JPS6211538B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an infrared light type remote control device that can be effectively used even in devices in which a transmitting section and a receiving section do not necessarily face directly.

Infrared light-based remote control devices, hereinafter referred to as "remote controls", are widely used for televisions, but they can also be used for other devices such as television sets where the user and the device are not directly facing each other, such as household devices. When the remote control is mainly used by fixing it to a wall using an attached fixture, as in the case of an air conditioner, there is a drawback that reception sensitivity may be insufficient depending on the mounting location. An example of this will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional remote control for television, in which 1 is the remote control body, the end face of a case 2 forming the outer shell is formed with an infrared-transmissive optical filter 3, and the light An infrared light emitting diode 4 is housed inside the outer filter 3. The optical axis of this infrared light emitting diode 4 is parallel to the parallel surfaces 2a and 2b of the case 2.

FIG. 2 is a light distribution characteristic diagram showing the relative radiation intensity of the infrared light emitting diode 4. If the radiation intensity at the center of the optical axis is 100%, the angle at which the radiation intensity is 50% is called the half-value angle, and the half-value angle of commercially available infrared light-emitting diodes is usually about 25 to 35 degrees.

Next, a conventional example in which the conventional remote control described above is used as a remote control for an air conditioner will be explained with reference to FIG.

Figure 3 is a vertical floor plan of a living room in a typical household, with the top showing the ceiling, the bottom showing the floor, and the sides showing the walls.

1 is a remote control shown in Fig. 1, 5 is an air conditioner,
6 is a light receiving section that receives infrared light from the remote controller 1 and controls the operation of the air conditioner 5. Therefore, a case will be described in which the air conditioner 5 and the remote control main body 1 are installed on opposing walls. In this case, the central optical axis of the infrared light emitting diode 4 is parallel to the parallel surfaces 2a and 2b of the case 2, which are parallel to the wall surface of the room, so that the emitted light reaches the light receiving section 6 installed in the air conditioner 5. In order to reach the target, it must be reflected many times from the ceiling and floor, and the straight line reach distance of an infrared remote transmitter/receiver is generally about 7 to 20 meters, so the ceiling and floor When the reflection coefficient of a surface is taken into consideration, situations where sensitivity is insufficient often occur.

The present invention provides a remote control that does not cause such a situation and ensures high transmission and reception sensitivity no matter where it is installed on the wall of a general household.

The configuration and one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In the figure, 7 is a remote control main body, and a case 8 forming the outer shell has a surface for attaching the remote control main body 7 to the wall of the room, parallel surfaces 8a and 8b on the front parallel to this, and an upper surface of the case 8. It has an infrared transmitting optical filter 9 provided on the end face. Also, inside the case 8 is an infrared light emitting diode 10.
is provided facing the optical filter 9, and this infrared light emitting diode 10 is inclined toward the front side by an angle A from parallel surfaces 8a and 8b forming the front and back surfaces of the case 8. Furthermore, the optical filter 9 is inclined by an angle A such that the front side of the case 8 is lowered so as to be substantially perpendicular to the central optical axis of the light emitting diode 10 which is inclined by an angle A. As described above, the infrared light emitting diode 10 has light distribution characteristics as shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sketch of a living room in an ordinary household, and the structure is the same as that in FIG. 3. 7 shows the remote control main body explained in FIG.

In this case, the light emitting diode 10 built into the remote control body 7 is placed at an angle A (usually 10 to 20
degree), so
The emitted light component up to the half-value angle explained in Fig. 2 is effectively transmitted, and the number of reflections from the ceiling and floor is fewer than in the conventional case shown in Fig. 3.
The light reaches the light receiving section 6 built into the air conditioner 5.
At this time, since the infrared transmission type optical filter 9 explained in FIG. 4 faces almost perpendicularly to the central optical axis of the infrared light emitting diode 10, the attenuation of the emitted light component due to refraction and reflection can be extremely reduced. Efficiently transmit transmitted light.

In addition, when the remote control body 7 is installed on another wall of the room, by making the angle A sufficiently smaller than the half-power angle of the infrared light emitting diode 10, the case of the remote control body 7 can be adjusted. It has sufficient light output even in the parallel direction, and when installed on a wall, has sufficient sensitivity even directly below the light receiving section. Furthermore, since the light output distribution is basically in the forward direction from the wall surface, the directivity characteristics are improved at all positions compared to the conventional example shown in FIG.

The remote control device of the present invention includes a device main body to be remotely controlled, and a remote control device main body that sends a signal to the device main body through the air using infrared light, and the remote control device main body has an infrared light built in the remote control device main body. The central optical axis of the light emitting diode is tilted from the rear surface of the case of the remote control device main body by a value sufficiently smaller than the half-value angle of the relative radiation intensity of the light distribution characteristic of the light emitting diode, and the central optical axis of the light emitting diode is located in front of the light emitting diode. Since the infrared transmitting optical filter is arranged to be almost perpendicular to the central optical axis of the light emitting diode, it can be used not only when holding the remote control device in your hand, but also when operating the remote control device main body. Even when the device is installed on a wall and operated, the infrared signals have sufficient directivity, and the remote control device has a simple structure and is easy to operate at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the main body of a conventional remote control device, Fig. 2 is a light distribution characteristic diagram showing the relative radiation intensity of an infrared light emitting diode, and Fig. 3 is a side view of a room in which the conventional remote control device is used. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main body of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a side view of a room in which the remote control device according to the present invention is used. 5...Air conditioner body, 6...Light receiving section, 7...
Remote control body (remote control device body), 8...Remote control case, 9...Infrared transmission type optical filter, 10...Infrared light emitting diode.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The device body to be remotely controlled and the device body,
The central optical axis of the infrared light emitting diode built into the remote control device body is connected to the remote control device body from the back of the case of the remote control device body. An infrared transmissive optical filter that is tilted by a value sufficiently smaller than the half-value angle of the relative radiation intensity of the light distribution characteristic of the light emitting diode and positioned in front of the light emitting diode is substantially perpendicular to the central optical axis of the light emitting diode. A remote control device placed so as to