JPH04280127A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the device main body automatically to be an optimum state with one operation even when the user carrying a transmitter moves its resident location with respect to the device main body with respect to the remote controller employing an infrared ray. CONSTITUTION:When an optical signal of a pulse code sent from a transmitter 1 is received by a light receiving section 5 of a device main body 2, a light reception gain of the said light receiving section 5 is varied with a control section 6 built in the device main body 2 and repetition number of pulse codes is counted to calculate the distance between the transmitter 1 and the device main body 2 and the control based on the calculated distance is implemented.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a remote control (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) device used for wirelessly controlling equipment such as television receivers, video equipment, air conditioners, etc. using infrared rays. It is related to.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional remote control device. In the figure, 1 is a remote control transmitter held and operated by a user, and 2 is a main body of the device. The transmitter 1 has a plurality of operation buttons 3 and an infrared light emitting section 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes a light receiving section built into the main body 2 of the device, 6 a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) as a control section for determining electrical signals from the light receiving section 5, and 7 for sending out control signals from the microcomputer 6. This is the control terminal of For transmission and reception between the transmitter 1 side and the device main body 2 side,
A pulse code 8 as shown in FIG. 12 is used. This pulse code 8 is a discrimination code section 9 for discriminating the model etc.
and a data code section 10.

[0003] Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. When a user wants to change the volume, screen, etc. of a video device, for example, he selects and operates the operation button 3 of the transmitter 1. The data code portion 10 of the pulse code 8 is changed according to the content of the selected operation button 3, and infrared rays are emitted from the light emitting portion 4 as an optical signal. The light receiving section 5 of the device body 2 receives the infrared rays, converts the optical signal into an electrical signal, and sends the data to the microcomputer 6. The microcomputer 6 sends a control signal according to this data, and the channel and volume of the video device as the device body 2 can be changed. In addition to this, it is also used in the same way when changing the set temperature of the air conditioner.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional remote control device is configured as described above, and executes the content according to the operation button 3 of the transmitter 1 operated by the user, so that the user can move from place to place. When the distance between the transmitter 1 and the main body 2 of the device changes, in order to change the volume etc. according to the distance at that position, it is troublesome to have to operate the operation button 3 again and readjust it. was there.

[0005] This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to automatically control the main body of the device in an optimal state according to the distance between the user and the main body of the device. The purpose is to provide a remote control device.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A remote control device according to the invention as set forth in claim 1 includes a remote control transmitter that emits pulse code data corresponding to a selected operation button as an infrared light signal; A device body having a light receiving section for receiving signals, and a device built into the device body, and when the light receiving section receives an optical signal from the transmitter, the light receiving gain of the light receiving section is varied to interact with the transmitter. The device is characterized by comprising a control section that calculates the distance to the device main body and controls the device main body according to the calculation result.

[0007]Further, in the remote control device according to the invention described in claim 2, a plurality of light receiving sections having narrow directivity are arranged in a horizontal row, and an optical signal is received by a control section built in the main body of the device. The distance between the transmitter and the main body of the device and the angle of the transmitter with respect to the main body of the device are calculated by sequentially varying the respective light receiving gains of the light receiving sections.

Furthermore, the remote control device according to the invention as set forth in claim 3 is a remote control device that includes distance information in a pulse code corresponding to a selected operation button, and transmits it as an infrared light signal with variable output gain. It has a transmitter and a plurality of light receiving sections that have narrow directivity and are arranged in horizontal rows,
A device body that receives optical signals with these light-receiving sections, and a built-in device that determines the distance between the transmitter and the device body based on the number of pulses and the presence or absence of distance information of the above-mentioned optical signals. The device is configured to include a control unit that calculates an angle with respect to the main body and controls the device main body according to the calculation result.

[0009]

[Operation] According to the invention of claim 1, when the optical signal of the pulse code corresponding to the operation button of the transmitter is repeatedly transmitted a predetermined number of times, the light receiving gain is varied in the light receiving section of the main body of the device. The distance between the transmitter and the main body of the device is calculated by the control section counting the number of times the data from the light receiving section is repeated, and the main body of the device is automatically controlled to the optimum state based on this distance.

According to the second aspect of the invention, a plurality of light receiving sections having narrow directivity are arranged in rows in the main body of the device, and the light receiving gain of each light receiving section is sequentially varied. In addition to calculating the distance between the transmitter and the device body, the angle of the transmitter with respect to the device body is also calculated from the distance difference between the transmitter and the one that receives the optical signal among the multiple light receiving sections, and the distance is calculated. The main body of the device is controlled to the optimum state according to the angle.

Furthermore, according to the third aspect of the invention, distance information is included in the pulse code transmitted from the transmitter. The distance between the transmitter and the device itself is measured, and the angle of the transmitter is calculated from counting distance information and whether or not it is received, and the device is automatically controlled to the optimal state according to the distance and angle. Ru.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in the same figure, FIG.
The same parts as in the conventional one shown in are given the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, the light receiving section 5 includes a microcomputer 6.
A gain control line 11 is connected between the transmitter 1 and the transmitter 1, so that the light receiving gain is varied when the pulse code 8 from the transmitter 1 receives an optical signal that is repeated a predetermined number of times. 12 is a data line connected between the light receiving section 5 and the microcomputer 6, and the microcomputer 6 receives the data signal from the light receiving section 5 via this data line 12 and counts the number of repetitions of the pulse code 8. It is set to calculate the distance between the transmitter 1 and the device main body 2 and send a control output to the control terminal 7 according to the calculation result.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the light receiving section 5. In the figure, 13 is a photodiode as a light receiving element, and 14 is a gain control amplifier that amplifies the output from the photodiode 13. can be,
The output from the photodiode 13 is applied to one input terminal, and the gain control signal from the microcomputer 6 is applied to the other input terminal. The microcomputer 6 is in a standby state for receiving the optical signal from the transmitter 1, and sends a gain control signal to the gain control amplifier 14 such that the gain is at the maximum for a certain period of time after receiving the optical signal, the gain gradually decreases after that, and the gain returns to the maximum gain at the end. It is designed to be applied. 15 is a waveform shaping circuit that shapes the waveform of the output from the gain control amplifier 14, and the data line 12 is connected to its output end.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. When a user selects and operates an operation button 3 of the transmitter 1, a pulse code 8 corresponding to the selected operation button 3 is transmitted as an infrared light signal a preset number of times. In this example, the optical signal is repeated eight times, as shown in FIG. This optical signal is transmitted to the light receiving section 5 of the device main body 2.
After the output of the light receiving section 5 is gain controlled by a gain control amplifier 14, it is converted into a pulse code 8 by a waveform shaping circuit 15 and sent to the microcomputer 6 via a data line 12 as a data signal.

Gain control in the gain control amplifier 14 is performed as shown in FIG. First, when there is no optical signal from the transmitter 1, the microcomputer 6 controls the gain control amplifier 14 to the maximum gain via the gain control line 11. Therefore, the light receiving section 5
is in a standby state where it can receive data regardless of the distance between the transmitter 1 and the device body 2. In this state, the light receiving section 5 receives the optical signal from the transmitter 1. In order to determine whether the data of the first few times are original data, the gain control signal causes the gain control amplifier 14 to operate at the maximum gain (T1, T2 in FIG. 3). Next, from T3, the gain of the gain control amplifier 14 is gradually reduced by the gain control signal. Then, when the optical signal is transmitted a predetermined number of times, that is, the eighth time, the transmission of the optical signal from the transmitter 1 is stopped, and the microcomputer 6 returns the gain of the gain control amplifier 14 to the maximum gain. At this time, the gain differs stepwise between T3 and T8, so if the distance between the transmitter 1 and the device body 2 is relatively short, for example, data can be obtained for all between T3 and T8. In contrast, both 1 and 2 above
If the distance between is the maximum reachable distance of the above optical signal, T3
This means that data between T8 and T8 cannot be obtained.

In this way, the microcomputer 6 connects the data line 1
Since the distance between the transmitter 1 and the device body 2 is calculated by counting the number of repetitions of the data signal from the transmitter 2, the microcomputer 6 sends out a control signal from the control terminal 7 in accordance with this distance. If the device main body 2 is, for example, a television receiver, even if the user changes locations, the brightness of the screen, etc. will be automatically controlled according to the distance by just one operation of the operation button 3. Although the number of repetitions of the data signal is arbitrary, increasing the number increases the accuracy of distance calculation. Furthermore, if the gain is controlled while receiving one optical signal, the response speed can be increased.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control device showing another embodiment of the present invention.
includes a plurality of light receiving sections 5 (5A, 5B) with narrowed directivity.
, ..., 5N) are arranged in rows at equal intervals, and the gain of the light receiving section 5 is sequentially varied by a gain control signal from a microcomputer 6 in the main body 2 of the device. . From the light receiving unit 5, the microcomputer 6
A plurality of data lines 12 (12A, 12B,..., 12N) are connected to send data signals to the microcomputer 6, and the microcomputer 6 receives the data signal from the light receiving section 5 and transmits it based on the number of repetitions of the pulse code 8. Machine 1 and device body 2
In addition to the distance between the two, the angle of the transmitter 1 with respect to the main body 2 of the device is also calculated.

Regarding distance measurement in the above configuration,
This is carried out in the same manner as in the above embodiment. On the other hand, transmitter 1
The angle with respect to the main body 2 of the device is measured as follows. That is, if the transmitter 1 is now tilted to the left with respect to the device main body 2 as shown in FIG.
5B and 5C receive the optical signal from the transmitter 1, but the other light receiving sections 5D, 5E, . . . , 5N do not receive the optical signal. At this time, since the gain control signal from the microcomputer 6 interlocks the light receiving section 5 and sequentially varies the gain, the microcomputer 6 converts the data signals from the light receiving sections 5A, 5B, and 5C into the pulse code 8.
The distance is calculated by counting the number of times that A control signal corresponding to the brightness of the screen is sent from the control terminal 7, and the brightness of the screen, etc. is automatically controlled.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the main parts of the transmitter 1, and FIG. 7 is a signal waveform diagram of each part. In the figure, 51 is a microcomputer built into the transmitter 1, which includes a normal pulse code 8 corresponding to the selected operation button 3 and a pulse code 8 that has a distance information pulse in the data section 10. is sent several times. 52 is the microcomputer 5 in synchronization with the pulse code 8 having the distance information.
1, a modulation signal generator 53 generates a modulation signal 61 according to the modulation signal command output from the microcomputer 51;
This is a mix amplifier that mixes and amplifies. A photodiode 54 converts the modulated pulse signal 62 from the mix amplifier 53 into an optical signal, and constitutes a part of the light emitting section 4. Note that the plurality of light receiving sections 5 on the device main body 2 side each have narrowed directivity, and are arranged in rows at equal intervals.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. First, when the user selects and operates the operation button 3 of the transmitter 1, the microcomputer 51 outputs the pulse code 8 corresponding to the operation button 3 several times as an infrared light signal, and then pulses with distance information. A modulation signal command is output in synchronization with code 8. Modulation signal creation section 52
receives the modulation signal command and outputs the modulation signal 61. The pulse code 8 having this distance information and the modulated signal 61 are mixed and amplified by a mix amplifier 53, and outputted as a modulated pulse signal 62. Therefore, the photodiode 54 of the transmitter 1 outputs several times of the normal pulse code 8 according to the operation button 3 and several times of the pulse code 8 with distance information as a continuous pulse signal 63. Ru.

When the optical signal from the transmitter 1 is received by the light receiving section 5 on the device main body 2 side, the normal pulse code 8 is first input, and then the distance information pulse code 8 is input. When this light receiving section 5 receives an optical signal, if the level of the optical signal is below a predetermined level, the optical signal is not received. If the transmitter 1 is now located at half the maximum reach of the optical signal, the first half of the modulated pulse signal 62 is modulated and has a low level, so it is not received by the device main body 2. Also, if the transmitter 1 is at the maximum range position, only one pulse after the modulated pulse signal 62 will be received. Furthermore, if the transmitter 1 is located close to the device main body 2 side, all pulses of the modulated pulse signal 62 are received. This received signal is analyzed by the microcomputer 6 on the device main body 2 side.

That is, the microcomputer 6 pays attention to the distance information and counts the number of pulses after issuing a normal operation command. If the modulated pulse signal 62 is received and all pulses are counted, the transmitter 1 is close to the device main body 2;
If only one pulse is counted, the transmitter 1 is at the maximum reachable distance to the device body 2, and if half the pulses are counted, the transmitter 1 is at the maximum reachable distance to the device body 2. It is determined that it is at half the position. Since the microcomputer 6 sends out commands programmed in advance according to the distance via the control terminal 7, the brightness and volume can be automatically changed depending on the distance from the transmitter 1.

The angle of the transmitter 1 with respect to the main body 2 of the device is measured as follows. The pulse code 8 having distance information from the transmitter 1 is received by the light receiving section 5 of the device main body 2, but since each light receiving section 5 is arranged in a row with narrowed directivity, The data received by each light receiving section 5 will be different. In this embodiment, since the transmitter 1 is located at the position shown in FIG. These light receiving units 5
Since there are differences in the distances between D, 5E, and 5N and the transmitter 1, different distance data can be obtained. The microcomputer 6 calculates the distance and angle of the transmitter 1 based on this received data based on a predetermined program, and outputs the data from the control terminal 7. This makes it possible to automatically control the screen orientation, volume balance, etc., depending on the angle, for example.

In the above embodiment, the pulse code 8 is modulated, but as shown in FIG. 8, the analog signal 64 of the modulation signal itself is transmitted as the pulse code 8 having distance information. If the microcomputer 6 measures the time of the analog portion, the distance from the device main body 2 to the transmitter 1 can be accurately measured based on the distance information. Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of a specific distance, the modulated signal may be distorted to produce a modulated pulse signal 62, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, instead of using the modulated signal, as shown in FIG.
N), and correspondingly 1 and 1 respectively.
Amplifier 65 (65A, 65
B, . . 65N) are prepared and the microcomputer 51 sequentially allocates the pulse positions, the same effect can be obtained.

[0027]

As described above, according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, when the optical signal of the pulse code transmitted from the transmitter is received by the light receiving section of the main body of the device, the light receiving gain of the light receiving section is adjusted. The distance between the transmitter and the device is calculated by changing the pulse code using a microcomputer inside the device and counting the number of repetitions of the pulse code. Even in the worst case, the device itself can be automatically controlled to the optimum state with a single operation.

[0028] Furthermore, according to the invention as set forth in claim 2, a plurality of light receiving sections having narrow directivity are arranged in a row in the main body of the device, and the light receiving gains of the light receiving sections are sequentially varied. In this case, in addition to the distance between the transmitter and the device body, the angle of the transmitter with respect to the device body is also calculated, so it is possible to control the device body in an optimal state based on these distances and angles.

Furthermore, as in the invention according to claim 3,
By adding distance information to the pulse code from the transmitter, varying its output gain, and counting distance information pulses when receiving the pulse code, the distance between the transmitter and the main body of the device can be calculated. In addition, if multiple light receivers with narrow directivity on the device body side receive the information, the angle of the transmitter relative to the device body can be calculated from the count of distance information and the presence or absence of reception. The state can be controlled.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a light receiving section in the one shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a voltage waveform diagram of the light receiving section in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control device according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote control device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts of the transmitter of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a signal waveform diagram for explaining the operation of the device shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an analog signal of a modulated signal itself transmitted as a pulse code with distance information from a transmitter.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modulated pulse signal obtained by distorting a modulated signal.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alternative to the configuration of the transmitter in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional remote control device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of a pulse code used in a remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Transmitter 2 Device body 3 Operation button 4 Light emitting section 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5N Light receiving section 6
Control unit 8 pulse code

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A device body comprising: a remote control transmitter that transmits pulse code data corresponding to a selected operation button as an infrared light signal; a device body having a light receiving section that receives the light signal; It is built in and when the light receiving section receives an optical signal from the transmitter, the light receiving gain of the light receiving section is varied to calculate the distance between the transmitter and the main body of the device, and the distance is calculated according to the calculation result. A remote control device comprising: a control section that controls the device main body. [Claim 2] A remote control transmitter that transmits pulse code data corresponding to a selected operation button as an infrared optical signal, and a plurality of light receiving sections having narrow directivity and arranged in horizontal rows. A device body that receives the above-mentioned optical signal, and a device built into the device body that sequentially varies the light-receiving gain of a plurality of light-receiving sections when the light-receiving section receives the optical signal from the above-mentioned transmitter. 1. A remote control device comprising: a control section that calculates a distance between a transmitter and a device main body and an angle of a transmitter with respect to the device main body, and controls the device main body according to the calculation results. 3. A remote control transmitter that includes distance information in a pulse code corresponding to a selected operation button, and that transmits an infrared light signal with a variable output gain of a light emitting section, and a narrow directivity transmitter. The main body of the device has a plurality of light receiving sections arranged in a row, and these light receiving sections receive the above-mentioned optical signals, and the main body of the device has a built-in device that counts pulses of distance information of the above-mentioned optical signals. and a control unit that calculates the distance between the transmitter and the device main body and the angle of the transmitter with respect to the device main body from the number and the presence or absence of reception, and controls the device main body according to the calculation result. Features a remote control device.