Remote control system

• US 5,554,980 A
• Filed: 03/09/1994
• Issued: 09/10/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwaasa, Hiroaki, Kawagoe, Hisashi, Hashimoto, Koosuke, Matsuo, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): MERZ, EDWARD W
• Application Number:
  US08/207,714
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 345/163, 345/165, 345/158, 345/159, 345/145, 345/157, 340/825.72, 340/825.69, 340/825.62, 340/825.57
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0308 comprising a plurality of distinctive and separately oriented light emitters or reflectors associated to the pointing device, e.g. remote cursor controller with distinct and separately oriented LEDs at the tip whose radiations are captured by a photo-detector associated to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/32 Remote control based on movements, attitude of remote control device
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• 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 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

A remote control system includes a remote control unit and a controlled unit. The remote control unit is moved in space, and includes a movement detector, selection switch and transmitter. The movement detector detects movement of the remote control unit. The transmitter transmits output of the movement detector and the selection switch. The controlled unit includes a display device, receiver, and controller. The display device includes a display screen, and displays a cursor and icons on the display screen. The receiver receives the output of the movement detector and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitter. The controller moves the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the movement detector and the selection switch.

Claims

1. A remote control system, comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

movement detecting means for detecting movement of the remote control unit, the movement detecting means capable of detecting movement of the remote control unit in any direction,

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

a display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the movement detecting means comprises:

a first detecting means for detecting a component in a first direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit; and

a second detecting means for detecting a component in a second direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the remote control unit further comprises:

first signal converting means for converting an output signal from the first detecting means into a corresponding first sequence of pulses,

second signal converting means for converting an output signal from the second detecting means into a corresponding second sequence of pulses,

code conversion means for converting the sequences of pulses into corresponding codes; and

wherein

said transmitting means transmits said codes;

said receiving means receives said codes; and

said control means controls the movement of the cursor in accordance with said codes.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein

the first signal converging means includes first angle-to-position conversion modifying means for modifying the first sequence of pulses according to a first angle-to-position conversion coefficient which is a ratio of movement of the cursor in a first direction to an amount of change in orientation of the remote control unit;

and

the second signal converting means includes second angle-to-position conversion modifying means for modifying the second sequence of pulses according to a second angle-to-position conversion coefficient which is a ratio of movement of the cursor in a second direction to the amount of change in orientation of the remote control unit, the second angle-to-position conversion coefficient being different from the first angle-to-position conversion coefficient.

5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for removing, from the output of the movement detecting means, a component due to movement of the remote control unit which is less than a predetermined value.

6. A system according to the claim 1, further comprising means for turning ON a power supply to the remote control unit when the selection switch is manipulated while the power supply to the remote control unit is OFF.

7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising operation detecting means for turning OFF a power supply to at least part of the remote control unit when the detected movement is less than a predetermined value continuously for more than a predetermined time, and for turning ON the power supply when the detected movement exceeds said predetermined value.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein

the transmitting means comprises a plurality of transmitting elements for transmitting signals from the movement detecting means and the selection switch in parallel;

and

the receiving means comprises a plurality of receiving elements respectively corresponding to the transmitting elements and receiving transmissions from the corresponding transmitting elements to produce the the output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch.

9. A system according to claim 3, wherein the movement detecting means comprises direction detecting means for detecting a direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit;

and the direction detecting means produces a signal which assumes either a first value or a second value depending on whether the output of the movement detecting means is or is not greater than a predetermined value different from a value which indicates that there is no movement of the remote control unit.

10. A system according to claim 1, further comprising delay means for delaying the output of the movement detection means;

wherein said transmitting means transmits the output of the movement detection means delayed by said delay means.

11. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for inhibiting movement of the cursor for a period after the selection switch is manipulated to select an icon and until a predetermined time has elapsed after such manipulation of the selection switch.

12. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for producing a sound when the selection switch is brought to a first state in which movement of the cursor is enabled, and when one of (1) the selection switch ceases to be in the first state and (2) as long as said selection switch is in the first state.

13. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a first member to which said movement detecting means is mounted, and a second member to which said selection switch is mounted, said first and second member being separate bodies.

14. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a damping material interposed between the movement detecting means and the selection switch.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said selection switch comprises a two-stage switch which produces a first signal when its first stage is manipulated,

said system further comprises synthesizing means for synthesizing the first signal produced by the operation of said first stage, with a movement signal produced by the movement detecting means to produce a synthetic signal;

said transmitting means transmits the synthetic signal;

said controlled unit comprises,

separating means for separating the synthetic signal into the first signal indicating the manipulation of said first stage and the movement signal indicating movement of the remote control unit;

signal generating means, responsive to the first signal indicating the manipulation of the first stage, for producing a generated signal for turning ON the power supply to the display device or to select a specific icon;

a synthetic means for synthesizing the first signal produced by said separating means, the movement signal indicating movement of the remote control unit and the generated signal produced by the signal generated means.

16. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a movement enabling switch which, when manipulated, enables movement of the cursor in accordance with movement of the remote control unit;

wherein the movement enabling switch and the selection switch are separate and independent switches.

17. A system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting means comprises means for producing electric waves, light, ultrasonic waves or the like, and comprises a plurality of transmitting elements directed towards different directions.

18. A system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting means comprises means for producing light, and comprises a transmitting element and a lens for diverging the light from the transmitting element.

19. A system according to claim 1 wherein the transmitting means comprises means for producing electric waves, light, ultrasonic waves or the like, and the receiving means comprises a plurality of receiving elements provided at different positions on the controlled unit.

20. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a continuous variation detecting circuit for enabling movement of the cursor only when the remote control unit is moving continuously.

21. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a click interval detecting circuit for permitting an ON signal from the selection switch to select an icon only when an interval between ON signals from the selection switch is longer than a predetermined value.

22. A system according to claim 1, wherein the movement detecting means comprises:

first detecting means for detecting a component of movement in a first direction;

second detecting means for detecting a component of movement in a second direction;

first signal converting means for converting an output signal from the first detecting means into a corresponding first sequence of pulses;

second signal converting means for converting an output signal from the second detecting means into a corresponding second sequence of pulses;

code conversion means for converting the first and second sequences of pulses into corresponding codes; and

wherein

the transmitting means transmits the codes;

the receiving means receives the codes; and

the control means controls movement of the cursor in accordance with the codes.

23. A system according to claim 1, wherein the movement detecting means comprises:

a first detecting means for detecting a component of movement in a first direction; and

a second detecting means for detecting a component of the movement in a second direction; and

wherein

the selection switch is provided such that pressing of the selection switch occurs in a third direction normal to the first and second directions.

24. A system according to claim 1, wherein the movement detecting means comprises:

first detecting means for detecting an acceleration in a first direction of movement of the remote control unit; and

second detecting means for detecting an acceleration in a second direction of movement of the remote control unit.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein at least one of the first and second detecting means comprises a pair of acceleration sensors for detecting acceleration components in directions orthogonal to each other, and a circuit for determining a square root of a sum of squares of outputs of the pair of acceleration sensors.

26. A system according to claim 24, wherein the remote control unit further comprises:

first integrating means for integrating output of the first detecting means into a first velocity signal;

second integrating means for integrating output of the second detecting means into a second velocity signal;

first signal converting means for converting the first velocity signal into a corresponding first sequence of pulses;

second signal converting means for converting the second velocity signal into a corresponding second sequence of pulses;

code conversion means for converting the first and second sequences of pulses into corresponding codes; and

wherein

the transmitting means transmits the codes;

the receiving means receives the codes; and

the control means controls movement of the cursor in accordance with the codes.

27. A system according to claim 26, wherein the movement detecting means further comprises:

third detecting means for detecting a component in the first direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit;

fourth detecting means for detecting a component in the second direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit;

first adding means for adding outputs of said first integrating means and said third detecting means; and

second adding means for adding outputs of said second integrating means and said fourth detecting means.

35. A system according to claim 3, wherein

the first signal converting means includes,

first coefficient setting means for setting a first conversion coefficient, which is a ratio of movement of the cursor in a first direction to an amount of change in orientation of the remote control unit, in accordance with a cumulative amount of change in the orientation of the remote control unit, and

first angle-to-position conversion modifying means for modifying the first sequence of pulses according to the first conversion coefficient;

and

the second signal converting means includes,

second coefficient setting means for setting a second conversion coefficient, which is a ratio of movement of the cursor in a second direction to an amount of change in orientation of the remote control unit, in accordance with the cumulative amount of change in the orientation of the remote control unit, and

second angle-to-position conversion modifying means for modifying the second sequence of pulses according to the second conversion coefficient.

36. A system according to claim 1, wherein

the selection switch comprises a two-stage selection switch;

and

the control means moves the cursor in accordance with the output of the movement detecting means when the two-stage selection switch is pressed to a first depth, and selects an icon indicated by the cursor on the display screen when the two-stage selection switch is pressed to a second, greater, depth.

37. A system according to claim 36, wherein the first stage of the two-stage selection switch is operated by a minute pressing force.

46. A system according to claim 3, wherein the codes received by the control means are of a format received when using a mouse to move a cursor on the display screen.

47. A system according to claim 22, wherein the codes received by the control means are of a format received when using a mouse to move a cursor on the display screen.

48. A system according to claim 26, wherein the codes received by the control means are of a format received when using a mouse to move a cursor on the display screen.

50. A system according to claim 2, wherein

said first detecting means includes an angular speed detector;

and

said second detecting means includes an angular speed detector.

28. A remote control system, comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

position detecting means for detecting a position of the remote control unit relative to a display device, the position detecting means capable of detecting the position of the remote control unit relative to the display device in any position in the three-dimensional space,

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the position detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

the display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the position detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the position detecting means and the selection switch.

29. A system according to claim 28, wherein said selection switch comprises a two-stage switch, and said system further comprises operation stopping means responsive to a signal from a first stage of said two-stage switch for stopping movement of the cursor.

30. A system according to claim 29, wherein the operation stopping means comprises:

a synthesizing circuit provided in the remote control unit for synthesizing the signal from the first stage with output of the position detecting means and a signal from a second stage of the selection switch;

a separating circuit provided in the controlled unit for separating the signal from the first stage from the ouput of the position detecting means and the signal from the second stage; and

a switching circuit provided in the controlled unit to receive the output of the position detecting means, and responsive to the signal from the first stage for preventing output of the output of the position detecting means to the control means.

31. A system according to claim 29, wherein the operation stopping means comprises:

a memory provided in the remote control unit which stores the output of the position detecting means at the instant when the first stage of the two-stage switch is turned OFF; and

a switch provided in the controlled unit for selecting the output of the position detecting means when the first stage is ON, and selecting the output of the memory when the first stage is OFF; and

wherein

said control means receives output of the switch and moves the cursor in accordance with the output of the switch.

32. A system according to claim 28, further comprising operation stopping means For preventing movement of the cursor for a predetermined time after selection of an icon by means of the selection switch.

33. A system according to claim 32, wherein the operation stopping means comprises:

a timer for producing a signal for a predetermined time after turning-ON of the selection switch;

a synthesizing circuit provided in the remote control unit for synthesizing the signal of the timer with the output of the position detecting means and the output of the selection switch;

a separating circuit provided in the controlled unit for separating the signal of the timer from the output of the position detecting means and the output of the selection switch;

a switching circuit receiving the output of the position detecting means, and responsive to the signal of the timer to prohibit outputting for the predetermined time; and

wherein

the control means moves the cursor in accordance with output of the switching circuit.

34. A system according to claim 32 wherein the operation stopping means comprises:

a timer for producing a signal for a predetermined time after the selection switch is turned ON;

a memory provided in the remote control unit for storing the output of the position detecting means at the time when the selection switch is turned ON; and

a switching circuit for selecting output of the memory for a predetermined time after the selection switch is turned ON, and selecting the output of the position detecting means at other times; and

wherein

said control means moves the cursor in accordance with output of the switching circuit.

38. A remote control system, comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

direction detecting means for detecting a direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit, the direction detecting means capable of detecting the direction of change in orientation of the remote control unit in any direction in the three-dimensional space;

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

a display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch.

39. A system according to claim 38, further comprising:

absolute value determining means for determining an absolute value of the change in orientation of the remote control unit based on the output of the direction detecting means, and producing a voltage signal representative of the absolute value;

a voltage-to-frequency conversion circuit for converting the voltage signal into a first sequence of pulses;

a phase shift circuit for shifting a phase of the first sequence of pulse to produce a second sequence of pulses have a phase difference with respect to the first sequence of pulses;

a switching circuit for selectively assuming a first position and a second position, when in the first position the switching circuit outputs the first and second sequence of pulses as third and fourth sequence of pulses, respectively, and when in the second position the switching circuit outputs the first and second sequence of pulses as the fourth and third sequence of pulses, respectively.

40. A system according to claim 39, wherein

the remote control unit includes the absolute value detecting means, and the voltage-to-frequency conversion circuit;

the controlled unit includes the switching circuit and the phase shift circuit;

the transmitter transmits the first sequence of pulses; and

the receiver receives the first sequence of pulses.

41. A system according to claim 39, wherein the controlled unit includes the absolute value circuit, the voltage-to-frequency conversion circuit, the switching circuit and the phase shift circuit.

42. A system according to claim 38, wherein

the directing detecting means includes,

first detecting means for detecting a component of movement of the remote control unit in a first direction, and

second detecting means for detecting a component of movement of the remote control unit in a second direction;

and

the system further comprises,

first signal converting means for converting an output of the first detecting means into a first sequence of pulses;

second signal converting means for converting an output of the second detecting means into a second sequence of pulses;

code conversion means for converting the first and second sequence of pulses into codes; and

the control means moves the cursor in accordance with the codes.

43. A system according to claim 42, wherein

the remote control unit includes the first signal converting means, the second signal converting means, and the code converting means;

the transmitter transmits the codes; and

the receiver receives the codes.

44. A system according to claim 42, wherein

the remote control unit includes the first signal converting means and the second signal converting means;

the controlled unit includes the code converting means;

the transmitter transmits the first and second sequence of pulses; and

the receiver receives the first and second sequence of pulses.

45. A system according to claim 42, wherein the controlled unit includes there first signal converting means, the second signal converting means, and the code converting means.

49. A system according to claim 42, wherein the codes received by the control means are of a format received when using a mouse to move a cursor on the display screen.

51. A remote control system comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

movement detecting means for detecting a rate of movement of the remote control unit,

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

a display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the movement detecting means and the selection switch.

52. A remote control system, comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

position detecting means for detecting a rate of change in a position of the remote control unit relative to a display device;

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the position detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

the display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the position detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the position detecting means and the selection switch.

53. A remote control system, comprising:

a remote control unit, the remote control unit being moved in three-dimensional space, and including,

direction detecting means for detecting a rate of change in orientation of the remote control unit;

a selection switch, and

transmitting means for transmitting output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch; and

a controlled unit, the controlled unit including,

a display device with a display screen, and which displays a cursor and icons on the display screen;

receiving means for receiving the output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch transmitted by the transmitting means, and

control means for moving the cursor across the display screen in accordance with the output of the direction detecting means and the selection switch.