JP2000354281A - Remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a remote controller to operate a television receiver or the like even from an oblique direction. SOLUTION: The remote controller 1 outputs an infrared ray communication signal 6 and an ultrasonic wave communication signal 8 to a television receiver 2. A 1st ultrasonic wave receivers 3 and a 2nd ultrasonic wave receiver 4 receive the ultrasonic wave communication signal 8 and a signal processing unit 9 detects the direction of a sender of the ultrasonic wave communication signal 8. An infrared ray receiver 5 is turned to the direction of the sender of the ultrasonic wave communication signal 8. Since the infrared ray receiver 5 is directed in the direction of the remote controller 1, the infrared ray reception characteristics is enhanced. Since the screen of the television receiver 2 is directed toward an operator by turning the television receiver 2, the operator can easily view the screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control system, and more particularly, to a remote control system capable of controlling a device to be remotely controlled such as a television receiver from a diagonal direction with a remote controller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional remote control system, a configuration as shown in FIG. 14 is generally used. Hereinafter, the configuration of a conventional remote control system will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a case where the television receiver 2 is remotely controlled by the remote control device 1. When performing volume control and channel switching of the television receiver 2, the remote control device 1 sends the television receiver 2
The infrared receiver 5 in the television receiver 2 transmits a volume control signal and a channel switching signal to the infrared receiver 5 using the infrared communication signal 6.
Send to. The infrared receiving device 5 completes execution of a desired remote operation by controlling the volume of the television receiver, switching channels, and the like.

However, in such a remote control control system, as shown in FIG. 15, when the infrared receiver 5 built in the television receiver 2 receives the remote control signal output from the remote control device, As the incident angle of the infrared communication signal 6 becomes smaller, it becomes more difficult to receive the infrared communication signal 6. At this time, the operator of the remote control device views the television receiver obliquely, and the visibility is not good.

To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-1994 discloses that a direction of a remote controller is detected and a device to be remotely operated such as a television receiver is rotated toward the direction of the remote controller.
334944, JP-A-8-182083, JP-A-11-41677
In Japanese Patent Publication No. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
In the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 268548, a signal from a remote controller is received by three or more receiving units, a transmission point of the remote controller is detected, and the television receiver is rotated so as to face the direction. It has become. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-223441 proposes rotating a television receiver in a direction that takes into account the direction of a remote controller and the direction of external light.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since the remote control device such as the television receiver and the receiving unit for receiving the signal of the remote controller are integrally rotated, only the receiving unit is rotated. And there is a problem that the signal of the remote controller cannot be received at a wide angle.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and enables a remote control device to control a remotely controlled device such as a television receiver at a wide range of angles.
It is another object of the present invention to make it possible to use a remotely operated device at a wide range of angles.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a remote control system comprising a device to be remotely controlled and a remote control means for remotely controlling the device to be remotely controlled. A plurality of receiving means for receiving a wireless signal from the wireless communication apparatus; a signal processing means for processing the plurality of received wireless signals to detect a direction of a wireless signal transmission source; And a driving means for adjusting to the direction of the remote control.

[0009] With this configuration, a remote control device such as a television receiver can be used by being controlled by a remote control device from a wide range of angles.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to a remote control control system comprising a remote control target device and remote control means for remotely controlling the remote control target device. A plurality of receiving means for receiving a wireless signal; a signal processing means for processing a plurality of received wireless signals to detect a direction of a transmission source of the wireless signal; and transmitting the direction in which the receiving sensitivity of the receiving means is maximum. This is a remote control control system provided with a drive unit for adjusting to the original direction in the remote operation target device, and has an operation of detecting the direction of the transmission source and adjusting the direction of the maximum receiving sensitivity to the direction of the transmission source.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a remote control system according to the first aspect,
The wireless signal is a combination signal of one or two of an infrared communication signal, an ultrasonic communication signal, and an electromagnetic wave communication signal, and detects a direction of a transmission source from one or two communication signals. Has the effect of adjusting the direction of the maximum sensitivity of the receiving means to the direction of the transmission source.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the wireless receiving apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the driving means comprises:
It is a means for changing the direction of only the receiving means to the direction of the transmission source, detecting the direction of the transmission source from one or two communication signals, and changing the direction of the maximum sensitivity of the receiving means to the direction of the transmission source. It has the effect of matching.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the remote control control system according to the first to third aspects, the device to be remotely operated is a television receiver, and the television receiver is directed in the direction of the remote controller. It has the effect of turning the machine.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a wireless receiving method of a remote control system for remotely controlling a device to be remotely controlled, a wireless signal from an arbitrary direction is received by a plurality of receiving means, and the plurality of received signals are received. This is a wireless reception method that processes the wireless signal to detect the direction of the source of the wireless signal, and adjusts the direction of maximum sensitivity of the receiving unit to the direction of the source. This has the effect of adjusting the direction of maximum sensitivity to the direction of the transmission source.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

(First Embodiment) In a first embodiment of the present invention, two ultrasonic receiving means provided in a television receiver receive an ultrasonic communication signal from a remote controller and receive a signal from a transmission source. This is a remote control control system that detects the direction and rotates the direction of the infrared communication signal receiving means for remotely operating the television receiver by the driving means to match the direction of the transmission source.

FIGS. 1, 4 to 6 are plan views of a remote control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing processing procedures of the remote controller and the television receiver. Elements having the same functions as those described as the conventional example in FIGS. 14 and 15 are denoted by the same reference numerals. 1 to 7,
The remote controller 1 is a device that performs volume adjustment, channel switching, and the like of the television receiver 2. The first ultrasonic receiving device 3 is a device that receives an ultrasonic wave from the remote controller 1. The second ultrasonic receiving device 4 is a device that receives an ultrasonic wave from the remote controller 1. The infrared receiving device 5 is a device that receives infrared light from the remote controller 1. The infrared communication signal 6 is an infrared signal emitted by the remote controller 1. The driving device 7 is a device that rotationally drives the infrared receiving device. Ultrasonic communication signal 8
Is an ultrasonic signal emitted by the remote controller 1. The signal processing device 9 is a device that detects the direction of the transmission source of the ultrasonic communication signal 8 from the reception time difference between the two systems of the ultrasonic communication signal 8.

The operation of the remote control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, when performing volume adjustment, channel switching, and the like of the television receiver 2, the remote controller 1 transmits an infrared communication signal 6 from almost the front of the television receiver 2 to the infrared receiver 5 of the television receiver 2. Send to. FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure of the remote controller 1.

In the television receiver 2, the infrared communication signal 6 transmitted from the remote controller 1 is received by the infrared receiver 5, and volume control, channel switching and the like are executed. FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure in the television receiver 2.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, when the infrared communication signal 6 is output to the infrared receiver 5 of the television receiver 2 from an oblique direction, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiver 5 and the output of the infrared communication signal 6 are output. Since the angle of the direction is small, it becomes difficult for the infrared receiver 5 of the television receiver 2 to receive the infrared signal.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the remote controller 1 outputs the infrared communication signal 6 and
An ultrasonic communication signal 8 is also output. At this time, each of the first ultrasonic receiving device 3 and the second ultrasonic receiving device 4 of the television receiver 2 receives the ultrasonic communication signal 8 with a certain time difference. First ultrasonic receiving device 3 and second ultrasonic receiving device 4
Then, the signal processing device 9 detects the direction of the transmission source of the ultrasonic reception signal 8 from the time difference when the ultrasonic communication signal 8 is received.
Based on the detection result of the direction of the transmission source of the ultrasonic reception signal 8,
The driving device 7 drives the light receiving surface of the infrared receiving device 5 to rotate in the direction of the transmission source of the ultrasonic communication signal 8. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiving device 5 is directed toward the source of the ultrasonic communication signal 8. That is, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiving device 5 is directed toward the source of the infrared communication signal 6, and the infrared light receiving characteristics are improved. FIG.
2 shows a processing procedure in the television receiver 2. Hereinafter, the direction of the transmission source, that is, the direction of the remote controller viewed from the receiving device is referred to as a transmitting direction, and the direction in which the directivity of sensitivity of the receiving device is maximum is referred to as a receiving direction.

In the above example, the case where the present invention is applied to a remote controller of a television receiver has been described.
A wireless communication device such as A can be similarly applied. Further, although the wireless communication signal is a combination of the infrared communication signal and the ultrasonic communication signal, only the ultrasonic communication signal may be used. When the transmission direction is detected using an infrared communication signal or another electromagnetic communication signal, the transmission direction may be detected not by using a time difference but by using directivity. The drive device may be a device that does not perform physical rotation drive, but may drive the radio signal reception directivity electronically.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the remote control control system receives the ultrasonic communication signal of the remote controller using two ultrasonic receiving means provided in the television receiver. Detect the transmission direction,
Since the direction of the infrared communication signal receiving means for remotely operating the television receiver is adjusted to the transmission direction by rotating the driving means with the driving means, the infrared receiving characteristic from the remote controller can be improved.

(Second Embodiment) In a second embodiment of the present invention, two ultrasonic receiving means provided in a television receiver receive an ultrasonic communication signal of a remote controller and change the transmission direction. This is a remote control control system that detects and turns the direction of the television receiver to the transmission direction by rotating the drive means.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a configuration of a remote control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a side view of the remote control system, FIGS. 10 and 11 are plan views in the case of oblique incidence, and FIG. 12 is a plan view in the case where the television receiver is rotated. 14 and 15 as conventional examples and those having the same operations as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Drive 7
Is a device for driving the television receiver to rotate.

The operation of the remote control control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. Normal,
When the remote controller 1 performs volume adjustment, channel switching, and the like of the television receiver 2, the infrared communication signal 6 is directed to the infrared receiver 5 from almost the front of the television receiver 2 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Send. The television receiver 2 receives the infrared communication signal 6 transmitted from the remote controller 1 by the infrared receiving device 5 and performs volume adjustment, channel switching, and the like.

However, as shown in FIG. 10, when the infrared communication signal 6 from the remote controller 1 is output to the infrared receiver 5 of the television receiver 2 from an oblique direction, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiver 5 and the infrared light Since the angle of the output direction of the communication signal 6 becomes small, it becomes difficult for the infrared receiving device 5 of the television receiver 2 to receive the infrared signal. At this time, the operator of the remote controller 1 views the display screen of the television receiver 2 from an oblique direction with respect to the television receiver 2, and the visibility is not good.

As shown in FIG. 11, the remote controller 1 outputs the infrared communication signal 6 and also outputs the ultrasonic communication signal 8 at the same time. At this time, each of the first ultrasonic receiving device 3 and the second ultrasonic receiving device 4 of the television receiver 2 receives the ultrasonic communication signal 8 with a certain time difference.
The signal processing device 9 detects the receiving direction of the ultrasonic receiving signal 8 from the time difference when the ultrasonic communication signal 8 is received by the first ultrasonic receiving device 3 and the second ultrasonic receiving device 4. Based on the detection result of the receiving direction of the ultrasonic receiving signal 8, the driving device 7 drives the television receiver 2 to rotate in the receiving direction of the ultrasonic communication signal 8.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiving device 5 faces the receiving direction of the ultrasonic communication signal 8. That is, the light receiving surface of the infrared receiving device 5 is directed in the receiving direction of the infrared communication signal 6, and the infrared light receiving characteristics are improved. Furthermore, since the display screen of the television receiver 2 is suitable for the operator of the remote controller 1, the visibility of the display screen of the television receiver 2 is improved. FIG. 13 shows a processing procedure in the television receiver 2.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the remote control control system is configured such that two ultrasonic receiving means provided in the television receiver receive the ultrasonic communication signal of the remote controller. Detect the transmission direction,
The configuration in which the direction of the television receiver is adjusted to the transmission direction by rotating the driving means by the driving means can improve the infrared receiving characteristics from the remote controller, and the display screen of the television receiver can be changed by the operator of the remote controller. Therefore, the visibility of the display screen of the television receiver is improved.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the radio receiving method of a remote control system for remotely operating a device to be remotely controlled, a plurality of radio signals from arbitrary directions are received. Means, processing a plurality of received radio signals to detect the transmission direction of the radio signal, and by changing the reception direction to match the transmission direction, while improving the infrared light receiving characteristics,
The effect that the visibility of the display screen of a television receiver is also improved is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a remote control control system when controlling from the front in a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a remote controller of the remote control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the television receiver of the remote control control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a remote control control system in a case where control is performed obliquely in the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a remote control system for detecting a transmission direction in the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a remote control system when the infrared receiver is rotationally driven in the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the television receiver of the remote control control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a remote control system when controlling from the front in a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of a remote control control system when controlling from the front in the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a remote control control system in the case where control is performed diagonally in the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a remote control system when a transmission direction is detected according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a remote control system when a receiver is driven to rotate in the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the television receiver of the remote control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a plan view in the case where control is performed from the front in a conventional remote control control system,

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a conventional remote control control system in a case where control is performed from an oblique direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 remote controller 2 television receiver 3 first ultrasonic receiving device 4 second ultrasonic receiving device 5 infrared receiving device 6 infrared communication signal 7 driving device 8 ultrasonic communication signal 9 signal processing device

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a remote control control system comprising a remote control target device and remote control means for remotely controlling the remote control target device, a plurality of receiving means for receiving a radio signal from an arbitrary direction; A signal processing means for processing the wireless signal of the wireless signal to detect the direction of the transmission source of the wireless signal; A remote control control system, characterized in that it is provided with: 2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless signal is any one of an infrared communication signal, an ultrasonic communication signal, and an electromagnetic wave communication signal, or a combination of the two signals.
The remote control control system as described. 3. The radio receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit changes a direction of only the receiving unit to a direction of the transmission source. 4. The remote control control system according to claim 1, wherein the device to be remotely operated is a television receiver. 5. A wireless receiving method for a remote control system for remotely operating a device to be remotely controlled, wherein a wireless signal from an arbitrary direction is received by a plurality of receiving means, and the received wireless signals are processed to process the wireless signal. Wireless receiving method, wherein the direction of the transmission source is detected, and the direction in which the reception sensitivity of the receiving means is maximum is adjusted to the direction of the transmission source.