JPS63256096A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the remote control of >=4 kinds of equipments by using a microcomputer to display a menu pattern such as control object devices and operation objects as display characters and graphic forms by a liquid crystal or the like and providing a controller arranged with a transparent pressure sensor on the upper face of the display section. CONSTITUTION:A having is provided with a liquid crystal panel 1 and a transparent pressure sensor 1' or the like provided on the upper face. When a return menu switch 3 provided to the housing is depressed, an interruption request signal (a) is applied to a microcomputer 4 and data (c) for the display is read from an EP-ROM 5 and displayed on a liquid crystal panel 1. In depressing a television operation selector switch 10, for example, the pressure sensor 1 is switched to display the menu pattern for a television channel or power supply.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a remote controller (hereinafter simply referred to as a controller) that remotely controls a plurality of home appliances and the like using the same controller.

(Prior Art) In recent years, home appliances such as air conditioners, television receivers, and tape recorders have become remotely controllable, attracting consumers to purchase them.

The oldest controllers for remote control were limited to only one control object. Even with recent products, the current situation is that the objects to be controlled are limited to at most three products: television receivers, tape recorders, and video disc devices.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Therefore, in order to control many other devices, multiple controllers are required, which is extremely inconvenient in practice due to the need to use them properly or the differences in control operations. I can't escape it.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a controller that easily enables remote control of four or more types of devices.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a dot-matrix liquid crystal display for displaying menus of controlled devices, operation objects, etc., which can be rewritten by a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer). The controller is configured to have a transparent pressure sensor arranged on the top surface of the display section, and the operation input is performed using display characters and figures.

(Function) The present invention configured as described above uses a liquid crystal to display menus for devices to be operated, parts to be operated, etc., and the main parts are configured by a microcomputer, so the above-mentioned operations can be easily performed using software. Displays can be changed and added, and therefore a wide variety of devices can be controlled. Furthermore, the ease of use for the operator can be greatly satisfied by using, for example, an easily rewritten EP-ROM to store the built-in programs of the microcomputer.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained using examples and drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and the device of the present invention has a liquid crystal panel 1,
A transparent pressure sensor 1' is provided on the top surface of the pressure sensor 1', and the last display displayed on the liquid crystal panel 1 is
If it automatically turns off and disappears over time,
A switch 3 is used to redisplay the previous display when the power is turned on again, and a return menu switch 3 is used to redisplay the initial menu displayed to select the device to be operated when the power is turned on. .

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing its internal configuration.
is the one explained in the previous time, the other symbols 4 are the microcontrollers, and 5 is the EP-R in which the remote control program was written.
OM, 6 is a RAM for temporarily storing data during execution of the program, 7 is an I10 circuit that controls input/output data according to instructions from the microcomputer 4, 8 is a liquid crystal control unit for controlling the display on the liquid crystal panel 1, Reference numeral 9 denotes a transmitter of a control code using ultrasonic waves or the like to drive a controlled device.

FIG. 3 is an example of the initial menu screen, which displays text indicating that five types of devices can be controlled, but if it is difficult to display one character, an appropriate graphic is displayed.

In FIG. 1 or 2, when the return menu switch 3 is pressed, an interrupt request signal a is applied to the microcomputer 4, and data C for displaying as shown in FIG. 3 is transferred to the EP-ROM 5. From there, it is applied to the I10 circuit 7 as a signal f via a path, and is applied to the liquid crystal control section 8 as a signal j. Thereby, the liquid crystal control section 8 outputs the liquid crystal panel display data k corresponding to the signal j to cause the liquid crystal panel 1 to display as shown in FIG. 3 above.

For example, when a user wants to watch television, he or she presses the television operation selection switch 10 in FIG. This causes the pressure sensor 1' on the surface to switch, and the corresponding data i is input to the microcomputer 4 via the I10 circuit 7, and is read out from the EP-ROM 5 to the liquid crystal panel 1 in the same manner as above. Displays for operating the TV, such as the TV channel (hereinafter abbreviated as CH), power supply, etc., are displayed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation menu screen, and 11 to 20 are display examples. For example, the selected channel can be changed using the CH up switch 15 and the CH down switch 16, but if you want to directly specify a channel, press the direct CH selection switch 20 to change the display to the channel shown in FIG. 4(a).
Display 21 of only the CH number in Figure 4(b) from the switch group
to perform the desired operation. In accordance with the above operations, a corresponding control signal is applied from the microcomputer 4 to the code transmitter 9 via the I10 circuit 7, and the desired operation signal is transmitted to the controlled device to control it.

The display shown in FIG. 4(b) can be returned to the display shown in FIG. 4(a) by pressing the turn switch 22. Similar operations can be performed on video decks, video disc devices, etc., and if the number of controlled devices is to be increased, this can be easily done by changing the software.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention allows remote control of a large number of devices using one controller by changing the display of the operation switch and the software of the microcomputer.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention allows selection of a large number of devices or remote control of their operations using one controller, and is highly effective in practical use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing its electrical configuration, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing examples of operation menu screens of the present invention. 1...Liquid crystal panel, 1'...pressure sensor. 2...Redisplay switch, 3...Return menu switch, 4...Microcomputer (
(abbreviated as microcomputer), 5... EP-ROM, 6
...RAM, 7 ... I10 circuit, 8 ・
...Liquid crystal control unit, 9...Control code transmitter. Patent applicant: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Figure 1 1' 1...゜1 ・Equipment Jyohoba Washi

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a remote controller for remotely controlling electrically driven equipment, a liquid crystal controlled by a microcomputer is used to display a menu of characters, figures, etc. for selecting the equipment to be controlled or its operation parts. In particular, a remote controller characterized in that the display is made possible by changing the software of the microcomputer.