JPH04277996A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize the remote controller able to cope with multi-function having excellent operability by devising the remote controller to be handled easily by one-hand operation and to display abundant picture information without a large structure. CONSTITUTION:The remote controller is featured to be provided with a grip section 2 gripped by the operator, a ball controller to detect the quantity of rotation and the direction of rotation of a ball 4 arranged in the vicinity of the grip section 2, a display screen 10 whose picture is changed in response to a detection signal of the ball controller and an input switch of a control section outputting a control section corresponding to the picture information of the display screen 10 being a pushbutton switch pressed and driven by the ball 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) used for remote control of televisions, video tape recorders, etc., and particularly to a remote control suitable for multi-functionality.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a multi-functional remote control is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1-172792. This remote control has four movement keys for moving the cursor in a specific direction, one each on the top, bottom, left and right sides of the enter key. After moving the currently displayed cursor by a predetermined amount in a predetermined direction by pressing the movement key, by pressing the enter key, a control signal corresponding to the image information displayed at the cursor position will be transmitted from the remote control. It's getting old.

In addition, the remote control itself has a display screen with a transparent touch panel, and by pressing a desired position on the touch panel with a finger, the operator can control various functions displayed in sections on the display screen. It has also been proposed that a signal be transmitted.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, the former remote control in which movement keys are arranged above, below, and to the left and right of the confirmation key,
Since five keys including the confirmation key must be operated appropriately, the amount of movement of the fingers during operation increases, which makes operability difficult, especially when the operator is inexperienced.
Another problem was that the large number of keys gave the operator a sense of psychological resistance.

On the other hand, the latter remote control, which has a display screen that displays functions in sections, requires a large area for the display screen, resulting in a large remote control, and since the touch panel is pushed in, the remote control must be firmly fixed during operation. Both of these factors impair operability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a remote control that can accommodate multiple functions and has good operability.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] It is an object of the present invention to provide a narrow grip portion for an operator to grasp, and a spherical body to be rotated and pressed by exposing the spherical body near the grip. a ball controller that detects the amount and direction of rotation of the ball controller; a display screen that changes an image in response to a detection signal from the ball controller; and a display screen that outputs a control signal corresponding to image information displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen. This is achieved by providing a push button switch which is an input switch of the control section and is pressed and driven by the above-mentioned sphere.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the above means, it is possible to operate the sphere of the ball controller with the fingers of one hand holding the grip while looking directly at the image on the display screen, resulting in extremely good operability.

[0009]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of this remote control, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a ball controller used in this remote control.

The remote control shown in these figures has an upper case 1
A part of the housing 1 formed by combining the lower case 1b and the lower case 1b is a grip part 2 formed narrowly so that it can be easily held by the operator. A sphere 4, which is an operator of the ball controller 3, is exposed. As shown in FIG. 3, this ball controller 3 includes, in addition to a sphere 4, a pair of rollers 5 and 6 that rotate in conjunction with the sphere 4 and extend in directions orthogonal to each other;
It is equipped with encoders 7 and 8 that detect the amount of rotation of the rollers 6 and a small ball 9 that biases the sphere 4 toward the rollers 5 and 6, and is slightly exposed to the outside of the housing 1. When the sphere 4 is rotated with fingers, the amount and direction of rotation can be detected.

[0012] On the front of the housing 1 of this remote control, there is a sphere 4.
In addition, a display screen 10 of a liquid crystal display is exposed. The image displayed on the display screen 10 is controlled to change according to the detection signal of the ball controller 3. For example, when the sphere 4 is rotated in the left-right direction in FIG. The name of the device being used, such as VTR, will be displayed moving in the same direction, and when the sphere 4 is rotated in the vertical direction of Figure 1, the letters indicating volume increase/decrease, TV station number, etc. will be displayed in the same direction. It will be displayed as you move. Furthermore, when recording reservation is displayed in the video mode, when this is confirmed by a control unit (not shown) built into the housing 1, the image on the display screen 10 is switched and the image is changed according to the rotation of the sphere 4. The day of the week, time slot, etc. you would like to make a reservation for will be displayed sequentially.

[0013] On the back side of the sphere 4, this sphere 4 is
A tact switch 11 is mounted on a printed wiring board 12 and is driven by pressure.
When pressed, a control signal corresponding to the image information displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen 10 at that time is outputted from the control section. In other words, the tact switch 11 is an input switch for the control section of this remote controller, and by pressing the tact switch 11,
The image information on the display screen 10 is determined, and its control signal is transmitted to the receiver via the infrared transmission filter 13 as necessary.

As described above, in the above embodiment, while the operator grasps the grip portion 2 with one hand, the operator uses the fingers (
For example, the ball 4 of the ball controller 3 can be rotated and pressed with the user's thumb, and this operation can be performed while looking at the display screen 10 at hand, resulting in extremely good operability. Also, the display screen 10 is displayed via the sphere 4.
Since the image of the remote control is changed, it is possible to display a wealth of image information without making the display screen 10 particularly large, giving a wide range of options, and thus promoting multi-functionality while avoiding the need to increase the size of the remote control. be able to. Furthermore,
Since the only operator is the sphere 4, there is an advantage that even an inexperienced operator will not feel psychological resistance.

[0015]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform one-handed operation by operating the sphere of the ball controller while grasping the grip portion, and furthermore, this operation can be performed while looking at the display screen at hand. Furthermore, it has various effects such as being able to display a wealth of image information without having to make the display screen particularly large, offering a wide range of options.As a result, it has extremely good operability and promotes multifunctionality. Therefore, it is possible to provide an excellent remote control that avoids increasing the size of the remote control.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the remote control shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a schematic plan view of a ball controller used in the remote control shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Housing 2 Grip part 3 Ball controller 4 Sphere 10 Display screen 11 Tact switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ball comprising: a narrow grip portion for an operator to grasp; and a ball to be rotated and pressed, which is exposed near the grip portion to detect the amount and direction of rotation of the sphere. a controller, a display screen whose image changes according to a detection signal from the ball controller, and an input switch for a control section that outputs a control signal corresponding to image information displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen, the sphere being 1. A remote control device comprising: a push button switch driven by pressure.