Remote controlled electronic apparatus and remote control method thereof

• US 6,747,567 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2001
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Amano, Toshio, Konuma, Kenichi, Ueki, Toshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, VERNAL U
• Application Number:
  US09/804,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20020030603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.69, 340/7.32, 340/7.33, 340/7.36, 340/7.38, 340/10.3, 340/10.34, 340/825.72, 340/539.3, 386/46, 455/343.1, 455/343.2, 455/296, 455/307, 361/182
• US Class Current: 340/12.16
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link

Abstract

An electronic apparatus wherein a remote control signal received via a filter is decoded and, upon deciding that the control signal is a power cutoff instruction, a controlling microcomputer outputs a filter control signal for actuating the filter to place the apparatus in a reception standby mode while the microcomputer itself is also set in its low power state, hence preventing a malfunction that some noise derived from external light of a fluorescent lamp or the like is recognized erroneously as a remote control signal and that the apparatus is shifted in error from the low power state to its wake-up mode. Consequently, the power consumption can be reduced in the standby mode. The remote control signal consists of a fixed-width pulse and a succeeding control code, and upon detection of the fixed-width pulse, the controlling microcomputer is released from the low power state to wake up and then halts the operation of the filter.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a low-pass filter for attenuating a high frequency component of a remote control signal composed of a guide pulse and a succeeding control code; and

a control unit for decoding said control code in said remote control signal transmitted to said control unit via said filter and upon deciding that said remote control signal is a power cutoff instruction, demagnetizing a relay, thereby placing said electronic apparatus in a reception standby mode, while outputting a filter control signal to actuate said filter and setting said control unit in a low power state,

wherein upon said control unit detecting said guide pulse while in said low power state, said control unit release itself from said low power state and said filter control signal deactivates said filter.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said low power state is obtained by halting a clock or execution of an instruction in said control unit.

2. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a filter for attenuating a predetermined frequency component of a remote control signal composed of a fixed-width pulse and a succeeding control code; and

a control unit for decoding said remote control signal supplied via a first input terminal and upon deciding that said remote control signal is a power cutoff instruction, demagnetizing a relay to place said electronic apparatus in a reception standby mode and to set said control unit in a low power state, thereby disabling said first input terminal from accepting said remote control signal,

wherein when said fixed-width pulse included in said remote control signal supplied via said filter has been received at a second input terminal, said control unit is released from said low power state and enables said first input terminal to accept said remote control signal again.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when said control code is not existent within a predetermined time after said release from said low power state, said control unit outputs another filter control signal for further enhancing said frequency attenuating function of said filter, and said control unit is placed in said low power state again.

5. A remote control method for an electronic apparatus, comprising the steps of:

attenuating using a low-pass filter a high-frequency component of a remote control signal composed of a guide pulse having a pulse width sufficient to be passed by the low-pass filter in said step of attenuating and a succeeding control code;

deciding that said remote control signal is a valid remote control signal by receiving the guide pulse passed by the low-pass filter and decoding the control code to form a power cutoff instruction to set a control unit in a low power state;

demagnetizing a relay to place said electronic apparatus in a reception standby mode; and

releasing said control unit from said low power state and halting said step of attenuating upon detection of said guide pulse.

6. A remote control method for an electronic apparatus, comprising the steps of:

decoding a supplied remote control signal via a first input terminal, said supplied remote control signal composed of a fixed-width pulse and a succeeding control code and, upon deciding that said decoded control signal is a power cutoff instruction, demagnetizing a relay to place said electronic apparatus in a reception standby mode and to set a control unit in a low power state, and disabling said first input terminal from accepting said remote control signal;

attenuating a predetermined frequency component of said remote control signal; and

deciding whether said fixed-width pulse included in said attenuated remote control signal is existent and, upon detection of said fixed-width pulse, releasing said control unit from said low power state and enabling said first input terminal to accept said remote control signal again.

7. The remote control method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of enhancing said attenuation of said predetermined frequency component if said control code is not existent within a predetermined time after a release of said control unit from said low power state, and subsequently placing said control unit in said low power state.