JPH07123474A - Remote controller with automatic on/off function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate useless power consumption by controlling a power source by generating a power source off signal when a first output signal is received from a timer means and generating a power source on signal when a second output signal is received. CONSTITUTION:When an output signal showing the absence of a human body is received from a sensor 1, a timer means 2 performs counting for fixed time, generates the first output signal and outputs it to a remote control means 3. The means 3 transmits the power source off signal to an equipment and turns off the power source of the equipment. When any human body gets close to the remote controller while the power source of the equipment is turned off, a human body existence signal is outputted from the sensor 1 and corresponding to this signal, the second output signal (an instruction to turn on the power source of the equipment) is inputted from the timer means 2 to the means 3. Thus, since the power source on signal is transmitted from the means 3 to the equipment and the power source of the equipment is automatically turned on from any remote places, the power source of the equipment is turned on even without operating the remote controller, and it is extremely convenient.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally controls on / off power of various devices including AV devices such as stereos, tape recorders, televisions, and video devices, and also controls various devices. The remote control device that can remotely operate the command (function), that is, a so-called remote control device, and in particular, automatically detects the presence / absence of a person and automatically turns on / off the power of various devices remotely. The present invention relates to a remote control device having a function and having an automatic on / off function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, remote control devices for various equipment such as AV equipment and air conditioners control ON / OFF of power supplies of these equipment from a long distance, and various command of the equipment (for example, volume, recording, recording, reproducing, Channel switching, reservation,
Its purpose is to allow functions such as cooling and heating) to be operated from a long distance. It is not possible for the remote control device to judge itself and automatically send a signal to the equipment to control its power on / off. There wasn't.

[0003]

As described above, the conventional remote control device operates only when operated by a human and is equipped with the remote control device as an accessory device such as AV equipment and air conditioners. It was possible to control on / off the power of the device from a long distance, and to operate various commands of the device from a long distance by turning on the power. Therefore, unless the person operates the remote control device or directly turns off the power of the device, the power of the device is not turned off, and it is often inadvertently forgotten to turn it off. This not only consumes unnecessary power but also wastefully uses the device for a long time, resulting in a short life of the device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device with an automatic on / off function that can prevent forgetting to turn off the power of the equipment.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a remote control means (that is, remote control means capable of remotely controlling ON / OFF of a power source of an equipment and operating various commands of the equipment after power-on) (that is, An ordinary remote control device) receives a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a human and generates an output signal that indicates the presence or absence of a human, and an output signal that indicates the absence of a human that is output from this sensor Counting of time is started, and a first output signal is generated after the count of this fixed time, and a second output signal is generated when an output signal indicating the presence of a human being output from the sensor is received, Further, a timer means for stopping the counting when the output signal indicating the presence of the human being is received during counting, and the output signal from the timer means is provided to the remote control means. Power is generated, a power-off signal is generated when the first output signal is received, and the power of the device is automatically turned off remotely, and a power-on signal is generated when the second output signal is received. Then, the power of the device is automatically turned on remotely.

[0006]

According to the above construction, when the sensor does not detect the presence of a person, a power-off signal is generated from the remote control device after a certain period of time, and the power of the equipment is automatically turned off remotely. Therefore, even if the power of the device is forgotten to be turned off, it is automatically turned off after a certain period of time, so that there is no fear of wasting power. In addition, since the device is not operated for an unnecessary time, the life of the device can be extended. On the other hand, when the sensor detects the presence of a person, a power-on signal is generated from the remote controller, and the device is not powered off unless the person leaves the remote controller for a certain period of time. You will not feel inconvenienced by turning off.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the automatic on / off according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device with an OFF function, which includes a biometric sensor 1 that senses the presence or absence of a human and generates output signals indicating the presence and absence of the human, respectively. A human being output from the sensor 1 while receiving an output signal indicating the absence of a human being output from the sensor 1 to start counting for a certain period of time and generating a first output signal after the count of the certain period of time is finished. A timer means (2) for generating a second output signal when receiving an output signal indicating the presence and stopping the counting when receiving the output signal indicating the human presence during counting, and the timer means (2) When the first output signal is received, a power-off signal is generated to automatically turn off the power of the device remotely, and the timer means 2 causes the power to be turned off. When it receives the second output signal comprises a remote control unit 3 having the function of the power of the device to generate a power-on signal to automatically turn on at the remote.

The remote control means 3 can control on / off of power sources of various equipment such as AV equipment and air conditioners from a long distance, and after power-on, various commands of the equipment (for example, volume, recording, recording and reproducing). , A function such as channel switching, reservation, cooling, heating, etc.) can be operated from a long distance. The remote control means 3 has a timer means when a person is not present for a certain period of time or more. The first output signal (command to turn off the power of the device) is input from 2 and the remote control means 3 transmits a power off signal to the device, and the power of the device is automatically turned off from a long distance. It is configured as follows.

With this configuration, when a person leaves the remote control device for a certain time or more while keeping the power of the device on, the power of the device is automatically turned off. Therefore, for example, even if you accidentally forget to turn off the power of the device, that is, if you sleep while leaving the room with the power on, the power of the device will be turned off after a certain period of time, so it will be wasteful for a long time. There is no fear of power consumption. In addition, since the device is not wastefully used for a long time, the life of the device is extended.

On the other hand, the timer means 2 starts counting for a fixed time only when it receives an output signal indicating the absence of a human from the sensor 1, and generates a first output signal after the counting for the fixed time is finished. When the output signal indicating the presence of a person is received from the sensor 1, the second output signal is generated, and when the output signal indicating the presence of a person is received during the counting, the counting is stopped, so that the device is in the power-off state. When a person approaches the remote control device while the vehicle is in the position 1, the sensor 1 outputs the person presence signal, which causes the timer means 2 to input the second output signal (command for turning on the power of the device) to the remote control means 3. It Therefore, since a power-on signal is transmitted from the remote control means 3 to the device and the power of the device is automatically turned on from a long distance, the device is turned on without operating the remote control device, which is very convenient. Is.

When a person once leaves the remote control device and then returns to the vicinity of the remote control device again within a fixed time, the counting of the timer means 2 is stopped and the timer means 2 does not generate the first output signal. Then, when the timer means 2 receives the human absence signal again, the counting is restarted from the beginning. Therefore, a signal for turning off the power of the device is transmitted from the remote control means 3 only when a person leaves the remote control device for a certain time or longer, and the power of the device is turned off when the person returns to the vicinity of the remote control device within the predetermined time. Therefore, by setting this fixed time to an appropriate time, the power of the device will turn off even if it is only a short time away from the remote control device, or if the remote control device has only a blind spot. There is no inconvenience.

By the way, since the sensor 1 is a biometric sensor for detecting whether or not a person is near the remote control device, the mounting position of the sensor 1 on the remote control device is an important point. In this embodiment, a plurality of sensors 1 are provided on the upper surface of the remote controller so that the presence of a person can be monitored in four directions. Also,
Discrimination between a stationary object such as furniture or a wall other than a human and a moving body such as a human is performed by scanning the sensor 1 in this embodiment. As a result, it was possible to reliably distinguish a moving object and a stationary object. Furthermore, when humans do not move, it is difficult to distinguish it from stationary objects such as furniture and walls, but in reality it does not move at all for a certain period of time. If a sensor for detecting emitted infrared rays is provided, it is possible to detect the presence of the human even if the human does not move at all, so that the presence of the human can be detected more reliably. By combining various determination methods in this way, the presence or absence of a person can be reliably detected by the sensor 1.

If the automatic on / off function invalidating means such as a switch for preventing an output signal from being generated from the sensor 1 or the timer means 2 is provided, the function of automatically turning on / off the power supply of the equipment can be stopped. Therefore, for example, if you want to keep the power of the device on, after turning on the power of the device, turn off the automatic on / off function invalidation means to turn off the power of the device without permission. There is no problem of becoming. Also, if you turn on this automatic on / off function invalid means from the beginning,
It can be used as a remote controller similar to the conventional one.

The above embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that various changes and modifications can be made as necessary.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a person leaves a remote control device for a certain time or more while keeping various devices such as an AV device and an air conditioner turned on, the device is automatically powered. For example, even if you forget to turn off the power of the device and sleep when you leave the room, the power of the device will be turned off after a certain period of time, so it may consume unnecessary power for a long time. Without. Also,
Since the device is not wasted for a long time, the life of the device is extended. Also, when a person leaves the remote control device once and then returns to the vicinity of the remote control device within a certain time, the power of the device is not turned off, so that, for example, the remote control device is only a short time away,
Alternatively, there is no inconvenience that the power supply of the device is turned off only after the blind spot of the remote control device is left for a while. Furthermore, if a person approaches the remote control device while the power of the device is off, a power on signal is sent to the device,
Since the power of the device is automatically turned on, there are many remarkable effects such that the power of the device is turned on without operating the remote control device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control device with an automatic on / off function according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Sensor 2 Timer Means 3 Remote Control Means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sensor that senses the presence or absence of a human being and generates output signals indicating the presence and absence of the human being, respectively.
The sensor outputs an output signal indicating the absence of a person, starts counting for a certain period of time, generates a first output signal after the counting of the certain period of time, and outputs the sensor from the sensor. A second output signal is generated when the output signal indicating the human presence is received, and a timer means for stopping the counting when the output signal indicating the human presence is received during counting, and the first means from the timer means. A power-off signal is generated when an output signal is received to automatically turn off the power of the device remotely, and a power-on signal is generated when the second output signal is received from the timer means. A remote control device with an automatic on / off function, comprising: a remote control means having a function of automatically turning on a power source of a device remotely.