KR100413169B1 - Televisions with Integrated Function Keys - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a television equipped with a function key for performing functions such as volume up / down and channel up / down, and more specifically, by configuring a plurality of keys assigned to each function by using one integrated key. The present invention relates to a television having a function integration key that can reduce the production cost of the television and simplify the design.

The television having a function integrated key of the present invention includes a microcomputer 38 with a built-in control program, a receiver 40 for receiving a control signal from a remote control device and inputting the control signal to the microcomputer 38, and from the microcomputer 38. In a television comprising an OSD generating device (42) for outputting specific character data in accordance with a control signal of < RTI ID = 0.0 > and < / RTI > The main body 34 has four contact points in the front and rear, right and left, and an output terminal connected to the four contact points, and is inserted into the main body 34 so as to be movable back and forth, and electrically connected to the four contact points of the main body. An integrated key 30 having a contact point in contact and a control rod 32 to which a restoring force is applied by an elastic body, and corresponding to each function according to a signal output from the integrated key 30. And a key matrix unit 36 for outputting a specific command signal to the microcomputer 38.

Description

TV with function key

The present invention relates to a television equipped with a function key for performing functions such as volume up / down and channel up / down, and more particularly, is attached to the front of the television to operate channels up / down, volume up / down, and the like. The present invention relates to a television having a function integration key configured by using a single integrated key capable of performing the same operation on a plurality of function keys assigned to each function.

TVs in most homes use remote control devices to control their functions. The remote control unit has a number of numeric keys to perform all the various functions of the television, such as power on / off, channel up / down, volume up / down, channel memory settings, menu screen adjustment, time adjustment, etc. , Function keys are installed.

However, since the remote control device is used separately from the TV, there is a high risk of loss, and the front panel of the conventional TV is powered on in case it is not possible to find it immediately even if you try to control simple and important functions such as channel switching or volume switching. Several switches are installed to perform off, channel up / down, and volume up / down functions.

1 is a front view of a television 10 conventionally used, which includes a power key 12 for turning on / off a television, a channel up key 14 for raising a channel, a channel down key 16 for lowering a channel, and a volume. The volume up key 18 for increasing, the volume down key 20 for decreasing the volume, and the remote control receiving window 22 for receiving infrared signals from the remote control device are provided. In addition to the function key, a function key for setting a menu may be further attached.

As described above, the basic function keys 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 installed on the front of the television 10 have an advantage that there is no risk of loss as compared to the remote control device, but for each function, Since it must be installed, there was a problem that the manufacturing cost of the product rises. In addition, the design of the product is complicated to properly place a plurality of function keys, there was a problem that goes against the taste of consumers who want a concise design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to attach to the front of a television, and a plurality of functions assigned to each function to perform operations such as channel up / down and volume up / down. The present invention provides a television having a function integration key configured using one integrated key capable of performing the same operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a television having a function integration key which reduces manufacturing costs and makes the design simple by using one integrated key.

1 is a front view of a conventional TV,

2 is a front view of a television to which an integrated key according to the present invention is applied;

3 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a television including the integrated key of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart for explaining an operating state of the integrated key of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: TV, 12: power key

14: Channel Up Key 16: Channel Down Key

18: volume up key 20: volume down key

22: remote control receiving window 30: integrated key

32: control rod 34: main body

38: microcomputer 40: receiving unit

42: OSD generator 44: Mixer

46: CRT

The television having a function integrated key of the present invention includes a microcomputer 38 with a built-in control program, a receiver 40 for receiving a control signal from a remote control device and inputting the control signal to the microcomputer 38, and from the microcomputer 38. In a television comprising an OSD generating device (42) for outputting specific character data in accordance with a control signal of &lt; RTI ID = 0.0 &gt; and &lt; / RTI &gt; The main body 34 has four contact points in the front and rear, right and left, and an output terminal connected to the four contact points, and is inserted into the main body 34 so as to be movable back and forth, and electrically connected to the four contact points of the main body. An integrated key 30 having a contact point in contact and a control rod 32 to which a restoring force is applied by an elastic body, and corresponding to each function according to a signal output from the integrated key 30. The key matrix unit 36 outputs a specific command signal to the microcomputer 38.

Hereinafter, a television with a function integration key according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, one integrated key capable of performing the same function is installed instead of a plurality of conventional function keys. The integrated key has four contacts, and is configured to perform channel up / down and volume up / down functions according to each connection position. It is apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that more functions can be assigned by increasing the number of contacts.

2 is a front view of a television showing the installation state of the integrated key 30 according to the present invention. As shown, it is installed in the installation position of the conventional function key, referring to the enlarged view of the display character to indicate the direction of movement of the control rod 32 of the integrated key 30 around the integrated key 30 ▷, ▷, △, ▽) are coated. Each display represents functions such as volume down, volume up, channel up, and channel down. This can assign the same functions to those actually used on the remote control to avoid confusion.

When the control rod 32 is moved in the indicated direction, the contacts located inside the main body 34 come into contact with each other to generate and output an electrical signal. The output signal is directly input to the microcomputer or the key matrix unit. The integrated key is an integrated electrical connection point separated from each other in one key, it can be easily implemented by the prior art so that the steering rod 32 is located at the center of the center using an elastic body such as a spring. Reference numeral 12 denotes a power on / off key, and 22 denotes a remote control receiving window to perform the same functions as in the related art.

3 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a television constructed using the integrated key 30. As shown in FIG.

As shown in the drawing, the integrated key 30 for outputting four signals according to the connection state of the contact point, and the specific command signal corresponding to each function by receiving the signal output from the integrated key 30 to the key matrix unit ( 36, a microcomputer 38 having a program for receiving a signal output from the key matrix unit 36 and performing a necessary operation, and a receiving unit for receiving a control signal from a remote control device and outputting the control signal to the microcomputer 38 ( 40 and an OSD generator 42 which receives character control data from the microcomputer 38 and outputs characters on the CRT 46 are displayed. Reference numeral 44 denotes a mixer for mixing the output signal from the OSD generator 42 and the video signal.

First, a process of processing a control signal input from a conventional remote control apparatus will be described.

When the viewer transmits an infrared signal using a remote control device to control output volume, channel switching, or other general devices, it is received by the receiving unit 40 of the television and converted into an electric code signal. By outputting to 38), the overall apparatus is controlled by the microcomputer 38 in accordance with the electrical code signal.

In the integrated key 30 of the present invention, the same control command as the remote control device is input, but the remote control device wirelessly inputs the command, and the device of the present invention is different from the wired input. When a user inputs a control signal for performing a specific operation by using the integrated key 30, it is input to the key matrix unit 36, modulated into a specific electric code signal, and input to the microcomputer 38. The microcomputer 38 reads the code signal to control the television.

Integrated key 30 is composed of a control rod 32 located at the top and the main body 34 to which the wire is connected. Four electrical contacts are provided in the control rod 32 to supply power, and four contacts are also installed in the main body 34. Each contact is arranged in four directions of front, rear, left and right, and the connection is internally prevented. Integrated key 30 having such a structure can be easily manufactured by the prior art.

In this state, when the steering rod 32 is moved in the direction of the arrow A, B, C, and D, while the internal contact of the steering rod 32 and the main body 34 is connected, electricity is supplied to generate an electrical signal. The electric signal is output through the wires A, B, C, and D corresponding to the arrow direction. That is, when the control rod 32 moves in the direction of the arrow A and the contacts are connected, the electric signal generated at this time is input to the key matrix unit 36 through the wire A, and the control rod 32 moves in the arrow direction C. When the contact is connected, the electric signal generated at this time is input to the key matrix unit 36 through the wire C.

The processing of signals input through the wires A, B, C, and D can be performed in two ways. First, as in the present invention, a pulse signal corresponding to the signal input from the key matrix unit 36 is generated. Therefore, when electrical signals are input from the wires A, B, C, and D, the key matrix unit 36 outputs different pulse signals to the microcomputer 38. This has the advantage that only one input terminal can be used in the microcomputer 38.

The second is to connect the electrical signals from the wires A, B, C, D directly to the input terminal of the microcomputer 38. It is not necessary to install the key matrix unit 36, but there are disadvantages in that four input terminals of the microcomputer 38 are used. In the present invention, for this reason, the key matrix unit 36 is used.

The key matrix unit 36 generates different code signals corresponding to the electric signals through the wires A, B, C, and D. This code signal is input to the microcomputer 38 and decoded. That is, the microcomputer 38 outputs a control signal to read a command currently input according to the code signal and perform an operation corresponding thereto. The code signal for each command is stored in the key matrix unit 36.

Although not shown, when a command to perform a volume up or down function is input, the microcomputer 38 outputs a control signal to the voice processing unit to increase or decrease the volume. In addition, when a command to perform a channel up / down function is input, the microcomputer 38 outputs a control signal to the tuner to output a control signal to tune to a broadcasting station assigned to the channel.

Referring to the operation and effect of the television having a function integrated key of the present invention having the above configuration as follows.

When power is supplied to the television, the microcomputer 38 controls the CRT 46 to broadcast the channel selected by the user. In this state, it enters the standby state to detect whether there is a command input from the outside.

When the user moves the control rod 32 of the integrated key 30 in any direction in front, rear, left and right so as to perform a specific function rather than a remote control device, an electrical signal is output while the connection point located in the moved direction is connected. For example, when the control rod 32 is moved in the direction of the arrow A, this command outputs an electrical signal through the wire A as a volume up command.

The output electrical signal is input to the key matrix unit 36. Since the key matrix unit 36 receives a signal through the wire A, the key matrix unit 36 determines the volume up command and outputs a corresponding code signal. The output code signal is input to the microcomputer 38.

The microcomputer 38 decodes the input code signal, determines that a corresponding command, in this example, a volume up command is input, and outputs a control signal to a voice processing unit for controlling the volume to increase the volume. The volume increases or decreases step by step as in conventional televisions. In case of up / down of channels, it increases or decreases by 1 channel.

The viewer can increase the volume by touching the control rod 32 several times in the direction of arrow A to increase the volume as desired. This operation is the same for channel up / down and volume down, with the difference of the command being executed.

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the same operation can be performed on a plurality of function keys attached to the front of the television and assigned to each function to perform an operation such as channel up / down or volume up / down. By using a single integrated key, costs can be reduced and designs can be simplified.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit or the field of the present invention. It will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims (2)

A microcomputer 38 for receiving a control signal from a remote controller and having a receiving unit 40, a control program embedded therein, and outputting a control signal according to the control signal received by the control program and the receiving unit 40; In a television comprising an OSD generating device (42) for outputting specific character data in accordance with a control signal from a) and a CRT (46) for outputting a video screen, The control body 32 and the control rod 32, which is installed at the center of the main body 34, can move back, front, left, and right, and at the same time the restoring force is applied by the elastic body to the center, and has a contact point in the front, rear, left, and right directions, respectively, Before and after the rod 32 is moved to the front, rear, left and right of the control rod 32, the front and rear installed in the main body 32 so as to input the function control signal of the television to the microcomputer 38, respectively. Integrated key 30 having four left and right contact points and output terminals, And a key matrix unit (36) for outputting a specific command signal corresponding to each function to the microcomputer (38) in accordance with the signal output from the integrated key (30). The control signal according to claim 1, wherein the control signals from the four output terminals of the integrated key 30 are directly connected to the four input terminals of the microcomputer 38 without passing through the key matrix unit 36, respectively, so that the command signal is the microcomputer. A television with a function integration key, characterized in that is directly input to (38).