressed during pause. The command button 132 having “Replay” displayed on the front surface is a button instructed to be reproduced from a scene about 10 seconds before by being pressed in order to immediately reproduce a missed scene. The command button 133 with “zoom” displayed on the front surface is a button that is pressed to instruct an enlarged display of the currently reproduced screen by digital image processing. The command button 134 is a button for instructing to return a frame one frame each time it is pressed during pause. The command button 135 having “30-second skip” displayed on the front surface is a button that is pressed to instruct to move to a screen that has been advanced 30 seconds from the screen currently being played. The command button 136 having a “chapter mark” displayed on the front surface is a button for instructing insertion of a chapter at a desired position of the image data being reproduced when pressed. Further, the display of “1/4” in the page display 137 indicates that the adjustable function of the DVD recorder 72 is divided into four pages, and the screen is the first page.

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step SP7 is “NO”, that is, if the operator has not selected any device from a maximum of four selectable devices, the control unit of the remote control device Proceed to step SP8. In step SP8, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether or not the color button 31 provided on the upper body 1a of the remote control device has been pressed. As described above, the blue button 27, the red button 28, the green button 29, and the yellow button 30 constituting the color button 31 are respectively displayed at the upper left corner and the upper right corner of the four command buttons displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. The blue LED mark, the red LED mark, the green LED mark, and the yellow LED mark correspond to each other. Accordingly, when the operator presses the yellow button 30 to turn on the power of the DVD recorder 72 in the state where the screen shown in FIG. 10B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, for example, the determination result of step SP8 Becomes “YES”, and the controller of the remote control device proceeds to step SP9.

In step SP9, the control unit of the remote control device creates a power code signal for turning on / off the power of the device corresponding to the pressed color button 31, and is provided at the upper ends of the upper body 1a and the lower body 1b. After transmitting a remote control signal corresponding to the power code signal from the LED (not shown), the process proceeds to step SP10. In this case, since the operator has pressed the yellow button 30, the control unit of the remote control device creates a power code signal for turning on the power of the DVD recorder 72 corresponding to the yellow button 30. A remote control signal corresponding to the power code signal is transmitted from an LED (not shown) provided at the upper end of the lower body 1b. In step SP10, the control unit of the remote control device resets a timer set in the process of step SP12 described later, and then returns to step SP2.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step SP8 is “NO”, that is, if none of the color buttons 31 provided on the upper body 1a of the remote control device is pressed, the control unit of the remote control device Proceed to SP11. In step SP11, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether or not the device button 26 provided on the upper body 1a of the remote control device has been pressed. If the determination result in step SP11 is “YES”, the control unit of the remote control device proceeds to step SP12.

  In step SP12, the control unit of the remote control device sets a timer for counting a predetermined time TA, and then proceeds to step SP13. The predetermined time TA can be set by the operator between 0 and 9 seconds, for example. In step SP13, the control unit of the remote control device determines whether or not the predetermined time TA has elapsed. If the determination result in step SP13 is “NO”, the control unit of the remote control device does nothing and returns to step SP2. On the other hand, if the determination result in step SP13 is “YES”, that is, if the predetermined time TA has elapsed, the control unit of the remote control device transitions to the remote control mode. If the determination result in step SP11 is “NO”, that is, if the device button 26 provided on the upper body 1a of the remote control device is not pressed, the control unit of the remote control device goes to step SP2. Return.

  In the above, the power source of the remote control device is turned on, and as shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 2 is arranged on the left side of the main body at about 90 degrees with respect to the main body so that it can be easily used by a right-handed operator. The explanation is based on the premise that they are fixed at an angle. However, in the above description, the power source of the remote control device is turned on, and as shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 2 is arranged on the right side of the main body with respect to the main body so that it can be easily used by the left-handed operator. The same applies to the case of fixing at an angle of degrees.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the devices installed for each room (scene) are classified, and each device is classified into a group in each room, and the liquid crystal panel 58 is in the device selection mode. Is displayed. The name of each group is displayed on the tab. For this reason, the devices installed in each room (scene) are easy to understand at a glance, and it does not take time and effort to select up to 16 devices. Therefore, the operability of this remote control device is good.

  Further, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the sub direction key 54 is provided and the operation unit 2 is fixed in a usable state (see FIG. 2A or FIG. 3A), The vertical direction along the end side surface of the disc-shaped portion 51 (directions a and b in FIGS. 2A, 3A and 5) and the direction toward the end side surface (FIG. 2A). 3 (a) and FIG. 5 (c direction). Therefore, the operator can easily perform a blind touch and has good operability because the operator moves the finger only in two directions, ie, the vertical direction and the direction toward the end side surface. In addition, there is no burden on the finger. Further, in the case of a conventional cursor button, the operation direction of the cursor button and the movement direction of the focus are parallel, but the sub-direction key 54 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is operated by operating the finger up and down. , The focus moves in a zigzag manner, which makes it interesting.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment described above, the current use state is that the power source of the remote control device is turned on, and as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. The case where it is fixed at an angle of 90 degrees is described. However, the present invention is not limited to the first embodiment described above, and can be applied to the case where the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c as shown in FIG.
First, as a premise, it is assumed that the operator has stored the operation unit 2 in the storage space 1c in the device selection mode and in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 10A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. In this case, the device button 26, the first function button (F1) 15, the second function button (F2) 16, the third function button (F3) 22, the fourth function button (F4) 23, the first function button 26, and the like constituting the upper body 1a. The LEDs provided below the 5 function button (F5) 24 and the sixth function button (F6) 25 are lit in a blinking manner. In addition, the LEDs provided below the blue button 27, red button 28, green button 29, and yellow button 30 constituting the upper body 1a are continuously lit, and other buttons constituting the upper body 1a The LEDs provided at the respective lower portions are turned off, and nothing is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58.

  Further, tabs 92 and 97 of the screen shown in FIG. 10A displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, command buttons 93, 96, 94 and 96, a first function button (F1) 15 constituting the upper body 1a, The correspondence relationship between the second function button (F2) 16, the third function button (F3) 22, the fourth function button (F4) 23, the fifth function button (F5) 24, and the sixth function button (F6) 25 is as follows. The operation unit 2 is configured so as not to be changed between the case where the operation unit 2 is usable and the case where the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c.

In the state where the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c, among the blue LED 57a, red LED 57b, green LED 57c and yellow LED 57d constituting the operation unit 2, the one corresponding to the currently selected device blinks. Is configured to do. In this case, until the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c, the screen shown in FIG. 10A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, and “Scene 1”, “Group 1”, and “Group 1” are displayed. It is assumed that “Liquid Crystal Television” is selected from “Liquid Crystal Television”, “VTR”, and “BS / CS Tuner” belonging to
In FIG. 10A, since the blue LED mark 93a is displayed at the upper left corner of the command button 93 having “LCD TV” displayed on the surface, when the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c. The control unit of the remote control device causes the blue LED 57a to blink.

  In this state, the operator selects the third function button (F3) 22, the fourth function button (F4) 23, the fifth function button (F5) 24, or the sixth function button (F6). This can be done by pressing 25. The operator can switch the group by pressing the first function button (F1) 15 or the second function button (F2) 16.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in the state where the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c, scene switching cannot be performed unlike the first embodiment described above. Even in the state, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those in the first embodiment described above with respect to the selection of a maximum of eight devices. The idea of the second embodiment comes from the fact that it is considered that there are usually about six items that a person can recognize a pattern and memorize at one time. That is, the arrangement of the six selection items displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the arrangement of the buttons provided on the upper main body 1a are made to correspond one-to-one, and the correspondence relationship between the LED mark and the color of the LED, By emphasizing with the blinking display, even when the operation unit 2 is stored in the storage space 1c, the operation unit 2 can be operated without a sense of incompatibility as in the case where the operation unit 2 is in a usable state. Therefore, even if a remote control target device (for example, VTR) having the same function but different from the desired remote control target device (for example, DVD recorder) is selected by mistake, the operator of the remote control device can Since the device that can be operated can be grasped immediately, the VTR operates without operating the DVD recorder even though the DVD recorder is intended to be operated, so there is no confusion. Further, according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, good operability can be obtained even when the screen size of the liquid crystal panel 58 constituting the operation unit 2 is small.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the remote control device is mainly set to the device selection mode has been described. However, in Embodiment 3, the operation when the remote control device is set to the remote control mode is described. The method will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as a premise, the current use state is that the power source of this remote control device is turned on, and the operation unit 2 is fixed on the left side of the main body at an angle of about 90 degrees as shown in FIG. It is assumed that In the device selection mode, the operator selects the operation of the liquid crystal television 71 by any one of the above operations (1) to (3) while the screen shown in FIG. 15A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. Thus, it is assumed that the mode is changed to the remote control mode, and the screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, for example, as in FIG.

  In FIG. 16A, the LED mark 120 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “liquid crystal television” indicating that the liquid crystal television 71 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 120, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 120 blinks for a predetermined period (for example, 5 seconds) after transitioning to the remote control mode. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of six command buttons 121 to 126 in three rows and two columns, and a page display 127. On the command buttons 121 to 126, characters “program guide”, “program information”, “AV position”, “back program guide”, “data link (d)”, and “3-digit input” are displayed, respectively.

  The meanings of the command buttons 121 to 126 and the page display 127 shown in FIG. 16A are the same as the meanings of the command buttons 121 to 126 and the page display 127 shown in FIG. Omitted. Further, in FIG. 16A, a selection state display unit 99 is displayed substantially at the center. The meanings of the collar part 100, the upper end ring part 101, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part 103 constituting the selection state display part 99 are as follows: the collar part 100, the upper end ring part 101, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part shown in FIG. Since this is the same as the meaning of 103, its description is omitted. In FIG. 16A, the lower end ring portion 104 is not provided at the lower end of the collar portion 100 because two or more pages are prepared as will be described later.

  In such a state, each function is selected by selecting (i) a command button corresponding to one of the functions by operating the sub-direction key 54 in the a direction or the b direction, and c of the sub direction key 54. It is determined by an operation in the direction, or (ii) performed by pressing one of the command buttons 121 to 126 constituting the touch panel 58 corresponding to one of the functions.

Hereinafter, of the above methods (i) and (ii), the method (i) will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 16A, the collar 100 so that the crossbar 102 and the circle 103 (hereinafter referred to as “pointer”) constituting the selection state display unit 99 face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 121. Thus, a state in which the command button 121 is selected is displayed.
Next, in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 16B, the screen is changed to a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 124, whereby the command button 124, that is, A state in which “back program guide” is selected is displayed.

  Thereafter, when the operator sequentially operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed to the method shown in FIG. Similarly to the case described with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13C, a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 122, and the pointer A screen indicating that the command button 125 is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 125, and a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 123 Then, the screen shown in FIG. 16C is sequentially changed to a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 126. As a result, when the command button 122 is selected, that is, when “program information” is selected as a function to be operated, and when the command button 125 is selected, that is, “data linkage (d)” is selected as a function to be operated. Is selected, the command button 123 is selected, that is, the “AV position” is selected as the function to be operated, and the command button 126 shown in FIG. 16C is selected, that is, The state in which “3-digit input” is selected as the function to be operated is sequentially displayed.

  Next, in a state where the screen shown in FIG. 16C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. The overall configuration is changed from that shown in FIG. 16 to that shown in FIG. 17A, and the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 141. The screen is changed to display the state where the command button 141 is selected, that is, the state where “TV” is selected as the function to be operated.

  Here, FIG. 17A will be described. In FIG. 17A, the LED mark 120 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “liquid crystal television” indicating that the liquid crystal television 71 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 120, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 120 is displayed blinking. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of six command buttons 141 to 146 in three rows and two columns, and a page display 147. On the command buttons 141 to 146, characters "TV", "Data", "Operation switching", "Radio", "Two screens", and "Voice switching" are displayed, respectively.

  The command button 141 with “TV” displayed on the front surface is operated when selecting a TV from among TV, radio, and data that can be viewed as media in digital broadcasting. The command button 142 with “data” displayed on the front surface is operated when selecting data among television, radio, and data that can be viewed as media in digital broadcasting. Each time the command button 143 with “operation switch” displayed on the front surface is pressed, in the two-screen display in which two different images are simultaneously displayed on the display of the liquid crystal television 71, switching of the operable screen is alternately performed. It is what is instructed.

  The command button 144 with “radio” displayed on the front surface is operated when a radio is selected from television, radio, and data that can be viewed as media in digital broadcasting. The command button 145 having “two screens” displayed on the front surface is alternately instructed to display two screens for displaying two different images simultaneously on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 and non-display each time the button is pressed. It is. Each time the command button 146 with “voice switching” displayed on the front side is pressed during dual audio broadcasting, stereo broadcasting, or monaural broadcasting, “main audio (dubbed Japanese)”, “sub audio ( Foreign language) ”and“ main voice + sub voice ”are sequentially indicated. The display “2/4” in the page display 147 indicates that the adjustable function of the liquid crystal television 71 is divided into four pages, and the screen is the second page.

  In FIG. 17A, a selection state display unit 99 is displayed at substantially the center. The meanings of the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part 103 constituting the selection state display part 99 are the same as the meanings of the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part 103 shown in FIG. Description is omitted. In FIG. 17 (a), the upper end ring portion 101 is not provided at the upper end of the collar portion 100, and the lower end ring portion 104 is not provided at the lower end. This is because one page is prepared and, as will be described later, the third and subsequent pages are prepared.

  When the screen shown in FIG. 17A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator sequentially operates the sub-direction key 54 in the b direction shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. In the same manner as in the case where the method (A) is described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13C, the pointer faces the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 144. The screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100, the screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 142, and the pointer is the upper end of the command button 145. FIG. 17 shows a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity, a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 143, and FIG. The pointer shown in b) is sequentially changed to the screen indicating that it is connected to the rod portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end portion of the command button 146. As a result, the command button 144 is selected, that is, “radio” is selected as the function to be operated, and the command button 142 is selected, that is, “data” is selected as the function to be operated. When the command button 145 is selected, that is, when “two screens” is selected as the function to be operated, and when the command button 143 is selected, that is, when “operation switching” is selected as the function to be operated. The state in which the command button 146 shown in FIG. 17B is selected, that is, the state in which “voice switching” is selected as the function to be operated is sequentially displayed.

  Next, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 17B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. The overall structure is changed from that shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B to that shown in FIG. 17C, and the collar 100 is set so that the pointer faces the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 151. As a result, the screen indicating that the command button 151 has been selected, that is, the state in which “screen size” has been selected as the function to be operated is displayed.

  Here, FIG. 17C will be described. In FIG. 17C, the LED mark 120 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “liquid crystal television” indicating that the liquid crystal television 71 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 120, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 120 is displayed blinking. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of six command buttons 151 to 156 in three rows and two columns, and a page display 157. On the command buttons 151 to 156, characters “screen size”, “caption”, “GR”, “menu”, “digital registration”, and “virtual surround” are displayed, respectively.

  The command button 151 with “screen size” displayed on the front surface is used to switch the screen size of the image displayed on the display of the liquid crystal television 71 to “normal”, “wide”, “cinema”, or “full”. Is used to display the screen size switching menu used in the above on the display of the liquid crystal television 71. Here, “normal” means that an image having a normal screen size (aspect ratio; 4 (horizontal): 3 (vertical)) is displayed with the screen size as it is. “Wide” means that an image having a normal screen size (aspect ratio: 4 (horizontal): 3 (vertical)) is enlarged and displayed on the screen size of the display of the liquid crystal television 71. “Cinema” refers to an image of a liquid crystal television 71 that displays an image having a cinemascope (trade name) size (aspect ratio; 2.35 (2.55) (horizontal): 1 (vertical)) or an aspect ratio of 16: 9. This means that the screen size is enlarged and displayed. “Full” means that an image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 originally compressed into an image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is enlarged and displayed on the screen size of the display of the liquid crystal television 71.

  Each time the command button 152 with “subtitles” displayed on the front is pressed, it is instructed alternately to display and hide subtitles in a program with subtitles. Each time the command button 153 with “GR” displayed on the front surface is pressed, the operation of the ghost reduction function that reduces the ghost of the terrestrial analog broadcast channel that is difficult to see due to the occurrence of the ghost and the non-operation are alternately performed. It is what is instructed.

  Each time the command button 154 with “Menu” displayed on the front surface is pressed, the liquid crystal television 71 has a menu screen that is used for image adjustment of the liquid crystal television 71 and adjustment of various adjustment items such as horizontal and vertical positions. The display in the OSD (On Screen Display) display format and the non-display are alternately instructed. The command button 155 with “digital registration” displayed on the front surface shows each medium (TV, radio, data) of each digital broadcasting network (terrestrial digital broadcasting, BS broadcasting, CS broadcasting, etc.) in FIG. This is for registering in the channel button 32 and confirming the registered digital channel. Each time the command button 156 with “virtual surround” displayed on the front surface is pressed, the virtual sound and sound radiated from the speaker constituting the liquid crystal television 71 is made to be full of power and presence like a movie theater. The operation of the surround function and the non-operation are instructed alternately. Further, the display “3/4” in the page display 157 indicates that the adjustable function of the liquid crystal television 71 is divided into four pages, and the screen is the third page.

  Further, in FIG. 17C, a selection state display unit 99 is displayed substantially at the center. The meanings of the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part 103 constituting the selection state display part 99 are the same as the meanings of the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, and the white circle part 103 shown in FIG. Description is omitted. In FIG. 17C, the upper end ring portion 101 is not provided at the upper end of the collar portion 100, and the lower end ring portion 104 is not provided at the lower end. However, as described above, This is because one page is prepared and, as will be described later, the third and subsequent pages are prepared.

  When the screen shown in FIG. 17C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator sequentially operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. In the same manner as in the case described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13C in the method (A), the pointer faces the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 154. A screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100, a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 152, and an upper end of the command button 155. FIG. 18 shows a screen showing that it is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity, a screen showing that the pointer is connected to the collar 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 153, and FIG. The pointer shown in a) is sequentially changed to the screen indicating that it is connected to the rod portion 100 so as to face the vicinity of the lower end portion of the command button 156. As a result, the command button 154 is selected, that is, “menu” is selected as the function to be operated, and the command button 152 is selected, that is, “subtitles” is selected as the function to be operated. , A state in which the command button 155 is selected, that is, a state in which “digital registration” is selected as a function to be operated, a state in which the command button 153 is selected, that is, a state in which “GR” is selected as a function to be operated, and The state in which the command button 156 shown in FIG. 18A is selected, that is, the state in which “virtual surround” is selected as the function to be operated is sequentially displayed.

  Next, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 18A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. The overall configuration is changed from that shown in FIGS. 17 (c) and 18 (a) to that shown in FIG. 18 (b), and the pointer is positioned so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 161. The screen is changed to a screen indicating that it is connected to the unit 100, and thereby, a state where the command button 161 is selected, that is, a state where “i.LINK” is selected as a function to be operated is displayed.

  Here, FIG. 18B will be described. In FIG. 18B, the LED mark 120 is displayed on the upper left portion of the liquid crystal panel 58, and the characters “liquid crystal television” indicating that the liquid crystal television 71 is selected are displayed on the right side of the LED mark 120, respectively. At the same time, the LED mark 120 is displayed blinking. The liquid crystal panel 58 displays a total of three command buttons 161 to 163 in two rows and two columns, and a page display 164. On the command buttons 161 to 163, characters “i. LINK”, “multi audio switching”, and “video switching” are respectively displayed. In FIG. 18B, unlike FIG. 18A and the like, only the three command buttons 161 to 163 are displayed because the liquid crystal television 71 should be registered in addition to a total of 21 functions. This is because there is no function.

  The command button 161 having “i. I. Used to transfer multimedia data such as digital video and digital audio with a device having a LINK terminal (for example, a D-VHS video deck). This is for displaying the LINK operation panel on the display of the liquid crystal television 71. Here, “i.LINK” is a name of IEEE 1394 and is an international standard standardized by IEEE (American Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers). Each time the command button 162 with “multi voice switching” displayed on the front is pressed, the voice switching is sequentially instructed in a program having a plurality of voices (up to eight). Each time the command button 163 having “video switching” displayed on the front surface is pressed, the video switching is sequentially instructed in a program having a plurality of videos (up to four). Further, the display “4/4” in the page display 164 indicates that the adjustable function of the liquid crystal television 71 is divided into four pages, and the screen is the fourth page. Further, in FIG. 18B, a selection state display unit 99 is displayed substantially at the center. The meanings of the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, the white circle part 103, and the lower end ring part 104 constituting the selection state display part 99 are as follows: the heel part 100, the crosspiece part 102, the white circle part 103, and the lower end ring part shown in FIG. Since it is the same as the meaning of 104, the description is omitted. In FIG. 17C, the upper end ring portion 101 is not provided at the upper end of the collar portion 100 because the first to third pages are prepared as described above.

  When the screen shown in FIG. 18B is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, when the operator sequentially operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. Is similar to the case of (A) described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C and FIGS. 13A to 13C, the pointer faces the vicinity of the lower end of the command button 163. As shown in FIG. 18, a screen indicating that the user is connected to the collar unit 100 and a screen indicating that the pointer illustrated in FIG. 18C is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 162 are sequentially displayed. Be changed. As a result, when the command button 163 is selected, that is, when “video switching” is selected as a function to be operated, and when the command button 162 shown in FIG. 18C is selected, that is, a function that operates. The state in which “multi-voice switching” is selected is sequentially displayed.

  Next, when the operator operates the sub direction key 54 in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 18C is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is displayed. 18 (b) and 18 (c) is changed to that shown in FIG. 16 (a), and the collar 100 is set so that the pointer faces the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 121. As a result, the screen indicating that the command button 121 has been selected, that is, the state in which “program guide” has been selected as the function to be operated is displayed.

  On the other hand, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction a shown in FIG. 2A while the screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is The screen is changed to the screen shown in FIG. Hereinafter, as the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction a shown in FIG. 2A, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is the screen shown in FIG. 18B, the screen shown in FIG. 17 (c), FIG. 17 (b), FIG. 17 (a), FIG. 16 (c), FIG. 16 (b), and FIG. 16 (a). The screen will be changed sequentially.

  Accordingly, for example, when the screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 continuously six times in the direction b shown in FIG. 2A. As a result, the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 is changed to a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 141 as shown in FIG. The command button 141, that is, the state in which “TV” is selected is displayed. Thereafter, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, the function corresponding to the command button 141, that is, among the television, radio, and data that can be viewed as media in digital broadcasting, The function of selecting the television is executed.

  On the other hand, for example, when the screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58, the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 once in the direction a shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 18C, the screen of the panel 58 is changed to a screen indicating that the pointer is connected to the collar unit 100 so as to face the vicinity of the upper end of the command button 162. 162, that is, a state in which “multi-audio switching” is selected is displayed. Thereafter, when the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the direction c shown in FIG. 2A, the function corresponding to the command button 162, that is, the switching of the sound in a program having a plurality of sounds (up to 8) is performed. The function of sequentially instructing is executed.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, there are more selection items such as functions that can be selected than the number of items that can be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 at a time, and selection items that are not currently displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 are selected. In this case, the operator operates the sub-direction key 54 in the a direction or the b direction shown in FIG. 2A to cause the pointer constituted by the crosspiece portion 102 and the round portion 103 to reach the top or bottom. Thereafter, if the sub-direction key 54 is operated once more in the direction a or b shown in FIG. 2A, the previous page or the next page can be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58. This operation can be called “page scroll”. In this case, the display arrangement of the selection items in each page is fixed, and is not changed even if the pointer is scrolled.

  The idea of the third embodiment is that, as in the second embodiment described above, it is considered that there are usually about six items that a person can recognize a pattern and store at one time. That is, on the liquid crystal panel 58, six selection items are displayed for each page with their arrangement positions fixed, and even if page scrolling is performed, the arrangement positions of the six selection items are not changed. Therefore, the operator can display a desired selection item on the liquid crystal panel 58 with a small number of operations. In this case, since the arrangement position of the selection item is fixed, the operator can easily find the desired selection item in a short time and can obtain good operability.

  In the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, the selection state display unit 99 is displayed at the approximate center on the liquid crystal panel 58, and the currently selected command button is the above-mentioned cross bar unit. 102 and a pointer composed of a circle 103. Further, the upper end ring part 101 and the lower end ring part 104 indicate the beginning and end of the page, respectively. Further, a page display 127 is displayed on the lower right portion of the liquid crystal panel 58.

  Therefore, the operator can grasp what page the screen currently displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 is, and what position each selection item and highlight display is located in the whole. Since the positional relationship between the currently selected and highlighted selection item and the selection item desired to be selected can be grasped, the desired selection item can be reached by operating the sub-direction key 54 more times. It ’s safe to know what to do. In addition, since any of the selection items constituting the list does not shift the display position on the liquid crystal panel 58 even if the sub-direction key 54 is operated, the operator can store the display position and the operability is good. is there. As a result, even when there are many selectable selection items, the operator can grasp the display position in the list of each selection item at a glance, and there is a sense of security. A selection item can be selected.

  Further, according to the third embodiment, the collar part 100 is provided on the line of sight to be moved in the vertical direction of the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 in order to search for a desired selection item, and at the upper and lower ends of the collar part 100. An upper end ring portion 101 indicating the first page and a lower end ring portion 104 indicating the last page are provided. Therefore, the operator can check whether there are other pages before and after the page currently displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 without changing the line of sight. As a result, the operator can select a desired item in a short time, and the operability is good.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
In each of the above-described embodiments, examples in which the names of scenes and groups are indicated by abstract “scene 1”, “group 1”, and the like have been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, “scene 1” and “scene 2” may be changed to specific room names such as “living room” and “theater room”. Similarly, “Group 1” and “Group 2” can be changed to “AV device system” and “Home appliance system” for each type of device, or depending on the purpose of use, for example, as shown in FIG. Further, it may be configured to be changeable to “TV” indicating a combination of AV devices when a television receiver is used as an image display device and “projector” indicating a combination of AV devices when a projector is used as an image display device. good. In this case, the same device may be registered double or triple in different groups. The same applies to the following.

  Also, the arrangement positions on the screen of the liquid crystal panel 58 of the four devices constituting each group may be set in common with each group by defining a certain rule. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, for a command button in the first column and first row, a video display device, for a command button in the first column and second row, a video playback device, and for a command button in the second column and first row, Other devices (“air conditioner” in the example of FIG. 19) may be arranged for the audio device and the command button in the second column and the second row.

  Further, each group may be assigned to each operator of the remote control device, and the devices mainly used by each operator may be registered. An example of registration is shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. In FIG. 21A, the only characters used are hiragana and katakana because the operator “Yuta” is a kindergarten or elementary school lower grade. In this case, what is necessary is just to comprise so that it can change according to the said operator's comprehension degree also about the name of each function at the time of selecting each apparatus. In the example of FIG. 21B, when the DVD recorder is selected, the name of the command button for instructing playback of the DVD is “view”, and the name of the command button for instructing repeat playback of the DVD is “view again”. In addition, the command button for instructing to increase the volume is “to increase the man” and the command button for instructing to decrease the volume is to “increase the man”, and the command for instructing to stop playing the DVD. It indicates that the button name is registered in “Stop”. On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 21C, when an air conditioner is selected, the name of the command button for instructing to turn on the air conditioner is "I" and the name of the command button for instructing to turn off the air conditioner is "Stop". In addition, the name of the command button for instructing an increase in the set temperature is registered as “Attack”, and the name of the command button for instructing a decrease in the set temperature is registered in “Samukuru”.

  Thus, according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the names, groups, and names of scenes, groups, devices, or functions of devices according to the memory ability, familiarity, or understanding level of the remote control device operator as much as possible. The division can be set. Therefore, usability is further improved.

The embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the scope of the invention. Are also included in the present invention.
For example, in Embodiments 1 and 3 described above, an example is shown in which characters corresponding to devices and functions that can be remotely operated are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 2 that constitutes the operation unit 2. You may comprise so that a character may be displayed on the display part provided in the upper main body 1a.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the sub direction key 54 is attached to the side surface of the end portion 51b opposite to the cubic portion 52 of the disc-like portion 51. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, in a state where the operation unit 2 can be used, it is a side surface (see FIGS. 2C and 3B) of the main body 1 opposite to the side from which the operation unit 2 is taken out, and the constricted portion 1aa. It may be provided in the vicinity.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the operation unit 2 is configured to be stored in the storage space 1c formed between the upper main body 1a and the lower main body 1b. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-175800, the operation unit 2 is configured to be rotatably attached to the upper surface of the upper body 1a, or conversely, to be rotatable to the lower surface of the lower body 1b. You may make it the structure which attaches.

In the first and third embodiments described above, an example is shown in which “characters” corresponding to devices and functions that can be remotely operated are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 2 that constitutes the operation unit 2. Display device information and function information corresponding to the device, for example, a name, common name, symbol, code or other character string, figure (icon) for identifying the corresponding device or function, or a combination thereof. It may be configured. Among these, as a figure, for example, a mark indicating the external shape of a device such as a television receiver or a DVD recorder, a mark indicating the external shape of a storage medium such as a cassette or a disk in a device using a recording medium, an antenna, etc. A device using an accessory device includes a mark representing the external shape of the accessory device, and a crime prevention system or the like includes a symbol symbolically indicating that a thief is prevented from entering.
In the first embodiment described above, an example is shown in which scenes are assigned according to the installation location of devices and each device is classified into two groups for each scene. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, scenes may be assigned according to the operator, season, time of day (morning, noon, night), or may be classified into three or four groups for each scene.

In the first embodiment described above, an example is shown in which scene switching is performed by pressing the page switching button 61 constituting the operation unit 2 or by pressing and holding the sub-direction key 54 in the c direction. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a character for guiding switching to another scene may be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and the touch panel 59 may be pressed by pressing a corresponding part.
Further, in the above-described third embodiment, the arrangement position of the selection item on each page is always fixed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the selection item in the page is selected for each page. The selected items may be rearranged according to the frequency or priority set by the operator, etc., or the selection frequency of the selected items including all pages or the priority set by the operator, etc. Thus, the selection items may be rearranged. With this configuration, the selection items with the selected frequency and the higher priority are automatically arranged on the upper page of the page or the page with a smaller page number, so that the number of operations is further reduced and the operability is improved. Will improve.
In the third embodiment described above, an example is shown in which a total of six command buttons of 3 rows and 2 columns are displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 at a time, but the number of command buttons displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 at a time is shown. The arrangement is not limited to this, and it may be 6 rows and 1 column, 2 rows and 3 columns, 1 row and 6 columns, or the like.

In the third embodiment described above, an example in which the present invention is applied to a remote control device capable of remotely controlling a plurality of devices is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to a prepared remote control device.
In Embodiment 3 described above, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to the case where one function is selected from a plurality of functions. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to a plurality of apparatuses. The present invention can also be applied when selecting a function or selecting one function from a plurality of functions to be set in the remote control device itself.
In the above-described third embodiment, the operation of the adjacent command button, that is, the one-line scroll, is usually performed by operating the sub-direction key 54 in the a direction or the b direction. Long press (for example, long press of the sub direction key 54 in the a direction or b direction), simultaneous pressing of any two buttons, while pressing any one button, the a direction or b direction of the sub direction key 54 It may be configured such that the page scroll can be switched by the operation of. If comprised in this way, the frequency | count of operation will be reduced further and operativity will improve.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the currently selected tab or command button is displayed using the selection state display unit 99 displayed in the approximate center of the liquid crystal panel 58 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Instead, the tab itself or the command button itself may be highlighted or blinked without using the selection state display unit 99.
Moreover, in Embodiment 3 mentioned above, you may comprise as shown below. That is, six color LED marks are displayed in each of the display areas of a total of six command buttons displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 for each page, and six colors corresponding to the six color LED marks are displayed on the main body. LED is provided. Then, the LED mark of the selected command button and the display state of the corresponding LED (for example, blinking display and blinking lighting) are changed to the LED mark of the other unselected command button and the display state of the corresponding LED (for example, , Continuous display and continuous lighting). In this case, even if the page is switched, the relationship between the total of six LED marks of each command button, the relationship between the six LEDs, and the correspondence between the six LED marks and the six LEDs are as follows. maintain. With this configuration, it is possible to recognize at a glance which function is currently selected, and the operability is good.

In the above-described third embodiment, the upper end ring portion 101 indicating the first page and the lower end ring portion 104 indicating the last page are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The first page and the last page may be indicated using symbols of any shape such as an ellipse, rectangle, diamond, triangle, double circle, etc., and the first page and the last page have different shapes You may show using the symbol of.
Moreover, in Embodiment 3 mentioned above, one of the functions of the liquid crystal television 71 shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 can actually be set hierarchically. Some functions of the remote control device itself can be set hierarchically. These functions are configured such that the lower layer functions are sequentially displayed on the liquid crystal panel 58 and can be selected. Therefore, these functions may be configured so that the movement limit of the pointer is displayed in a different display form for each layer. For example, the first layer uses a single circle symbol to represent the movement limits of the first and last page pointers, and the second layer defines the movement limits of the first and last page pointers. A double circle shape symbol is used as a representation, and the third layer uses a triple circle shape symbol as a representation of the movement limit of the pointer of the first page and the last page. On the other hand, even if the shape of the symbol is the same in each layer, the symbol may be displayed in a different color for each layer. For example, in the first layer, the round symbol is colored red, in the final layer, the round symbol is colored black, in the first layer the round symbol is white, in the second layer the round symbol is gray, In the third layer, the round symbol may be colored black.
Furthermore, in Embodiment 3 mentioned above, although the example which the collar part 100 is the same shape in every page was shown, it is not limited to this, You may comprise so that it may display with a different display form for every page. . For example, the first page has three bar shapes, the second page has two bar shapes, and the third page has one bar shape.
If comprised as mentioned above, it will become easy to recognize the beginning and the end of a page, and to recognize the page in the middle.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a tab, a command button, or a selection item is selected by operating the sub-direction key 54 in the a direction or b direction, and then determined by operating the sub-direction key 54 in the c direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after the joystick 17 is tilted upward, downward, leftward, rightward, or diagonally, a tab, command button, or selection item is selected, and then the joystick 17 is pressed in the thickness direction of the main body 1. Of course, it may be configured to be determined depending on the situation.
Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can utilize each other's technology as long as there is no particular contradiction or problem in the purpose, configuration, or the like.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure in the state in which the operation unit was accommodated in the main body in the remote control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a left view of (a), (C) is a right view of (a). It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure in the state which can use an operation unit in the remote control apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a top view, (b) is a left view of (a), (c) is (a). FIG. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure in the state which can use an operation unit in the remote control apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a top view, (b) is a left view of (a), (c) is (a). FIG. It is a top view which shows the external appearance structure in the state which removed the upper main body 1a in the remote control apparatus shown to Fig.1 (a). It is a top view which shows the external appearance structure in the state which removed the upper main body 1a in the remote control apparatus shown to Fig.2 (a). It is a partial perspective view which shows the external appearance structure in the state which can use an operation unit in the remote control apparatus shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of each apparatus arrange | positioned in the scene for demonstrating the apparatus selection process which a remote control apparatus performs. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of each apparatus arrange | positioned in the scene 2 for demonstrating the apparatus selection process which a remote control apparatus performs. It is a flowchart which shows the apparatus selection process which the remote control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention performs. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a liquid crystal panel.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 1a Upper main body 1aa Constriction part 1b Lower main body 1c Storage space 2 Operation unit 11 Power button 12 Input switching button 13 Screen display button 14 Mute button 15 First function button 16 Second function button 17 Joystick 22 Third function button 23 First 4 function buttons 24 5th function button 25 6th function button 26 equipment button 27 blue button 28 red button 29 green button 30 yellow button 31 color button 32 channel button 33 volume button 34 channel selection button 35 broadcast switching button 36 rewind button 37 Play button 38 Fast forward button 39 Skip button 40 Stop button 41 Pause button 42 Cue button 43 Record button 44 Record stop button 51 disc-shaped portion 51a through holes 51b, 51c, 51d, 52a end portion 52 cubic portion 52aa end 52ab other end 53 the shaft 54 sub direction keys 55a, 55b Hall IC
56 Magnet 57a Blue LED
57b Red LED
57c Green LED
57d Yellow LED
58 liquid crystal panel 59 touch panel 60 device switching button 61 page switching button 62 setting button 63a, 63b guide groove 64 bottomed hole 65 holding needle 66 spring 67 USB connector 71 liquid crystal television 72 DVD recorder 73 BS / CS tuner 74, 85 air conditioner 75, 86 Lighting 76,87 Air Cleaner 81 Projector 82 VTR
83 Amplifier 84 _L , 84 _R Speaker 91, 93a to 96a, 110a to 113a, 120, 130 LED mark 92, 97 Tab 93 to 96, 110 to 113, 121 to 126, 131 to 136, 141 to 146, 151 to 156 , 161-162 Command button 99 Selection state display part 100 Hook part 101 Upper end ring part 102 Crosspiece part (pointer)
103 White circle (pointer)
104 Bottom ring part 127, 137, 147, 157, 164 Page display

Claims (5)

A plurality of function information corresponding to a plurality of functions is divided into a plurality of pages and configured to be displayed on the display unit.
In the page to be displayed on the display unit, the function information is arranged and displayed in a plurality of columns,
The pointer displayed in the moving area between the columns is moved and displayed in a zigzag manner so that the function information on both sides of the moving area is changed in the column direction in order. The function information selected by the operation of the operation unit is clearly indicated, and when it is the first and last page, the movement limit of the pointer is displayed ,
The remote control device , wherein the movement limit of the pointer is displayed in a display form different from the first page and the last page . It is possible to remotely control multiple devices,
A plurality of device information corresponding to a plurality of devices to be remotely operated is divided into a plurality of pages and displayed on the display unit, and the device information is arranged in a plurality of columns on the page displayed on the display unit. Display
The pointer displayed in the movement area between the columns is moved and displayed in a zigzag manner so as to transition in the column direction while clearly indicating the device information on both sides of the movement area in order. 2. The remote control according to claim 1, wherein the device information selected by the operation of the operation unit is clearly indicated by a pointer, and the movement limit of the pointer is displayed in the case of the first and last pages. apparatus. Among the plurality of functions, a function that can be set in a hierarchical manner and that is configured so that lower layer functions are sequentially displayed on the display unit and can be selected is different for each layer. The remote control device according to claim 1 , wherein the remote control device displays in a display form. The remote control device according to claim 1 , wherein the moving area of the pointer is displayed in a different display form for each page. Said function information or the device information, the corresponding function or name to identify a device, commonly known as symbols, codes other strings, 1 to claim, characterized in that either graphic or a combination thereof 5. The remote control device according to any one of 4 .

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