Remote command light receiving window arranged in logo on frame around television screen

An electronic apparatus wherein a light receiving window is formed in a cabinet for passing therethrough an input command signal supplied from a remote commander to execute various control actions, so that desired operations can be performed by manipulating the remote commander. The window is formed in a blank portion of and/or between characters/figures inscribed on the cabinet or on a logo plate attached to the cabinet. A light sensor or a light emitter is disposed in a stage posterior to the light receiving window. When the apparatus is applied to a television receiver or a projector embedded in a wall by user's customization in a manner that only a display screen and a frame thereof are seen on the wall, the external design is not spoiled while the command signal from the remote commander can still be inputted properly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus where a light 
receiving window is formed in a cabinet to receive an input command signal 
supplied from a remote commander. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Recently, there is available an increased volume of AV software (such as 
music, movie and so forth) containing high-definition video and impressive 
audio recorded in a wide dynamic range, and users are enabled now to 
appreciate desired music or movie in a so-called home theater by 
reproducing such AV software at home. Particularly by the use of a 
projection television set with a large screen and high-output 
loudspeakers, it becomes possible to achieve considerably superior 
theater-reality with an enhanced feeling of unified video and audio 
effects. 
FIG. 6 illustrates an external view of a rear projection television set 
adapted for use in such a home-theater AV system. 
In this view, reference numeral 20 denotes the entirety of a projection 
television set. There are included therein a cabinet 22 constituting the 
projection television set; a screen 23 composed of a lenticular lens, 
Fresnel lens or the like; a frame 24 bordering the periphery of the screen 
23; and a front door 25 disposed on the front face of the cabinet 22 to 
conceal video and audio input/output terminals and so forth. 
There are further included an operating panel 26 disposed on the front face 
of the cabinet 22; an operating element group 27 where various elements 
are arranged to be manipulated for adjusting the sound volume, changing 
channels and so forth in the operating panel 26; a light receiving window 
28 for receiving an input infrared command signal supplied from an unshown 
remote commander; and a loudspeaker compartment 29 positioned in a lower 
region of the cabinet 22 and housing loudspeakers therein. 
With the current proliferation of home theaters employing such a projection 
television set 20 shown in FIG. 6, it is currently proposed to realize an 
arrangement where a user individually customizes a unique AV system 
constituting a home theater and installs the same in his room. 
In an exemplary arrangement, the above-described projection television set 
20 is embedded in a wall of a room in such a manner that only the display 
screen 23 and the frame 24 alone are unconcealed and seen on the wall. 
FIG. 7 illustrates the parts of the projection television set 20 seen on 
the wall due to such customization. Only those parts denoted by solid 
lines are seen on the wall, whereas almost the entire cabinet 22 inclusive 
of the operating panel 26 and so forth are concealed inside the wall with 
the exception of the screen 23 and the frame 24. 
Therefore the interior of the room is rendered remarkably simple, and the 
screen 23 can be constructed similarly to one installed in a movie theater 
or the like. 
However, since any parts other than the screen 23 and the frame 24 are 
concealed in the wall, the light receiving window 28 for inputting a 
command signal from a remote commander is also concealed to consequently 
fail in receiving the input command signal. 
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8--8 in FIG. 7. In this 
diagram, there are shown a wall portion W concealing any parts other than 
the screen 23 and the frame 24, an infrared sensor 31, a printed circuit 
board 32 where the infrared sensor 31 is mounted, a board holder plate 33 
for holding the printed circuit board 32, a support 34 for a screw N which 
fastens the board holder plate 33, a light guide tube 35 for guiding the 
input command signal from the light receiving window 28 to the infrared 
sensor 31, and a bracket 36 for holding the light guide tube 35. 
As illustrated in FIG. 8, since the light receiving window 28 is concealed 
in the wall, the command signal indicated by an arrow is interrupted by 
the wall W and fails to reach the infrared sensor 31. Consequently it 
becomes impossible to perform various operations for changing channels, 
adjusting the sound volume and so forth. In order to eliminate this 
drawback, there may be devised a means of disposing the light receiving 
window 28 in the frame 24, but this raises another problem that the light 
receiving window 28 is rendered conspicuous brings about a disadvantage in 
appearance. 
Furthermore, due to the necessity of the light guide tube 35, the bracket 
36 for holding the tube is also needed which consequently increases the 
number of required component elements, hence increasing the number of 
processing steps and raising the production cost as well. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an 
improvement in an electronic apparatus where a light receiving window is 
formed in a cabinet thereof to receive an input command signal supplied 
from a remote commander, and various operations are possible by 
manipulation of the remote commander. In the improved electronic 
apparatus, the light receiving window is formed in a blank portion of 
and/or between characters/figures inscribed on the cabinet. 
The light receiving window may be formed in a blank portion of and/or 
between characters/figures inscribed on a logo plate attached to the 
cabinet, or in a blank portion of and/or between characters/figures 
printed on the cabinet, or in a blank portion of and/or between 
characters/figures molded three-dimensionally on the cabinet. 
Further a light sensor means or a light emitter means is disposed in a 
stage posterior to the light receiving window. 
According to the improvement where the light receiving window is formed in 
a blank portion of or between characters/figures inscribed on the front 
face of the apparatus cabinet, it becomes possible to realize advantageous 
use of the electronic apparatus in such a manner that, even when the 
apparatus is embedded in a wall of a room for example, various 
manipulations can still be performed for operations without spoiling the 
external design of the apparatus. 
The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will 
become apparent from the following description which will be given with 
reference to the illustrative accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Hereinafter a preferred embodiment of the electronic apparatus of the 
present invention will be described in detail with reference to the 
accompanying drawings. 
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the embodiment representing an 
exemplary rear projection television set for use in a home-theater AV 
system. 
In this view, reference numeral 1 denotes the entirety of the projection 
television set. There are included a cabinet 2 constituting the projection 
television set; a screen 3 composed of a lenticular lens, Fresnel lens or 
the like; a frame 4 bordering the periphery of the screen 3; and a front 
door 5 disposed on the front face of the cabinet 2 to conceal video and 
audio input/output terminals. 
Reference numeral 6 denotes an operating panel provided on the front face 
of the cabinet 2. Also shown are an operating element group 7 where 
various elements are arranged to be manipulated for adjusting the sound 
volume, changing channels and so forth in the operating panel 6; a logo 
plate 8 attached to the frame 4 by adhesive means or the like and having 
characters thereon to signify a maker's name, a trade name, a model number 
and so forth; and a light receiving window 9 for receiving, e.g., an input 
infrared command signal supplied from an unshown remote commander. In this 
embodiment, the light receiving window 9 is formed in a blank portion of a 
character on the logo plate 8. Further shown is a loudspeaker compartment 
10 disposed in a lower region of the cabinet 2 for housing loudspeakers 
therein. 
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the logo plate 8 shown in 
FIG. 1. As illustrated, the logo plate 8 in this embodiment is composed 
of, e.g., four characters "SONY" of an alphabet. And the light receiving 
window 9 is formed in the character "O" which is the second of the four 
characters when counted from the leftmost. 
Since the light receiving window 9 is formed in the character "O" on the 
logo plate 8, the window 9 is less conspicuous than in the conventional 
case where it is formed in some other portion of the casing 2, so that the 
external design is not spoiled at all in appearance. 
Therefore, even in case the rear projection television set 1 is embedded in 
a wall by the user's unique customization in such a manner that merely the 
screen 3 and the frame 4 are seen on the wall, it never occurs that the 
light receiving window 9 alone is conspicuous, and still a command signal 
supplied from a remote commander can be inputted properly. 
The portion of the logo plate 8 corresponding to the light receiving window 
9 may be composed of ABS resin or the like having an infrared 
transmittivity higher than 80 percent. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views representing the above case, in which 
FIG. 3 shows a section taken along the line 3--3 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 
shows another section taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. 2. That is, these 
diagrams illustrate the character "O" on the logo plate from side and 
above, respectively. 
In these diagrams, there are included a wall W concealing any other 
component parts than the screen 3 and the frame 4; a decorative foil 8a 
applied to the surfaces of the characters "SONY" on the logo plate 8; and 
an infrared sensor 11 disposed in a stage posterior to the light receiving 
window 9 and serving to sense an input command signal received through the 
window 9. The command signal thus inputted to the infrared sensor 11 is 
demodulated and then is supplied to an unsewn controller where various 
control actions are executed. There are further shown a printed circuit 
board 12 where the infrared sensor 11 is mounted, a board holder plate 13 
for holding the printed circuit board 12 and fastening the same to the 
cabinet 2, and a support 14 into which a set-screw N for fixing the board 
holder plate 13 to the cabinet 2 is screwed. 
As illustrated, the light receiving window 9 is formed by utilizing a 
center blank portion of the character "O" on the logo plate 8, and the 
infrared sensor 11 is disposed in a stage posterior thereto, whereby a 
command signal supplied from a remote commander can be inputted exactly as 
in the conventional apparatus, so that various control actions can be 
executed properly. 
And due to disposition of the infrared sensor 11 immediately posterior to 
the light receiving window 9, it is no longer necessary to employ the 
light guide tube 35 and the tube bracket 36 shown in the conventional 
example of the prior art, hence reducing the number of required component 
parts and realizing curtailment of the production cost. 
Although a description has been given above on the exemplary embodiment 
where the light receiving window 9 is formed in a blank portion of the 
character "O" on the logo plate, it is also possible to form the light 
receiving window 9 in a space between the characters "N" and "Y". More 
specifically, if a space of a predetermined area is existent in a blank 
portion of any character/figure or between any characters/figures, the 
light receiving window 9 can be formed in the space regardless of its 
position. 
In a modification, the light receiving window 9 may be used as a light 
emitting window for supplying a command signal from the electronic 
apparatus to an external apparatus. In this case, a light emitter means 
for outputting an infrared command signal or the like is disposed 
posterior to the light emitting window. 
It is to be noted that the present invention is applicable not only to the 
rear projection television set 1 shown in FIG. 1 but also to any other 
electronic apparatus operable by a remote commander, such as a television 
receiver, a laser disk player or a mini-disk player. 
Now some examples of spaces for the light receiving window 9 in characters 
other than the above-described "SONY" will be explained below. 
FIGS. 5a through 5h show examples of spaces where the light receiving 
window 9 is disposed in a blank portion of other characters or 
therebetween. In these examples, each hatched portion S signifies a space 
where the light receiving window 9 is formable. 
The characters "POWER" shown in FIG. 5a are inscribed in the vicinity of, 
e.g., a power supply indicator, and a space S is formed in each of blank 
portions of the characters "P", "O" and "R". 
The characters "PROGRAM TIMER" shown in FIG. 5b are inscribed in the 
vicinity of an indicator which is turned on during a timer reservation, 
and a space S is formed in each of blank portions of the characters "P", 
"R", "O", "A" and "E". In this case, a space S is formed also between the 
characters "M" and "T", and between the characters "T" and "I" as well. 
Further the characters "STAND BY" shown in FIG. 5c are inscribed in the 
vicinity of an indicator turned on during a standby mode, and a space S is 
formed in each of blank portions of the characters "A", "D", "B" and also 
between the characters "D" and "B". 
FIGS. 5d and 5e show characters "BS" and "CS" inscribed for signifying 
whether a BS tuner and a CS tuner are incorporated or not, respectively. 
And FIGS. 5f and 5g show characters "MD" and "LD" which are inscribed on, 
e.g., a mini disk player and a laser disk player respectively. In this 
case also, a space S is formed in a blank portion of each character. 
When numerals are inscribed in addition to the above alphabet characters, 
as shown in FIG. 5h for example, it is possible to form a space S in a 
blank portion of each of numerals "2", "3", "5", "0", "6", "8" and "9". 
The inscribed characters may be Japanese hiragana, katakana or the like as 
well. The styles of the characters and the numerals shown in FIG. 5a 
through 5h are general ones, and the light receiving window 9 is formable 
in any of characters and numerals of various styles if an adequate space S 
can be ensured therein. 
Although not shown, even in case there is inscribed any unique figure or 
pattern designed by a maker for example, such as a particular logo or 
design other than an ordinary character or numeral, it is still possible 
to form the light receiving window 9 if an adequate space S can be ensured 
in that unique figure or pattern. 
When a plurality of light receiving windows 9 are provided by utilizing a 
plurality of spaces S, the range of receiving an input command signal 
supplied from a remote commander can be widened to consequently enhance 
the operability of the remote commander as well. 
The above embodiment represents an exemplary case where the light receiving 
window 9 is formed by utilizing a blank portion of the character inscribed 
on the logo plate 8. And in addition thereto, such light receiving window 
9 can be formed by utilizing a blank portion of a character/figure printed 
directly on the surface of the frame 4, or by utilizing a blank portion of 
a character/figure molded three-dimensionally on the surface of the frame 
4. 
According to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, as 
described hereinabove, a light receiving window for receiving an input 
control signal supplied from a remote commander is formed in a blank 
portion of and/or between characters/figures inscribed on the front face 
of the apparatus cabinet. Therefore, in case the present invention is 
applied to a television receiver or a projector which is embedded in a 
wall by user's customization in such a manner that merely some parts of 
the cabinet such as a display screen and a frame thereof are seen on the 
wall, it is still possible to properly receive the command signal without 
spoiling the external design. 
Furthermore, a light guide tube and its bracket needed immediately 
posterior to the light receiving window in the prior art are no longer 
necessary, whereby it is rendered possible to achieve additional 
advantages of reducing the number of required component parts and 
curtailing the production cost. 
Although the present invention has been described hereinabove with 
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that 
the invention is not limited to such embodiment alone, and a variety of 
other modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in 
the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
The scope of the invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the 
appended claims.