Combination of electronic apparatus and remote controller, remote controller for controlling electronic apparatus and method of remote-controlling electronic apparatus

• US 5,764,179 A
• Filed: 10/10/1996
• Issued: 06/09/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsurumoto, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, ALBERT KANG
• Application Number:
  US08/731,165
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 341/176, 341/33, 345/163, 345/173, 345/174, 345/157, 345/158, 348/731, 348/739
• US Class Current: 341/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/045 Self-contained testing apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/57 Control of contrast or brightness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 for the sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/643 Hue control means, e.g. flesh tone control

Abstract

A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller for controlling the electronic apparatus is arranged so that one of various functions can be selected speedily and reliably. A pad of a remote controller is operated with a finger to obtain position coordinates, and a cursor displayed on a display unit provided in or connected to an electronic apparatus is moved according to the position coordinates. A certain area is set at a center of the display screen of the display unit. By turning on a switch of the remote controller while positioning the cursor in this area, a channel-tuning and sound volume operation picture, an audio mode operation picture, a video input operation picture, an image quality control operation picture and a tone control operation picture are selected one after another.

Claims

1. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller for controlling the electronic apparatus, said remote controller comprising:

a pad for designating coordinates by being touched by a user;

encoding means for encoding designated coordinate information obtained from said pad;

a switch operated by the user; and

means for forming a control signal from the encoded coordinate information and operation information of said switch and for transmitting the control signal in a wireless manner to said electronic apparatus,

said electronic apparatus comprising;

receiving means for receiving the control signal from said remote controller; and

control means for controlling said electronic apparatus, said control means displaying a cursor and an operation picture for operating said electronic apparatus on a display unit in accordance with the received control signal, in which said display unit is provided in or connected to said electronic apparatus and is not provided in said remote controller,

wherein said user can control a plurality of operating functions of said electronic apparatus through the use of said switch and said pad of said remote controller.

2. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 1, wherein the forming and transmitting means of said remote controller includes:

modulation means for modulating a signal representing the encoded coordinate information and the operation information of said switch at a predetermined frequency; and

infrared ray emitting means supplied with the modulated signal modulated from said modulation means.

3. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 1, wherein said control means of said electronic apparatus includes means for calculating, on the basis of the received control signal, a position at which the cursor is to be displayed on the display unit.

4. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 3, wherein said control means of said electronic apparatus further includes state change detection means for detecting a change in the state of said switch of said remote controller on the basis of the received control signal.

5. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 4, wherein said state change detection means detects whether said switch is changed from the on state to the off state or from the off state to the on state.

6. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 5, wherein said control means of said electronic apparatus further includes determination means for making determination as to whether the cursor is positioned in a preset area on said display unit.

7. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 6, wherein said electronic apparatus comprises a television receiver.

8. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 7, wherein said operation picture comprises a picture for an operation of changing a sound volume.

9. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 7, wherein said operation picture comprises a picture for setting an audio mode.

10. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 7, wherein said operation picture comprises a picture for selecting a video input.

11. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 7, wherein said operation picture comprises a picture for performing image quality control.

12. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller according to claim 7, wherein said operation picture comprises a picture for performing sound tone control.

13. A remote controller for controlling an electronic apparatus, said remote controller comprising:

a pad for designating coordinates by being touched by a user;

encoding means for encoding designated coordinate information obtained from said pad;

a switch operated by the user; and

means for forming a control signal from the encoded coordinate information and operation information of said switch and for transmitting said control signal in a wireless manner to said electronic apparatus,

wherein said user can control a plurality of operating functions of said electronic apparatus through the use of said switch and said pad of said remote controller.

14. A remote controller according to claim 13, wherein the forming and transmitting means includes:

modulation means for modulating a signal representing the encoded coordination information and the operation information of said switch at a predetermined frequency; and

infrared ray emitting means supplied with the modulated signal from said modulation means.

15. A remote controller according to claim 14, wherein said encoding means forms an asynchronous serial signal from the encoded information, and supplies the asynchronous serial signal to said modulation means.

16. A method of remote-controlling an electronic apparatus comprising the steps of:

detecting coordinates of a position on a pad provided on a remote controller, at which position the pad is touched by a user;

encoding detected coordinate information;

detecting, as operation information, whether a switch provided in the remote controller has been operated by the user;

forming a control signal from the encoded coordinate information and the detected operation information of the switch and transmitting the control signal in a wireless manner to said electronic apparatus;

receiving the output control signal in said electronic apparatus; and

displaying a cursor and an operation picture for operating the electronic apparatus on a display unit in accordance with the received control signal, in which said display unit is provided in or connected to the electronic apparatus and is not provided in said remote controller,

wherein said user can control a plurality of operating functions of said electronic apparatus through the use of said switch and said pad of said remote controller.

17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

modulating a signal representing the encoded coordinate information and the switch operation information at a predetermined frequency; and

supplying the modulated signal to infrared ray emitting means.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of calculating, on the basis of the received control signal, a position at which the cursor is to be displayed on the display unit.

19. A method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of detecting a change in the state of the switch of the remote controller on the basis of the received control signal.

20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of determining whether the cursor is positioned in a preset area on the display unit.

21. A combination of an electronic apparatus and a remote controller for controlling the electronic apparatus, said remote controller comprising:

a pad device for generating a location signal in response to being touched by an operator, in which said location signal corresponds to a location on a display unit provided in said electronic apparatus;

a single switch operable by the operator; and

means for forming a control signal from said location signal and operation information of said switch and for transmitting said control signal in a wireless manner to said electronic apparatus,

said electronic apparatus comprising;

receiving means for receiving said control signal from said remote controller; and

control means for controlling said electronic apparatus, said control means displaying a cursor and an operation picture for operating said electronic apparatus on said display unit in accordance with the received control signal, in which said display unit is provided in or connected to said electronic apparatus and is not provided in said remote controller,

wherein said operator can control a plurality of operating functions of said electronic apparatus through the use of said single switch and said pad of said remote controller.