JPS62185498A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To commonly use one device as a remote controller for plural electronic equipments and to reduce the number of switches by operating the mode selection switch of a touch panel to select a desired mode (the electronic equipments to be remote controlled and operated), performing a key input display corresponding to the mode and switching and controlling a machine type code in a remote control signal to be transmitted from a transmission part to a prescribed code corresponding to the selection mode. CONSTITUTION:When a remote control mode for VTR is selected by operating the mode selection switch 10, the display by a display device 8 is performed only in an area under a part of switches of the plural switches 12 of the touch panel 9, and 'video' of the selection mode is displayed on a mode display part 13. During the remote control mode for the VTR, among the 18 switches 12, the function assigned to the switches is displayed only in the area under for instance, the eight switches. Therefore, the position and the function of the switch are made clear and the ten remaining switches 12 which are not used in the remote control mode for the VTR are not displayed, so that it is difficult to discriminate the position of the switch which is not used. Thereby, the display of a switch panel surface can be easily seen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a remote control device, and particularly to a remote control device for controlling various electronic devices used at home (for example, television receivers, VTRs, video disc playback devices, etc.). Multi-purpose, remotely controlled with one device.

Regarding a multifunctional remote control device.

Conventional technology Television receiver L VTR, video disc recycling bag U
2. Description of the Related Art Remote control devices (hereinafter also referred to as remote control devices) for remotely controlling various electronic devices used in the home, such as air conditioners, are conventionally known. These remote control devices were classified by function or terminal device, etc., and were dedicated to each type of electronic equipment (i.e., television receivers had separate television receiver remote control devices, and VTRs had VTR remote control devices). ). Therefore, the remote control device is either separate for each type of electronic device 113, or it is a composite remote control device in which there is one device but a large number of buttons for each type are arranged on the same unit.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention When controlling the various electronic devices listed above using a remote control device, it is necessary to operate separate remote control devices dedicated to the electronic devices, or to control multiple remote control devices on the multiple remote control device described above. From inside the button,
I selected the desired button and operated it. To solve this problem, in the past, a large number of dedicated remote control devices were required, which had to be used for different purposes, which was cumbersome.Additionally, the overall size of the combined remote control device increased, and it was difficult to select the desired button from among them. However, there were problems such as problems with operability.

Furthermore, in order to add functions, such as adding new buttons, it was necessary to use a completely different remote control device.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device that solves the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the principle of the present invention. In the figure, a remote control device (remote control device) 1 includes a touch panel 29 display section 3. It consists of a control section 4 and a sending section 5. On the touch panel 2, one mode selection switch and a plurality of switches are regularly arranged. The display unit 3 displays key inputs assigned to each of the plurality of switches on the touch panel 2.

The control section 4 controls the display section 3 according to the mode selection by the mode selection switch, and also switches the model code in the remote control signal to a predetermined one corresponding to the mode selection. The sending unit 5 sends out a remote control signal (remote control signal) numbered 4 based on the model code and the control code corresponding to the one of the switches pressed.

When the user operates one mode selection switch of the touch panel 2 to select a desired mode (electronic device to be operated by remote control), the control section 4 displays a key input display corresponding to that mode on the display section 3. At the same time, control is performed to switch the model code in the remote control signal to be sent from the sending section 5 to a predetermined code corresponding to the selected mode.

The key input display on the display unit 3 described above is displayed on the touch panel 2.
In the case of a mode in which multiple switches are used, the function assigned to each switch is indicated by letters, symbols, or figures, and one of the switches is In the case of a mode that only requires the use of the switches in the section, the functions assigned to each switch necessary for use are displayed only, and the functions assigned to the switches that are not used are not displayed. As a result, some of the plurality of switches on the touch panel 2 are shared in all selection modes, regardless of the assigned functions.

Further, after selecting the mode, when the user presses a desired one of the plurality of switches, a remote control signal having a control code of one shift corresponding to the pressed switch is transmitted.
It is transmitted from the transmitter 5. Here, the remote control signal consists of a model code (■) and a control code (■), as shown in Figure 2.The electronic device to be operated by remote control is selected by the model code, operation is controlled. In addition, the remote control signal is ultrasonic.

Transmitted by infrared rays, etc.

Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a front view and a side view, respectively, of an embodiment of the remote control device according to the present invention.

In the figures (A> and (B)), the remote control device 6 has a display device 8 such as a liquid crystal, plasma, fluorescent display tube, or electroluminescence device formed on a rectangular parallelepiped remote control main body 7. A touch panel 9 is coated on the upper part.The touch panel 9 is shown in FIG.
A) A plurality of conductive electrodes (switches) are arranged in a matrix as shown at 11 and 12, and the positions of the mode selection switch 10 and the power switch 11 are clearly indicated even when the power is turned off. On the other hand, the functions of the remaining switches 13 are not displayed when the power is turned off. Further, the touch panel 9 is transparent, and the display by the f-display device 8 can be visually recognized through the touch panel 9.

Now, after pressing the power switch 11 to turn it on, if you operate the mode selection switch 10 and select the desired mode by, for example, the number of times you press it, a microcomputer (not shown) installed in the remote control body 7 will The selection mode signal is provided. When the microcomputer is supplied with this selection mode signal, it drives the display device 8 in accordance with the selection mode to display key inputs defined in the selection mode.

For example, when the remote control mode for television reception In (hereinafter abbreviated as TV) is selected, the display on the display device 8 is
2. In the lower region of each of 2, this is done as shown in FIG. Also, the mode display section 13 displays the selection mode r.
TVJ will be displayed.

As a result, in this TV remote controller mode, all positions (key sense areas) of the plurality of switches 12 are clearly displayed, and the functions assigned to the switches are also displayed. In the figure, the switch 12a indicated by numbers is a channel selection switch, the switch 12b is a switch for selecting the audio of either the main channel or the n1 channel in the case of audio multiplex broadcasting, and the switch 12C is a sound m switch. , switch 12d is displayed as a source selection switch for the video external input terminal.

When the user presses the touch panel 9 in the area where a desired display is displayed among these displays, the switch output related to that display is sent to the microcomputer, and the microcomputer then performs the operations shown in FIG. 2 above. A remote control signal is generated in which the control code ■ is set to a predetermined value corresponding to the switch input (key input) and the model code I is set to a predetermined value corresponding to the selected mode. Send to outside of 7.

Further, when the mode selection switch 10 is operated to select the VTR remote control mode, the display device M8 displays only the area below some of the switches 12 on the touch panel 9. This is carried out as shown in FIG. 5, and the mode display section 13 is caused to display the selected mode "Video".

In this VTR remote control mode, of the 18 switches 12 shown in FIG. 3(A), for example, only the area on the F side of 8 switches displays the function assigned to that switch. The functions of the switches are clearly defined, and the remaining 10 switches 12 that are not used in this VTR remote control mode are not displayed.
Unused switch positions are no longer identified. This makes the display on the switch panel surface easier to see.

In addition, in FIG. 5, switches 12e and 12f.

12o and 121"l are rewind, play, and fast forward, respectively.

Functions as a switch for recording, switch 121゜12
J and 12 function as a pause switch, a switch for changing the input video signal to the VTR into the video signal from the TV, and a volume switch.

In this way, the plurality of switches 12 operate as switches having uniquely determined functions in the selection mode,
There are also switches that are always used in each selection mode (however, their functions are not necessarily the same). Therefore, this embodiment requires a considerably smaller number of switches than the conventional composite remote control device.

Next, the control operation of the microcomputer built in the remote control body 7 will be further explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
1 turns on the mode display section 13 of the display device M8.
(step S+ in FIG. 6). After that, it is determined whether the mode is the TV remote control mode or not (step S2), and if it is the TV remote control mode, TV 5! The camera control mode is entered, and the display device 8 is made to display a display such as 1ζ shown in FIG. A control code is generated for channel, sound, etc. (step S3).

If it is not the TV remote control mode, it is determined whether or not it is the VTR remote control mode (step S4), and if it is the VTR remote control mode, the display device 8 is made to display as shown in FIG. 5, and the switches 12e to 12e are 1
Based on the input to 2, a remote control code for controlling the VTR's recording, playback, fast forwarding, etc. is generated (step Ss).

If it is not the VTR remote control mode, then it is determined whether the video disc remote control mode is selected (step S6);
In this mode, various functions necessary for controlling the video disk reproducing apparatus are displayed on the display device 8, and a remote control code corresponding to the key input switch is generated (step Sy).

If it is not the remote control mode for a video disc, it is determined whether or not the remote control mode is for a stereo player (step S8).
The control unit 611 causes the display device 8 to display various functions required, and generates a remote control code for controlling the stereo playback 7 corresponding to the key input switch (step 89).

Thereafter, the microcomputer sequentially detects whether or not the remote control mode of various electronic devices is in the same manner as described above, and causes the microcomputer to perform a display corresponding to the detected remote control mode, and
A predetermined remote control code is generated in response to key input based on the display.

Note that addition of functions can be easily accommodated by simply adding the display on the display device 8 and changing the software program of the microcomputer. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that other modes such as a remote control mode for a CD player can also be selected.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, one device can be used in common as a remote control device for a plurality of electronic devices, and a plurality of switches on the touch panel can be used in accordance with the selection mode, and each switch can be used as a remote control device for each selection mode. Since it is used as a switch, the number of switches can be far reduced compared to a composite remote control device, and the entire device can be made smaller.Furthermore, when adding functions, part of the display section can be removed. This can be easily handled by adding additional switches and changing the software program, and only the necessary switches are displayed, eliminating the hassle of searching for and operating the desired switch from a large number of switches. It has features such as being able to

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of a remote control signal, and Figs. 3 (A) and (B) are respectively front views of the external appearance of one embodiment of the device of the present invention. and a side view, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams each explaining the display etc. in each selection mode of the device of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. be.・1.6...Remote control device (remote control device), 2.9...Touch panel, 3...Display section, 4...tilJID section, 5...Sending section, 8.
...Display device, 10...Mode selection switch, 12...Switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A touch panel in which one mode selection switch and a plurality of switches are regularly arranged, a display section that displays key input assigned to each of the plurality of switches, and a mode selection switch selected by operating the mode selection switch. Depending on the mode, the display section is controlled to display a predetermined key input display on each of some or all of the plurality of switches, and the model code of the remote control signal is set to the selected mode. a control unit that controls switching to a model code corresponding to the plurality of switches; and a sending unit that sends out a remote control signal having a control code corresponding to the model code and the one switch when one of the plurality of switches is pressed. A remote control device characterized by: