Remote control device and display device

• US 20060120726A1
• Filed: 11/29/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Matsumura, Kazuhiko, Hisakawa, Kohji, Aoki, Fumihiko, Kashida, Hajime, Yoshifusa, Kohji
• Application Number:
  US11/288,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20060120726A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/106
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1141 One-way transmission

Abstract

In an embodiment of the present invention, a remote control device is provided with an optical indicator device and a light-receiving device. A display device is provided with a display portion that displays a pointer and a frame portion that accommodates the light-receiving device. By displacing a light-emitting element sequencially to a plurality of displacement positions, supplying a light emission signal to the light-emitting element at each displacement position and to cause the light-emitting element to emit as output a position detection light signal, then sequencially detecting light-reception signals that are received as input by a position detection light-receiving element of the light-receiving device, and performing arithmetic processing as appropriate on the detected light-reception signals, a displacement state of a reference axis displacement angle is detected. Movement of a pointer is controlled by using the displacement state of the reference axis displacement angle as an indicating signal for the pointer.

Claims

1. A remote control device comprising an optical indicator device in which a light-emitting element is mounted that emits as output a position detection light signal, and a light-receiving device that receives as input the position detection light signal and obtains a position signal from a detected light-reception signal,

wherein the optical indicator device comprises:

a light axis control portion that displaces a light axis of the light-emitting element to displacement positions so that the light axis of the light-emitting element has an inclination angle with respect to a reference axis of the optical indicator device, and

a light emission control portion that causes a position detection light signal to be emitted as output from the light-emitting element when the light axis of the light-emitting element is in the displacement positions.

2. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement positions are arranged in symmetrical positions centering on the reference axis.

3. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement positions are in at least four locations.

4. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light axis control portion comprises a mechanical component that mechanically controls the displacement positions of the light axis.

5. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light axis control portion comprises an electromagnetic drive device that electromagnetically controls the displacement positions of the light axis.

6. The remote control device according to claim 5, wherein a light axis control signal applied to the electromagnetic drive device has two types of pulse waves having different phases.

7. The remote control device according to claim 6, wherein the two types of pulse waves are respectively step shaped waveforms, with a cycle of each step in one of the types of pulse waves being equivalent to a cycle of a group of steps in another of the types of pulse waves.

8. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control portion applies a light emission signal of pulse waves to the light-emitting element in synchronization to the displacement positions.

9. The remote control device according to claim 8, wherein the light emission signal includes a detection start pulse and a position detection pulse after the detection start pulse.

10. The remote control device according to claim 9, wherein the position detection pulses are constituted by a plurality of pulses having a same pulse width and a same cycle with respect to the respective displacement positions.

11. The remote control device according to claim 8, wherein a modulation carrier wave is superimposed onto the light emission signal.

12. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting element emits as output a light emission wavelength of an infrared light region.

13. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle is not greater than a half value angle of the light-emitting element.

14. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light-receiving device comprises a position detection light-receiving element that receives as input the position detection light signal to detect a light-reception signal, an amplifier circuit that amplifies the light-reception signal detected by the position detection light-receiving element, an amplitude value detection circuit that detects an amplitude value of the light-reception signal amplified by the amplifier circuit, and an arithmetic processing portion that performs arithmetic processing on the amplitude value to obtain the position signal.

15. The remote control device according to claim 14, wherein amplitude values obtained for a plurality of pulses of light-reception signals corresponding to the plurality of pulses of the position detection pulses are averaged and the average is set as an amplitude value of the light-reception signals.

16. The remote control device according to claim 14, wherein a band-pass filter is connected between the amplifier circuit and the amplitude value detection circuit.

17. The remote control device according to claim 14, wherein an amplification factor of the amplifier circuit is regulated by an automatic gain control circuit.

18. The remote control device according to claim 17, wherein the amplification factor is regulated such that the amplitude value of the light-reception signal does not saturate.

19. The remote control device according to claim 14, wherein the amplitude value is obtained by setting as a reference level a noise level of the light-reception signal in a period in which there is no signal, and obtaining a difference from the reference level.

20. A display device provided with a display portion that displays information and a frame portion that supports the display portion, comprising the remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the light-receiving device is arranged at a front surface of the frame portion.

21. The display device according to claim 20, wherein the optical indicator device emits as output and transmits to the light-receiving device a function control light signal corresponding to a function control signal that controls a function of the display device, and the light-receiving device receives as input the function control light signal and outputs the function control signal.

22. The display device according to claim 21, wherein the function control light signal is emitted as output from the light-emitting element.

23. The display device according to claim 21, wherein the light-receiving device comprises a function control light-receiving element that receives as input the function control light signal.

24. The display device according to claim 21, wherein the position detection light-receiving element receives as input the function control light signal and detects the function control signal.

25. The display device according to claim 20, wherein a position of a mark displayed on the display portion is controlled according to the position signal.

26. The display device according to claim 20, wherein the display device is a television receiver.