JPH05219574A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a remote control device capable of easily adjusting the time of a clock of a plurality of electronic devices. [Structure] A plurality of electronic devices 2 each having a clock unit
In the remote control device 10 capable of remote control of 0, 30, 40 by transmitting control signals, each electronic device 2
A control signal for setting the time of the clock unit of 0, 30, 40 is transmitted with a code for instructing all the electronic devices 20, 30, 40 sequentially or simultaneously.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a VT with a timer function.
The present invention relates to a remote control device for remotely controlling an electronic device equipped with a clock such as an R (video tape recorder).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a VTR with a timer function for home use
In the case of such an electronic device, this device is provided with a clock circuit, and when the time counted by this clock circuit reaches the set time, a timer operation such as recording is automatically performed. Therefore, in order to perform an accurate timer operation, it is necessary to set an accurate current time in the clock circuit. Here, since there is always an error in the time counted by the clock circuit, it is necessary to repeat this time setting (correction) work at regular intervals (for example, every several days).

[0003]

By the way, there is an increasing number of electronic devices with such a clock circuit in each home. For example, a plurality of VTRs are prepared and programs of different channels are simultaneously recorded. Things are also being done. When there are multiple VTRs as described above, it is necessary to correct the time counted by the clocks of the respective VTRs, but it is necessary to correct the number of times corresponding to the number of the VTRs, so it is very troublesome to correct the time. There was an inconvenience.

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device capable of easily adjusting the time of clocks of a plurality of electronic devices.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a remote control device capable of remotely controlling a plurality of electronic devices each having a clock part, by transmitting a control signal, the time of the clock part of each electronic device can be set. The control signal to be transmitted is added with a code for instructing all electronic devices sequentially or simultaneously and transmitted.

Further, in this case, a control means for managing the time is provided, and a control signal for setting the time is created and transmitted based on the time data from the control means.

[0007]

By doing so, the time setting of the clocks of a plurality of electronic devices can be simultaneously performed by using one remote control device, and the time can be easily set regardless of the number of devices for which the time is set. Can be set.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

This example is applied to a remote control device capable of remotely controlling a VTR and a television receiver. Here, as shown in FIG.
TR20, second VTR 30, and television receiver 40
The remote control device 10 is capable of controlling. In this case, the VTRs 20 and 30 and the television receiver 40 each have a built-in clock section.
In 0 and 30, the timer operation can be performed by using the time information counted by the clock unit, and the television receiver 40 can display the current time by superimposing on the screen.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the remote control device 10 for remotely controlling the devices 20, 30 and 40. Reference numeral 11 denotes a central control unit (CPU) for controlling the operation of the remote control device. The central controller 11 is composed of a microcomputer. A plurality of keys 12 are arranged on the surface of the remote control device 10 as shown in FIG. 4, and operation information of the plurality of keys 12 is supplied to the central control device 11. This key 12
For example, a key for instructing VTR tape running,
A key for setting a timer operation, a channel switching key for a television receiver, a volume adjusting key, and the like are provided, and a mode selection key 12a and a time setting key 21b for selecting a device to be controlled are provided. And any key 1
2 is operated, the program ROM 13 or RA
According to the operation program stored in M14, the coded data is supplied to the infrared signal light emitting unit 15, and the infrared signal is output from the light emitting diode in the infrared signal light emitting unit 15. Here, this remote control device 1
Reference numeral 0 is provided with a clock unit 16 for counting the current time and a display unit 17 composed of a liquid crystal panel.
The operation status by the and the current time counted by the clock unit 16 and the like are displayed.

When the remote control device 10 is used to remotely control the VTRs 20, 30 and the television receiver 40, after selecting the control mode corresponding to the device to be controlled by the mode selection key 12a, the desired function is selected. The corresponding key is operated to supply the operation information to the central controller 11, and the infrared signal of the corresponding code is emitted from the light emitting unit 1.
Output from 5. For example, when instructing the first VTR 20 to start reproduction, by selecting the control mode (for example, mode 1) corresponding to the first VTR 20 with the mode selection key 12a, the key for instructing reproduction start is pressed. , And a remote control code indicating the first VTR 20 and a remote control code indicating the start of reproduction are transmitted by an infrared signal.

By operating the time setting key 21b of the remote control device 10 and the key related to this key 21b, the time counted by the clock unit 16 in the remote control device 10 (that is, displayed on the display unit 17). Time) and the time counted by the clock section of the VTR 20, 30 or the television receiver 40 can be corrected.

First, when the time counted by the clock section 16 in the remote control device 10 is to be corrected, the time setting key 21b and a key (not shown) for instructing the remote control device itself are pressed to activate the clock section. After setting the time setting mode of 16, input the time to be corrected using the time setting key (for example, the timer time setting key). By this operation, the time counted by the clock unit 16 is corrected under the control of the central controller 11.

When the time of the clock section of the VTR 20, 30 or the television receiver 40 is adjusted,
Mode selection key 12a of the remote control device 10
After selecting the control mode of the device to be corrected with, press the time setting key 21b. When this operation is performed, the central control unit 11 creates time setting data and causes the infrared signal emitting section 15 to output the time setting data created at the timing when the transfer key (not shown) is pressed. The time setting data is created according to the time setting data creation program stored in the program ROM 13
Is done using the current time data being counted. An example of this time setting data is shown in Fig. 2. First, the control mode code currently being set is output, then the data type code indicating the time setting is output, and in the following order, the year code and month code. , Day code, day code, time code,
The minute code and the second code are output. In this case, each code is a digital data of several bits, and the year, month, day, day of the week,
Hours, minutes, and seconds are created from the current time data being counted by the clock unit 16.

In this way, the time of each device can be set (corrected) individually corresponding to the control mode selected by the mode selection key 12a. Up to this point, it is the same as the conventional remote control device, but in this example, the time can be set (corrected) for each device at the same time. That is, when the key (not shown) for instructing the simultaneous setting together with the time setting key 21b is pressed to instruct the simultaneous control mode, the central controller 11 creates the time setting data for this purpose. At this time, the code of the first control mode in the time setting data shown in FIG. 2 becomes the code for instructing each control mode at the same time, and the following is the same code as when individually setting the time, that is, the data type code and year code. , Month code, day code, day code, hour code, minute code, second code are output.

The time setting data in the simultaneous control mode is output as an infrared signal from the remote control device 10 by operating the transfer key, so that all controlled devices can be controlled.
That is, the time setting data is discriminated between the VTRs 20 and 30 and the television receiver 40, and the clock section in each device is corrected to the time indicated by the transmitted code.

Further, the remote control device 1 of this example
When transmitting any control signal from 0 to each controlled device 20, 30, 40, the time setting data can be automatically transmitted. That is, by setting the automatic time setting mode in advance by operating the key 12,
Based on the operation of the key 12, each controlled device 20, 30,
When some control signal (instruction such as recording and reproduction with respect to VTR, instruction such as channel switching with respect to television receiver) is outputted to 40, the time setting data shown in FIG. 2 is outputted following this control signal. At this time, the time setting data is created in the simultaneous control mode, and the time is set for all the devices.

The remote control device 1 described above
The control operation when the infrared signal is output at 0 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. First, the central control unit 11 determines whether or not any key operation is performed (step 1
01), when there is a key operation, it is judged whether or not this operation is the operation of the time setting key 12b (step 10).
2). When the time setting key 12b is operated, after the time to be set is input by operating the time setting key (step 103), it is determined whether the transfer key is pressed (step 104), and the transfer is performed. When the key is pressed, the control mode is judged (step 105). Here, in the simultaneous control mode, the code of the time setting data is set (step 106), and the time setting data is transferred from the light emitting unit 15 in the simultaneous control mode (step 1).
07). When it is determined in step 105 that the simultaneous control mode is not set, the control mode is determined from the state of the key 12a (step 108), the code of the time setting data is set (step 109), and the time is set in the corresponding control mode. The setting data is transferred from the light emitting unit 15 (step 108).

In step 102, the time setting key 12
When it is determined that the operation is not the operation of b, the code corresponding to the operated key is set (step 111), the control mode is subsequently determined from the state of the key 12a (step 112), and the setting is performed in the corresponding control mode. After transferring the coded data from the light emitting unit 15 (step 11
3) It is determined whether the automatic time setting mode is set (step 114). In this determination, if the automatic time setting mode is set, the process proceeds to step 106, the code of the time setting data is set, and the time setting data is transferred from the light emitting unit 15 in the simultaneous control mode (step 107). If the automatic time setting mode is not set in step 114, the time setting data is not output.

Next, the operation on the side of each controlled device 20, 30, 40 based on the time setting data transmitted from the remote control device 10 in this manner will be described with reference to the first VTR 2
0 as an example, this first VTR 20 is shown in FIG.
It is configured as shown in. That is, the data received by the infrared signal light receiving unit 22 is supplied to the central control unit (CPU) 21 that controls the operation of each unit in the VTR, and the received light data is discriminated according to the data stored in the program ROM 23 or the RAM 24. Done. And this VTR
When the control data relating to the recording and the reproduction in the above is received, the operation of the recording / reproducing unit 25 is made to correspond by the control of the central controller 21. Then, the control state at this time (for example, the running state of the tape) is displayed on the display unit 26. A key 27 is also provided on the first VTR 20, and the operation of the key 27 can also directly instruct the operation of the VTR 20. And this VTR 20
Is provided with a clock unit 28, the current time counted by the clock unit 28 is displayed on the display unit 26, and a timer operation is performed based on the counted time data.

Then, the central control unit 2 of the infrared signal from the remote control unit 10 received by the light receiving unit 22 is received.
The code indicating the control mode added to the beginning of the transmission signal according to the discrimination in 1 indicates the mode indicating the device (that is, the first mode).
Control mode) or the simultaneous control mode is detected, all the transmission codes at this time are discriminated and the operation instructed by the control of the central controller 21 is performed. here,
When the time setting data is transmitted in the first control mode or the simultaneous control mode, the time counted by the clock unit 28 is corrected to the time indicated by the time setting data under the control of the central controller 21. In this way, the second V
Similarly in the TR 30 and the television receiver 40, when the control mode is the corresponding mode (or the simultaneous control mode), the time of the clock section is corrected.

The operation of each device 20, 30, 40 at the time of receiving such time setting data will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 6. Whether or not the central control unit on each device side receives data. It is judged (step 201), and when the data is received, the control code of this data is judged.
That is, it is judged whether or not the control code is the simultaneous control mode (step 202), and if it is not the simultaneous control mode, it is judged whether or not the control mode corresponds to each device (step 203).
When the simultaneous control mode and the corresponding control mode are performed, it is determined whether or not the control content by the transmitted data, that is, the time setting data (step 204). If it is time setting data, the time counted by the clock unit is corrected based on the hour, minute, second, etc. data indicated by the time setting data (step 205). If the received data is data other than the time setting data, the process based on the content of the received data is performed (step 206).

As described above, when the remote control device 10 of the present example is used to adjust the time of each of the devices 20, 30, 40, the simultaneous control mode is set to control the remote control device 10 once. Only by outputting the data, the time counted by the clocks of all the controlled devices 20, 30, 40 is corrected at the same time, and the time correction work can be easily performed by one operation regardless of the number of controlled devices. You can do it. In this case, since the time of each device is corrected at the same time, the time set in each device becomes the same, and the operation for matching the time of the three devices 20, 30, 40 at the time of correction becomes unnecessary, From this point, the operation becomes easy.

By setting the automatic time setting mode, one of the keys 12 of the remote control device 10 can be set.
Each time is operated, the time is automatically adjusted for each controlled device 20, 30, 40, and there is no need to perform the time correction operation again, and the operation is further simplified.

In the above embodiment, the simultaneous control is instructed by the preset simultaneous control code in the simultaneous control mode. However, when the simultaneous control code is not prepared in the infrared signal format, Alternatively, the time setting data may be output repeatedly with all the prepared control codes. That is, for example, in the case of the system configuration of the above embodiment, after outputting the time setting data in which the control code in the time setting data shown in FIG. The setting data is output, and finally the time setting data with the control code being code 3 is output. In this way, by outputting the time setting data with all the control codes, it is possible to correct the simultaneous time for all the controlled devices in the same manner as when the simultaneous control code is output as a result. At this time, strictly speaking, the timings at which the time setting data corresponding to the three controlled devices are supplied are different, but the time required to output one remote control signal is, for example, about several tens of milliseconds. Yes, this difference in set time is in a negligible range.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the time setting data to be transmitted is created based on the time data counted by the clock unit 16 of the remote control device 10. However, there is no clock unit on the remote control device side. In this case, the time to be set may be simply input by key operation of the remote control device, and then the input time data may be transmitted as the time setting data.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to the remote control device for operating the VTR and the television receiver, but it is also applicable to the remote control device for controlling other electronic equipment with a clock.

[0028]

According to the present invention, one remote control device can be used to simultaneously set the time of the clocks of a plurality of electronic devices, and the time can be set easily regardless of the number of devices for which the time is set. Can be set.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission format according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a controlled device to which an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram to which an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining one embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Remote Control Device 11 Central Control Unit (CPU) 16 Clock Section 20 First VTR 28 Clock Section 30 Second VTR 40 Television Receiver

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device capable of remotely controlling a plurality of electronic devices each having a clock unit by transmitting a control signal, wherein all of the control signals for setting the time of the clock unit of each electronic device are A remote control device adapted to transmit by adding a code for sequentially or simultaneously instructing the electronic devices of. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising control means for managing time, wherein a control signal for setting the time is created and transmitted based on time data from the control means.