JPH0595584A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device that can reduce the number of buttons and improve operability. [Structure] Command signal generator 1 for generating a plurality of command signals
The switching unit 3 switches the signals output from
When they are brought into conduction, they are transmitted to the transmitters 5 and 6 attached in different directions. The transmitters 5 and 6 output different command signals and change the orientation of the main body of the remote control part to transmit different control commands.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device having a transmitter and a receiver used for remote control of electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic circuits have become smaller and have higher performance, and mechanical switches of electric appliances and electric machines are being replaced by electronic switches. Along with this, remote operation is also becoming possible, in which a device at a remote place can be operated by hand. For consumer products, television receivers and VT
Remote operation, that is, remote control, is applied to most home appliances from R to video disc / CD players, air conditioners and electric lights. For example, in the case of a television receiver, the contents of the remote control include channel selection, volume adjustment, sound quality and TV screen environment selection. For VTRs and video discs, play / stop, fast forward / reverse, etc. There is.

Such a conventional remote control device will be described. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 31 is a first command signal generator for generating a signal for controlling the equipment, and 32, 3
Reference numerals 3 and 34 denote second, third and fourth command signal generators for generating control signals, each of which generates a control signal different from that of the other command signal generators. Reference numeral 35 is a signal selection unit that selects the output of a plurality of command signal generation units, and 36 is a switch group that determines which signal is output by the signal selection unit 35, and each switch corresponds to the command signal generation unit. Reference numeral 37 is a transmitter for transmitting the output signal of the signal selector 35.

When a video disc player is controlled by a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller), signals for controlling the player are command signal generators 31, 32, 33,
Generated at 34. Here, the control signal and the command signal generating unit are made to correspond to each other, but when the control signal is constituted by the code, the same function is obtained even if the code is switched. The control contents of the command signal generators 31, 32, 33, and 34 are, for example, that the command signal generator 31 generates a signal instructing the player to reproduce, and the command signal generator 32 generates a signal instructing fast forward. Then, the command signal unit 33 generates a signal for commanding fast rewind, and the command signal generation unit 34 is assigned to generate a command for stopping the reproduction. The output of each command signal generator is input to the signal selector 35, and each signal is selected by the switch group 36. The switch group 36 is usually arranged on the upper surface of the remote controller, and there are a number of switches corresponding to the respective functions (for example, switches a to d). Switch group 36 and signal selection unit 35
The signal selected by is input to the transmitter 37.
The transmitting section 37 is often composed of a transmitting element that generates infrared rays or the like, for example, a light emitting diode, and sends a signal to the light receiving section provided in the player by infrared rays or the like. Therefore, when one of the switch groups 36 is selected and operated, a corresponding control signal is transmitted from the transmission unit 37, and the player receiving the control signal changes the operation according to the control signal.

[0005]

However, the conventional remote control device requires as many buttons as the number of functions, which makes it difficult to downsize the remote control device, and if many buttons are not convenient to use. There is.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a remote control device which has a small number of buttons and is easy to operate.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a remote control device of the present invention comprises a command signal generator for generating a plurality of command signals and a plurality of signal transmitters mounted in different directions. And a barrier for preventing the transmitter from interfering between a plurality of signal transmitters mounted in different directions, and a lens in the radiation path of the plurality of signal transmitters mounted in different directions, Further, a configuration is provided in which a command signal generation unit that generates a plurality of command signals, a plurality of signal transmission units attached in different directions and a switch are provided, and the plurality of command signal generation units output different commands when the switch operates. And further has a configuration including a receiving unit for receiving a signal transmitted by the transmitting unit.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a plurality of commands can be output at the same time and the commands can be selected depending on the direction, so that the number of switches of the remote controller can be reduced.

[0009]

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote control device according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a first command signal generating section for generating a command signal, and 2 is a command signal different from the command signal generating section 1. Second command signal generating section, 3 is a switching section for the outputs of the command signal generating sections 1 and 2, and 4 is a switching section 3
A switch 5 for controlling the output of the switching unit 3, a first transmitting unit for emitting a signal such as light carrying the output signal of the switching unit 3 to the outside, and 6 for outputting a signal of light carrying the other output signal of the switching unit 3 to the outside. It is the second transmitter that radiates to. The transmitters 5 and 6 are relatively inexpensive, such as a transmitter that emits infrared rays, and are harmless and easy to use. The transmitters 5 and 6 are attached in different directions as shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 2, 10 is a main body part to which the transmitter is attached,
Is a transmitter, and the transmitters 11 and 12 are attached to the main body 10 in different directions with an angle θ. Thereby, for example, if the angle θ is set to 45 degrees or more, the transmitter 1
1 and the output light of the transmitter 12 are less likely to interfere with each other.

The command signal generator 1 and the command signal generator 2 generate different control signals. For example, taking the control signal of the video disc player as an example, the command signal generators 1 and 2 for the screen fast forward and fast reverse commands are generated. The outputs of the command signal generators 1 and 2 are input to the switching unit 3. When the switching unit 3 operates the switch 4, the switching unit 3 brings the internal switches into a conductive state and transmits the outputs of the command signal generating units 1 and 2 to the transmitting units 5 and 6. On the contrary, when the switch 4 is off, it is in a non-conducting state, and the outputs of the command signal generators 1 and 2 are not transmitted to the transmitters 5 and 6.

Therefore, the transmission units 5 and 6 transmit the control signal of the player only when the switching unit 3 is in the conductive state. Here, the switch 4 corresponds to a button on the remote controller, and only when the switch 4 is operated, a fast forward or fast reverse command is sent to the player.

The commands cannot be transmitted unless the signals transmitted from the transmitters 5 and 6 are securely received by the player. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to ensure reception by the player by inclining the remote control main body with respect to the receiving section of the player and aligning the directions. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, the remote controller main body 10 is tilted toward the receiver 13 of the player, the transmitter 11 is placed in front of the receiver 13, and the switch 4 is turned on.
When is operated, the signal transmitted from the transmitter 11 is transmitted to the receiver 13
Is reliably transmitted to. On the other hand, if the remote controller main body 10 is tilted in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 3B, the transmitter 12 is located in front of the receiver 13, so that the control signal transmitted from the transmitter 12 is transmitted to the player. .. In this case, since the transmitters 11 and 12 are installed in different directions, there is little mutual interference, and the control command can be selected by changing the tilt angle of the remote controller body 10. Specifically, if the player tilts as shown in FIG. 3A, the player is fast forward, and if the player tilts as shown in FIG. 3B, fast reverse is performed. Like fast-forwarding and fast-returning the signals of command signal generators 1 and 2,
It becomes easier to use if the operations are opposite to each other. Here, two sets of command signal generators and transmitters have been described, but a larger number may be used.

As described above, according to the remote control device of the embodiment of the present invention, two commands are simultaneously selected by one switch, and one of the two commands is selected depending on the inclination of the main body of the remote control device. Since you can select one, you can reduce the number of buttons and switches on the remote control device, and in terms of operability,
Since it is not necessary to search for a button for each operation, it is improved as compared with the conventional example.

(Embodiment 2) In the above embodiment, the transmitter 5 is used.
Although 6 and 6 are mounted at different angles, the signals may easily interfere with each other depending on the characteristics of the transmitter.

An embodiment improved in this respect will be described as a second embodiment with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 10
Is the main body of the remote control, 11 is the first transmitter,
Reference numeral 12 is a second transmitting unit, and 14 is a barrier located between the first transmitting unit and the second transmitting unit 12 and capable of blocking the interference of the outputs of the transmitting units 11 and 12. Here, the transmitters 11 and 1
2 is the same as that of FIG. 2, and the connection with the switching unit and the command signal generating unit is the same as in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, the barrier 14 is connected to the transmitters 11 and 12
The signal from the transmitter 112 is less likely to be mixed with the output of the transmitter 12 by inserting the signal between the transmitter and the receiver. Further, the output of the transmission unit 12 is less likely to be mixed with the output of the transmission unit 11, and mutual interference can be prevented. The barrier 14 may be arranged not only between the transmitters 11 and 12 but also to limit the output of each transmitter within a range in which the outputs of the transmitters 11 and 12 are not completely blocked. The material of the barrier 14 is basically the transmitter 11,1.
If the transmitting elements of the transmitting units 11 and 12 are infrared light emitting diodes or the like, the material that does not transmit light may be used. It is also important not to reflect.

The remote control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention as described above can prevent the interference of the transmitting section and make the operation of the remote control device accurate.

(Embodiment 3) Also, in FIG. 5, 10 is a remote control main body, 11 and 12 are the same transmitters as described above, and they are mounted in different directions.
Reference numerals 15 and 16 are optical lenses arranged in front of the transmitters 11 and 12.

The remote control device of the third embodiment will be described. The transmitters 11 and 12 have different directions, but may cause interference depending on the radiation characteristics. This is a problem that occurs when the radiation characteristics of the transmitters 11 and 12 have little directivity and diverge in all directions. However, if the lenses 15 and 16 are located at the outputs of the transmitters 11 and 12, respectively, the radiation directions are limited and mutual interference is extremely reduced. Therefore, the malfunction due to the remote control device can be eliminated.
In this case, of course, the barrier as in the second embodiment may be additionally provided, and reducing the interference is more effective.

As described above, according to the remote control device of the third embodiment of the present invention, since the direction of the transmission signal is limited by the lens, mutual interference between a plurality of transmission parts is reduced, and malfunction is prevented and stabilized. There is an advantage that the operation can be performed.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, reference numerals 21, 22, and 23 denote command signal generators which generate control signals for the player. Reference numeral 24 denotes a signal selection unit which selects either the output of the command signal generation unit 21 or the outputs of the command signal generation units 22 and 23 in this embodiment. A switch 25 controls the signal selector 24. When the switch is turned on, the command signal generators 22 and 2 are activated.
The output of No. 3 is output from the signal selection unit 24.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a transmission unit, which causes the two outputs of the signal selection unit 24 to transmit signals from the transmission unit 26 to a player or the like.
The transmitting unit 26 is the same as the transmitting unit described above and is attached in different directions.

The control signal generated by the command signal generator 21 is a command for normal reproduction of the player, and the command signal generators 22 and 23 generate commands for fast forward and fast reverse. If the switch 25 is off now, the output of the signal selection unit 24 is
This is a signal for instructing normal reproduction, and the same signal is transmitted from the two transmitting units. At this time, the command does not change even if the remote control body is tilted. On the other hand, switch 25
When is turned on, the control signals of the command signal generators 22 and 23 are output from the signal selector 24 to the transmitter 26, and the two transmitters 26 transmit different control signals of fast forward and fast reverse to the player. .. At this time, if the remote control body is tilted, the command can be selected.

As described above, according to the remote control apparatus of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the signal selecting section is provided between the plurality of command signal generating sections and the plurality of transmitting sections, and the specific command signal generating section is generated. Since the signal selection unit can transmit the output of the command signal generation unit that is different when the unit outputs, the player can be controlled in the direction of the remote control when a specific command is issued. It can be operated by remote control.

In addition, if the device is provided with the receiving unit for receiving the remote control device described above, the above-described advantages can be utilized as the advantages of the electronic device. That is,
With the configuration of the remote control device of the present invention described in the embodiments and the electronic device including the receiving portion thereof, operability that has not been obtained in the past can be obtained.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, one command can be used to select two commands, and the tilt of the remote control body can be used to select one of the two commands. Since it is arranged like this, the number of buttons on the remote control can be reduced, and in terms of operability, the selection of the button is replaced by the operation of moving the remote control body, so it is not necessary to search for the button corresponding to the instruction A remote control device with good operability can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a transmission device of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a remote control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a remote control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote control device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Command Signal Generator 2 Command Signal Generator 5 Transmitter 6 Transmitter 14 Barrier 15 Lens 16 Lens 24 Signal Selector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication H04Q 9/00 371 B 7170-5K

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device comprising: a command signal generating section for generating a plurality of command signals; and a plurality of transmitting sections mounted in different directions. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmitters output different signals. 3. The transmitter includes an infrared light emitting element.
The described remote control device. 4. A remote control device comprising a barrier between the plurality of transmitters according to claim 1, which barrier does not interfere with each transmitter. 5. A remote control device comprising a lens in the radiation path of the transmitting unit according to claim 1. 6. A command signal generating section for generating a plurality of command signals, a plurality of transmitting sections mounted in different directions, and a signal selecting section, the command signal generating section according to an instruction of the signal selecting section. A remote control device for outputting a plurality of command signals of a unit to the plurality of transmitters. 7. A remote control device comprising: a receiving unit for receiving a signal transmitted by the transmitting unit according to claim 1, 4, 5 or 6.