Remote controller

Abstract: In a remote controller, a conductive air mouse button (21) is electrically connected to one terminal (13a) of a battery (13). A conductive lower case (12, 41) is electrically connected to the other terminal (13b) of said battery (13). Light-emitting (17) and light-receiving (16) devices which transmit/receive radio signals when said air mouse button (21) and said lower case (12, 41) are contacted by fingers (100), to thereby be electrically connected to form a closed circuit.

Description: The present invention relates to a remote controller, and more particularly, though not exclusively, to a remote controller having an improved structure to reduce battery consumption. Also, the present invention relates particularly, though not exclusively, to a remote controller by which the selected mode of electronic products can be easily recognized. A remote controller is widely used for the convenience of users of electronic products such as television sets. A dry cell or a storage battery is usually used as a power supply means for the remote controller. Thus, minimization of battery consumption is required to extend the use time of the remote controller. The latest remote controllers adopt an air mouse function which enables a user to select from a menu displayed on a monitor by moving a cursor arrow to a desired menu item and pressing an air mouse button. In this case, since the mouse cursor must continuously be displayed on the monitor, the power of the remote controller must be kept on. Thus, the battery charge is consumed faster than for previous applications. Japanese patent number 07154868 discloses a remote controller for reduction of the consumption of a backup battery. The controller can be connected to an external power source and comprises a second rechargeable battery for charging when the controller is attached to the external power source. The second battery supplies power to the controller when it is not connected to the external power source. An example of a conventional remote controller which concurrently operates a television set, a video cassette recorder (VCR) and a compact disk (CD) player is shown in Figure 1. As shown in the drawing, when a user presses any one of mode buttons 1 on the remote controller in order to select a desired mode, a display lamp 2 corresponding to the selected mode is lit such that the selected mode can be visually recognized. However, the user cannot be sure of the selected mode after the display lamp 2 is off. That is, when the user wishes to operate another mode, i.e., another electronic product, other than the selected mode, for example, to control a TV set while in a VCR mode, the user may not realize that the TV mode is not selected until they press a button for a TV function many times to operate the TV, and realize that it does not work. Then, they must press the TV mode button to set the TV mode. To address the above problem, a remote controller has been suggested. That is, when a user presses an arbitrary button on the remote controller, the display lamp 2 thereon is lit according to a set mode so that the currently selected mode can be noticed by the user. However, in the above remote controller, an arbitrary button must be pressed to confirm which mode is set. It is an aim of preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a remote controller of which power is turned on by contacting an air mouse button to use an air mouse function. It is another aim of preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a remote controller having an improved structure such that a display lamp is lit to indicate the currently set mode when a user holds the remote controller. Accordingly, in a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an upper case (11) a lower case (12) and a battery means (13), characterised in that said controller further comprises a conductive air mouse button (21), light-emitting device (17) and light-receiving device (16), said air mouse button (21) being electrically connectable to one terminal (13a) of the battery means (13); the lower case (12) being conductive and being electrically connectable to the other terminal (13b) of said battery means (13); and the light-emitting device (17) and the light-receiving device (16) transmitting and receiving radio signals when said air mouse button (21) and said lower case (12) are contacted by fingers (100), to thereby be electrically connected to form a closed circuit. The present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the attached drawings; in which: Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating a conventional remote controller; Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section of a remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the remote controller shown in Figure 2; and Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the main body of a remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention is comprised of upper and lower cases 11 and 12. In the main body of the remote controller, a plurality of batteries 13 and a circuit board 14 are installed. The circuit board 14 is connected to a terminal spring 15 which is in contact with the batteries 13 to receive power from the batteries 13. Here, the lower case 12 is formed of a conductive material. A light-emitting device 17 and a light-receiving device 16, for transmitting and receiving signals, provided at one end of the circuit board 14. Also, reference numeral 18 indicates buttons of the remote controller and reference numeral 19 indicates a battery door for changing the batteries. The battery door 19 forms a portion of the lower case 12. A tact switch 20 which is electrically connected to the circuit board 14 is installed on the upper surface of the circuit board 14. The tact switch 20 is positioned under an air mouse button 21 so that, when a user presses the air mouse button 21 with his finger 100, the tact switch 20 is operated to generate signals. The air mouse button 21 is formed of a conductive material and protrudes from the upper case 11 while being supported by a leaf spring 22. The leaf spring 22 is in contact with a connection spring 23 which elastically presses against the leaf spring 22 so as to electrically contact a cathode terminal portion 14a of the circuit board 14. The remote controller having the above structure forms an open circuit: that is, one path from a cathode terminal 13a of the battery 13, the cathode terminal portion 14a of the circuit board 14, the connection spring 23, the leaf spring 22, to the air mouse button 21; and another path from an anode terminal 13b of the battery 13, an anode terminal portion 14b of the circuit board 14, a spring member 24, a ground pin 25, to the battery door 19 or the lower case 12. When a user contacts the air mouse button 21 with his finger 100 to use the air mouse function while holding the remote controller as shown in Figure 2, the open circuit forms a closed circuit by means of the user's hand. That is, the lower case 12 and the air mouse button 21 are electrically connected by the hand. At this time, the charge of the battery 13 starts to be consumed as the light-emitting device 17 and the light-receiving device 16 operate so that a cursor arrow for selecting from a menu is displayed on a screen. Accordingly, a user moves the cursor arrow and presses the air mouse button 21 thereby selecting a desired menu. The pressed air mouse button 21 returns to its initial position by the elastic force of the leaf spring 22 and the connection spring 23. When the finger 100 is detached from the air mouse button 21 after the use of the air mouse function is completed, the closed circuit is broken and thus the consumption of the battery charge is stopped. That is, charge is consumed for performing the air mouse function only while the remote controller is held by hand. Thus, the remote controller according to the described embodiment of the present invention can reduce the battery consumption involved in using the air mouse function. As described above, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is easy to recognize a selected mode without further pressing the buttons on the remote controller to confirm the selected mode.

Claims: A remote controller comprising: an upper case (11) a lower case (12) and a battery means (13), characterised in that said controller further comprises a conductive air mouse button (21), light-emitting device (17) and light-receiving device (16), said air mouse button (21) being electrically connectable to one terminal (13a) of the battery means (13); the lower case (12) being conductive and being electrically connectable to the other terminal (13b) of said battery means (13); and the light-emitting device (17) and the light-receiving device (16) transmitting and receiving radio signals when said air mouse button (21) and said lower case (12) are contacted by fingers (100), to thereby be electrically connected to form a closed circuit. A remote controller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a circuit board (14) having an anode terminal portion (14b) and a cathode terminal portion (14a) which are electrically connected to the corresponding terminals (13b, 13a) of said battery means (13); a tact switch (20) which is installed on the upper surface of said circuit board (14) and under said air mouse button (21), and which is pressed when said air mouse button (21) is pressed; a first connecting means (24, 25) for electrically connecting said anode terminal portion of said circuit board (14) and said lower case (12); and a second connecting means (22, 23) for electrically connecting said cathode terminal portion (14a) of said circuit board (14) and said air mouse button (21). A remote controller as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first connecting means (24, 25) comprises: a spring member (24) electrically connected to said circuit board (14); and a ground pin (25) fixed to said lower case (12) and having one end thereof in contact with said spring member (24). A remote controller as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said second connecting means (22, 23) comprises: a leaf spring (22) for elastically supporting said air mouse button (21); and a connection spring (23) for providing an elastic force to said leaf spring (22), one end of said connection spring (23) being fixed to said circuit board (14) and the other end thereof being in contact with said leaf spring (22).

Inventors: KANG SUCK-WOO, LEE TAE-HUN, KANG, SUCK-WOO, LEE, TAE-HUN
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01H9, H03J9, H04Q9, H04N5