JPH09139987A - Method and remote control method for learning of ir code - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To economize a memory by detecting the presence of a pulse of a modulated form, detecting whether a toggle bit is contained or not, detecting a data code and a transmission format and inspecting the learnt code and format. SOLUTION: When a user depresses the key of his/her own remote control unit 7, it is detected whether a remote learning software has a pulse IR signal or a carrier wave IR signal. At the same time, the pulse width or carrier wave cycle is detected by this software. When the IR signal is the carrier wave, in that case, the software sets a switch unit 6 so that only the signal caught by an IR module 2 can be passed to a microprocessor 4. When the IR signal is discriminated as the pulse, the software operates the unit 6 so that only the IR signal caught by a photodiode circuit 1 can be passed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1 and a device according to the preamble of claim 8.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known that consumer electronic devices can be controlled using remote controllers. It is also known that a remote controller of this kind can be realized as a learning remote control device, in which case the remote-controlled signal is stored in a memory after such a remote-controlled signal is received. It has a learning capability that can be analyzed and analyzed and replayed for transmission based on the data stored in memory.

Further, for example, a video cassette recorder (V
CR) TELEFUNKEN M9445 known so-called satellite commander (satellite)
commander). These commanders can control the satellite / cable box for timer programming. Therefore, the VCR must store a very large number of infrared (hereinafter abbreviated as IR) timing data codes for each individual satellite / cable box. Because of this, VC
It requires a lot of memory space on the R microcontroller. Since typically only a special type of satellite / cable box is used, other unused code results in wasted memory space. Therefore, the very IR for the satellite / cable box
A more efficient way to store a particular set of data is desired. This requires a built-in learning distance feature in the VCR.

Conventional portable learning remote control devices on the market usually consist of complex circuits to capture the incoming IR signal. Cost plays an important role considering it is a consumer good, so a low cost design for build-in learning remote control on a VCR is required.

It is also often found that conventional learning remote controls are unable to identify the toggle bits present in some IR signals.

German Patent Application Publication No. 4308
The '441 publication discloses a remote control method and apparatus having an IR receiver, a microprocessor, a memory, a display, an oscillator, and a transmitting photodiode. This known learning remote control device can learn toggle bits with different frequency ranges. Toggle bits are detected by comparing two sets of data at different times for the same key or command. The meaning of the toggle bit is described in detail in German Patent Application Publication No. 4308441, so please refer to that. This is because the present invention will be described in detail only as long as necessary for understanding the present invention.

European Patent Application Publication No. 0380371
The publication discloses a memory remote control device having a waveform shaping circuit for shaping a received remote control signal and outputting a pulse signal and an envelope signal to a microcomputer, in which case the microcomputer is remote. The controlled signal can be converted into data for storage in the memory and the remote control signal can be regenerated based on the data stored in the memory. This microcomputer has an input for receiving the received remote control signal and whether or not the received remote control signal is a special format remote control signal based on the pulse signal and the envelope signal. A detection circuit for detecting and converting the remote control signal into data and based on the remote control signal input to the input when the received remote control signal is a specially controlled remote control signal It has a memory capable of storing data in the memory and a reproducing circuit for reproducing a remote control signal of a special format based on the data stored in the memory.

These learning remote control devices are
It has a poor user interface if it has only a flashing LED or at best an LCD display, which has the drawback of complicating the learning process and of making its circuitry very complex. .

[0009]

The object of the present invention is therefore that of a learning remote control device which can be used as part of a remote control unit or can be integrated in a VCR, TV or GEMSTAR G code / Showview unit, for example. Therefore, it is to provide a learning remote control device having a simple circuit and providing a simple user interface.

[0010]

This object is achieved by a configuration according to the present invention.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the further claims.

The learning remote control device of the present invention comprises control means, memory means connected to the control means, IR transmitting means, and IR receiving means connected to the control means. The learning remote control device further has a second IR receiving means. In a preferred embodiment, the second I
The R receiving means is formed by a photodiode circuit and the first IR receiving means is formed by an IR module.

Advantageously, the learning remote control device of the invention further comprises switching means interposed between the control means and the second IR receiving means, so that the switching means is of the first type. Switching between the receiving means and the second receiving means results in only one IR receiving means being connected to the control means.

It is also possible to connect the first and second receiving means directly to the control means. The control means are preferably formed by a microcontroller.

The learning remote control device according to the present invention comprises a television unit, a video cassette recorder (VCR),
It can be part of a GEMSTAR unit or a remote control unit.

The method for learning an IR code according to the invention comprises the following steps: a) detecting whether the incoming signal is of the pulse type or of the modulated type, b) the incoming Detect whether the signal has toggle bits, c) detect the data code, d) detect the transmission format, and d) check the learned code and format.

The method of the invention preferably begins with step a and ends with step e, the order of steps b, c and d being variable. Usually, first of all the photodiode circuit is activated by the appropriate setting of the switching means, so that firstly the pulse width or the carrier period is detected.

The carrier period is detected in the following way: First
When a low signal arrives at, a timer is started, which counts down for a predetermined time period T, preferably 250 μs, and the register W has a time interval t with respect to the low signal (t <T), preferably t. Every 8 μs, and another register A has a time interval t for a high signal.
Each time, preferably every t = 8 μs, and when a high-to-low transition occurs, both registers W and A are cleared, while another register C is incremented so that after a time interval of T + t ₀ After (t ₀ << T), preferably (T + t ₀ ) = 255 μs, a timer interrupt is generated and the period of the carrier is calculated from the formula: Period = (T− (W + A) × t) / C [ In approximate units] According to the result it is determined whether the incoming IR signal is of carrier type or pulse type. The switching means is then set in the photodiode circuit when the incoming IR signal is identified as being of the pulse type and in the IR module when the incoming IR signal is identified as being of the carrier type.

In the method according to the invention, the data to be stored in memory is preferably compressed, which saves memory space.

To achieve data compression, the same timing set of high and low timings is grouped so that only one set of data is stored with the corresponding IR timing data pointer. . In other words, the same code set (timing set) is stored only once. The reason is that each pointer carries information about how many times the set has to be repeated.

Furthermore, the invention comprises a user interface phase for implementing the method according to the invention.
The steps of the learning procedure, ie steps a to e, are then displayed on the TV screen.

An advantageous embodiment of an apparatus and method including a learning remote control user interface will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As shown in FIG.
A built-in learning remote control device which can be integrated in R comprises a photodiode circuit 1, an IR module 2, preferably an existing part of a VCR, and an IR transmitter circuit 3.
, And a memory 4 such as an EEPROM, which is also an existing part of the VCR.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the first embodiment. In this example, the microcontroller 4 on one side
And the IR module 2 on the other side, the switching circuit 6 is interposed. This switching circuit 6 switches between the two IR receiving units 1 and 2, so that only one of them is connected to the microcontroller 4.

FIG. 3 shows a method for capturing and detecting the carrier frequency of the incoming IR signal. To learn the incoming IR code, the photodiode circuit 1 is first activated. If the switching circuit 6 is present, it is set so that only the signal from the photodiode circuit 1 can be transmitted to the microcontroller 4. When the user presses a key on his remote control unit 7 (RCU), the learning remote software
Detects whether the signal is of pulse type or carrier type. At the same time, the pulse width (if pulse type) or carrier period (if carrier type) is detected by the software. A method of detecting the carrier wave period is shown in FIG. The timer is started when the first low signal arrives. The timer counts down for 250 μs. A register, eg REG W, is incremented every 8 μs for a low signal and another register,
That is, REG A is incremented every 8 μs with respect to the high signal. When a high to low transition occurs, both registers W and A are cleared, while another register C
Is incremented. A timer interrupt occurs after 255 μs. The period of the carrier is then calculated from the following formula: period = (255 μs− (W + A) × 8 μs) / C If the IR signal is of the pulse type, the software that examines the high and low signals is of pulse width Detect the length. Next, the operation of the learning control device will be described. If the IR signal is of the carrier type, then the software sets the switching unit 6 so that only the signal captured by the IR module is passed to the microprocessor 4. In the first embodiment, this switching unit is realized by the microprocessor 4 itself. Since the carrier of the IR signal is filtered in passing through the IR module, only the envelope of the IR signal is detected.
The timing of the IR signal code is then stored in RAM 5 of the microprocessor 4 in the form of binary data.

When the IR signal is identified as being of the pulse type, the software operates the switching circuit 6 so that only the IR signal captured by the photodiode circuit 1 can pass. In the first embodiment, this operation is performed by the microprocessor 4 itself. The IR signal code timing is then stored in the same manner as for carrier type data.

Standard remote control IR signals typically consist of marks, spaces, synonyms, followed by 32 bits of data. However, some remote control codes have a different number of data bits. Currently, the longest data stream is 44
Made of bits. To accommodate this long type of data stream, 48 bits of the signal from the remote control unit of the satellite receiver are captured. If this amount of bits is not sufficient, the amount of data can be extended to 64 bits or more. Therefore, currently, 48 sets of high and low signals are captured together. This is sufficient to cover the IR signal with an IR code shorter than 46 bits. 1 sec window is 46
It is used to detect IR signals with a number of bits shorter than a bit and it sends the data only once. 4
After a set of 8 timing data has been collected, the latency for the captured IR signal is detected by assuming that the latency is the longest high timing. This latency is then marked as the end of the IR signal set. The data after the waiting time is discarded. Then the data is IR code EEPRO
Compressed to reduce the memory space used for storage in M5. The same timing set of high and low timings is grouped so that only one data set needs to be stored with a pointer to each set.

Example: Assume that the key "1" of the remote control unit is pressed. Then assume the following data streams are captured by the Microcontroller Timing Counter: Table 1 (Timing in Hexadecimal Code) Logic High Low High Low High High Low Count 002D 0064 0031 01ED 0031 01ED 0031 01ED 002D 0064 002D 0FEB Timing Counter If the time base for is 16 μs then 002D in hexadecimal is 1
It represents 45 × 16 μs = 720 μs in the 0-ary number.

Therefore, the above data in Table 1 actually represents the following data flow.

Table 2 (Timing in Decimal Value) Logic High Low High Low High High Low Timing 720 1660 784 7888 7884 784 7888 (μsec) 784 7888 720 1600 720 65200 A compression method is used in EEPROM 5 to save space. . First, the same code set will be stored only once. In this case, one set consists of one high data and one low data.
Therefore, the following data sets are stored: Table 3 High Low Set 0 002D 0064 Set 1 0031 01ED Set 2 002D 0FEB These represent the timing data group for key "1".

In addition to this data, key "1"
The following IR timing data pointers must be stored for: 000101010002, where 00, 01, 02 are pointers that specify the addresses of the timing data sets, namely set 0, set 1 and set 2, respectively. With these pointers and the compressed data set it is possible to restore the original data stream.

The above data is then stored in the EEPROM 5. The user can press another key on the remote control unit 7 for the learning remote for learning. The entire procedure is repeated.

In order to detect the toggle bit, the user is required to press a special key three times. The three sets of compressed pointer data are then compared. If a data toggle occurs at a particular place through the three sets of data, then the toggle bit can be detected. After all the keys in the user remote control unit have been learned, the stored IR code can be retrieved from the EEPROM and sent out via the transmitter circuit.

The main advantage of this arrangement is its low cost. This is because the IR module already present in the VCR can be used in this case, which greatly reduces the costs required if external circuits have to be incorporated for the same function.

FIGS. 4a-4e show user interfaces for build-in learning remotes, for example in VCRs. For remote build-in learning in VCRs, a user interface is provided on the screen (on-screen user interface), ie a TV screen is used. This is different from the conventional portable learning remote (learning type remote control unit) in which only an LED or LCD display is used which is bothersome to the user. The stages of the learning procedure are illustrated as follows: Stage 1: Detection of carrier period / pulse width (a in FIG. 4) At this stage, the number “1” on the television screen flashes and the user Prompt to press the number "1" key on the remote controller 7. After the IR signal has been captured, the number "1" will stop flashing and the sentence "Decoding ..." will appear at the bottom of the screen as shown in Figure 4b. The software detects the period (if carrier type) or pulse width (if pulse type) of the carrier.

Step 2: Toggle Bit Detection (b in FIG. 4) At this step, the user has his remote controller 7
It is required to press the number "1" key above three or more times. The first set of digit "1" data is compared to the second set of digit "1" data to check if any bits are toggled. If more than two bits are different, the resulting data is considered erroneous and is therefore discarded. Then the first set and the second set are recaptured. If the two sets of data differ by 2 bits or less, then the third set will be used to verify the location of the toggle bits and the timing data. If any error in the third set is detected (eg, toggle bit locations do not match), then the entire procedure of Phase 2 is repeated. The screen display for capturing the digit "1" signal is the same as in stage 1.

Step 3: Number Learning (c in FIG. 4) After the user RCU learns the number "1", another number learning on the RCU begins. The number after the word “press” (eg “2”) flashes to prompt the user to press the indicated number (press = 2). After capturing the digit signal, the flashing stops and a line "Decoding ..." appears at the bottom of the screen. Line "1234
567890 "is highlighted, up to the number just captured. The captured code is then stored in EEPROM.

Stage 4: Transmission Format Learning (FIG. 4d) Some IR signals have special formats, some of which are listed below: Mode with'ENTER 'key. ENTER
The key should be sent after the number to fix the channel setting.

2. Mode in which '-/-'or'CH'is sent first. It is the learning signal for the channel code. The channel number should be sent after this-/-code.

3. A mode having a "1 ^* ", "2 ^* ", "3 ^* " code. These codes are initially transmitted for channels greater than 9. For example, to send 23, a '2 ^* ' is sent first, followed by a '3'.

4. Mode with a '+ 10' key. This is also used for channels larger than 9. For example, to send 30, a '+ 10' is sent three times before a'0 'is sent.

Stage 4 is used to learn the special format. Each key on the screen flashes, prompting the user to press the key. If this special key does not exist on the user RCU, then the user R
It can be skipped by pressing the number "1" on the CU. This special key stops flashing on the screen after the key code is captured or skipped. The next following key begins to flash and the code capture for the started key begins.

Step 5: Examining the Learned Code (e in FIG. 4) At this stage, the user can inspect whether the code was learned correctly. The user selects two numbers for which the user wants to inspect the RCU using the VCR. The software then reproduces the stored data codes and sends them out via the transmission circuit 7 (FIG. 1).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a learning remote control device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a learning remote control device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting a carrier frequency.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a build-in learning remote control user interface on a VCR.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Photodiode circuit, 2 IR module, 3
IR transmitter circuit, 4 micro controller, 5 memory, 6 switching circuit, 7 remote control unit or remote controller (RCU)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Qi Yang Lim Singapore No. 05-101 Zeon Road BLC 88

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A) detecting whether the incoming signal is in pulsed or modulated form, b) detecting whether the incoming signal contains toggle bits, and c). A method of learning an IR code, comprising the steps of detecting a data code, d) detecting a transmission format, and e) checking the learned code and format. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein first, the pulse width or the carrier period is detected. 3. When a first low signal arrives, a timer is started, the timer counts down for a predetermined period T, and register W is predetermined for the low signal. Every time period t, where t <T and another register A for the high signal is incremented at every predetermined time period t and a transition from high to low occurs, Erase two registers W and A, while incrementing register C,
As a result, after a time interval T + t0, a timer interrupt occurs, where t0 << T and the carrier period is calculated according to the following equation: Period = (T− (W + A) × t) / C [Approximate In time unit] The method according to claim 2. 4. The signal of the photodiode circuit (1) is passed through the control means (4) when the incoming IR signal is identified as being of pulse type, and the signal of the IR module (2) is passed. 4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said IR signal is passed through the control means (4) when it is identified as being of carrier type. 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data to be stored is compressed. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the same timing set consisting of high timing and low timing is grouped so that only one set data is stored together with a corresponding IR timing data pointer. 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of the learning procedure are displayed on a TV screen. 8. Control means (4), memory means (5) connected to the control means (4), IR transmitting means (3), and IR connected to the control means (4). A learning remote control device having a receiving means (2), characterized in that the learning remote control device further comprises a second IR receiving means (2). 9. The learning remote control device further comprises the control means (4) and the first and second IR receiving means (1, 2).
A switching means (6) interposed between and, said switching means (6) switching between said first and second IR receiving means (1, 2) 9. The learning remote control device according to claim 8, wherein one IR receiving means (1, 2) is connected to the control means. 10. The learning remote control device is a TV set, V
The learning remote control device according to claim 8 or 9, which is a part of a CR, GEMSTAR unit or a remote control unit.