JPH04165252A - Terminal device controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain an easy operation with a few number of input keys by displaying two or more input keys whose functions are changeable, operating procedures of the input keys and functions of the input keys in turn with proceeding of input. CONSTITUTION:An input device 13 has input keys 18a-18f whose functions are changeable and is connected to an inner bus 17 via an input controller 19 that controls input. In addition, the input device 13 is provided with a second indicator 22 whose display panel 20 of a full color liquid crystal display, etc., for example, is connected to an inner bus 17 via a second indicator controller 21 and displays operating procedures of the input keys 18a-18f and the functions of the input keys in turn with proceeding of input. A first indicator 14 has a display panel 23 of 4-type full color liquid crystal display, etc., for example, and is connected to the inner bus 17 via a first indicator controller 24. And, when the two or more input keys are constituted on the display panel of the second indicator 22 as touch keys, necessary matters can be more easily input to operate terminal equipment.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a terminal device operating device for operating air conditioners, lighting equipment, heaters, various sensors, etc. (hereinafter referred to as terminal devices) via communication means. It is something.

[Conventional technology]

The technology for operating terminal devices such as air conditioners, lighting equipment, heaters, and sensors via communication means is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59
There is a home control device disclosed in Japanese Patent No.-141894.

The home control device will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the home control system, in which the main controller 1 is connected to the signal line 3 via the communication means 2. The terminal devices 4 and 5 are connected to the signal lll3 via the terminal controller 6 and the communication means 2. The signal line 3 has a bus structure. Each communication means 2 has its own address, and performs bucket disassembly, generation, error checking, transmission and reception based on communication rules (protocol). With the above configuration, the main controller 1 exchanges data with the terminal controller 6, and operates and monitors the status of the terminal devices 4 and 5.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the main controller, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a group of function keys and a group of room keys of the main controller.

The main controller 1 includes a CRT display 7, a liquid crystal display 8, a group of function keys 9 for selecting the desired function from among the many functions of the home control system, and a room for selecting the room to which the terminal device is connected. Key group 10, operation key group 1 for operating each terminal device
1.

For example, if you turn on the air conditioner in your bedroom at the same time from 10 a.m.
To perform heating at a temperature setting of 25° C. until 1 o'clock, first press the air conditioner key from the function key group 9. Next, press the bedroom key from the room key group 10. Then, an input screen for operating settings and status monitor of the bedroom air conditioner appears on the CRT display 7.

Finally, the operation key group 11 is used to set the time and temperature, and select the operating mode.

Note that advice information regarding the order of operations and key selection is predetermined on a case-by-case basis, and is sequentially displayed on the liquid crystal display 8 in accordance with the operations.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional example described above, advice information on the order of operations and key selection is displayed sequentially on the LCD display 8 depending on the case. In the illustrated example, the total number of keys is 40, including a function key group 9 for selecting a function according to the function, a room key group 10 for selecting a room to which a terminal device is connected, and an operation key group 11 for operating each terminal device. It is fully predicted that it will increase further.

Selecting and operating the necessary key from among these many keys is extremely troublesome, has poor operability, requires a lot of space on the main controller, and is expensive. .

The present invention was made in order to solve the problems of the above-mentioned prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal device operating device that can be easily operated using a small number of input keys.

[Means to solve the problem]

Therefore, the terminal device operating device according to the present invention operates the terminal devices by bidirectionally serially transmitting the operation and status signals of the terminal devices to and from the plurality of terminal devices via the communication means. a terminal equipment operating device, an input means for inputting operation details of the terminal equipment; a first display means for displaying operation details and status information of the terminal equipment input from the input means and communication means; Input means and first
It is equipped with a central processing unit that controls each operation of the display means and communication means, and a memory that stores programs and data.
The input means comprises a plurality of input keys whose functions can be changed, and a second display means that sequentially displays the operation procedure of the input keys and the function of the λ key according to the input. It is an attempt to achieve a goal.

The above object is achieved by a configuration characterized in that the plurality of input keys of the input means are touch keys arranged on the display surface of the second display means.

(Operation) With the above configuration, the first display means displays operation details and status information of the terminal device inputted from the input means and the communication means.

Furthermore, the input operation functions of the plurality of input keys of the input means can be changed as the input operation progresses, and the functions and operation procedures are displayed on the second display means.

Then, by operating the input keys and inputting the operation contents of the terminal device according to the operation procedure of the plurality of input keys of the input means and the function display of the input keys that are sequentially displayed on the second display means, the central processing unit Based on the program and data stored in the memory, the input means, the first display means, and the communication means are controlled, and the operation and status signals of the terminal device are transmitted to and from the terminal device via the communication means. Bidirectional serial transmission allows terminal equipment to be easily operated.

When the plurality of input keys of the input means are configured as touch keys on the display surface of the second display means, it is possible to more easily input necessary items and operate the terminal device.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The terminal device operating device according to the present invention will be explained below using examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal equipment operating system using an embodiment of the present invention. Portions that are the same as or correspond to those of the prior art shown in FIG. 7 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main parts of this embodiment. The terminal device operating unit 1 is connected to a signal line 3 via a communication means 2, and transmits signals regarding the operation and status of the terminal device 4 to a plurality of terminal devices 4 that are also connected to the signal line 3. The data is transmitted serially in both directions to operate the terminal equipment. An input means 13 for inputting operation details of the terminal device 4, and a first input device for displaying operation details and status information of the terminal device 4 input from the input means 13 and the communication means 2.
display means 14, input means 13 and first display means 14
and a central processing unit 15 that controls each operation of the communication means 2.
comprising a memory 16 for storing programs and data;
The respective means are connected via an internal bus 17 and can be controlled by the central processing unit 15.

The input means 13 has a plurality of keys 13 (18a to 18f) whose functions can be changed, and is connected to the internal bus 17 via an input control section 19 that controls input.

Further, the input means 13 includes input keys 13a to 18f.
A second display means 22 has a display screen 20, such as a full-color liquid crystal (hereinafter referred to as LCD) display, connected to the internal bus 17 via a control section 21, which sequentially displays the operating procedures and the functions of each input key according to the input. We are prepared.

The first display means 14 is, for example, a 4-inch full-color liquid crystal display (LC).
D) It has a display surface 23 such as a display and is connected to the internal bus 17 via a control section 24.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the front panel of the embodiment of the terminal device operating device configured as described above. The left half of the front panel 1a is the first
The display means 14 is a square 4-inch full-color LCD.
A display surface 23 of a display is attached. The right half is equipped with input means 13, and the upper part is a horizontally long LCD.
The display surface 20 is attached, and at the bottom there are 6
It is equipped with 13 large oysters (18a to 18f). As described above, the operating procedure of the input keys 18 and the functions of the input keys are sequentially displayed on the display screen 20 in accordance with the input operations.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the input means 13 portion of the front panel 1a. The display surface 20 of the horizontally long LCD display has an operation comment display section 20a in the upper half, and an input key menu display section 2.degree.b in which the functions of the plurality of input keys 18 are displayed in the lower half.

FIG. 5 shows L which is the second display means 21 of the input means 13.
Operation comment display section 2 on the display surface 20 of the CD display
0a and the input key menu display section 20b are explanatory diagrams showing an example of displays that change according to input operations, and an example of the operation method will be described with reference to the diagram.

In FIG. 5(A), the operation comment display section 20a displays a message prompting the user to select the terminal device he or she wishes to operate.

The input key menu display section 20b displays the names of the four terminal devices 4 and ``Other'', and the input keys 18 directly below each display are necessary for input operations to the displayed terminal devices. This indicates that the input key is
The input key menu display section 20b displays each function of the plurality of input keys 14.

If it is a terminal device or air conditioner that you wish to operate, air conditioner will be displayed on the left end of the input key menu display section 20b.
Just touch the large oyster 13a directly below it. If the desired terminal device name is not displayed, touch the lower input key 13f that is displayed as "Other j" on the right end, and the terminal device names other than the four displayed earlier will be displayed in the input key menu display area. 20b, select and operate in the same way as above.

When the above operation is executed, the display shown in FIG. 5(B) will be obtained. The operation comment display section 20a displays a display asking whether the air conditioner is in the room, so select according to the display on the input key menu display section 20b, and select, for example, large oyster-1.
3b, input to specify the air conditioner in the bedroom.

Next, the display becomes as shown in FIG. 5(C). The operation comment display section 20a displays a message prompting you to enter the operation details for the air conditioner in the bedroom specified by the above input.According to the display on the input key menu display section 20b, first enter the desired operating time. When you touch key 13a,
Next, a display necessary for time input will appear, and input the necessary information by performing the same operations as described above.

Next, the display returns to the one shown in Figure 5 (C), so enter the desired temperature and the operating mode in the same way as above to operate the air conditioner in the bedroom to the desired conditions. I can do it.

With the above configuration, the operation is much easier than in the past due to the small number of input keys 18 and the small display surface, and the space required can be reduced compared to the past. Furthermore, functions can be easily expanded and changed by changing the program.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a front panel according to another embodiment. The left half of the front panel 1b is equipped with a first display means 14, as in the previous embodiment, and a display surface 23 of a 4-square full-color liquid crystal display (LCD) is mounted thereon.

The right half is equipped with an input means 13, and the upper part is equipped with a horizontally long LCD display screen 20, and the upper half is an operation comment display section 20a.
The lower half is an input key menu display section 20b that displays the functions of the plurality of input keys 18.

Each part of the input key menu display section 20b that displays an input key menu is a touch key 24 (24a, 24b, 24) that allows you to execute the displayed input function by touching that part.
c, ・−・).

With the above configuration, in this embodiment, the same operation as in the previous embodiment can be performed by directly touching each part of the input key menu display section 20b displaying the input key menu. It becomes easier to operate,
This has the effect that the terminal device can be easily operated without any interruption.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the first display means displays the operation details and status information of the terminal device input from the input means and the communication means.

Furthermore, the input operation functions of the plurality of input keys of the input means can be changed according to the progress of the input operation, and the functions and operation procedures are displayed on the second display means. By operating the input keys and inputting the operation contents for the terminal device according to the input key operation procedure and the input key function display that are sequentially displayed on the display means, the central processing unit can input the blocks and data stored in the memory. Based on the input means, the first display means, and the communication means, the terminal S device is operated by controlling the input means, the first display means, and the communication means to bidirectionally serially transmit signals of the operation and status of the terminal device to and from the terminal device. can.

That is, with a small number of input keys and a small display surface, it is much easier to operate than before, and the required space can be reduced than before. Further, it is possible to provide a terminal device operating device whose functions can be easily expanded and changed by changing the block diagram.

When the plurality of input keys of the input means are configured as touch keys on the display surface of the second display means, by directly touching each part of the input key menu display section displaying the input key menu, Since operations similar to those described above can be performed, the operations are even easier, and the terminal device can be easily operated without any interruptions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal device operation system using an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of main parts of an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 shows a front panel of the same embodiment. A plan view, and FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the input means on the same front panel.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the display of the second display means of the input means, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of the surface panel of another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is the configuration of a conventional home control system. 8 is a front view of a conventional main controller, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a group of keys of the main controller. 1 is a terminal device operating device, la and lb are front panels, 2 is a communication means, 3 is a signal line, 4.5 is a terminal device, 13 is an input means, 14 is a first display means, 15 is a central processing unit, 16
18 is a memory, 17 is an internal bus, 18° 18a to 18f are input keys 119, an input control section, 20 is a display screen of the second display means, 21 is a second display means, and 23 is a display of the first display means. The surfaces 24.24a to 24f are touch keys. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A terminal device operating device that operates a plurality of terminal devices by bidirectionally serially transmitting operation and status signals of the terminal devices via a communication means,
an input means for inputting the operation contents of the terminal device; a first display means for displaying the operation contents and status information of the terminal device input from the input means and the communication means; the input means and the first display means; and a central processing unit that controls each operation of the communication means, and a memory that stores programs and data, and the input means includes a plurality of input keys whose functions can be changed, operation procedures of the input keys, and functions of the input keys. and second display means for sequentially displaying the following information according to input. (2) The terminal equipment operating device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of input keys of the input means are touch keys configured on the display surface of the second display means.