JPH0296496A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a desired video or a sound by means of an intuitive operation by composing the remote controller of a television picture receiver, video/ sound equipment, etc., of a touch panel in a similar figure to a display screen, touching its surface with a finger, and moving a cursor. CONSTITUTION:An (x) direction generating diode column 15 and a (y) direction generating diode column 17 are provided on the two orthogonal sides of the periphery of a touch panel 25, and correspondingly an (x) direction light receiving photo transistor(TR) column 19 and a (y) direction light receiving photo TR column 21 are provided on the other two sides in the same way. The touch panel 25 having a conductive material 24 in four columns and three rows on an underside is spread in a surface area surrounded by the columns, and on the underside of the conductive material 24, a circuit board 27 having copper foil, for example 28 and 29, divided into four at intervals is provided. In such a way, the panel 25 part corresponding to the conductive material 24 is totally or partially shielded, the light of the shielded part is interrupted, and the cursor is moved by using the shielding result.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is a remote control device that can be used for all types of equipment that require remote control, including television receivers and other video and audio equipment, as well as consumer and industrial equipment. It is related to.

BACKGROUND ART Remote control devices have been widely used in consumer video and audio equipment such as television receivers from the viewpoint of improving operability. Furthermore, in recent years, remote control devices have been introduced into fields such as air conditioning equipment, and it is thought that they will continue to be increasingly important in all fields. The conventional remote control device described above will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a remote control device for a television receiver as a first example of the conventional system. The remote control section 1 is composed of a function switch 2 and an encoding/transmission circuit 3. The function switch 2 is provided for each operation item, and for example, when there are N operation items, the function switch 2 is composed of N switches. The encoder transmitter circuit 3 has these function switches, 7-inch open/close type? is encoded into a serial signal and then transmitted to the main unit 4.

The main body section 4 is composed of a control section 5, a controlled section 6, and a display 7, which receive and decode codes, and output control signals for executing operations. When the display 7 displays a normal TV image, it displays the changed channel number for a certain period of time. .

FIG. 4 shows a second conventional system 81 in which a cursor movement switch 8 and a determination switch 9 are provided on the remote control unit 1 in place of the function switch 2 of the first example.

In addition, the main body 4 includes a copy item storage memory 11 and an operation rJ'
Display 10 for displaying 11'U and cursor
is provided. This method is a so-called one-menu remote control method. As a means of selecting the menu displayed on the display 10 or an operation item, use the cursor movement switch 8 of the remote control section 1 to move the cursor position displayed on the same screen downwards -L to the left or right, and perform the desired operation. Match the position of the item. After that, it is decided to select the operation item with the decision switch 9, and the display 10 for displaying the 17 items and cursor to execute the operation is shared with the display 7 for displaying normal TV images in the case of a television receiver. It goes without saying that it can be done.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a method of displaying operation items and a cursor regarding the second conventional example.

This example shows 12 operation items (items 1 to 12) on one screen.
) is displayed. Since the cursor 13 is at the position of item 1, when the decision switch 9 is pressed in this state, operation item 1 is executed. In addition, when performing [operation order] ] 12, press the cursor movement switch 8 shown in Fig. 5, down, left,
Using the right switch, for example, press the right button three times, then press the down button twice to align the cursor 13 with the i39 operation item f-+ 12, and then press the decision switch 9. Each time the 7, F, left, and right switches 8 are pressed once, the cursor moves to the V-, operation order 1] position.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the remote control device described in 1-1 has the following problems.

In the first conventional example, it is necessary to provide a function switch for each operation order, so when there are many operation items, the number of switches for remote techniques and operations increases. Furthermore, it is desirable that the remote control unit be portable and cannot be made large, so if the number of function switches increases, the size of the switch operation buttons will become smaller and smaller, resulting in extremely poor operability. In the future, the functions of devices will become increasingly diverse and complex, and the number of interconnections between devices will continue to increase. In such a situation, it is considered that the first conventional example is no longer realistic.

Next, in the second conventional example, the number of switches on the remote control unit remains constant regardless of the increase in the operation order [], so the operability is considerably improved compared to the first conventional example.

However, as explained in FIG.
It is necessary to repeatedly press the right cursor movement switch 8 many times (to move from operation item 1 to 12, 3 times to the right and 2 times to the down, a total of 5 times), but it is easy to repeat. is damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a quick-displacement operation device that can particularly improve operability.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the remote control device of the present invention detects the position when an operator touches a part of the remote control section -1- with a finger or the like. a remote control unit comprising a touch position detector to perform the operation, a decision switch to decide whether or not to execute the operation, an encoding transmission circuit to encode and transmit the touch position and the determination result, and a memory for storing operation items. When the contents of the memory are read out and the operation items are displayed at each position on the display, a cursor is displayed at the position on the display corresponding to the touch position according to the content sent from the remote control unit when opening, and the operator presses the decision switch. The control unit includes a control unit that executes, on the controlled unit, an operation item located at a position that coincides with the cursor on the display when determined by , and a main unit that includes a display that displays the operation item and the cursor.

Function: With this configuration, the operator can move a cursor on the display and select an operation item by touching and moving a finger or the like on the remote control unit. Furthermore, when determining an operation item and performing a manipulation, it is sufficient to press the determination switch while holding the contact position, which improves operability.

Practical example An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the basic building block of the present invention. The remote control section 1 is composed of a touch position detector 12, a decision switch 9, and an encoding/transmission circuit 3. The main body section 4 includes a control section 5, an operation item storage memory 11, a display 10 for displaying operation items and a cursor, and a controlled section 6.

Next, FIG. 2A shows a specific example of the two contact position detection blades 12, the determination switch 9, and the remote control unit 1 incorporating these elements.
Shown in B. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the contact position detector 12 uses a so-called optical method, and consists of infrared light-emitting diode arrays 15 and 17 arranged around the case 14, and light-receiving lights arranged opposite to them. It is composed of phototransistor arrays 19 and 21, an infrared light passing filter 30 attached to the light emitting and light receiving parts, and a contact panel 25.

Further, the decision switch 9 is incorporated in the lower part of the contact panel 25, and the conductive material 24 is attached to the back surface of the contact panel 25.
and a copper foil 2 printed on a circuit board 27 and a position facing the conductive material 24 on the circuit board 27 so as to be separated and insulated from each other.
8 and 29 and a spacer 26. In FIG. 2, the number of light emitting diodes is four in the X direction and three in the Y direction. These matrices therefore allow the contact panel 25
The number of positions identified on the surface of is 12 in total. This is the fifth
As shown in the figure, 12 operation items are displayed on the display 10.
This corresponds to the case where it is displayed in .

If the maximum number of operation items displayed on one screen of the display 10 exceeds 12, the number of light emitting diodes may be increased to increase the number of position identifications.

Next, I will explain the operation. As shown in FIG. 2, when a finger touches the surface of the contact panel 25, the light from the light emitting diode 16 reaching the light receiving phototransistor 20 is blocked by the finger. On the other hand, since the light reaching the light-receiving phototransistors facing each other from the other three light-emitting diodes arranged in the X direction is not blocked, only the light-receiving phototransistor 20 is in the off state in the X direction, and the other three The unit is in the on state. Similarly, in the y direction, only the light reaching the light-receiving phototransistor 22 from the light emitting diode is blocked, and only the first light-receiving transistor 22 is turned off.

As described above, up to 12 finger contact positions can be identified and listed using the output states of the light-receiving phototransistors in the X and y directions. Further, the touch position of the finger is transmitted via the encoding transmission circuit 3 and decoded by the control section 5 of the main body section 4, and as a result is displayed as a cursor on the screen of the display 10. The display method is, for example, similar to the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, and the cursor 13 is displayed on the same screen 1 on which the operation items are displayed. Contact panel 2 for remote control
By moving the finger with L in 5, the cursor 13 can be moved to the position of the desired operation item.

Next, when determining and executing an operation item, the user should move the cursor 13 to the desired position and then press the contact panel 25 while keeping the finger in the same position. As shown in FIG. 2, a determination switch 23 is incorporated in the lower part of the contact panel 25, and as a result of pushing it in, the conductive material 24 comes into contact with the copper foils 28 and 29 printed on the circuit board 27, and they are insulated from each other. These copper foils 28 and 29, which had been connected to each other, become electrically conductive.

When these are electrically connected, the position is determined, the determination result is transmitted to the main body, and the operation is executed.

In FIG. 2, 12 determination switches are arranged corresponding to all 12 positions identified by the optical contact position detector, but this is not necessarily necessary. This is because it is already known which operation item is selected, that is, the position of the cursor by detecting the contact position, so there is no need to detect the position as a function of the decision switch. Therefore, in the structure of the decision switch, there is no need to separate them with spacers 26, and there is no need to divide the conductive material 26 in correspondence to each position.

Furthermore, the decision switch does not necessarily need to be incorporated in the lower part of the contact position detector, and may be provided separately like the switch 31. In this case, one finger is kept at the L- position 1vt of the contact panel 25, and the cursor position is maintained while pressing the switch 31 with the other finger.

Effects of the Invention As shown in 1-, by using the remote control device of the great invention, it is possible to increase the number of switches in the remote control section for multifunctional equipment.
You can respond without calling 111.

In addition, when selecting operation items displayed on the display screen with the cursor, there is no need to move the cursor one by one using the cursor movement switch as in the past. The cursor can be moved by touching the surface of the touch panel with a finger or the like, making the operation extremely intuitive for the operator, and making it possible to significantly improve operability. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a basic block diagram of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing an example of the structure of a remote control unit of the present invention incorporating a contact position detector and a decision switch. 3 is a block diagram showing a first example of a conventional remote control device, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second example of a conventional remote control device, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a first example of a conventional remote control device. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation item and cursor display of the display screen-hi in a remote control method. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Remote control unit, 2...Touch position detector, 3...Encoding transmission circuit, 4...Main unit, 5...
...Control unit, 10...Display, 11...
...Operation item storage memory. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure/-1-Shio Dazzling Sai'' (Ii-Tonkyu 3 4-1\Io (Kichi 13 4!0 Procedural Amendment Form) 1Shi October 1989 4IJ 1 Incident Indication 1988 Patent Application No. 113907 No. 2 Name of invention Person who corrects remote control device

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A contact position detector that detects the position when the operator touches a part of the remote control unit, a decision switch that determines whether or not to execute the operation, and a code that encodes the contact position and the decision result. A remote control unit includes a coded transmitting circuit that transmits the coded data, a memory that stores operation items, and a memory that reads out the contents of the memory and displays the operation items at each position on the display. A control unit that displays a cursor at a position on the display corresponding to the touch position, and executes the operation item at the position corresponding to the cursor on the display on the controlled part when the operator makes a decision using the decision switch; A remote control device that has a main body that includes a display that displays items and a cursor. (2) The contact position detector and the decision switch form a two-layer structure, and the first layer is the contact position detector and the second layer below it is the decision switch. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the operation is determined and executed by further applying weight.