JPH05219401A - Television receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain optimum picture control by outputting two signals whose propagation speed differs from a remote controller and calculating the distance from its phase difference so as to have only to control the remote controller without conscious entry of distance information. CONSTITUTION:A reference signal generator 101 generates a sine wave as a reference signal to detect the distance and the signal is inputted to an ultrasonic wave oscillator 103 and an infrared ray emitter 104 when a remote controller button 102 is depressed. Then the ultrasonic wave oscillator 103 converts the signal into an ultrasonic wave signal and it is outputted from a remote controller, an ultrasonic wave receiver 105 of the television receiver converts the ultrasonic wave into the original sine wave, and it is inputted to a distance detector 107. On the other hand, the infrared ray oscillator 104 converts the signal into an infrared ray and it is outputted from the remote controller, an infrared ray receiver 106 of the television receiver converts the infrared ray into the original sine wave, and it is inputted to the distance detector 107. The distance detector 107 detects a phase difference of the both, the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver is calculated based on the frequency of the sine wave and the propagation speed of the ultrasonic wave and the infrared ray and the result is outputted from an output terminal 108.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a television receiver, and more particularly to a control system for optimally adjusting an image by controlling various settings according to a viewing environment of a viewer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent television receivers have undergone various improvements in order to improve the performance of the television. Among them, the fuzzy AI vision described in the January 1991 issue of TV Technology always controls the brightness and quality of the image according to the distance by inputting the distance from the viewer to the TV with a remote controller, and the optimum A method of adjusting the image is described.

The operation of this television will be described below. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing control by a conventional remote controller.
Is a remote controller and 2 is a television receiver.

After turning on the power of the television receiver, the viewer selects the distance between the viewer and the television receiver by the button on the remote controller. The information selected with the button is sent to the television receiver,
Input to the installed microcomputer. In the microcomputer,
The image is controlled by the distance between the viewer and the television receiver. For example, when the distance is short, the contrast is lowered and the velocity modulation is weakened. When the distance is long, the contrast is increased and the velocity modulation is strengthened. This allows
When the distance is short, fine details can be reproduced, and when the distance is long, the contrast can be increased and the velocity modulation can be strengthened to add clarity to the image, and the contour can be made clear.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional example, the distance information input to the remote controller is used by the viewer to preliminarily measure the distance to the television receiver. Then, the distance matching the distance is selected from near, normal, and far by the remote controller. After that, the microcomputer installed in the television receiver controls the image based on the input distance information. Therefore, in order to always obtain an optimum image, the viewer has to input the distance information measured by the remote controller. Further, if the viewer does not input the distance information, it cannot be said that the performance originally possessed by the television receiver can be sufficiently expressed.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a system in which optimum image control is performed by simply operating the remote controller without intentionally inputting distance information.

[0007]

The above object is to provide a signal generating means for outputting two signals having different propagation speeds from a remote controller and a calculating means for calculating a distance from a signal output from the remote controller in a television receiver. Is achieved by

[0008]

The signal generating means for outputting two signals having different propagation velocities from the remote controller, when the remote controller key is pressed,
A signal with a high propagation speed and a signal with a slow propagation speed are generated and simultaneously output in phase.

The calculating means for calculating the distance from the signal output from the remote controller in the television receiver detects the phase difference between the two signals output from the remote controller. Since the detected phase difference is due to the difference in the propagation speeds of the two signals, the distance can be calculated back from the phase difference.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 101 is a reference signal generator, 102 is a remote control button, 103 is an ultrasonic oscillator, 104 is an infrared light emitter, 105 is an ultrasonic receiver, and 106 is an ultrasonic receiver. Infrared receiver, 107 is a distance detector, 10
8 is an output terminal.

Next, the circuit operation will be described. The reference signal generator 101 generates a sine wave as a reference signal for detecting a distance. The generated sine wave is input to the ultrasonic oscillator 103 and the infrared light emitter 104 when the remote control button 102 is pressed. The sine wave input to the ultrasonic oscillator 103 is converted into an ultrasonic signal and output from the remote controller. On the other hand, the sine wave input to the infrared light emitter 104 is converted into infrared light and output from the remote controller.

The ultrasonic signal output from the remote controller is input to the ultrasonic receiver 105 of the television receiver.
The input ultrasonic signal is converted into the original sine wave by the ultrasonic receiver 105 and input to the distance detector 107. Further, the infrared light output from the remote controller is input to the infrared light receiver 106 of the television receiver. The input infrared light is converted into the original sine wave by the infrared light receiver 106, and is input to the distance detector 107.

The phase difference between the sine wave propagated by the ultrasonic wave and the sine wave propagated by the infrared ray inputted to the distance detector 107 is detected. As for the detected phase difference, the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver is calculated based on the frequency of the sine wave generated by the remote controller, the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves, and the propagation speed of infrared rays. As a result, distance information between the remote controller and the television receiver is obtained at the output terminal 108.

Next, a method of calculating the distance will be described with reference to FIG. The infrared rays and the ultrasonic waves output from the remote controller have different propagation speeds even if they have the same frequency, and therefore have different phases when they reach the television receiver. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver is x, the phase when the infrared rays output from the remote controller at phase 0 degrees reaches the television receiver is φ1, and the phase from the remote controller is phase 0 degree. When the phase of the ultrasonic wave output at 1 reaches the television receiver is φ2, the frequency of the sine wave is f, the propagation speed of infrared rays is v1, and the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves is v2, the distance x is Can be obtained at. For example, infrared is light

[0015]

[Equation 1]

Since it propagates at the same propagation velocity, its propagation velocity is 300,000 km / S. On the other hand, the propagation velocity of ultrasonic waves is 330 m / S, which is the same as the propagation velocity of sound.
Therefore, if the wavelength of the reference frequency is selected to be equal to or larger than the maximum viewing distance, the difference between the phase φ1 when infrared rays reach the television receiver and the phase φ2 when ultrasonic waves reach the television receiver are detected. Then, the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver can be obtained.

Next, a processing algorithm when the distance is processed by a microcomputer will be described with reference to FIG. First, the frequency f of the signal output from the remote controller and the propagation velocities v1 and v
Calculate 1 / λ from 2. Next, the difference φ between the phases φ1 and φ2 output from the infrared receiver 106 and the ultrasonic receiver 105
Find s. The distance x is obtained from the obtained 1 / λ and φs. Although a processing algorithm using a microcomputer or the like is shown here, the calculation may be performed using dedicated hardware.

In this embodiment, an ultrasonic wave is selected as one having different propagation velocities, but any ultrasonic wave having a similar propagation velocity may be used, and a sound wave may be used. When using sound waves, a reference signal for distance detection may be multiplexed with information such as voice and music. Also, instead of infrared light, any light having similar propagation speed may be used, and visible light may be used. In this embodiment, a sine wave is used as the reference signal output from the remote controller, but any signal that can detect the phase may be used.

Next, a system to which the distance detection method of the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an image enlarging system to which the distance detection method of the present invention is applied.
In the figure, 201 is a horizontal synchronization input terminal, 202 is a vertical synchronization input terminal, 203 is a distance detection signal input terminal, 20
4 is a horizontal deflection circuit, 205 is a vertical deflection circuit, 206 is a horizontal deflection yoke, 207 is a vertical deflection yoke, and 208 is a cathode ray tube.

Next, the operation of the circuit will be described. The horizontal synchronizing signal input from the input terminal 201 is input to the horizontal deflection circuit 204 and determines the start point of horizontal deflection. Further, the vertical synchronization signal input from the vertical synchronization input terminal 202 is input to the vertical deflection circuit 205 and determines the start point of vertical deflection. The horizontal deflection circuit 204 creates a deflection signal required to drive the horizontal deflection yoke 206 and outputs it to the horizontal deflection yoke. The vertical deflection circuit 205 creates a deflection signal necessary to drive the vertical deflection yoke 207 and outputs it to the vertical deflection yoke. Horizontal deflection yoke 206
The vertical deflection yoke 207 horizontally and vertically deflects the electron beam of the cathode ray tube 208 according to the input deflection signal to display a screen.

Horizontal deflection circuit 204 and vertical deflection circuit 205
Is connected to the distance detection signal input terminal 203 and operates so that the deflection angle changes depending on the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver. For example, when the distance is short,
As shown in (a), an image with the same deflection angle is displayed. On the other hand, when the distance is long, the deflection angle becomes large as shown in FIG. 5B and the display content is enlarged, so that it is easy to see even from a distance. By thus controlling the deflection angle according to the distance information, it is possible to enjoy an image having an optimum size according to the distance.

Although the screen enlargement method using the deflection circuit is shown here, the image signal may be enlarged by scanning line interpolation.

Next, a second system to which the distance detection method of the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a surround system to which the distance detection method of the present invention is applied. In the figure, 301 is a left audio signal input terminal,
302 is a right audio signal input terminal, 303 is a distance detection signal input terminal, 304 and 305 are coefficient units, 306 and 307 are subtractors, 308 and 309 are amplifiers, 310 is a left speaker, and 311 is a right speaker.

Next, the operation of the circuit will be described. The left audio signal input from the left audio signal input terminal 301 is subtracted by the subtractor 30.
6 and the coefficient unit 304. Right audio signal input terminal 3
The right sound input from 02 is the subtractor 307 and the coefficient unit 30.
Input to 5. The left audio input to the coefficient unit 304 is k
It is multiplied and input to the subtractor 307. The coefficient unit 305
The right sound input to is input to the subtractor 306 after being multiplied by k. The subtractor 306 subtracts k times the right sound from the left sound and outputs the result. The subtractor 307 subtracts k times the left audio from the right audio and outputs it. The audio signal output from the subtractor 306 is amplified by the amplifier 308, and the left speaker 301
Is output from. The audio signal output from the subtractor 307 is amplified by the amplifier 309 and output from the right speaker 311.

A distance detection signal input terminal 303 is connected to the coefficient units 304 and 305, the coefficient k is controlled according to the input distance information, and the spread of the surround sound is changed. This situation will be described with reference to FIG. When a normal stereo broadcast is output, the left sound and the right sound are mixed near the center as shown in FIG. However, as the viewer moves away from the speakers, the sounds of the left and right speakers cannot be distinguished, and the stereo feeling fades. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the left speaker outputs a little -k times the right voice and the right speaker outputs a little -k times the left voice, the vicinity of the center Then, the sound multiplied by -k is canceled by the sound output from the opposite speaker, and the sound spreads. Therefore, when the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver is short, the coefficient k is controlled to be small, and when the distance is long, the coefficient k is controlled to be large. As a result, even if the distance changes, the same surround-corrected stereo feeling can be obtained.
The coefficient k should not be larger than 1.

The two signals having different propagation velocities according to the present invention may be used not only for detecting the distance but also for transmitting two different information. Further, the ultrasonic oscillator 103 of FIG.
Since the oscillator of the oscillator can be used for reception, the sound around the remote controller may be received and sent to the television as the level of the sound around the viewer. Thereby, when the sound level around the remote controller is high, the volume can be controlled to be increased.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the distance between the remote controller and the television receiver can be calculated simply by pressing the button on the remote controller, so that the viewer does not have to make a visual check. There is. Further, since the distance is detected using the signals having different propagation velocities, there is an effect that the measurement can be performed accurately.

Further, there is an effect that the expansion amount of the image and the expansion amount of the surround sound can be controlled according to the measured distance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state of a screen according to a first concrete example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of a second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing algorithm for performing distance calculation of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ... Reference signal generator, 102 ... Remote control button, 1
03 ... Ultrasonic oscillator, 104 ... Infrared light emitter, 106 ...
Infrared receiver, 107 ... Distance detector.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A television receiver for detecting a distance between a remote controller and a television receiver, the signal generating means outputting two signals having different propagation speeds from the remote controller, and receiving the signal outputted from the signal generating means. And a distance detecting means for calculating a distance from the phase difference. 2. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising enlargement control means for controlling the amount of enlargement of the image by the output of the distance detection means. 3. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the output of the distance detecting means controls a mixing amount of the left sound and the right sound and a mixing amount of the right sound and the left sound. A television receiver characterized by being equipped with. 4. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein infrared rays and ultrasonic waves are used for the two signals having different propagation velocities. 5. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein infrared rays and sound waves are used for the two signals having different propagation velocities.