Stationary remote control transmitter

• US 8,188,842 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2009
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SMK Corporation
• Original Assignee: SMK Corporation
• Inventors: Otsuka, Kenji, Noguchi, Ryuhei, Miyata, Noriaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yacob, Sisay
• Application Number:
  US12/405,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20100052938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• Field of Search: 340/1.1, 340/11.1, 340/9.17, 340 1215- 1255, 340/4.3, 340/4.11, 340/426.13, 340/686.3, 340/13.24, 340/686.1, 340/686.4, 341 23- 35, 341171-174, 341/176, 345/168, 345/169, 345/173, 348/734, 348/E7.001
• US Class Current: 340/12.22
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 19/005 Electromechanical pulse generators
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/0235 specially adapted for remote control, e.g. of audio or video apparatus

Abstract

The rotation operation plane of the ring-shaped operation members that operate the rotation is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the rotation operation of the ring-shaped operation member can be performed without holding a finger in the vertical direction. Furthermore, since the rotation operation plane is inclined with respect to the placement plane of the case, static friction on the placement plane is generated by a force component of the operation force acting on the rotation operation plane and is perpendicular to the placement plane, thus the case does not move toward the rotation operation direction during the rotation operation.

Claims

1. A stationary remote control transmitter comprising:

a case having a bottom plane as a horizontal placement plane, the case comprising;

a large diameter disk member having the bottom plane in the same plane as the horizontal placement plane; and

a small diameter disk member installed above the bottom plane of the large diameter disk that is formed in disk shapes around said center axis;

an operation member installed in the case, which freely rotates around a center axis that is perpendicular to the placement plane, wherein the operation member is formed in a shape of a ring around the center axis, wherein the operation member is installed between a first ring guide element formed downward around the outer circumference of the small diameter disk member and a second ring guide element formed upward around the outer circumference of the large diameter disk member, and freely rotates around the center axis;

a rotation detection device detecting rotational angles of the operation member around the rotation center axis;

an operation signal generation device generating control data for controlling actions of the controlled device utilizing the rotation angles detected by the rotation detection device;

an RF transmission device transmitting the control data as RF signals to the controlled device; and

a rotation operation plane for rotationally operating the operation member along a tapered plane around said rotation center axis;

a ring-shaped groove that is formed between a first guide groove having a semicircle cross- section on the plane along the outer circumference of the large diameter disk member and a second guide groove having a semicircle cross-section on the bottom plane of the operation member that faces the first guide groove, and holds a plurality of flexible spacers that are bent in an arc shape to be able to slip along the ring-shaped groove; and

a plurality of balls that are separated from each other by the flexible spacers and roll within the ring-shaped groove, and guiding the operation member in a free rotation manner around the center axis between the second ring guide element of the large diameter disk member and the balls that rotate within the ring-shaped groove, and the first ring guide element of the small diameter disk member.

2. The stationary remote control transmitter of claim 1, further comprising:

a display member displaying plurality of controlled contents for controlling the controlled devices; and

input switches selecting a specific controlled content controlled by control data are installed on a plane of the case that is exposed at an opening on the center side of the operation member.