JPH0541287U - Remote control transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a wireless remote control transmitter capable of reliably controlling the controlled device side even if there is an interfering signal. A sending control unit 4 is provided which includes a remote control signal sending unit 2 and a receiving unit 3 and checks the presence or absence of an interfering signal before sending the remote control signal and sends the remote control signal when the interfering signal is not detected. Prepare Further, when an interfering signal is detected during transmission of the remote control signal, the remote control signal at that time is transmitted again.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to improvement of a remote control transmitter that remotely controls TV, VTR, air conditioner, etc. wirelessly, and in particular, by adjusting the timing of sending remote control signals and sending remote control signals related to the same command again. The present invention relates to a remote control transmitter that reduces a situation in which a controlled device causes a reception error due to a remote control signal or external noise sent from another remote control transmitter and an undesired operating state is caused.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In the conventional remote control device, the remote control command transmitted from the remote control transmitter is received by the receiving unit provided on the device body side of the controlled device such as TV, VTR, and air conditioner, and the device body side receives the received remote control command. Is decoded and the corresponding control is performed. For this reason, the remote control transmitter cannot correctly confirm that the remote control transmitter has correctly received the transmitted remote control command, and that the transmitter has controlled the device body to the desired state.

Therefore, a transmitter for transmitting a confirmation signal indicating that a remote control signal has been received is provided on the device body side, and a confirmation signal receiver is provided on the remote control transmitter side so that the transmitted remote control signal is correctly received. There has been proposed a remote control transmitter in which the remote control transmitter side audibly or visually displays the information.

In addition, not only a confirmation signal for receiving a remote control signal from the device body but also information related to the operation state of the device body is transmitted, and the remote control transmitter side displays the operation state of the device body side. ing. For example, in the case of remote control operation of a TV, a liquid crystal display provided with a remote control transmitter displays a channel number currently selected, a reproduction volume level, information relating to audio multiplex broadcasting, and the like.

If a bidirectional transmission system is provided between the remote control transmitter and the main body of the device as described above, the remote control determines whether the transmitted remote control signal is correctly received and whether the remote control can be remotely controlled to a desired operating state. Since it can be confirmed on the device side, it can be known even if a reception error occurs on the device body side because external noise or a signal from another remote control transmitter interferes with its own remote control signal.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, if the remote control transmitter side is provided with a means for decoding the signal returned from the device body side for audible or visual display, the configuration of the remote control transmitter becomes complicated and the remote control transmitter becomes large. In addition, it is not desirable to provide a dedicated transmission section on the device body side because the configuration of the device body side becomes complicated and existing equipment needs to be modified.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to adjust the sending timing of a remote control signal and to re-send it, so that the device body side can be changed without changing the device body side. The purpose is to provide a remote control transmitter that reduces the reception error of.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, a remote control transmitter according to claim 1 is a remote control transmitter that wirelessly transmits a remote control signal using a transmission medium such as light including infrared light, radio waves, and ultrasonic waves. It is characterized in that it is provided with a receiving unit and is configured to enable transmission of a remote control signal corresponding to an operation input if the reception output of the receiving unit is equal to or lower than a preset allowable interference level.

A remote control transmitter according to a second aspect is a remote control transmitter including a light projecting unit that projects light (including infrared light) that has been pulse-modulated in response to a remote control input, and includes a light receiving unit. At the same time, when the light projecting section is in the non-light projecting timing, if the light receiving output level of the light receiving section exceeds the interference allowable level, the remote control signal is retransmitted.

[0010]

[Action]

 The remote control transmitter according to claim 1 detects the level of the interfering signal based on the reception output of the receiving section provided in the remote control transmitter, and if the level is equal to or lower than the permissible interference level, sends the remote control signal. .. If the received output exceeds the preset allowable disturbance level, the remote control signal corresponding to the operation input may be put on standby, and the transmission may be started when the received output falls below the allowable disturbance level. it can. In this way, when sending its own remote control signal, the level of the signal that may cause interference is monitored, and if the level is below the allowable interference level, it sends its own remote control signal. Reception errors can be reduced.

A remote control transmitter according to a second aspect monitors a light reception output of a light receiving unit at a non-light emitting timing during transmission of a remote control signal using light, and when an interfering signal is detected, the remote control transmitter is transmitting at that time. Retransmit the remote control signal of. Therefore, if there is a possibility that the device body receives a signal in which an interfering signal is superimposed on the transmitted remote control signal and causes an error, the remote control signal is sent again, and the device body transitions to an undesired mode, etc. Can be prevented.

【Example】

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote control transmitter according to claim 1. This remote control transmitter 1 transmits a remote control signal to a device body side (not shown) using infrared rays, and includes a transmission section 2, a reception section 3, a remote control signal transmission control means 4, and an oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5. Consists of.

The transmission unit 2 is composed of a keypad 7 in which a plurality of non-locking keys 6 are arranged in a matrix, a key input interface circuit 8, and a RAM for temporarily storing information on the input keys. Data register 9, an encoder / modulation circuit 10 that generates a remote control command code corresponding to the input key and outputs a pulse position modulated signal based on the remote control command code, and a remote control signal based on modulation signal 10a. Is provided with a light projecting circuit 11.

The light projecting circuit 11 includes an infrared light emitting diode LED whose anode side is connected to a battery power source VB (not shown), an NPN type switching transistor Q, and an emitter for setting a light projecting current flowing through the infrared light emitting diode LED. It consists of a resistor RE.

The key input interface circuit 8 is configured to output a key depression detection signal 8a when any one of the keys 6 is depressed. The oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5 stops its operation until the key press detection signal 8a is given in order to reduce the consumption of the battery power source. When any key 6 is pressed, the oscillation and oscillation of the original clock is generated. The frequency division is started and various clocks are supplied to each circuit. The oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5 is configured to continue supplying various clocks until the operation stop signal 4a is supplied from the sending control means 4.

When various timing clocks are supplied from the oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5, the key input interface circuit 8 performs monitoring of chattering, double pressing of keys, etc., and normal key input is performed. If there is, the key input confirmation signal 8b is output.

The sending control means 4 is provided with an address counter that advances in response to the key input confirmation signal 8b. When the key input confirmation signal 8b is received, the transmission control means 4 designates the address of the data register 9 via the address control bus 4b. , And supplies the write control signal to store the pressed key information 8c output from the key interface circuit 8 in the data register 9.

The receiving unit 3 includes a light receiving circuit 12, a level comparing circuit 13, and an interfering signal interval detecting circuit 14. The receiving circuit 12 includes a light receiving element PD such as a PIN photodiode or a phototransistor that detects infrared light, and an amplifier AMP that amplifies a light receiving output of the light receiving element PD.

The level comparison circuit 13 includes a voltage comparison circuit 13a formed by using, for example, an operational amplifier, and when the level of the reception output 12a of the reception circuit 12 exceeds a preset allowable disturbance level VT, For example, the H-level interference level detection signal 13b is output. The interference permissible level VT is set to a level that is substantially equal to or slightly lower than the reception lower limit level of the remote control signal receiving unit (not shown) provided in the device body to be controlled. When using the remote control transmitter in a location with a specific noise source, set the disturbance tolerance level appropriately considering the positional relationship between the remote control transmitter 1, the device body, and the noise source. Is desirable.

The interference signal interval detection circuit 14 measures the interval of the interference signal based on the interference level detection signal 13b and outputs the data 14a related to the interval, and detects the edge of the interference level detection signal 13b. A circuit, a counter circuit that measures the edge interval, a memory that temporarily stores the results of multiple past measurements, and output data selection means that selects and outputs the shortest time data from the stored data. Prepare

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the interfering signal interval detection circuit. The interfering signal interval detection circuit 14 receives the supply of various clocks and starts its operation. As shown in FIG. 2A, the interfering signal interval detection circuit 14 detects the time from the falling edge to the next rising edge of the detection signal 13a of the interfering signal such as external noise that arrives in a pulse train. Is counted, the count data is stored, for example, for the past five times as shown in FIG. 7B, the data with the shortest time is selected from the stored data, and the data is supplied to the sending control means 4. It is configured as follows.

The sending control means 4 may write the pressed key information 8c in the data register 9 based on the key input confirmation signal 8b, and then check the logic level of the interference level detection signal 13b to cause interference. When no signal is detected, the read address and the read control signal are supplied to the data register 9, and the key information 9a read from the data register 9 is supplied to the encoding and modulation circuit 10.

Upon receipt of the new key input confirmation signal 8b, the sending control means 4 writes new key input information 8c while managing the address of the data register 9. Further, when the remote control signal transmission to all the key input information 8c written in the data register 9 is completed, the operation stop signal 4a is output to the oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5 to stop the oscillation and frequency dividing operations.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a format example of the remote control signal. As shown in FIG. 3, the encoding and modulation circuit 10 generates a series of remote control command signals including a remote control command code (data code) corresponding to the input key information 9a, and outputs the signal 10a. 11 to supply light. The reader code is used to inform the receiving side that data will be transmitted, the custom code is used to identify the control target device, and each inverted code is used for error detection on the receiving side.

By checking the logic level of the interference level detection signal 13b, if a signal that causes interference is detected, the transmission signal control means 4 suspends reading from the data register 9. Then, while continuously monitoring the logic level of the interference level detection signal 13b, the time interval 14a of the interference signal output from the interference signal interval detection circuit 14 is determined by the transmission time of the remote control signal transmitted by the transmitter 1 ( 3) (TS shown in FIG. 3) (strictly speaking, the sum of the transmission time TS of the remote control signal and the time required for reading the data register 9 and encoding in the encoding and modulation circuit 10). When the level detection signal 13b becomes L level (a state where no interfering signal is detected), the data register 9 is immediately read and the remote control signal is transmitted.

If the interfering signal interval detection circuit 14 is not provided, the transmission control means 4 immediately reads the data register 9 at the time when the interfering level detection signal 13b becomes L level (state in which no interfering signal is detected). The remote control signal is transmitted by performing.

In this embodiment, the remote control signal is sent every key input. However, a remote control transmission of a structure in which a plurality of commands are stored in advance and a series of commands are sent based on the operation of the sending start key The machine is configured to check for the presence of an interfering signal when the transmission start key is operated, that is, before transmitting the remote control signal. Also, if a periodic interfering signal is detected, instead of sending a series of remote control commands continuously, set the number of remote control commands to be sent according to the time interval of the interfering signal and divide into multiple times. To send.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing a specific example of the remote control transmitter. In FIG. 4 (a), the tip 1b of the transmitter body 1a is formed in a dome shape with a material that transmits infrared light, and the light emitting element LED is arranged in the direction S indicated by the solid arrow in the figure. The light receiving element PD is arranged inside the dome-shaped tip to widen the reception directivity of the interfering signal. A plurality of light receiving elements PD may be scattered on the dome-shaped tip and the light receiving output of each light receiving element PD may be added.

In FIG. 4B, the light receiving element PD is arranged on each of the side surfaces of the transmitter body 1a except the bottom surface. The light receiving window corresponding to each light receiving element PD is provided with a structure suitable for light collection or a member such as a light collecting lens to widen the light receiving directivity.

With the above configuration, the remote control transmitter 1 according to claim 1 checks the presence or absence of an interfering signal before transmitting the remote control signal, and the receiving unit 3 receives a signal that may cause interference. If not, the remote control signal is sent out, so it is possible to reduce reception errors on the main device side.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a remote control transmitter according to claim 2. The remote controller transmitter 21 includes a transmitter 22, a receiver 23, a transmission controller 24, and an oscillation frequency divider 5. The oscillation frequency dividing circuit 5 is the same as that shown in FIG.

The transmitting unit 22 is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 except that the configuration of the encoding and modulating circuit 30 is different from that shown in FIG. The reception unit 23 includes an interference signal detection circuit 40.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the operation of the remote control transmitter according to claim 2. The encoding and modulation circuit 30 outputs a transmission state signal 30a indicating that the remote control signal is being transmitted during the remote control signal transmission time TS shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6A, the pulse position modulation signal 30b shown in FIG. 6B is output while the transmission state signal 30a is kept at H level.

The interference signal detection circuit 40 includes, for example, an AND circuit 41, an inverter circuit 42, and an integration circuit 43. The disturbance signal detection circuit 40 detects the disturbance level of the level comparison circuit 13 when the transmission state signal 30a is at the H level and the pulse position modulation signal 30a is at the L level, that is, at the non-light projecting timing. If the detection signal 13b is at the H level, the interference signal detection signal 40a is output. The integrating circuit 43 is for removing glitches and the like generated due to the delay time of each circuit and the like.

The sending control means 24 is configured to read the next key input information 9 a from the data register 9 when detecting the falling of the sending status signal 30 a. Further, the sending control means 24 is configured to read again the previously read address when the disturbing signal detection signal 40a is applied. That is, when the light reception output 12a of a predetermined level or more is obtained at the non-light emitting timing, it is determined that there is another optical signal that may interfere with the remote control signal emitted from the remote control transmitter 21. The remote control signal at that time is emitted again.

Therefore, when the interfering light as shown in FIG. 6C is emitted from another remote controller transmitter, noise source, or the like while transmitting the code B, the receiving unit 23 causes the interfering light to be transmitted. To generate an interfering signal detection signal 40a. When the interfering signal detection signal 40a is applied, the sending control means 24 stops incrementing the read address of the data register 9 and again designates the same read address at the next light emission timing to receive the interfering signal. The control is performed so as to project the code B, which may be damaged, again.

As described above, when the remote control transmitter 21 according to claim 2 detects light that may interfere when its own remote control signal is in the non-lighting timing, it emits light at that time. Since the code is transmitted again, even if the controlled device shifts to an undesired operation mode due to interference light, it can be returned to the desired state by the retransmitted remote control signal.

[0038]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, the remote control transmitter according to claim 1 is configured to check whether there is interfering light before transmitting the remote control signal, and to transmit the remote control signal when the interfering light is not detected. Therefore, reception errors on the controlled device side can be reduced.

Since the remote control transmitter according to claim 2 re-emits the remote control signal when the interfering light is detected during the projection of the remote control signal, the controlled device does not want the remote control signal due to the interfering light. It is possible to prevent the shift to the operation mode.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a remote control transmitter according to claim 1.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of an interfering signal interval detection circuit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a format example of a remote control signal.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing a specific example of a remote control transmitter.

FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram of a remote control transmitter according to claim 2.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing the operation of the remote control transmitter according to claim 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 21 ... Remote control transmitter, 2, 22 ... Transmitting part (light emitting part), 3, 23 ... Receiving part (light receiving part), 4, 24 ... Sending control means, 5 ... Oscillation frequency dividing circuit, 7 ... Keypad, 8 ... Key input interface circuit, 9 ... Data register, 10,
30 ... Encoding and modulation circuit, 11 ... Projector circuit, 1
2 ... Light receiving circuit, 13 ... Level comparison circuit, 14 ... Interference signal interval detection circuit, 40 ... Interference signal detection circuit

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A remote control transmitter for wirelessly transmitting a remote control signal using a transmission medium such as light including infrared light, radio waves, and ultrasonic waves, the remote control transmitter including a receiving unit for the transmission medium, and a reception output of the receiving unit. The remote control transmitter is configured to enable transmission of a remote control signal corresponding to an operation input when is less than or equal to a preset allowable disturbance level. 2. A remote control transmitter comprising a light projecting section for projecting pulse-modulated light (including infrared light) in response to a remote control input, the remote control transmitter including a light receiving section and the non-emitter. A remote control transmitter, wherein the remote control signal is transmitted again when the light receiving output level of the light receiving unit exceeds the interference allowable level at the time of light emission.