Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Including keyboard
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-18
2004-08-31
Awad, Amr (Department: 2675)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Including keyboard
C345S158000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06784872
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bidirectional remote control systems and, more particularly, to a bidirectional remote control system in which an electronic appliance to be controlled by a remote control holds information to be displayed on the remote control and transmits the information to the remote control, while the remote control displays this information, thus allowing the electronic appliance to be controlled.
Recently, remote control units widely used in electrical appliances or the like have been enabled to fulfill various functions in terms of appliance control by remote control units, thanks to the implementation of bidirectional communications.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 6-335069 (hereinafter, referred to as Prior Art 1) has disclosed a technique that, for controlling a plurality of appliances with one remote control, information about currently controllable appliances is obtained by implementing transmission and reception with target appliances.
In this Prior Art 1, as shown in
FIG. 11
, when the user has issued a request for controlling main units
1
,
2
of appliances toward a start-of-use request input section
9
of a transmission unit
3
, the transmission unit
3
performs an identification signal generation request to the main units
1
,
2
via an identification-signal generation request section
10
and a transmission-unit transmitting circuit
6
.
The main units
1
,
2
, in response to this generation request, generate identification signals by identification signal generating sections
11
, respectively, and transmit the signals from main-unit transmitting circuits
4
to the transmission unit
3
.
In the transmission unit
3
, upon reception of the identification signals from the main units
1
,
2
by an identification signal receiving section
13
, the name of an appliance from which the transmission unit
3
is currently receiving a signal is extracted by a control-candidate extracting section
15
from management data of an identification signal management section
14
that manages the appliance name corresponding to the received identification signal as a pair, and then the extracted appliance name is displayed on a control-candidate display section
16
.
Thereafter, when the user selects a control-target appliance by operating a control-target selecting section
17
, transmission mode is changed by a transmission mode changing section
18
in order to generate a control signal directed to the appliance, while control command is changed by a control command changing section
19
with respect to the input of the start-of-use request input section
9
and besides contents of this control are displayed on a control command display section
20
. Thus, the user is enabled to obtain information about currently operable appliances.
Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 5-231704 (hereinafter, referred to as Prior Art 2) has disclosed a technique that information held by a main unit is transmitted to a wireless remote control and contents of the information are displayed on a display section of the remote control. In more detail, while a signal output terminal of the main unit and a signal input terminal of the remote control are kept in contact with each other, an information transmission request is issued from the remote control to the main unit, by which signal transmission and reception is performed through these terminals. In this technique, the remote control displays received information on the display section, by which the information held on the main unit side is displayed on the remote control side.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication HEI 6-121380 (hereinafter, referred to as Prior Art 3) has disclosed a technique that the state of a controlled appliance is displayed on a bidirectional remote control. In this Prior Art 3, the remote control comprises a key input section for inputting a command or the like, a ROM for storing code data corresponding to respective keys, a memory for temporarily storing therein code data read from the ROM according to an inputted key, a transmitting section for transmitting code data that are temporarily stored, a control section for controlling the individual sections, a receiving section for receiving a response signal from the controlled appliance, a decoding section for extracting code data from a received response signal, and a display section for providing a specified display based on the code data of the response signal. The controlled appliance comprises a receiving section for receiving a signal transmitted by the remote control, a decoding section for extracting code data from the received signal, a memory for temporarily storing therein this code data, an appliance functional section for implementing functions of the appliance itself, a control section for controlling the individual sections, a transmitting section for, after controlling the appliance functional section based on the code data temporarily stored in the memory, transmitting specified code data, and a ROM for storing therein this code data.
The technique disclosed in Prior Art 1 is so designed that, after an appliance is identified according to an identification signal transmitted from the appliance main units
1
,
2
, an appliance to be controlled is selected from among the currently controllable appliances, then transmission mode is changed in order to generate a control signal for the appliance, and contents of control for the appliance are displayed. As a result, there has been a problem that control information for all the appliances that could be used, including even those that normally would not be used, as well as display information corresponding to the control information has to be stored on the remote control side.
Also, the technique disclosed in Prior Art 2 is only that information transferred from the main unit is displayed on the remote control side, i.e., only that the status of the main unit is shown, other than information about buttons, icons or the like necessary to control the main unit. Thus, there has been a problem that the main unit cannot be controlled by using the contents of the display.
Further, the technique disclosed in Prior Art 3 is that a command transmitted from the remote control side is received by the appliance side, the received control command is executed, thereafter specified response data is transmitted to the remote control side, and then a display is made based on the response data received by the remote control side. Accordingly, there has been a problem that although a response to control can be displayed, the main unit cannot be controlled by using the displayed information, as in the case of like Prior Art 2.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention having been achieved with a view to solving the foregoing problems, an object of the invention is to provide a bidirectional remote control system which allows an electronic appliance to be operated even without previously registering information about the electronic appliance on the remote control side, by utilizing information transmitted from the electronic appliance side. Another object of the invention is to provide a bidirectional remote control system which allows the electronic appliance side control to be implemented without depending on the display area of the remote control.
In order to achieve the object, there is provided a bidirectional remote control system comprising an electronic appliance and a remote control that controls the electronic appliance, wherein
the electronic appliance comprises: a display information storage section for storing therein display information for displaying buttons, icons or the like necessary to control the electronic appliance main unit; and a transmitting section for transmitting display information stored in the display information storage section to the remote control, and
the remote control comprises: a received information storage section for receiving and storing therein display information transmitted from the
Harada Kouichi
Matsui Yasuhiro
Awad Amr
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Nelson Alecia D.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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