RF COMMUNICATION MODULE AND RF COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20080143551A1
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SMK Corporation
• Original Assignee: SMK Corporation
• Inventors: Otsuka, Kenji, Ninomiya, Nobuhide
• Granted Patent: US 8,068,013 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/825.69
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control

Abstract

A RF communication system includes a RF communication module capable of controlling either an IR communication system-controlled device or a controlled device not equipped with a reception circuit for receiving IR signals remotely with RF signals. The RF communication module is equipped with an antenna for receiving RF signals, a RF communication circuit for demodulating the remote control data from the RF signal received by the antenna, a UART interface for outputting bit stream remote data to a device-side microcomputer of the controlled device, and a communication control unit having two types of communication interfaces in a pulse signal interface that outputs a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with remote control data, to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, so that remote control data transmitted by RF signals is output freely, as either bit stream or pulse modulated signals, to a device-side microcomputer of the controlled device.

Claims

1. A RF communication module comprising:

an antenna for receiving a RF signal, the RF signal having been modulated with remote control data and transmitted from a remote control transmitter;

a RF communication circuit unit for demodulating remote control data from the RF signal received by the antenna; and

a communication control unit having;

a UART interface, freely connectable to a device-side microcomputer of a device to be controlled remotely by a remote control transmitter, for outputting the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit as bit stream remote control data, and

a pulse signal interface, freely connectable to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, for outputting a pulse modulated signal that is pulse modulated with the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit;

wherein the remote control data transmitted by the RF signal is output freely, as either a bit stream or pulse modulated signal, to the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device.

2. The RF communication module of claim 1, wherein,

the RF signal is modulated with remote control data containing an output code for selecting either UART output or pulse signal output;

and

the communication control unit outputs bit stream remote control data from the UART interface in the case where an output code for selecting UART output is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, and outputs a pulse modulated signal from the pulse signal interface in the case where an output code for selecting pulse signal output is contained therein.

3. The RF communication module of claim 2, wherein,

the communication control unit has a format storage unit for associating each of one or more pulse modulated signal formats with an output code, and for storing the one or more pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices;

and

in the case where an output code associated with one of the pulse modulated signal formats is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, the communication control unit reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs a pulse modulated signal having been pulse modulated with the remote control data.

4. The RF communication module of claim 1, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

12. The RF communication module of claim 2, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

13. The RF communication module of claim 3, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

5. A RF communication system comprising:

a pair of identically configured RF communication modules each equipped with a communication control unit having;

a UART interface, connectable to a remote control-side microcomputer that generates remote control data for a remote control transmitter and to a device-side microcomputer that operates a controlled device according to the remote control data, for inputting and outputting bit stream remote control data with the remote control-side microcomputer or the device-side microcomputer, and

a pulse signal interface, connectable to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, for outputting a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with the remote control data, to the device-side microcomputer;

an antenna for transmitting and receiving a RF signals modulated with the remote control data; and

a RF communication circuit for outputting, to the antenna, a RF signal modulated with the remote control data to be outputted from the communication control unit and for outputting, to the communication control unit, remote control data demodulated from the RF signal received by the antenna;

wherein

the UART interface of one of the RF communication modules connects to the remote control-side microcomputer, and according to an input operation to the remote control transmitter, an RF signal modulated with the remote control data generated at the remote control-side microcomputer is transmitted from the antenna of the one RF communication module;

the UART interface or the pulse signal interface of the other RF communication module connects to the device-side microcomputer or the pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer; and

the remote control data to be transmitted with a RF signal from the one RF communication module is outputted as a bit stream or pulse modulated signal to the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device.

6. The RF communication system of claim 5, wherein

an output code for selecting either UART output or pulse signal output is contained in the remote control data generated at the remote control-side microcomputer;

and

the communication control unit of the other RF communication module outputs bit stream remote control data from the UART interface in the case where an output code for selecting UART output is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, and outputs a pulse modulated signal from the pulse signal interface in the case where an output code for selecting pulse signal output is contained therein.

7. The RF communication system of claim 6, wherein

the communication control unit has a format storage unit for associating each pulse modulated signal format with an output code and for storing pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by the device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices;

and

in the case where an output code associated with a specific pulse modulated signal format is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit of the other RF communication module, the communication control unit of the other RF communication module reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs a pulse modulated signal having been pulse modulated with the remote control data.

8. The RF communication module of claim 5, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

14. The RF communication module of claim 6, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

15. The RF communication module of claim 7, wherein,

the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.

9. A RF communication system comprising:

a remote control-side microcomputer for generating remote control data that includes control data for controlling operation of a controlled device according to an input operation;

a remote control transmitter equipped with a RF transmission circuit unit for modulating a RF signal with remote control data generated by the remote control-side microcomputer and for outputting the modulated signal from a transmission antenna;

a RF reception circuit unit for demodulating remote control data from a RF signal received at a reception antenna;

a device-side microcomputer for demodulating control data from a pulse modulated signal received at a pulse signal input port of the device-side microcomputer;

a format storage unit for associating each of one or more pulse modulated signal formats with an output code and for storing the pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices; and

a controlled device equipped with a pulse modulation circuit, wherein in the case where an output code associated with a specific pulse modulated signal format is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF reception circuit unit, the pulse modulation circuit reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs to the pulse signal input port of the device-side microcomputer a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with control data, contained in the remote control data;

wherein

the remote control-side microcomputer includes an output code, specifying a pulse modulated signal format that can be demodulated by the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device, together with control data, in the remote control data, and

the pulse modulation circuit of the controlled device reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code contained in the remote control data, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs to the device-side microcomputer, a pulse modulated signal having been modulated with control data.

10. The RF communication system of claim 9, wherein

the remote control-side microcomputer includes an ID code in the remote control data, the controlled device compares the ID code in the remote control data to an ID code of the controlled device, and the controlled device rejects the remote control data when the ID code in the remote control data and the ID code of the controlled device do not match.

11. The RF communication system of claim 9, further comprising

a plurality of controlled devices, wherein each of the devices in the plurality of controlled devices is controlled by remote control data transmitted by the remote control-side microcomputer.