Remote control devices for electronic devices

A remote control device for an electronic device includes a first storage device for storing a plurality of remote control data for controlling an object remotely, a first selection device for selecting respective remote control data from among the plurality of remote control data stored in the first storage device, and an output device for transmitting the respective remote control data selected by the first selection device toward a remote control receiver of the controlled object. A second storage device is provided for storing frequency data on the frequency of transmission of each remote control data output by the output device, and a data updating device is provided for incrementing the respective frequency data stored in the second storage device responsive to the output device transmitting remote control data. A second selection device responsive to a manual operation key is provided for selecting respective remote control data stored in the first storage device in decreasing order of corresponding frequency data stored in the second storage device, and the output device transmits the respective remote control data selected by the second selection device toward the remote control receiver of the controlled object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates remote control devices for electronic 
devices, and more particularly to a transmitter of a remote control device 
which selects a piece of music in a recorded orchestral accompaniment 
remotely or which performs various operations in an electronic device. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Recently, electronic devices such as television sets and video tape 
recorders each have a remote control device annexed thereto such that the 
user can operate the main function of an electronic device from far away, 
using such remote control device. 
Remote control devices have come into wide use not only in video devices 
such as television sets and video tape recorders, but also in business and 
household recorded orchestral accompaniment systems for selection of one 
of pieces of music. In the remote control devices for selection of one of 
pieces of music, a music selection code data item coded beforehand with 
alphabets and numerals beforehand is keyed in by alphanumeric keys of a 
key-in unit of the remote control device and transmitted toward a remote 
control receiver provided in the body of the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment system. The remote control receiver which has received music 
selection code data is controlled such that it performs a piece of music 
designated by the body of the recorded orchestral accompaniment system on 
the basis of the received music selection code data. 
However, the music selection remote control device used in the conventional 
business and household recorded orchestral accompaniment systems only keys 
in music selection code data with alphanumerical keys and sends the data 
to the body of the recorded orchestral accompaniment system body, so that 
they have the following problems. 
Each time the user selects a piece of music, using the music selection 
remote control device, he is required to key in the music selection code 
data, so that operability is low. Since the remote control device has not 
stored a history of music selection in the past, it cannot select a 
popular piece of music easily--it is insufficient in the serving function 
of satisfying user's interests. 
Conventionally, electronic devices such as television sets and video tape 
recorders each have a so-called "genuine" remote control device dedicated 
thereto whereas remote control devices sharable by electronic devices of 
different makers and different kinds have been proposed as learning remote 
control devices, each of which receives and stores a remote control code 
from a genuine remote control device, transmits the stored remote code in 
accordance with a key-in operation so as to be usable in different 
electronic devices. 
Some learning remote control devices each are capable of storing remote 
control codes for a plurality of electronic devices at the same time. In 
this case, genuine remote control devices annexed to those electronic 
devices can be replaced with a single learning remote control device. 
Those learning remote control devices are provided with various input 
switches shared with device selection switches which select the respective 
electronic devices which store the corresponding remote control codes such 
that when the selection switch selects an electronic device, remote 
control codes for that selected electronic device is read out and a remote 
control code corresponding to the operations of the input switches are 
transmitted. 
However, in the learning remote control device which stores remote control 
codes for the plurality of conventional electronic devices, the device 
selection switches select an electronic device which operates in a mode 
and then operate the various input switches, so that if there are 
electronic devices usually used very frequently, selection of one of those 
electronic device is troublesome for the user and hence operability is 
low, undesirably. 
As described above, the conventional remote control devices each, for 
example, only select and send remote control data to control the selection 
of a piece of music and a plurality of controlled objects such as 
electronic devices. Thus, pieces of music selected very frequently in the 
recorded orchestral accompaniment system cannot be selected easily and 
hence considerable time is taken disadvantageously for selection of an 
electronic device to be controlled by a learning control device which is 
capable of controlling different kinds of electronic devices. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remote 
control device for electronic devices which is capable of preferentially 
selecting a controlled object to be selected frequently to thereby 
facilitate selection/operation of that controlled object. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control 
device for a recorded orchestral accompaniment which is convenient to use 
to thereby easily permit selection of a popular piece of music. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a remote control 
device which provides information on the frequency of song singing for 
each of pieces of music in a recorded orchestral accompaniment device to 
thereby render the training of the song singing convenient in the recorded 
orchestral accompaniment device. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a learning 
remote control device which is convenient to use and capable of easily 
selecting a one used very frequently from among electronic devices having 
a plurality of functions. 
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a 
remote control device for an electronic device, including: 
first storage means for storing a plurality of remote control data to 
control a controlled object remotely; 
selection means for selecting a particular item from among the plurality of 
remote control data stored in the first storage means; 
output means for transmitting the particular item selected by the selection 
means toward a remote control receiver of the controlled object; 
second storage means for storing data on the frequencies of transmission of 
the remote control data by the output means in correspondence to the 
respective remote control data stored in the first storage means; and 
retrieval means for retrieving the plurality of remote control data stored 
in the first storage means on the basis of the data on the frequencies of 
transmission of the remote control data stored in the second storage means 
when the selection means selects the particular remote control data item. 
According to this arrangement, data on the frequency of transmission of 
each of a plurality of remote control data stored in the first storage 
means is stored in the second storage means. The retrieval means retrieves 
the plurality of remote control data on the basis of the data on the 
frequencies of transmission of the plurality of remote control data. The 
selection means selects a particular item of the remote control data in 
accordance with the result of the retrieval. Thus, a controlled object 
selected frequently is selected preferentially to facilitate the 
selection/operation of the controlled object. 
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a 
remote control device for a recorded orchestral accompaniment device, 
including: 
first storage means for storing a plurality of music name data for pieces 
of music performed by a recorded orchestral accompaniment device and the 
corresponding plurality of recorded orchestral accompaniment data to 
remotely designate the performance of the respective pieces of music by 
the recorded orchestral accompaniment device; 
music selection means for selecting a particular item from among the 
plurality of music name data items stored in the first storage means; 
output means for transmitting recorded orchestral accompaniment code data 
corresponding to the particular music name data item selected by the 
selection means toward a remote control receiver of the recorded 
orchestral accompaniment device; 
second storage means for storing in a corresponding relationship data on 
the frequencies of transmission of the recorded orchestral accompaniment 
code data by the output means, those recorded orchestral accompaniment 
code data and the plurality of music name data stored in the first storage 
means; and 
retrieval means for sequentially retrieving the plurality of music name 
data stored in the first storage means in the order where the data on the 
frequencies of transmission of the recorded orchestral accompaniment code 
data stored in the second storage means decrease when the selection means 
selects the particular music name data item. 
According to this arrangement, data on the frequency of transmission of 
each of a plurality of recorded orchestral accompaniment data stored in 
the first storage means is stored in the second storage means. The 
retrieval means retrieves the plurality of music name data on the basis of 
the data on the frequencies of transmission of the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data. The selection means selects a particular music 
name data item in accordance with the result of the retrieval. Thus, a 
remote control device convenient to use with a recorded orchestral 
accompaniment is provided in which popular pieces of music selected 
frequently are easily selected. In addition, since data on the frequencies 
of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data is stored 
in the second storage means, data on the frequency of singing of a song 
for each of pieces of music in the recorded orchestral accompaniment 
device is obtained and hence this control device is convenient for the 
training of song singing in the recorded orchestral accompaniment device. 
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a 
remote control device for a plurality of devices, including: 
input means for inputting to the remote control device remote control data 
on the plurality of devices; 
device code storage means for storing remote control data on the plurality 
of devices input by the input means; 
selection means for selecting a remote control data item on a particular 
device from among the remote control data on the plurality of devices 
stored in the device code storage means; 
output means for transmitting the remote control data item on a particular 
device selected by the selection means toward a remote control receiver of 
the particular device; 
output frequency counting means for counting the frequency of transmission 
of the remote control data item by the output means for each of the 
plurality of devices; 
output frequency storage means for storing data on the frequencies of 
transmission of the remote control data counted by the output frequency 
counting means in correspondence to the remote control data on the 
plurality of devices stored in the device code storage means; and 
retrieval means for retrieving remote control data on the plurality of 
devices on the basis of the data on the frequencies of transmission of the 
remote control data stored in the count frequency storage means when the 
selection means selects a remote control data item on a particular one of 
the plurality of devices. 
According to such arrangement, data on the frequency of transmission of 
each of remote control data on a plurality of devices stored in the device 
code storage means is stored in the output frequency storage means. The 
retrieval means retrieves remote control data on the plurality of devices 
on the basis of the data on the frequencies of transmission of the remote 
control data. The selection means selects remote control data on a 
particular device in accordance with the result of the retrieval. Thus, a 
learning remote control device is provided which is convenient to use and 
capable of easily selecting a one used very frequently from among 
electronic devices having a plurality of different functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
First Embodiment! (FIGS. 1-8) 
Structure: 
A wrist watch type remote control device 1 of FIG. 1 as a first embodiment 
of the present invention composes a transmitter of a remote control system 
whereas a receiver which receives a signal from the transmitter is built 
in a recorded orchestral accompaniment device. The receiver is well known 
conventionally and not directly related to the features of the present 
invention, and further description thereof will be omitted. 
Referring to FIG. 1, the wrist watch type remote control device 1 is 
composed of an input unit 2, a central processing unit (CPU) 3, a read 
only memory (ROM) 4, a random access memory (RAM) 5, an oscillator 6, a 
frequency divider 7, a time counter 8, a date counter 9, a display driver 
10, a display 11, a transmitter 12; and a LED 13. 
The input unit 2 includes a sending key 2a which instructs the transmission 
of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data provided for a piece of 
music to instruct the performance of a selected piece of music in the 
recorded orchestral accompaniment device in a remote control manner, a 
total key 2b for instructing the display of data T on the total of 
frequencies of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment data in 
any particular period of time, a mode key 2c for instructing selection 
between a timepiece display mode and a recorded orchestral accompaniment 
music selection mode, a reset key 2d for instructing the resetting of 
accumulated data in the RAM 5 involving the data T on the total of 
frequencies of transmission of respective recorded orchestral 
accompaniment data in any particular period of time, a search key 2e for 
instructing the retrieval of music name data, memory number data m and 
recorded orchestral accompaniment data for the respective pieces of music 
in the order in which the numerical values of the frequencies of 
transmission n of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data for the 
respective pieces of music decrease, alphanumeric keys 2f for keying in 
music name data and recorded orchestral accompaniment code data, etc., and 
a set key 2g for storing in the RAM 5 the data keyed in by the 
alphanumeric keys 2f. The input unit 2 outputs data keyed in by the 
respective keys 2a-2g to the CPU 3. 
The CPU 3 controls the respective operations of the elements of the wrist 
watch type remote control device 1 in accordance with various control 
programs stored in the ROM 4. More specifically, the CPU 3 performs a 
timekeeping process and a display process to display the time and date 
data from the time counter 8 and the date counter 9 through the display 
driver 10 on the display 11. The CPU performs remote control operations in 
accordance with various remote control instruction signals from the input 
unit 2, outputs recorded orchestral accompaniment code data to the 
transmitter 12 to cause the LED 13 to emit light to send the receiver a 
recorded orchestral accompaniment code signal. 
When the search key 2e is operated in a remote control process to be also 
described later, the CPU 3 retrieves music name data, memory number data m 
and recorded orchestral accompaniment code data in the order where the 
numerical values of the frequencies of transmission n of recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code data for the respective pieces of music 
stored and selected in the RAM 5 decrease on the basis of the frequencies 
of transmission n of the data, stores the music name data, memory number 
data m and recorded orchestral accompaniment code data in order of the 
result of the retrieval, and calculates and displays data T on the total 
of frequencies of transmission of the recorded orchestral accompaniment 
code data for the respective pieces of music in any particular period of 
time or in the period of time between adjacent operations of the reset key 
2d. 
The ROM 4 stores a timepiece process program, a display process program and 
a remote control process program which the CPU 3 executes. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the RAM 5 includes a display register 5a which stores 
display data, a timekeeping register 5b which stores time data, a mode 
register 5c which stores a mode flag P indicating that a remote control 
mode has been set, an accumulating register 5d which stores data T on the 
total of frequencies of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment 
code data for the respective pieces of music in any particular period of 
time, and a data register 5e which stores the memory number data m, music 
name data, recorded orchestral accompaniment code data and data on the 
frequency of transmission n of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data 
for a respective one of pieces of music in a mutually related manner. 
It is to be noted that the frequency of transmission of recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data for a respective one of pieces of music referred 
to herein is equivalent to the frequency of singing or selection of that 
piece of music in the recorded orchestral accompaniment device and can be 
replaced with same in the description. 
When "1" is set in the mode flag P stored in the mode register 5c of the 
RAM 5, the mode flag indicates that the remote control mode is set whereas 
when "0" is set, the mode flag indicates that the remote control mode is 
not set or a timepiece mode is set. 
The time counter 8 records the current time for hour, minute and second on 
the basis of a pulse signal having a constant cycle delivered through the 
frequency divider 7 from the oscillator 6 and outputs data on the current 
time to the CPU 3 and the date counter 9. The date counter records the 
current date for month, date and day of the week on the basis of data on 
the current time received from the time counter 8 and outputs data on the 
current date to the CPU 3. 
The display driver 10 drives the display 11 on the basis of the display 
data processed and supplied by the CPU 3 in accordance with the key-in 
operation at the input unit 2 to display the time and the contents of the 
remote control operation on the display 11. 
The transmitter 12 modulates an infrared ray with the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data read from the RAM 5 by the CPU 3 in accordance 
with the key-in operation signal from the input unit 2, amplifies the 
resulting data and emits an infrared ray involving the modulated and 
amplified recorded orchestral accompaniment data from the LED 13. 
Operation: 
The main process performed by the CPU 3 in the wrist watch type remote 
control device 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference 
to the flowchart of FIG. 3. 
In FIG. 3, when a battery for the remote control device 1 is replaced with 
a new one and the supply of a drive voltage starts, the CPU 3 starts the 
main process. That is, first, the CPU 3 performs a halt process to check 
whether there is any keyed-in data from the input unit 2 (step S1). If 
not, the CPU 3 performs a timekeeping process of the time counter 8 and 
date counter 9 (step S2). The CPU 3 then determines whether the mode flag 
P stored in the mode register 5c of the RAM 5 is "0" (step S3). If so, the 
CPU 3 stores the time data and date data received sequentially from the 
time counter 8 and the date counter 9 in the timekeeping register 5b of 
the RAM 5, and displays the time and date data through the display driver 
10 on the display 11 (step S4). The CPU 3 then returns to the halt process 
at step S1. 
When "0" is not set, but "1" is set in the mode flag P at step S3, the CPU 
3 displays a remote control mode on the display 11 (step S5) and then 
returns to the halt process at step S1. 
If there is any keyed-in data in the halt state at step S1, the CPU 3 
determines whether the keyed-in data is due to the operation of the mode 
key 2c (step S6). 
If so, the CPU 3 determines whether "0" is set in the mode flag P (step 
S7). If so, the CPU 3 sets "1" in the mode flag P, displays the remote 
control mode on the display 11 (step S5), and then returns to the halt 
process at step (step S1). If "1" is set in the mode flag P at step S7, 
the CPU 3 sets "0" in the mode flag P (step S9) and then returns to the 
halt process at step S1. 
If the mode key 2c has not been operated at step S6, the CPU 3 determines 
whether the mode flag P is set at "1" (step S10). If not, the CPU 3 
performs another key-in process (step S11). If the mode flag P is set at 
"1", the CPU 3 performs a remote control process (step S12) to display its 
contents on the display 11 (step S5), and then returns to the halt process 
at step S1. 
The remote control process at step S12 will be described next with 
reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, first, the CPU 3 
determines whether the search key 2e has been operated at the input unit 2 
(step S21). If so, the CPU 3 reads sequentially the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data for the pieces of music stored in the data 
register 5e of the RAM 5 in the order in which the respective numerical 
values of the frequencies of transmission n of recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data for the pieces of music stored in the data 
register 5e of the RAM 5 decrease (step S22) and ends this process. 
Thereafter, the CPU 3 sequentially displays the music name data, memory 
number data m, recorded orchestral accompaniment code data, and data on 
the frequency of transmission n of recorded orchestral accompaniment code 
data for respective pieces of music in the order in which the respective 
read numerical values of the frequencies of transmission n of recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code data for the pieces of music decrease in the 
display process at step S5 of the main process. As shown in FIG. 8, the 
display 11 can only display a group of such data. Each time the search key 
2e is operated, the CPU 3 displays on the display 11 a further group of 
such data including music name data, etc., having the next maximum 
frequency of transmission n of recorded orchestral accompaniment code 
data. 
When at step S21 the search key 2e has not been operated, the CPU 3 
determines whether the alphanumeric keys 2f has been operated (step S23). 
If so, the CPU 3 receives music selection data including music name data, 
recorded orchestral accompaniment data, etc., based on the operation of 
that key (step S24) and ends this process. Thereafter, the CPU 3 displays 
the keyed-in music selection data at step S5 in the main process on the 
display 11. 
If no alphanumeric keys 2f have been operated at step S23, the CPU 3 
determines whether the sending key 2a has been operated (step S25). If so, 
a piece of music indicated by its name data is selected and the 
transmitter 12 causes the LED 13 to emit light involving the recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code data for the selected piece of music toward 
the remotely controlled receiver of the recorded orchestral accompaniment 
device (step S26). Simultaneously, the CPU 3 increments by one the 
frequency of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data 
in the data register 5e of the RAM 5 corresponding to the recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code data transmitted by the transmitter 12 (step 
S27). The CPU 3 then increments by one the total of frequencies of 
transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data stored in the 
accumulating register 5d of the RAM 5 (step S28) and ends this process. 
Thereafter, the CPU 3 displays the data T on the total of frequencies of 
transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment data on the display 11 
in the display process at step S5. 
If the sending key 25 has not been operated at step S25, the CPU 3 
determines whether the setting key 2g has been operated (step S29). If so, 
the CPU 3 stores the keyed-in data including the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment data displayed on the display 11 in the key-in process at 
step S24 in the data register 5e of the RAM 5 (step S30) and ends this 
process. 
If the setting key 2g has not been operated at step S29, the CPU 3 
determines whether the total key 2b has been operated (step S31). If so, 
the CPU 3 calculates and reads data on the total of frequencies n of 
transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data for the 
respective pieces of music stored in the data register 5e (step S32). The 
CPU 3 then reads data T on the total of frequencies n of transmission of 
the recorded orchestral accompaniment code data stored in the accumulating 
register 5d (step S33) and ends this process. Thereafter, in the display 
process at step S5, the CPU 3 displays on the display 11 the read data on 
the total of frequencies n of transmission of recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data in the past and data T on the total of frequencies 
of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data in any 
particular period of time. 
When the total key 2b has not been operated at step S31, the CPU 3 
determines whether the reset key 2d has been operated (step S34). If so, 
the CPU 3 determines whether the data T on the total of frequencies of 
transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data is under 
display on the display 11 (step S35). If not, the CPU 3 ends this process. 
If the data T is under display, the CPU 3 sets the data T at "0" (step 
S36), and ends this process. Thereafter, in the display process at step 
S5, the CPU 3 displays on the display 11 data T on the total of 
frequencies of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment data as 
being "0". 
FIGS. 5-8 illustratively show data displayed on the display 11 in the 
remote control process. FIG. 5 shows the recorded orchestral accompaniment 
memory function illustratively, that is, that memory number data m for a 
piece of music, recorded orchestral accompaniment code data and music name 
data "YESTERDAY" stored in the data register 5e of the RAM 5 in the 
transmission of the selected music data are displayed on the display 11 
with the recorded orchestral accompaniment code data "84-A-13" being 
stored in a memory number "m-1" of the data register 5e. 
FIG. 6 shows an illustrative display of the frequency of transmission of 
recorded orchestral accompaniment code data or an illustrative display of 
the function of counting the frequency of song singing. In FIG. 6, data T 
("20") on the total of frequencies of transmission of recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data in any particular period of time stored in the 
accumulating register 5d of the RAM 5 and incremented each time a piece of 
music is selected and the total of the frequencies of transmission n of 
the respective pieces of music (displayed as "1840") in the past. 
FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display of the function of counting the 
frequency of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data 
in the RAM 5, i.e., the frequency of song singing in the RAM 5. 
FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display of data on the frequency of 
transmission n of a selected piece of music incremented in the data 
register 5e of the RAM 5 when the data on the selected piece of music is 
transmitted. In FIG. 7, music name "YESTERDAY", memory number "m-1", the 
frequency of transmission "5" of the piece of music for that music name, 
and recorded orchestral accompaniment code "84-A-13" are displayed. 
FIG. 8 shows an illustrated function of automatically sorting and 
displaying data on the respective pieces of music stored in the data 
register 5e of the RAM 5 in the order in which the frequencies of 
transmission n of the respective pieces of music decrease. 
As described above, in the wrist watch type remote control device 1 of the 
present embodiment, data on the frequency of transmission n of recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code data for each of the pieces of music 
selected by the recorded orchestral accompaniment system is accumulated 
and stored on the basis of the transmission of the recorded orchestral 
accompaniment code data for that piece of music, and music name data and 
recorded orchestral accompaniment code data are read and displayed 
sequentially in the order in which the frequencies of transmission n of 
the recorded orchestral accompaniment code data decrease. 
Thus, the user of the recorded orchestral accompaniment system is able to 
call a piece of music which he wants to sing immediately when he desires, 
that is, to improve the operability of the remote control device in the 
selection of a piece of music. Since the frequency of song singing or the 
frequency of transmission of recorded orchestral accompaniment code data 
is displayed, the history of that piece of music and the frequency of 
singing of that song in the past are understood. By indication of the 
frequency of song singing or the frequency of transmission of recorded 
orchestral accompaniment code stored in the RAM 5, the user can know the 
degree of training of a subject song which a group of singers sings, 
attachment to that song, the importance of the frequency of song singing, 
etc. 
As a result, the present remote control device provides not only the sole 
function of selecting a piece of music in a recorded orchestral 
accompaniment system, etc., but also another function of retrieving a 
frequently sung popular piece of music in order of frequency to thereby 
increase user's interest and improve the operability and utility thereof. 
While in the embodiment the inventive remote control device has been 
illustrated as taking the form of a wrist watch, the present invention is 
not limited to the particular case, but is applicable to music selection 
remote control devices used in the conventional recorded orchestral 
accompaniment systems. 
Second Embodiment! (FIGS. 9-13) 
Structure: 
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a wrist watch to 
which a remote control device according to the present invention is 
applied. In FIG. 9, the wrist watch 101 includes on an upper surface of a 
case 102 a power key 103 which turns on/off a power supply for an 
electronic device such as a television set or a video tape recorder; a 
volume adjustment up key 104; a volume adjustment down key 105; a channel 
key 106 which selects a television channel; a retrieval key 107 which 
retrieves a remote control code for remote control of an electronic 
device; a mode key 108 which selects a mode (remote control operation 
mode/remote control learning mode) in which the electronic device is 
operated remotely; a remote control number key 109 which selects the 
remote control number of an electronic device which learns remote control 
code data; an LED 110 which emits light involving each of various remote 
control signals; and a display 111 composed of a liquid crystal display 
panel which displays the time 111a and the contents of the remote control 
operation 111b. 
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the system of the wrist watch 101 of FIG. 9. 
The same element is identified by the same reference numeral in FIGS. 9 
and 10. 
In FIG. 10, the wrist watch 101 is composed of an input unit 121, a CPU 
122, a ROM 123, a RAM 124, an oscillator 125, a frequency divider 126, a 
time counter 127, a date counter 128, a display driver 129, the display 
111, a transmitter 130, the LED 110 and a photodetector 131. 
The input unit 121 is composed of the power key 103, up key 104, down key 
105, channel key 106, retrieval key 107, mode key 108 and remote control 
number key 109 of FIG. 9. The input unit 121 outputs various remote 
control instruction signals generated by the respective key-in operations 
to the CPU 122. 
The CPU 122 controls the respective operations of the elements of the wrist 
watch 101 in accordance with various control programs stored in the ROM 
123. More specifically, the CPU 122 performs a timekeeping process and a 
display process to output time and date data from the time counter 127 and 
the date counter 128 through the display driver 129 to the display 111 for 
displaying purposes. The CPU 122 also performs a remote control process in 
accordance with a respective one of various remote control instruction 
signals from the input unit 121, outputs the corresponding remote control 
data to the transmitter 130 to cause the LED 110 to emit light involving 
the remote control code signal. When the photodetector 131 receives a 
remote control data signal involved in the light emitted by a genuine 
remote control device annexed to an electronic device, the CPU 122 stores 
the remote control data signal for that electronic device. 
Each time a remote control number is selected and sent as number data in a 
remote control process to be describe later, the CPU 122 counts the 
frequency of transmission or use S of the remote control number and stores 
same in the RAM 124. When the retrieval key 107 is operated, the CPU 122 
reads from a data memory 124c of the RAM 124 data on a remote control 
number having the maximum frequency of use S and sets it in an A register 
124e of the RAM 124 such that a television set, or a video tape recorder, 
having the maximum frequency of use S is remotely controlled immediately. 
The ROM 123 stores the timekeeping process program, display process program 
and remote control process program performed by the CPU 122. 
As shown in FIG. 11, the RAM 124 is composed of a display register 124a 
which stores display data, a timekeeping register 124b which stores time 
data, the data memory 124c which stores remote control code data for five 
electronic devices of television sets and video tape recorders and the 
corresponding frequencies of use S of the remote control number data, and 
a mode register 124d which stores a mode flag M indicative of a set remote 
control mode. When "1" is set in the mode flag M of the mode register 
124d, the mode flag M indicates that a remote control mode is set whereas 
when "0" is set, the mode flag M indicates that the remote control mode is 
not set. As mentioned above, the A register 124e stores remote control 
data read by the CPU 122 from the data memory 124 in the order in which 
the frequencies of use S of remote control code data decrease. 
The RAM 124 stores a plurality of remote control code data on power supply 
on/off control, volume control and channel control of one television set 
or video tape recorder for each remote control number. Thus, the RAM 124 
stores remote control code data required for remote control of five 
electronic devices of television sets and video tape recorders. 
The time counter 127 records the current time for hour, minute and second 
on the basis of a pulse signal having a constant cycle delivered through 
the frequency divider 126 from the oscillator 125, and outputs the time 
data to the CPU 122 and the date counter 128. 
The date counter 128 records the current date for month, day, and day of 
the week on the basis of the time data delivered from the time counter 127 
and outputs the date data to the CPU 122. 
The display driver 129 drives the display 111 in accordance with display 
data processed and delivered by the CPU 122 in accordance with the key-in 
operation at the input unit 121 to display the time 111a and the contents 
of the remote control operation 111b, as shown in FIG. 9. 
The transmitter 130 modulates an infrared ray with remote control code data 
read from the RAM 124 by the CPU 122 in accordance with a key-in signal 
from the input unit 121, amplifies the modulated data, and causes the LED 
119 to emit light involving the amplified and modulated data, as well 
known. 
The photodetector 131 detects a remote control data signal from the genuine 
remote control device annexed to the electronic device and converts the 
signal to remote control data and outputs same to the CPU 122. 
Operation: 
The main process performed by the CPU 122 in the wrist watch 101 of the 
second embodiment will be described next with reference to a flowchart of 
FIG. 12. 
In FIG. 12, first, the CPU 122 determines at step T1 whether there is any 
keyed-in data. If so, the CPU 122 determines whether the keyed-in data is 
due to the operation of the mode key 108 (step T5). If so, the CPU 122 
checks whether the mode flag M in the mode register 124d of the RAM 124 is 
set at "0" (step T3). In the remote control mode, the mode flag M is set 
at "1" whereas if not, the remote control flag is set at "0". If the mode 
flag is set at "0", the CPU 122 sets the mode flag M at "1" (step T4) and 
displays on the display 110 that the remote control mode is set (at step 
T6). 
When the mode flag M is not set at "0", or is set at "1" at step T3, the 
CPU 122 sets the mode flag M at "0" (step T5) to release the remote 
control mode to thereby erase the indication of the remote control mode on 
the display 111 in the display process at step T6. 
When the mode key 108 has not been operated at step T2, the CPU 122 checks 
whether the mode flag M is set at "0" (step T7). If so, the CPU 122 stores 
remote control data from the photodetector 131 in the data memory of the 
RAM 124 corresponding to the remote control number selected by the 
operation of the remote control number key 109 (step T8). In the process 
at step T8, the CPU 122 performs a learning process in which the 
photodetector 131 detects a remote control signal, emitted by the remote 
control device annexed to the television set or video tape recorder, at 
the position opposite to the television set or video tape recorder and 
converts the remote control signal to the remote control data and stores 
it as learning data in the data memory 124c of the RAM 124. The contents 
of the learning process are displayed on the display 111 in the display 
process at step T6. 
When the mode flag M is not set at "0" at step T7, or when the mode flag M 
is set at "1" involving the remote control mode, the CPU 122 performs a 
remote control process (step T9) to perform a display process at step T6 
in accordance with the contents of the remote control operation. 
The remote control process at step T9 will be described next with reference 
to the flowchart of FIG. 13. In FIG. 13, the CPU 122 first determines 
whether the retrieval key 107 has been operated at the input unit 121 
(step T21). If so, the CPU 122 reads a plurality of different remote 
control data (for example, for power on/off control, volume control and 
channel control, etc.,) belonging to the remote control number having the 
maximum frequency of use S stored in the data memory 124c of the RAM 124 
on the basis of that frequency of use S and sets the read plurality of 
remote control data in the RAM 124e (step T22). Each time the retrieval 
key 107 is operated, the CPU 122 reads from the data memory 124c of the 
RAM 124 a plurality of different remote control data items belonging to a 
remote control number having the next maximum frequency of use S and sets 
that plurality of read data in the A register 124e. The CPU 122 then sets 
"1" in the flag F to indicate the setting of the plurality of remote 
control data items. 
When the retrieval key 107 has not been operated at step T21, the CPU 122 
determines whether the remote control number key 109 has been operated 
(step T24). If so, the CPU 122 reads the plurality of remote control data 
belonging to the selected remote control number from the data memory 124c 
of the RAM 124 and sets the plurality of remote control data in the A 
register 124c of the RAM 124 (step T25), and sets the flag F at "1" 
indicating that the remote control data has been set in the A register 
124e and ends the present process (step T26). Each time a remote control 
number key is operated, the CPU 122 performs the process at steps T25 and 
T26. 
When the remote control number key 109 has not been operated at step T24, 
the CPU 122 determines whether the remote control signal key or volume 
up/down keys 104, 105 or the channel key 106 has been operated (step T27). 
If so, the CPU 122 reads remote control code data corresponding to the 
operated remote control signal key from among a plurality of remote 
control code data involving the remote control of a particular electronic 
device set beforehand in the A register 124e of the RAM 124 in the process 
at step T22 or T25, outputs the read remote control code data to the 
transmitter 130, and causes the LED 110 to emit light involving the read 
remote control code data (step T28). 
The CPU 122 then determines whether the flag F is set at "1" (step T29). If 
not, the CPU 122 ends the present process. If the flag F is set at "1", 
the CPU 122 increments data on the frequency of use S corresponding to the 
remote control number involving the remote control operation performed 
this time by one (S.rarw.S+1) (step T30), and sets the flag F at "0" to 
end the present process (step T31). 
In summary, in the above remote control process for the wrist watch 101 of 
the present embodiment, the CPU 122 counts the frequency of use S for each 
remote control number. When the retrieval key 107 is operated, the CPU 122 
reads and sets remote control data indicated by a remote control number 
having the maximum frequency of use S, so that the remote control 
operation of the television set or video tape recorder having the maximum 
frequency of use S is performed immediately to thereby improve the 
operability of the remote control function. 
While in the second embodiment application of the inventive remote control 
device to the wrist watch has been illustrated, the present invention is 
not limited to that particular case. The present invention is applicable 
to the conventional learning remote control devices to improve its 
operability.