JPH0879850A - Control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To allow a user to select a command for various operations not by using a monitor device but by using an inexpensive display means and voice synthesizing means such as an LED. CONSTITUTION: A remote commander sends position displacement information and enter information. Then LEDs 241 -248 are arranged to a control unit 20 corresponding respectively to each of various command content displays on an external package panel, a control section 23 lights a specific LED based on entered position displacement information to be entered so that a command content corresponding to the LED is designated and displayed, or the command content to be designated is informed to the user by character display or voice synthesized output (29) of a display section 28. Then the control section 23 reads a command code corresponding to the command content in the designated display state at present based on the entry of the information from a storage means and provides an output.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system suitable as an operation control system for various systems such as AV systems, home automation systems, office / factory automation systems and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, VTRs, television receivers, C
A / V equipment such as D player, air conditioner,
Various electronic devices such as lighting devices can be remotely operated using a remote commander. By the way, it is troublesome for the user to use a dedicated remote commander for each type of device, so I want to be able to operate multiple types of electronic devices with one remote commander, and realize various operations with few keys. There was a demand to improve operability.

Therefore, the present applicant has previously proposed that, as a prior art,
For example, a method has been proposed in which various operation images are displayed on a screen of a CRT monitor or the like so as to be superimposed on a video image, and various devices can be operated by selecting the images with a pointer or a cursor.

For example, when connecting a TV tuner, a laser disc player, a VTR, etc. as an AV system to a CRT monitor device, a control unit is connected, and, for example, a TV tuner or a laser disc player is operated. CRT like 19 (a) (b)
Various operation images SD and a pointer P for selecting the images are displayed on the monitor screen. As the operation image SD, for example, a plurality of buttons are displayed side by side as shown in the figure.

Then, for example, when a command code serving as position displacement information is output from the remote commander, the pointer P is moved accordingly, and when the pointer P is on a certain button image in the operation image SD, the remote commander. When a command code serving as enter information is supplied from the control unit, the command code corresponding to the button image is output from the control unit to a predetermined device.

For example, as shown in FIG. 19A, when the pointer P is moved to the position indicated by the broken line in the operation image SD, that is, the position of the channel down button image, and the enter operation is performed in this state, the TV tuner is displayed. On the other hand, a command code for channel down is output from the control unit. Then, the TV tuner receives the command code and switches the channel according to the command code.

When the enter operation is performed in the state shown in FIG. 19B, the control unit outputs a command code meaning the next fast-forward reproduction to the laser disc player. Then, the laser disc player receives the command code and executes the fast-forward reproduction operation according to the command code.

In this system, for example, as the operation input means by the remote commander, it is sufficient that only the operation for moving the pointer P and the enter operation can be performed, and the simplicity of the operation is greatly improved.

[0009]

However, when the operation image SD is displayed on the monitor screen and the user wants to use the operation image SD for the operation, the monitor screen such as the CRT must be in the ON state. Therefore, the following problems occurred.

First, since a monitor device is required,
Such a control system needs to be constructed as a system connected to a television receiver, an AV monitor, a computer display, or the like. Therefore, even if an audio system is constructed with a CD player, a mini disk recorder, a cassette recorder, a radio tuner, etc., the control system cannot be used because there is no monitor device such as a CRT.

Considering the case where the above control system can be adopted in an AV system having a monitor device, for example, when listening to music with a CD player, it is not necessary to turn on the monitor device. However, there is also an inconvenience that the monitor device must be turned on only for the operation.

Furthermore, in this control system, an expensive graphic controller is required to display the character image on the monitor device, so that the system is expensive as a whole.

[0013]

In view of the above problems, the present invention does not use a monitor device, but allows a user to select a command using inexpensive display means such as LEDs or voice synthesis output means. However, the purpose is to be able to perform various operations.

Therefore, the operation input means, the plurality of display means, the display control means, and the execution control means constitute a control system. As the operation input means (remote commander), position displacement information or enter information as input information can be transmitted or output by wire or wirelessly in accordance with an operation. The plurality of display means are arranged corresponding to the display of various command contents on the outer casing panel of the apparatus, for example, and function as pointers. Then, the display control means sets the specific display means to an operation state different from that of the other display means based on the position displacement information transmitted from the operation input means. For example, one display means is specified from a plurality of display means and the light emitting operation is performed. As a result, the command content corresponding to the display means is brought into the designated display state. The execution control means executes the operation corresponding to the command content currently in the designated display state by the certain display means, based on the enter information transmitted from the operation input means.

Further, in addition to the operation input means, the plurality of display means, and the display control means, a storage means is provided, and further a command generation means as the execution control means is provided to form a control system. As the operation input means (remote commander), position displacement information or enter information as input information can be transmitted or output by wire or wirelessly in accordance with an operation. Various command codes are stored in the storage means. The plurality of display means are arranged corresponding to the display of various command contents on the outer casing panel of the apparatus, for example, and function as pointers. Then, the display control means sets the specific display means to an operation state different from that of the other display means based on the position displacement information transmitted from the operation input means. For example, one display means is specified from a plurality of display means and the light emitting operation is performed. As a result, the command content corresponding to the display means is brought into the designated display state. The command generation means reads out from the storage means a command code corresponding to the command content currently in the designated display state by a certain display means based on the enter information transmitted from the operation input means, and outputs it.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned constitutions, a character display means capable of displaying various characters or symbols is provided. Then, the display control means realizes a designated display state of a certain command content by the operation of the display means which is a pointer by a plurality of LEDs or the like based on the positional displacement information, and the character display means uses the pointer display means. Display the command contents that are in the specified display state.

In addition to the above-mentioned components, a voice synthesis output means is provided. The voice synthesis output means is configured to be able to perform voice synthesis of the command content designated based on the position displacement information from the operation input means and output it.

[0018]

By implementing the display means (pointer means) for designating a certain command by the light emitting operation of the LED, C
A monitor device such as RT is unnecessary. Then, as a user's operation input, a simple operation of outputting position displacement information and enter information is performed. Further, the content of the command specified by the position displacement information may be notified to the user by voice by the voice synthesizing means with or without the display means.

[0019]

The first to third embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an AV system example in which a remote control system that can be realized by the first to third embodiments is constructed. In FIG. 1, 10 is an AV selector amplifier, 61 is a first VTR, and 62 is a second VT.
R and 63 are LDP (laser disk player), 64 is a CD player, 70 is a monitor device, and 71 is a speaker.

First VTR 61, second VTR 62, L
The audio / video signal outputs of the DP 63 and the CD player 64 are connected to the AV selector amplifier 10. And
The audio / video signals selected by the AV selector amplifier 10 are connected so as to be output from the monitor device 70 and the speaker 71. Further, the first VTR 61, the second VTR 62, the LDP 63, and the CD player 64 are respectively provided with infrared receivers 61a, 62a, 63a, 64a, and usually infrared command signals output by dedicated remote commanders. The remote control is possible by. However, in the embodiment, the operation for each device can be executed by one remote commander R.

The remote control system according to the embodiment is the remote commander R and the AV selector amplifier 1
The remote commander R includes, for example, position displacement information on x and y coordinates, and a control unit (described in FIG. 2) built in 0.
Anything that can output only the enter information may be used. Or, depending on the system, the position displacement information is x
Only one-dimensional position displacement information in the direction or the y direction may be used.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, a shuttle ball S alone is provided as an operating portion, an angular velocity sensor,
A device that can output position displacement information using an acceleration sensor,
Alternatively, although not shown, a device capable of outputting trackball rotation information such as a mouse in a personal computer, a device capable of outputting operation direction information such as 2 directions, 4 directions or 8 directions by a joystick, 2 directions, 4 directions or 8 directions You can use all existing pointing devices, such as those with arrow keys. That is, it is not necessary to provide a large number of operation keys. Infrared, radio wave,
Alternatively, wired transmission or the like may be used.

In the case of the remote commander R using the shuttle ball S, for example, when the user rotates the shuttle ball S, displacement information in the x direction and / or the y direction is output as, for example, an infrared modulation signal, and the shuttle ball S is pressed. By doing so, enter information is output.

Here, a remote commander R using an angular velocity sensor is used, and this remote commander R will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11. In the description of the remote commander R, it is assumed that the remote commander R can output two-dimensional position displacement information in x coordinate and y coordinate as the position displacement information.

First, FIG. 7 shows an angular velocity sensor using the vibration gyro 2. The vibrating gyro has a characteristic that when a rotating angular velocity is applied to a vibrating object, a Coriolis force is generated in a direction perpendicular to the vibration, and the Coriolis force F is expressed as follows. F = 2mvω (m: mass, v: velocity, ω: angular velocity) Therefore, the angular velocity ω is proportional to the Coriolis force F, and the rotational angular velocity can be detected by detecting the Coriolis force F.

A driving piezoelectric ceramic 2a and a detecting piezoelectric ceramic 2b are attached to the vibration gyro 2, and an alternating signal which is an oscillation output of the oscillator 1 is applied to the driving piezoelectric ceramic 2a. In FIG. 7, when the vibration gyro 2 is rotated in the direction of Ω ₀ , the detection piezoelectric ceramic 2b
Coriolis force F is applied to, and a voltage corresponding to Coriolis force F is generated. The minute voltage obtained from the detecting piezoelectric ceramic 2b is amplified by the amplifier 3 and supplied to the A / D converter 4 to be digital data (voltage value E).

The angular velocity ω applied to the vibration gyro 2 and the output voltage E are in a proportional relationship as shown in FIG. 8. Therefore, for example, by comparing the voltage value E with the voltage values Va, Vb, Vc, Vd, It is possible to detect the operation of the device equipped with the vibration gyro 2 (for example, the operation of swinging the remote commander left and right).

For example, in the remote commander R,
When the vibration gyro 2 (2X, 2Y) is arranged as shown in FIG. 9, as the output of the vibration gyro 2X, the voltage E rises due to the angular velocity ω _X when the remote commander R is swung to the left, and is swung to the right. The angular velocity ω _X causes the voltage E
Is lowered, whereby the left-right movement of the remote commander R can be detected. That is, if the voltage E output from the vibration gyro 2X is Vc <E <Vd, it can be detected that the remote commander R has been swung leftward, and if Va <E <Vb, it has been swung rightward. it can.

As the output of the vibration gyro 2Y, the angular velocity ω _Y when the remote commander R is swung upwards
Causes the voltage E to rise and the angular velocity ω when it swings downward.
_The voltage E starts to drop due to _Y , whereby the up and down movement of the remote commander R can be detected. That is, the voltage E output from the vibration gyro 2Y is Vc <
If E <Vd, it can be detected that the input device 1 is shaken upward, and if Va <E <Vb, it can be detected that the input device 1 is shaken downward.

When the voltage value E is Vb ≦ E ≦ Vc, it is set as a dead zone so that the movement is not detected when the user slightly touches or carries the input device 1. is there.

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of a remote commander R using such angular velocity sensors (vibration gyros) 2X and 2Y. The output voltage from the angular velocity sensor 2X is supplied to and amplified by the amplification unit 3X, and then the A / D converter 4X.
Is the optimum level for inputting. And the amplifier 3X
The voltage amplified by is output as the voltage value EX digitized by the A / D converter 4X. Also, the angular velocity sensor 2Y
The output voltage from A is supplied to the amplification unit 3Y and is amplified to A
The optimum level is set as the input of the / D converter 4Y. The voltage amplified by the amplifier 3Y is output as a voltage value EY digitized by the A / D converter 4Y.

Reference numeral 5 is a CPU 5a, a ROM 5b, and a RAM 5c.
It shows a control unit formed by a microcomputer having a ROM, and a command signal to be transmitted is stored in the ROM 5b or the RAM 5c. Reference numeral 6 indicates a clock oscillator. This control unit 5 has a voltage value E from the A / D converter 4X.
X and the voltage value EY are supplied from the A / D converter 4Y. The voltage values EX and EY are values corresponding to the movement of the remote commander R shaken in the X and Y directions, that is, X and EY.
It becomes movement information in the Y direction.

Reference numeral 7 denotes an enter operation key, for example, FIG.
It is provided on the remote commander R as shown in
When the user presses the enter operation key 7, the remote commander 1 outputs a command code as enter information (confirmation information).

The control section 5 reads an X direction command (right move command or left move command) from the ROM 5b or RAM 5c according to the input voltage value EX, and also outputs a Y direction command from the ROM 5b or RAM 5c according to the voltage value EY. (Up move command or down move command) is read out and supplied as a command code to the transmitter 8.

That is, the control section 5 performs the processing shown in FIG. 11 to generate a command signal. A command signal (right move command or left move command) corresponding to the input voltage value EX is output (F202), and a command signal (up move command) corresponding to that value is input according to the input voltage value EY. Command (down move command) is output (F203). When the enter operation key 7 is pressed, the enter command is read from the ROM 5b or the RAM 5c and output (F201 → F204).

The command code thus generated from the control unit 5 is subjected to a predetermined modulation process in the transmission unit 8 and output to a predetermined device as a radio wave or an infrared signal. The transmitting unit 8 may be of a type that transmits a command signal to a predetermined device by wire. Also,
An acceleration sensor, an inclination sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, or the like may be used instead of the angular velocity sensor to similarly generate the x and y displacement information.

Thus, from the remote commander R,
Enter command, X direction move command (up direction /
Only three types of command codes are output: a down direction) and a Y direction movement command (up direction / down direction).
However, since a control unit is formed on the command code receiving side correspondingly, various kinds of operations can be executed.

In the case of the first embodiment, a remote control system using the remote commander R is constructed by providing the AV selector amplifier 10 in the system of FIG. 1 with the control unit 20 as shown in FIG. 2, for example. It In the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2, only the X-direction movement command is required as the position displacement information from the remote commander R, and the Y-direction movement command is not used. Therefore, as the remote commander R, not only the type that outputs movement commands in both X and Y directions as described above, but also the type that outputs only X direction movement commands can be used. This means that only the angular velocity sensor 2X is mounted, as shown in FIG.
0 from which the angular velocity sensor 2Y to A / D converter 4Y are removed.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a voice input selector section, which is a first VTR 6 connected as an external device.
1, second VTR 62, LDP 63, CD player 64
The input audio signal is alternatively selected from the audio signals supplied from. The audio signal selected by the audio input selector unit 11 is supplied to the amplifier 13 via the volume adjusting unit 12, amplified, and supplied to the connected speaker 71 to be output as audio.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a video input selector section,
First VTR 61, second connected as external device
The input video signal is alternatively selected from the video signals supplied from the VTR 62 and the LDP 63. The video signal selected by the video input selector unit 14 is connected to the monitor device 70.
And is output as a video.

As described above, in addition to the functional portion as the AV selector amplifier, the control unit 20 corresponding to the command code serving as the positional displacement information (x displacement information and enter information) transmitted from the remote commander R is provided.

Reference numeral 21 is a radio wave receiving section for receiving and demodulating the command code transmitted from the remote commander R by radio waves, and 22 is an infrared receiving section for receiving and demodulating the command code transmitted by infrared rays. Of course, these may correspond to the transmission system adopted in the remote commander R, or only one of them may be provided. It is not necessary for wired transmission. Hereinafter, the remote commander R in the embodiment will be described as a command code output by a radio wave method.

Reference numeral 23 is a CPU 23a, a ROM 23b, and an RA.
It is a control unit formed by a microcomputer having an M23c. As will be described later, the control unit 23 controls various remote control systems corresponding to the operation information of the remote commander R supplied from the radio wave reception unit 21, and also functions as a control unit of the AV selector amplifier. That is, the switching control of the audio input selector unit 11 and the video input selector unit 14 and the volume control of the volume control unit 12 are executed according to the user's operation input, operation mode, and the like.

Numerals 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ are LEDs, which are connected to the ports P _{1 to} P ₈ of the control section 23 via resistors r, respectively. Then, in each of the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ , the connected ports P _{1 to} P ₈ are at high level (5
V) causes light to be emitted.

The external appearance of the AV selector amplifier 10 is shown in FIG. 3, and various command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ are formed on the front panel as shown in the drawing. LE for example
D24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ are command displays 25 ₁ to 2 respectively.
It is arranged as a 5 ₈ backlight. Therefore, for example, when the LED 24 ₁ emits light, the command display 25 ₁ “P-OFF” indicating the power-off operation is presented to the user.
Will appear to be emitting light.

25 ₂ is an input function switching command display for designating a first VTR, 25 ₃ is a first VTR, 25 ₄ is an LDP, and 25 ₅ is an input for designating a CD player. It is a command display for function switching. Also, 25 ₆ is audio mute, 25 ₇
Is a volume down command, and 25 ₈ is a volume up command display.

These command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ are
It may be simply formed as a light emitting area of the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ , or the portions that become the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ may also be used as a manual pressing operation switch used together with the operation by the remote commander R. Good.
In this case, the operation information of the pressing operation is configured to be supplied to the control unit 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the front panel of the AV selector amplifier 10 is provided with a volume knob 12a for manually operating the volume adjusting section 12.

ROM 23b or RA in control unit 23
In the M23c, in addition to the control data (command code) for the functional portion as the AV selector amplifier, the A
Various command codes for an electronic device such as the first VTR 61 connected to the V selector amplifier and an external electronic device having no relation are stored, and one of these command codes is used by the remote commander R of the user described later. When specified by the operation of, the command code is read and supplied to the infrared transmission unit 26. Alternatively, the read command code is supplied to the terminal 27 and wired to a predetermined external device or internal circuit system. If a system bus line is constructed between the devices, command transmission may be performed by the bus.

In the infrared transmitting section 26, the supplied command code is subjected to a predetermined modulation processing and transmitted as an infrared signal to the outside of the device. The infrared transmitter 26 is provided as an omnidirectional infrared output unit, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the infrared signals output from the infrared transmitter 26 are various types arranged around the AV selector amplifier. It can be received by the infrared receiver in the electronic device (first VTR 61 or the like). It should be noted that a command code transmission section using radio waves may be provided instead of the infrared transmission section or in combination therewith.

By the way, as a method of designating the command code by the operation of the remote commander R by the user,
The command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ described above are used. At this time, command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 as shown in FIG.
_In the first embodiment in which ₈ is arranged, only the control data (command code) for the functional portion as the AV selector amplifier is provided. As far as this embodiment is concerned, ROM
It is not necessary to store various command codes for an external electronic device in 23b or the RAM 23c, and it is not always necessary to provide the infrared transmitter 26 and the terminal 27. An example in which a command code for another device such as the first VTR 61 can be selected is described as a third example described later, in which case the ROM 23b or R
It is necessary to store various command codes for an external electronic device in the AM 23c, and the infrared transmission unit 26
The terminal 27 is required.

The operation of the remote control system configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the control unit 23 based on the position designation information (x displacement information and enter) transmitted from the remote commander 1.

As described above, the ROM 23b or the RAM 2
Although command codes for various operations are stored in 3c, these are set corresponding to the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ . Then, the user by outputting the x displacement information waving remote commander R to the left and right, either the command display 25 _to 253 ₈ in response thereto is turned on by the LED 24 ₁ to 24 _8, the selected state of the current command code Is represented. Then, by pressing the enter key 7 of the remote commander R, the command code corresponding to the command display that is being emitted at that time is selected.

In the control section 23a, a work area for fixing the current x coordinate is secured inside in order to correspond to the x displacement information. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the X coordinate is composed of 256 points. This X coordinate is the command display 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈
And the ports P ₁ to control the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 _8.
It is made to correspond to P ₈ .

For example, in this case, command displays 25 _{1 to} 25
_{Since 8} corresponds to 8 command codes, the coordinates of 256 points are divided into 8 by the processing of FIG. That is, the region of 0 ≦ x ≦ 31 is the power off command, 3
The region of 2 ≦ x ≦ 63 is the first VTR selection command, 6
The area of 4 ≦ x ≦ 95 is the second VTR selection command, 9
The area of 6 ≦ x ≦ 127 is an LDP selection command, 128
The area of ≦ x ≦ 159 is the selection command of the CD player, 1
The area of 60 ≦ x ≦ 191 is a mute command, and 192 ≦
The area of x ≦ 223 is a volume down command, 224 ≦ x ≦
The area 255 corresponds to the volume up command.

The operation when the operation information is input by the remote commander R will be concretely described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the AV selector amplifier 10 is powered on, the control unit 23 first sets x = 127 as the initial value of the coordinate value x (F201). The x displacement information from the remote commander R is transmitted as 8-bit data of 2's complement, that is, data having a value of +128 to -127.

Here, in response to the reception of the command data from the remote commander R, the process proceeds from step F202 to F203. That is, when the control unit 23 receives the command data, it first confirms whether the content is x displacement information or enter information. If it is the x displacement information, the received data, that is, any one of +128 to -127 x
The displacement value is added to the coordinate value x (F204). That is, when the user shakes the remote commander R left and right, the coordinate value x changes in the left and right directions on the coordinates in FIG.

When the coordinate value is represented by 8 bits,
The minimum value of the coordinate value x is "0" and the maximum value is "255". Therefore, if the coordinate value x after addition in step F204 becomes smaller than 0, x is forcibly set to 0 (F205, F2
06). When the coordinate value x after addition becomes 256 or more, x = 255 is forcibly set (F207, F208).

[0058] When the thus-coordinate value x is obtained, in order to obtain a value x ₁ which correspond to the 8 divided areas of the above, x ₁ =
Performs x / 32 calculation (F209). Here, "32" is a value of 256/8.

The value of the integer part of the digit above the decimal point in the value of x ₁ is "0" when the coordinate value x is 0≤x≤31, and "1" when the coordinate value x is 32≤x≤63, 64 ≦ x ≦ 9
In case of 5, “2”, in case of 96 ≦ x ≦ 127, “3”,
If 128 ≦ x ≦ 159, then “4”, 160 ≦ x ≦ 19
In the case of 1, it is “5”, in the case of 192 ≦ x ≦ 223, it is “6”, and in the case of 224 ≦ x ≦ 255, it is “7”.

That is, the value of the integer part of x ₁ indicates which of the eight divided regions the current coordinate value x is. Based on the value of the integer part of x ₁ , the control unit 23 sets any of the ports P _{1 to} P ₈ to 5V (high level). In other words, if the integer part of x ₁ = 0, the port P
_{If 1} is the value of the integer part of x ₁ = 1, then port P ₂ is ...
If the value of the integer part of x ₁ = 7, port P ₈ is selected and set to high level (F210).

Then, the LED (any of 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ ) connected to the selected port emits light, and the user can see that any of the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ of FIG. . For example, the coordinate value x is 96 ≦ x
If ≤127, port P ₄ goes high and LE
Since D24 ₄ emits light, "LD" is displayed as shown in Fig. 4 (a).
The command display 25 ₄ is turned on.

That is, the above process is performed in response to the user swinging the remote commander R to the left or right and the x displacement information is input to the control unit 23, whereby the command display 2
Emission state of 5 _to 253 ₈ is as shown in FIG. For example, from the state of FIG. 4 (a), the user selects the remote commander R
When is greatly swung to the left, the power-off command display 25 ₁ is in a light emitting state as shown in FIG.

If the remote commander R is swung to the right, the command display 2 for volume up is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (c).
5 ₈ is in a light emitting state.

Next, when the user presses the enter key 7 of the remote commander R to input the enter information to the control unit 23, the process proceeds from step F203 to F211. Then, the command code corresponding to the currently selected port is read. For example, it is assumed that the user operates the remote commander R left and right to make the command display 25 ₅ for selecting the CD player in a light emitting state as shown in FIG. At this time, the coordinate value x is 12 inside the control unit 23.
Any of the values 8 ≦ x ≦ 159, the port P ₅ is selected and is set to the high level.

If the user presses the enter key 7 at this point, port P ₅ , that is, the coordinate value x is 128 ≦ x
ROM 23b or RAM corresponding to the area of ≦ 159
The command code stored in 23c is read. That is, the command code of "CD player selection" is read.
Then, this is transmitted to the necessary part. In the case of this embodiment, a command code "CD player selection" is sent from the control unit 23 to the audio input selector unit 11, and the audio input selector unit 11 is switched to the input terminal of the CD player.

In this embodiment, all the contents of the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ are included in the AV selector amplifier 10.
Although the command for the operation of is used as an example, it may be made to correspond to the command for the operation of the external device. In this case, the read command code is the infrared transmitter 2
6 and the terminal 27 will be supplied to an external device.

As described above, in this embodiment, the user can select the command code while looking at the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ , and the CRT monitor device 70 is not used. Therefore, even when the monitor device 70 is off, such as when using a CD player, the operation can be performed by the remote commander R that outputs only the x displacement information and the enter information. Further, in addition to the AV system example of FIG. 1, it can be adopted in an audio system without the monitor device 70. Moreover, the pointer for command selection in the remote control system can be made of a very inexpensive member such as an LED.

Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12, 13 and 1.
This will be explained in Section 4. In the case of this embodiment, the structure is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but as shown in FIG. 12, a character display portion 28 using, for example, an FL tube or a liquid crystal panel is formed on the front panel. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 23 is configured to control the display operation of the character display unit 28. Further, a voice synthesizer 29 is provided, and the controller 23 controls the voice synthesizer 29 to output a desired voice signal. The voice signal synthesized by the voice synthesizer 29 is supplied to the amplifier 13 and is output from the speaker 71 as voice. The other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, when the remote commander R is swung to the left or right and a command code is selected, the command contents in the selected state can be displayed large in characters or symbols on the character display unit 28. Is.
Further, the content of the command in the selected state is transmitted to the user by voice by the output of the voice synthesizer 29.

The control unit carries out the processing as shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, the processing of steps F201 to F211 is the same as in FIG.
The same as the above, but the processes of steps F212 and F213 are newly added. That is, the remote commander R of a certain user
When the x displacement information is input by the operation of, a certain port is selected and a certain command display is in a light emitting state, a process of displaying the content of the command display on the character display unit 28 is performed (F212. ), And the process of outputting the command contents by voice synthesis is performed (F21
3).

[0071] When the command display 25 ₄ LDP selected as shown in FIG. 12 is emitted for example, characters such as "LD" is displayed in the character display unit 28. Then, by voice synthesis, "Eldy" or "Laser disc"
The synthesized voice will be output. Of course "L
The command contents may be displayed in more detail, such as "D SELECT", or the contents may be output in detail, such as "Laser disc text" as synthetic voice. Then, for example, when an enter operation is performed in this state, the LDP selection command is stored in the ROM 23 in the process of step F211.
b or the RAM 23c, and is supplied to the video input selector unit 14 and the audio input selector unit 11 so that the LD
It will be switched to the P terminal.

In the second embodiment as described above, the visibility of the selection state at the time of command selection by the user can be further improved and, for example, the operation can be easily performed even from a distant position. Even when the display contents of the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ and the character display unit 28 cannot be visually recognized, the user can confirm the command in the selected state by the voice synthesis output.

When the character display section 28 is provided in this way, an example in which the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ are not provided can be considered. In addition, the character display unit 28 is not provided, and the LED
24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ and the voice synthesizing unit 29 may be provided, or the LEDs 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ and the character display unit 28 may be provided without providing the voice synthesizing unit 29. In addition LED24 ₁ ~24
A configuration in which the command in the selected state can be confirmed only by voice by the voice synthesizer 29 without providing the ₈ or the character display unit 28 is also conceivable.

In the second embodiment, the output of the voice synthesizing unit 29 is set to the time when a certain command is selected by the x displacement information, but the command is output when the command output is executed by the enter operation. The contents may be output by voice.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15, 16 and 1.
This will be explained in Section 7. In this embodiment, command displays are arranged two-dimensionally as shown in FIG. That is, the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₈ are displayed in the upper stage of the command displays 25 ₉ to 2
5 ₁₆ will be arranged. And each command display 25 _{1 to} 25
_As a backlight corresponding to 16, LE as shown in FIG.
D24 _{1 to} 24 ₁₆ are provided. Each LED24 ₁ ~24
₁₆ is connected to each of the ports P _{1 to} P ₁₆ of the control unit 23 via the resistor r, and the connected port P
Light is emitted when _{1 to} P ₁₆ become high level (5 V).

The operation of this embodiment is basically the same as that of the first and second embodiments, but in this case, the command code selection by the user is not limited to swinging the remote commander R to the left and right, but to the up and down. It is also done by shaking.
Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the remote commander R that can output displacement information in the x and y directions as described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11 is used.

[0077] In this embodiment, the command display 25 _9-2
Reference _numeral 5 ₁₆ indicates the command content for an external device. That is, 25 ₉ fast-reverse, 25 ₁₀ play, 25 ₁₁ fast-forward, 25 ₁₂ stop, 25 ₁₃ pause, 25 ₁₄ backward search, 25 ₁₅ forward search, 25 ₁₆ record / It is a command display of recording.

For example, the command contents for these external devices may be changed corresponding to the device currently selected by the video input selector section 14 and the audio input selector section 11. For example, when the CD player is selected by the audio input selector unit 11 commands the display 25 ₉ corresponds to the rewind command for CD players, also, the first VTR voice input selector unit 11 and the video input selector section 14 When selected, the command display 25 ₉ may correspond to the fast rewind command for the first VTR.

In the case of this embodiment, the ROM 23b or the RAM 23c in the control unit 23 stores not only the control data (command code) for the functional portion as the AV selector amplifier, but also the first data connected to the AV selector amplifier. It is also necessary to store various command codes for electronic devices such as the VTR 61. When the command code for the connected electronic device is designated by the user's operation of the remote commander R, the command code is read and output from the infrared transmitter 26 or the terminal 27.

The operation of the remote control system configured as above will be described below. FIG.
3 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the control unit 23 based on the position designation information (x displacement information, y displacement information, and enter information) transmitted from the remote commander R.

Although command codes for various operations are stored in the ROM 23b or the RAM 23c, these are set in correspondence with the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₁₆ . Then, the user shakes the remote commander R up, down, left and right to output the x, y displacement information, and accordingly, one of the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₁₆ is L
It is turned on by the EDs 24 _{1 to} 24 _{16 and} shows the current selection state of the command code. Then, by pressing the enter key 7 of the remote commander R, the command code corresponding to the command display that is being emitted at that time is selected.

In this case, the control section 23 secures a work area for fixing the current x, y coordinates in order to correspond to the x, y displacement information. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, 25
Construct 6-point X and Y coordinates. Then, as in the first embodiment, the X coordinate is divided into eight regions, while the Y coordinate is divided into eight regions.
The coordinates are divided into two. This X-Y coordinates and command display 25 _to 253 ₁₆ (and LED 24 ₁ to 24 _16-port P ₁ to P ₁₆ for the control of) is made to correspond.

The operation when the operation information is input by the remote commander R will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the AV selector amplifier 10 is powered on, the control unit 23 first sets x = 127 as the initial value of the coordinate value x (F301). Further, y = 127 is set as the initial value of the coordinate value y (F302). The x and y displacement information from the remote commander R is sent as any value of +128 to -127, respectively.

Here, in response to the reception of the command data from the remote commander R, the processing proceeds from step F303 to F304. That is, when the control unit 23 receives the command data, it first confirms whether the content is x, y displacement information or enter information. Then, if it is the x and y displacement information, the value of the x displacement, which is one of +128 to -127, is added to the coordinate value x as in the above embodiment (F305). Further, since the minimum value of the coordinate value x is “0” and the maximum value is “255”, when the coordinate value x after the addition becomes smaller than 0, it is forcibly set to x = 0 and after the addition. Coordinate value x is 25
When it becomes 6 or more, it is forced to set x = 255 (F30
6, F307, F308, F309).

Further, in this case, since y displacement information is also input, the value of y displacement which is any one of +128 to -127 is added to the coordinate value y (F310). Further, since the minimum value of the coordinate value y is “0” and the maximum value is “255”, when the coordinate value y after addition becomes smaller than 0, y = 0 is compulsorily set,
When the coordinate value y after addition is 256 or more,
Forcibly set y = 255 (F311, F312, F313, F314).

When new coordinate values x and y are obtained in this way, x ₁ = x / 32 is calculated in order to obtain a value x ₁ corresponding to an area of 8 divisions for the coordinate value x of 256 points. (F315). Further, to obtain the value y ₁ corresponding to the two-divided region for the coordinate value y of 256 points, y
₁ = y / 128 is calculated (F316).

As described in the first embodiment, the value of the integer part in the value of x ₁ indicates which of the eight divided areas the current coordinate value x is. Also, in this case, depending on the value of the integer part of the value of y ₁ ,
It is shown in which area the current coordinate value y is divided into two in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, it is possible to determine which of the areas in FIG. 17 the current coordinate is based on by x ₁ and y ₁ , and the control unit 23 determines whether each of the ports P _{1 to} P ₁₆ is 5 V according to the area.
(High level) (F317).

Then, the LED (any one of 24 _{1 to} 24 ₈ ) connected to the selected port emits light, and the user can see that any _one of the command displays 25 _{1 to} 25 ₁₆ shown in FIG. 15 is illuminated. . For example, in FIG. 15, the coordinate value x is 32 ≦ x ≦ 63, and the coordinate value y is 128 ≦ y ≦ 255.
In this case, port P ₁₀ goes high and LE
It shows a state in which D24 ₁₀ is emitting light. That is, the "play" command display 25 ₁₀ is in a light emitting state.

Then, in step F318, as in the case of the second embodiment, "P" indicating reproduction is displayed on the character display unit 28.
A character such as “LAY” is displayed. If the current input function, that is, the selection state of the audio input selector unit 11 and the video input selector unit 14 is the CD player, this reproduction command is for the CD player 64, and therefore the reproduction command of FIG. Character display 28
Then, it is good to display "CD PLAY".

Next, when the user presses the enter key 7 of the remote commander R to input the enter information to the control section 23, the process proceeds from step F304 to step F319. Then, first, the port that is currently selected is determined whether a P ₁ to P _8, or a P ₉ to P _16. That is, it is determined whether the coordinate value y is y <128. y <12
If any of the ports P _{1 to} P ₈ is selected at ₈ , the command code corresponding to the selected port will be read. For example, when the command display 25 _{5 for} selecting a CD player is in the light emitting state, the control unit 23 controls the R
The command code of "CD player selection" stored in the OM 23b or the RAM 23c is read and supplied to the audio input selector unit 11 (F320).

On the other hand, when y ≧ 128 and one of the ports P _{9 to} P ₁₆ is selected, the command code is selected and read by the current input function together with the selected port (( F32
1). For example, as shown in FIG. 15, "CD P
“LAY” is displayed when the port P ₁₀ is at the high level, the LED 24 ₁₀ is emitting light, and the selected state in the audio input selector section 11 is the CD player. In such a case, the control unit 23 controls the ROM 2
3b or the command code of "CD player reproduction" stored in the RAM 23c is read out, and the infrared rays are modulated by the infrared transmitter 26, or wired from the terminal 27.
It will be supplied to the CD player 64.

When the selection state in the audio input selector section 11 and the video input selector section 14 is the first VTR,
When the command display 25 ₁₀ is in the light emitting state, for example, in the processing of step F318, the character display section 28 displays “VTR1 P
"LAY" or the like is displayed. Then, when the enter operation is performed in that state, in step F321, the "first VTR
The command code “play” is read out and the infrared transmitter 2
6 or from the terminal 27 to the first VTR 61.

Also in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained, and the command displays can be arranged and selected in the two-dimensional directions corresponding to the X and Y coordinates. , More command selections can be made easier.

Although the first to third embodiments have been described above, various modifications of the present invention are possible. First,
Although the LED is used as the pointer indicating the current selection state, the pointer may be displayed on another display device such as a plasma display device, a liquid crystal panel, an FL tube, a light bulb, etc. other than the LED. Of course, the number of commands to be selected is not limited to 8 or 16, and any number of commands may be used as long as it is 2 or more, and various array arrangements in the X coordinate or the XY coordinate can be considered. Further, the case of using only the X coordinate and the case of using the XY coordinate have been described, but a configuration using only the Y coordinate may be used.

Further, although only the selected LED is made to emit light, for example, all the LEDs are always made to emit light and only the selected LED is made to blink so that the function as a pointer is realized. May be.

Although the control unit 20 is built in the AV selector amplifier 10, the VTR,
It may be built in another device such as a CD player, or may be configured as a single unit. When the control unit 20 is built in a device such as a VTR and control of other devices is unnecessary, the infrared transmitter 2
6 and the terminal 27 are of course unnecessary, and the control unit 23 may directly control the required portion by an internal bus line or the like.

Further, in the embodiment, the command code is stored and the operation associated with the enter operation is explained as the operation of the command code transmission output. However, the operation associated with the enter operation is not limited to the command code transmission output but is directly related to the required part. It may be a control signal output for controlling, a required signal output, or a mechanical operation.

When the control unit 20 is integrated with a device such as the AV selector amplifier 10, the command display portion may be provided separately on the front panel or the like, or may be provided separately. Further, the output of the command content selected by the position displacement information is the display by the LED or the character display section or the voice synthesis output as described in the second embodiment. However, these and other displays other than the LED are displayed. Means and other audio output means may be provided alone or in combination. As another audio output means, for example, a device in which necessary audio is recorded in a recording medium such as a solid-state memory or a disk and the audio can be output can be considered.

[0099]

As described above, in the control system of the present invention, a plurality of display means are arranged corresponding to the respective display of various command contents, and the display control means is arranged so that the positional displacement transmitted from the operation input means. Since a specific display means is set to an operating state different from that of the other display means on the basis of the information to indicate the selected state of a certain command, a monitor device such as a CRT is not required for command selection. . Then, as a user's operation input, various operations can be performed by a simple operation of outputting position displacement information and enter information. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that it can be realized as a control system that effectively functions even in an audio system or the like in which a monitor device does not exist. Further, in a system having a monitor device, when it is not necessary to turn on the monitor device, various operations can be performed with the monitor device turned off. Further, a graphic controller for displaying a character image on a monitor device, which is necessary in this type of control system, is not required, and low-priced parts such as LEDs are used, so that it can be realized as an inexpensive control system. There are also advantages.

Further, by providing a character display means capable of displaying various characters or symbols, and by displaying the content of the command which is in the designated display state by the display means serving as a pointer in this character display means, it is possible to further improve the operation time. There is an effect that it is possible to improve the visibility and improve the operability.

Further, by outputting the designated command contents by voice, the user can more surely know the selected contents, and the operational simplicity can be further improved. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the need for all display means by voice output, and it is also possible for the visually impaired and the visually impaired to easily use it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an AV system that can be adopted by a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an AV selector amplifier including the control system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an external view of an AV selector amplifier including the control system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a pointing operation for command contents according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of coordinate management according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a command selecting and transmitting operation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an angular velocity sensor included in the remote commander of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the angular velocity sensor included in the remote commander of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an arrangement state of angular velocity sensors in the remote commander of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a remote commander according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of command transmission processing of the remote commander of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an external view of an AV selector amplifier including the control system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an AV selector amplifier including the control system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a command selecting and transmitting operation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an external view of an AV selector amplifier including the control system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an AV selector amplifier including the control system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of coordinate management according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a command selecting and transmitting operation of the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of a prior art control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

7 Enter key 10 AV selector amplifier 11 audio input selector unit 12 volume adjusting unit 14 the video input selector unit 20 control unit 21 radio receiver 22 infrared reception section 23 controller _{23a CPU 23b ROM 23c RAM 24 1} ~24 16 LED 25 1 ~ 25 ₁₆ Command display 26 Infrared transmitter 27 Terminal 28 Character display 29 Voice synthesizer R Remote commander

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation input unit capable of transmitting or outputting positional displacement information or enter information as input information at least in accordance with an operation in a wired or wireless manner, and a plurality of operation input units arranged corresponding to various command content displays. Based on the display means and the positional displacement information transmitted from the operation input means, a specific display means can be brought into an operation state different from that of the other display means, and a designated display state of command contents corresponding to the display means can be set. Display control means, and execution control means for executing an operation corresponding to the command content currently in the designated display state by a certain display means based on the enter information transmitted from the operation input means. A control system characterized by that. 2. Operation input means capable of transmitting or outputting positional displacement information or enter information as input information at least in accordance with an operation by wire or wirelessly, a storage means for storing various command codes, and a display of various command contents. A plurality of display means arranged corresponding to each, and a specific display means in an operating state different from other display means based on the position displacement information transmitted from the operation input means, and a command corresponding to the display means Display control means capable of making a designated display state of contents, and based on the enter information transmitted from the operation input means, the command code corresponding to the command contents currently in the designated display state by a certain display means is stored. And a command generation means for reading out and outputting the means, and a control system characterized by comprising: 3. A character display unit capable of displaying various characters or symbols is provided, and the display control unit realizes a designated display state of a certain command content by an operation of the display unit based on position displacement information, The control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the character display means is configured to be able to display the contents of the command which is designated and displayed by the display means. 4. A voice synthesizing output unit is provided, and the voice synthesizing output unit is configured to voice synthesize the command content designated based on the position displacement information from the operation input unit and output the synthesized command. The control system according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein: