JPH11312441A - Remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control device capable of being formed so as to be small-sized and light-weight, and having satisfactory operability. SOLUTION: In this remote control device 10 including a case 11, at least one operation switch 12, 13 provided on a surface of the case, a dial push switch 14 provided on a side surface of the case, and a control circuit disposed in the case and generating a control signal based on operation of the operation switches 12, 13 and of the dual push switch 14, changing-over operation and fixing operation of various operation modes are performed by pressing operation of the dial push switch 14 while adjusting operation of various operation functions is performed by rotating operation of the dial push switch 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote controller for operating various devices such as a television receiver, a video recording / reproducing device, and an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, such a remote control device is configured as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 3, a remote control device 1 is a remote control device for a television receiver, and includes a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 2;
The case 2 includes a plurality of operation switches 3 arranged vertically and horizontally on the surface of the case 2 and an infrared transmission unit (not shown) provided on a front end face of the case 2.

In the case 2, a board on which a control circuit is formed is provided, and on this board, switches operated by operating the operation switches 3 are mounted. The operation switch 3 is used to operate a power switch, a mute switch for temporarily turning off the volume, a switch for adjusting the volume and selecting a channel, and a television / video switch. .

According to the remote control device 1 configured as described above, the user holds the case 2 of the remote control device 1 by hand and operates a desired operation switch 3 with, for example, a thumb. Thereby, the operation of the operation switch 3 activates the switch mounted on the corresponding board, and an appropriate control signal is generated by the control circuit on the board. The converted data is transmitted to an infrared receiver such as a television device or a video recording / reproducing device to be operated.

[0005]

However, in the remote control device 1 having such a configuration, the plurality of operation switches 3 provided side by side on the surface of the case 2 have the same shape. Therefore, the remote control device 1
If the user tries to operate the operation switch 3 without looking at the operation switch, the operation switch 3 to be operated is groped from a plurality of operation switches 3 having the same shape, and it is not easy to perform a desired operation. However, there is a problem that operability is poor. Also, since the number of operation switches 3 is large,
There is a problem that the entire remote control device 1 becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device that can be configured to be small and lightweight and has good operability.

[0007]

The above object is achieved by a case,
At least one operation switch provided on a surface of the case, a dial push switch provided on a side surface of the case, and a control signal provided in the case and based on operation of the operation switch and the dial push switch. And a control circuit for generating, by pressing the dial push switch, various operation mode switching operation and confirmation operation are performed, and by rotating the dial push switch, adjustment operation of various operation functions can be performed. This is achieved by a remote control device characterized in that it is performed.

[0008] The remote controller according to the present invention is preferably provided with a display unit for displaying operation contents of an operation switch and a dial push switch on the surface of the case.

According to the above configuration, the operation of switching the operation mode such as the channel selection operation mode and the volume adjustment mode and the confirmation operation are performed by the pressing operation of the dial push switch. Adjustment operations such as actual channel selection operation and volume adjustment can be performed. Accordingly, only the minimum required operation switches such as a power switch are provided on the surface of the case, so that the number of operation switches is reduced and operability is improved. Further, since the surface area of the case can be reduced by reducing the number of operation switches, the entire remote control device can be configured to be small and lightweight.

[0010] In this case, the operation content by pressing or rotating the dial push switch can be displayed on, for example, a screen of a television receiver to be operated by the remote control device or a display unit of the video recording / reproducing device. Therefore, the user can easily perform an operation using the remote control device while visually recognizing the display on the screen and the like.

When a display portion for displaying the operation contents of the operation switch and the dial push switch is provided on the surface of the case, a remote controller is used to operate various devices having no display portion, for example, an air conditioner. The operation of the remote control device can be easily performed while visually recognizing the display on the display unit provided in the device.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a remote controller according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a remote control device 10 is for performing various operations such as a television receiver and a video recording / reproducing device, and is arranged side by side with a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 11 and a surface of the case 11. Operating switches, for example, a power switch 12 and a mute switch 13, a dial push switch 14 disposed on the side of the case 11,
An infrared transmitter (not shown) provided on the front end face of
Contains.

In the case 11, a board on which a control circuit is provided is provided. On the board, switches which are operated by operating the above-mentioned operation switches, that is, the power switch 12 and the mute switch 13, are provided. As well as being mounted, the dial push switch 14 is mounted horizontally. Thus, when the top surface exposed on the surface of the case 11 is pressed, the power switch 12 and the mute switch 13 turn on and off the switch contacts mounted on the board, respectively, and the control circuit formed on the board allows A control signal is generated and output.

Further, the dial push switch 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a switch having a known configuration.
When it is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow, it operates in the same manner as a dial switch, and when it is pressed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, it operates as a push switch. Therefore, the control circuit configured on the board allocates the operation mode switching to the operation as the push switch and allocates the tuning operation or the volume adjustment to the operation as the dial switch. Thus, these operations are performed by one dial push switch 14, and the corresponding control signal is output from the control circuit to the infrared transmitting unit, where the signal is converted into an optical signal by infrared and transmitted. It has become.

The remote control device 10 according to the present invention is configured as described above. The user operates the power switch 12 and the mute switch 13 on the surface of the remote control device 10 so that the power supply of the remote control device 10 is controlled. A mute operation of a television receiver or the like to be turned on / off and controlled is performed. When the dial push switch 14 is pressed, an operation mode such as a channel selection operation mode or a volume adjustment mode is switched, or a decision operation is performed, and the dial push switch 14 is rotated. For example, an adjustment operation such as a tuning operation and a volume adjustment can be performed.

When the power switch 12, the mute switch 13 and the dial push switch 14 are operated in this way, the switches 12, 13, and 14 turn on / off the switch contacts mounted on the substrate, or the dial push switch 14 The control circuit formed on the substrate responds to the pressing operation or the rotating operation of
Control signals corresponding to the operations of 2, 13, and 14 are generated, and are output from the infrared transmission unit as optical signals based on infrared light. On the other hand, the television receiver or the video recording / reproducing device (not shown) receives the infrared light signal from the infrared transmitting unit of the remote control device 10 at the infrared receiving unit and restores the control signal. Then, the operation according to the control signal is performed.

Thus, the dial push switch 14 of the remote control device 10 can be used to adjust the volume and select a channel of, for example, a television receiver or a video recording / reproducing device. Thus, temporary silencing can be performed.

In this case, the switching of the operation mode by the pressing operation of the dial push switch 14 is preferably displayed on a screen or a display unit of a television receiver or a video recording / reproducing apparatus to be operated, so that the current operation is performed. The operation mode can be easily grasped.

In this manner, a plurality of operation modes can be switched and adjusted by one dial push switch 14, so that the number of operation switches provided on the surface of the case 11 becomes very small. .
Therefore, the remote control device 10 can be made compact, and the operability is improved due to the reduction in the number of operation switches required for operation, and a remote control device that is easy to operate can be obtained.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the remote controller according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, a remote control device 20 is for operating various devices that do not have a display unit in a main body such as an air conditioner, and has almost the same configuration as the remote control device 10 shown in FIG. 11
Is different only in that a display unit 21 is provided on the surface.

The display unit 21 is, for example, a liquid crystal display unit, and displays the operation contents, that is, the operation mode switched by pressing the dial push switch 14, the set temperature adjusted by the rotation operation, and the like. Has become.

According to the remote control device 20 having such a configuration, the display contents of the display portion 21 provided on the case 11 of the remote control device 20 can be controlled even in the case of various devices such as an air conditioner having no display portion. It is possible to reliably operate various devices while checking.

In the embodiment described above, the power switch 12 and the mute switch 1 are provided on the surface of the case 11.
3 is provided, but the invention is not limited to this. At least one operation switch such as a power switch 12 may be provided on the surface of the case 11. May be provided at a position that is not normally visible from the outside, such as the inside of a lid provided at the camera.
Further, in the above embodiment, the dial push switch 14 is disposed laterally on the case 11, but may be disposed on the same surface as the operation switches, that is, the power switch 12 and the mute switch 13. As an example of such an arrangement, for example, the case 11 may be configured as a single rod, and may be configured to be easily gripped by the hand and easy to operate. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the remote control devices 10 and 20 transmit a control signal to various devices such as a television receiver, a video recording / reproducing device, or an air conditioner by transmitting an infrared light signal from an infrared transmitting unit. However, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to this, and transmission by radio waves may be performed, or transmission by wire may be performed via a connection cord.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, by pressing the dial push switch, operation functions such as a channel selection operation mode and a volume adjustment mode are selected, and the dial push switch is rotated. With the device, adjustment operations such as actual tuning operation and volume adjustment can be performed. Accordingly, only the minimum required operation switches such as a power switch are provided on the surface of the case, so that the number of operation switches is reduced and operability is improved. Further, since the surface area of the case can be reduced by reducing the number of operation switches, the entire remote control device can be configured to be small.

In this case, the contents of the operation by pressing or rotating the dial push switch can be displayed, for example, on the screen of the television receiver to be operated by the remote control device or the display section of the video recording / reproducing device. Therefore, the user can easily perform an operation using the remote control device while visually recognizing the display on the screen and the like.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an extremely excellent remote control device which can be configured to be small and lightweight, and has good operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the remote control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 remote control device 11 case 12 power switch (operation switch) 13 mute switch (operation switch) 14 dial push switch 20 remote control device 21 display unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A case, at least one operation switch provided on a surface of the case, a dial push switch provided on a side surface of the case, and the operation switch and the dial push switch provided in the case and provided in the case. And a control circuit for generating a control signal based on the operation of the dial push switch. By pressing the dial push switch, various operation modes are switched or confirmed, and the dial push switch is rotated. , An adjustment operation of various operation functions is performed,
Remote control device. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein a display unit for displaying operation contents of an operation switch and a dial push switch is provided on a surface of the case.