JPH0431637B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention is configured to send out a plurality of different serially encoded control commands, and to send out each of the same control commands at least twice or more consecutively. related to a remote control system.

(Prior art) For example, in a combination of a remotely controllable television receiver and audio equipment (a system composed of a radio, tape recorder, low-frequency amplifier, etc.), images are played back on the television receiver. On the other hand, a method of reproducing audio using an audio device has been employed. In that case, the operating procedure is
Generally, it is as follows. That is, turn on the power switch of the television receiver.

Turn on the power switch of the audio equipment.

Mute the audio output of the television receiver.

Set the audio equipment's input switch to the television receiver's audio output.

A remote control device that requires only one operation instead of these four independent operations has been proposed in the past. By pressing a push button to which four operation commands are set in advance, the above four control commands are sent out in series, and these four operation commands are executed in one action.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, control data D1 turns on the power switch of the television receiver, control data D2 turns on the power switch of the audio equipment, and mutes the audio output of the television receiver. The control data D3 for switching the audio equipment to the audio output of the television receiver and the control data D4 for switching the input switch of the audio equipment to the audio output of the television receiver are each transmitted in a format in which they are arranged three times in series.

Note that sending the same data three times in a row is
This is to increase the probability of deciphering the decoder in the remotely controlled device (television receiver and audio equipment).

Although this format is sufficient for a remote controlled device with a normal system configuration, there are some measures taken to minimize decoding errors, as shown in Figure 4. This results in malfunctions for such continuous control data.

The cause of this decoding error will be explained below.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a data code for remote control using a generally used 10-bit pulse position modulation (hereinafter referred to as PPM) system. This data structure method will be briefly explained.

1 pulse has a pulse width of t ₁ and is usually
Intermittent on 38KHz or 40KHz carrier. The pulse interval t ₂ corresponds to the data code "1", and the pulse interval t ₃ corresponds to the data code "0". t ₂ and t ₃
In general, the relationship is often 2×t ₂ ≒t ₃ . The example data code is expressed in binary code as follows:
It becomes “1101001010”.

A data code formatted in this way is defined as one word. A control command is established when such a data code is repeated at least twice. T is one word period.

When the remotely controlled device receives this data,
The decoder counts the pulse interval and the number of pulses and temporarily stores the number of bits and the decoded binary data.

Next, after receiving the second word and decoding it in the same way, the number of bits and binary data are compared with the previously stored data, and only when they completely match, it is established as a control command, and the data code is A control signal is sent to a circuit to be executed in order to execute an operation corresponding to the instruction.

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.

The method of sending control signals from the decoder for the third and subsequent words differs depending on the function of the circuit to be executed. For example, the first key press activates a specific circuit.
The following problem occurs with so-called toggle input circuits that turn on and then turn off by operating the same key again.

That is, when transmitting a control command using the operation keys of a remote control device, in the conventional remote control device, the same word control command is repeatedly output while the keys are being operated. If an interfering signal is mixed in from the outside during this operation, the decoder's signal output will be interrupted because it will be decoded using the method described above, and after receiving two more words after the interfering signal has disappeared, the control signal will be output again. I will do it. As a result, two pulses are applied to the torge input circuit, and the circuit is reversed to its original state.

Therefore, in order to avoid this type of malfunction seen in toggle input circuits, the following measures are taken.

FIG. 5 is a time chart of a decoder that takes such measures.

That is, the input data applied to the decoder sends a control signal pulse (decoder output) to the remotely controlled device when the second word is completed and decoded.
At the same time, decoding of subsequent words is prohibited.

With this configuration, even if an interfering pulse is mixed in near the fourth word, the decoder will not output a control signal pulse at the end of the sixth word. The decoding prohibition of this decoder is canceled when no pulse is received within one word period T at the longest after the last pulse of the last word (seventh word) is completed, and the next input It will be in the state of waiting for data reception.

However, even if a control command with the serial data structure shown in FIG.
There is a problem in that the second and subsequent instructions cannot be executed.

Further, malfunction prevention means configured to allow volume adjustment to be performed continuously while data is being input, such as when decoding a volume adjustment control command, will be described with reference to FIG.

For this type of command (sound adjustment control command), the output period of the control signal pulse from the decoder is
It must correspond to the period during which the operation key of the remote control device is pressed. Therefore, after the second word is received and the control command is established, the control signal pulses are continued to be output and subsequent decoding is prohibited. Furthermore, the continuation of the output of the control signal pulse and the continuation of the prohibition of decoding are determined by the last word (7th word).
It is released after one word period T at most after the last pulse of the word) ends.

However, in a decoder configured in this manner, even if an interference signal is received near the fourth word, the output of the control signal pulse will not be temporarily canceled; When receiving control command data with a serial data structure as shown in the figure, the data D
There is a problem in that the second and subsequent instructions cannot be executed.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to sufficiently suppress the occurrence of the above-mentioned malfunctions in unspecified remotely controlled devices. do.

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is directed to a remote control device that sends a signal having a sequence of two or more consecutive encoded identical control commands. , on the side of the remotely controlled device, decodes the control command included in the signal sent from the remote control device, and upon successful decoding, outputs a control signal corresponding to the control command and shifts to a decoding prohibition mode. and a decoder means for canceling the decoding prohibition mode when the signal from the remote control device is interrupted for a predetermined period of time, the remote control system has the following configuration.

That is, the present invention includes means for sending a signal having a plurality of control command sequences in series to a remote control device, and a time length predetermined based on the predetermined time between each control command sequence. and means for inserting a no-signal portion.

The effects of this configuration are as follows.

That is, since a no-signal portion is inserted between adjacent consecutive sequences of the same control command, and the period of the no-signal portion corresponds to a single control command period, the existence of this no-signal portion causes one control It is possible to reliably determine that the sending of the command has ended.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of a remote control device side of a remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The remote control device of this embodiment is configured to be able to transmit control command data in the format shown in FIG. 2 using PPM waves. That is, the format is to serially repeat the same data three times for each data D1, D2, D3, and D4, and to have one word period T between the three consecutive data and the next three consecutive data. This is a format in which a no-signal portion N is inserted. This allows the decoder to reliably determine that one control command has ended.

Note that the data D1, D2, D3, and D4 are the same as those defined in the explanation of FIG. 4, respectively. That is, D1 is control data to turn on the power switch of the television receiver, D2 is control data to turn on the power switch of the audio equipment, D3 is control data to mute the audio output of the television receiver, and D4 is control data to turn on the power switch of the television receiver. This is control data for switching the input switch of the audio equipment to the audio output of the television receiver.

The remote control device of this embodiment is entirely composed of a program-controlled microcomputer.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU 1) that controls all blocks, 2 is a first read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as 1st ROM 2), and this remote control Stores the operating program for the device. 3
is the second ROM, which stores the number of control commands to be transmitted and the respective control data in the form of binary codes. 4 is a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM 4), which temporarily stores data input during operation.

5 is a key encoder, 6 is a group of operation keys,
Data input using the individual keys in the operation key group 6 is configured to be converted into binary data by the key encoder 5.

7 is data corresponding to the pulse interval t 2 when the binary value of the first bit is “1”, and data corresponding to the pulse interval t ₃ when the binary value _is “0”. The pulse interval t ₂ shown in FIG.
a first programmable timer that actually counts _t3 ;
8 is a second programmable timer which presets data corresponding to one word period T and actually counts one word period T shown in FIG. These programmable timers 7 and 8 are configured to start counting at the same time as the preset ends.

9 is the pulse width shown in Figure 3 by the trigger.
It is a pulse generator that generates one pulse of t ₁ , and 1
0 is a carrier oscillator that drives the pulse generator 9 and intermittents the pulses it generates. 11
is an infrared light emitting diode driven by the output of the pulse generator 9.

The first ROM2, the second ROM3, the RAM4, the key encoder 5, and the programmable timers 7 and 8 are each controlled by the CPU1, so the CPU
1 via an address bus 12 and a data bus 13. Further, the key encoder 5 and programmable timers 7 and 8 are connected to the CPU 1 via an interrupt control line 14.

motion Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When one operation key in the operation key group 6 is pressed, the key encoder 5 outputs binary data corresponding to that key, and the CPU 1
to notify that an interrupt has occurred. CPU1
takes in the output data of the key encoder 5,
Corresponding to that data, extract the number of control instructions and their respective data from the address of the first ROM2,
Store in RAM4.

For example, when the number of instructions is four, the following operations are performed.

First, in order to generate the first pulse of the PPM wave, the pulse generator 9 is triggered, and the first programmable timer 7 outputs data corresponding to the pulse interval t ₂ when the binary value of the first bit is "1". If the binary value is "0", data corresponding to the pulse interval _t3 is preset, and data corresponding to one word period T is preset to the second programmable timer 8.

The programmable timers 7 and 8 start counting at the same time as the preset ends, and count each period of t ₂ , t ₃ , and T shown in FIG. 3 according to a predetermined program, and when the counting ends, , and transmits the completion of counting to the CPU 1 via the interrupt control line 14.

Upon receiving this interrupt, the CPU 1 immediately triggers the pulse generator 9. When the pulse generator 9 is triggered, a pulse with a pulse width t ₁ shown in FIG.
is interrupted by the output of
PPM is performed, and the infrared light emitting diode 11 is driven by this modulation signal.

When the first programmable timer 7 completes its counting, it presets the binary value of the second bit in the same manner as described above. After sending out the pulses up to the 10th bit in this manner, the CPU 1 waits for the second programmable timer 8 to finish counting. When the second programmable timer 8 finishes counting, the interrupt control line 14 transmits the completion of counting, and the CPU 1 starts repeating the same operation as before.

In this way, after sending out the same control data three times, when the second programmable timer 8 completes the third count, the data corresponding to one word period T is preset only in the second programmable timer 8, Wait until counting is complete. By waiting for this time, three identical data D1,
After D1 and D1, control data having a no-signal portion N corresponding to one word period T is created and sent out.

Thereafter, second, third, and fourth data having no-signal portions N before and after are created in the same way, and sequentially,
Sent out. Note that when the sending of the fourth control data is completed, the device enters a state of waiting for key input.

In this embodiment, when compared with the configuration of the present invention, the first programmable timer 7 and its peripheral electronic components (CPU1, first ROM2, second ROM3,
The RAM 4, etc.) corresponds to the "means for sending a signal having a plurality of control command sequences in series" in the configuration of the invention, and the second programmable timer 8 and its peripheral electronic components (CPU 1, first ROM,
2 ROM 2, RAM 4, etc.) and the program executed thereby is "means for inserting a no-signal portion of a predetermined time length based on the predetermined time between each control instruction sequence". corresponds to

Therefore, if the executed circuit has a decoder means as shown in the time chart of FIG. 5, and a control command is input in the transmission format shown in FIG. 2, for example, the first control If the data between the words before and after the instruction D1 match, a data decoding control instruction is output and the decoder is disabled, but the control instruction period of one word is required until the next second control instruction D2 is input. Since there is a no-signal portion N corresponding to T, decoder inhibition is canceled, and therefore the second control command D2
It will also be possible to continue decoding data.
Thereafter, the data of the third and fourth control instructions D3 and D4 will be decoded in the same manner.

This also enables the decoder means provided in the continuous volume adjustment circuit shown in the time chart of FIG. 6 to decode data in the same way.

Note that in this embodiment, the no-signal portion N is set to 1.
Although the word period is set to T, this no-signal portion N
Needless to say, can take any value depending on the configuration of the remote control device.

That is, when the no-signal portion N is short, the probability of malfunction increases; on the other hand, when it is long, the transmission time for all control commands becomes longer. In the above-mentioned example of malfunction, it was explained that the decoding inhibition period is one word period T after the end of the last pulse, but in the case of a remote control device with this configuration, the period of no signal portion N is one word period T. Even if it is slightly shorter than the word period T, the effect can be exhibited.

By the way, generally speaking, the shorter the prohibition period, the more likely the device will be subject to malfunctions in other ways. That is, Figures 5 and 6
In the figure, if extraneous noise occurs after the last word (seventh word), the decoder may not be able to release the inhibit period due to this noise.

It is preferable that the period of the no-signal portion N to prevent malfunction be as short as possible, but it is sufficient to ensure one word period T at most.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the 1-word periods of four different control instructions are all equal to T, but if the 1-word period differs depending on each instruction,
It is sufficient to create a no-signal portion N for the longest period among them.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the same data D1, D2
The format is such that each of the above is repeated three times in a row, but the format may be two consecutive times or four or more times in a row.

In addition to PPM, a control command may be configured by pulse width modulation (PWM) of a binary code.

(Effect of the invention) According to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

In other words, a no-signal portion is inserted between adjacent consecutive sequences of the same control command, and the period of the no-signal portion corresponds to a single control command period. It is possible to reliably determine that the sending of the command has finished, and therefore,
Even if the remotely controlled device is equipped with a toggle input circuit, a continuous volume adjustment circuit, etc., all control commands can be reliably executed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 relate to one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of a remote control device, FIG. 2 is a transmission format of multiple control commands used therein, and FIG. 3 is a transmission code. This is the format of one word. Figures 4 through 6 relate to conventional examples; Figure 4 is a transmission format for multiple control commands that has been used in the past; Figure 5 is a time chart showing a method for preventing malfunctions for toggle input circuits; Figure 6 is a continuous This is a time chart showing a method for preventing malfunction of the volume adjustment circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A remote control device that sends a signal having a sequence of two or more consecutive encoded control instructions; deciphers the control instructions contained in the signal,
a decoder means that outputs a control signal corresponding to the control command when the decoding is successful and shifts to a decoding prohibition mode, and canceling the decoding prohibition mode when the signal from the remote control device is interrupted for a predetermined time; In the remote control system, the remote control device includes: means for sending a signal having a plurality of control command sequences in series; and a time period predetermined based on the predetermined time between each control command sequence. A remote control system comprising means for inserting a length of a non-signal portion.