Patent Publication Number: US-2011074548-A1

Title: Electronic apparatus and electronic apparatus system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-221052, filed on Sep. 25, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     An aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and an electronic apparatus system. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Some apparatus is capable of, when a remote controller is missed or misplaced, causing the remote controller to sound an alarm in response to a call request, so that the user can know the location of the remote controller (for example, JP-2002-345054-A). 
     The electronic apparatus disclosed in JP-2002-345054-A (such as a television receiver or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player) has a remote controller therefor. The remote controller has: a storage portion which stores an ID for identifying itself; a receiving portion which receives a signal such as a radio signal or an optical signal from the electronic apparatus; a speaker which gives an alarm such as a buzzer sound in order to allow the user to know the location; and a control portion which causes the speaker to give an alarm when the call request signal designated with the stored ID is received. Therefore, when the user operates the electronic apparatus so as to issue a call request for the target remote controller, the user can know the location thereof. 
     In the above-described electronic apparatus, while the attached remote controller can be called, calling cannot be performed while designating another remote controller. Since a calling operation must be performed on an electronic apparatus corresponding to the other remote controller in order to call the other remote controller, the procedure of knowing the location of a remote controller is cumbersome. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A general architecture that implements the various feature of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the present invention and not to limit the scope of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example video display apparatus in an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example block configuration of a control system of the video display apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example remote controller. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example block configuration of a control system of the remote controller. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates example call information. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example displayed content on a display portion. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example operation of the video display apparatus. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example operation of the remote controller. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments according to the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including: a storage portion configured to store identifiers of a plurality of remote controllers; a transmitting portion configured to transmit a signal to an outside; and a control portion configured to: receive a request for calling a specific one of the remote controllers; obtain a specific one of the identifiers corresponding to the specific remote controller from the storage portion; and control the transmitting portion to transmit a call request signal based on the obtained specific identifier, the call request signal instructing the specific remote controller to perform a calling operation. 
     (Configuration of Video Display Apparatus) 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example video display apparatus in an embodiment. 
     The video display apparatus  2  is a television receiver or the like which externally receives a digital broadcast wave or the like through an antenna ( FIG. 2 ,  20 A) to display a video image, or receives a video signal from an external video reproduction apparatus (not shown) such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) recorder or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player to display a video image. The video display apparatus has: a display portion  23 A configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel or the like in which a video image is displayed on the front face; speakers  24 A,  24 B which output a sound; a call switch  27   a  for calling plural remote controllers  1 A to  1 C having plural operation switches; and a transmitting/receiving portion  28  which transmits a call request signal using an RF (Radio Frequency) signal to the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, and which receives an operation signal using an RF signal transmitted from the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C. 
     The video display apparatus  2  has, on the back face, an antenna terminal, external input terminals, operation portions configured by plural switches, and the like which are not shown, and, inside the body  2 A, electronic components such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which processes the video signal and an audio signal, and which controls various portions, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD, etc. 
     Each of the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C has a speaker  12 , and, when receiving a call request from the video display apparatus  2 , emits an alarm such as a melody from the speaker  2 . The remote controllers  1 A to  1 C are previously registered in the video display apparatus  2  by performing a pairing process or the like, and recognize identifiers by which the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C and the video display apparatus  2  are identified one another. 
     For example, the pairing process is performed by the user in accordance with a remote controller registration screen displayed on the display portion  23 A. When a remote controller is not registered in the video display apparatus  2 , the remote controller registration screen is automatically displayed on the display portion  23 A. Also when a remote controller which has been registered is deleted and in the unregistered state, the same is performed. Alternatively, the remote controller registration screen may be displayed by operating an operation portion (not shown) or call switch  27   a  of the video display apparatus  2 . 
     Although three remote controllers are shown in the figure, a single or plural remote controllers may be used. The remote controllers  1 A to  1 C are not restricted to remote controllers dedicated to the video display apparatus  2 , and may be electronic devices such as a portable telephone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) which has a remote control function. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an example block configuration of the video display apparatus  2 . 
     The video display apparatus  2  has a tuner  20 , a signal processing portion  21 , a video processing portion  22 , a display processing portion  23 , an audio processing portion  24 , a control portion  25 , a storage portion  26 , an operation portion  27 , and the transmitting/receiving portion  28 . These portions are connected to one another through a bus  29 . 
     The tuner  20  includes the antenna  20 A which receives a broadcast signal transmitted from a digital broadcast station, selects a signal of a desired channel from the received broadcast signal, and transmits the selected signal to the signal processing portion  21 . 
     The signal processing portion  21  is connected to the video processing portion  22  and the audio processing portion  24 , separates the broadcast signal received from the tuner  20  to an audio signal and a video signal, supplies the video signal to the video processing portion  22 , and supplies the audio signal to the audio processing portion  24 . 
     The video processing portion  22  is connected to the display portion  23 A through the display processing portion  23 . 
     The display processing portion  23  performs an image quality adjustment on the input video signal, and supplies the video signal in which the image quality is adjusted, to the display portion  23 A. The display processing portion  23  has a backlight processing portion, color temperature processing portion, and the like which are not shown, and which adjust the display of the display portion  23 A. The display portion  23 A has a backlight which is controlled by an inverter or the like to make the luminance variable, and the LCD panel which is illuminated by the backlight to display a video image. The backlight processing portion changes the luminance value of the backlight to adjust the brightness. The color temperature processing portion changes the gamma set value of the LCD panel to adjust the color temperature. 
     The audio processing portion  24  is connected to the speakers  24 A,  24 B. The audio processing portion  24  performs a sound quality adjustment on the input audio signal. 
     The video display apparatus  2  further has a video analog/digital converter (A/D) and audio A/D which receive video and audio signals transmitted from a video reproduction apparatus that is connected to an external input terminal (not shown). The video and audio signals which are input to the video A/D and the audio A/D are converted from an analog signal to a digital signal, and the output signals therefrom are supplied to the video processing portion  22  and the audio processing portion  24 , respectively. 
     The control portion  25  has a CPU, and controls the various portions of the video display apparatus  2  through control lines such as the bus  29  which are indicated by the un-arrowed solid lines in  FIG. 2 . 
     The storage portion  26  stores call setting information  260  which describes setting information and the like for calling the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, characteristic information  261  indicating characteristics such as call sounds and vibration patterns of the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C which are obtained in registration (pairing) of the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C to the video display apparatus  2 , video information of a program recorded by the video display apparatus  2 , programs such as shown in  FIG. 7  operating on the control portion  25 , and the like. 
     The operation portion  27  includes a plurality of switches including the call switch  27   a  shown in  FIG. 1 , and, when the switches are operated by the user, supplies a signal for controlling the operation of the video display apparatus  2 , to the control portion  25 . 
     The transmitting/receiving portion  28  transmits RF signals to the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, receives RF signals such as an operation signal from the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, and supplies the signals to the control portion  25 . 
       FIG. 3  exemplarily illustrates the remote controller  1 A. The remote controllers  1 B,  1 C have the same configuration as that of the remote controller  1 A, and hence the remote controller  1 A will be representatively described. 
     The remote controller  1 A is configured by an upper case  1   a  and a lower case  1   b , and has a plurality of switches for operating the functions of the video display apparatus  2 . The remote controller has: a power supply switch  14   a  which switches over the power-ON state and the power-OFF state of the video display apparatus  2 ; an input changeover switch group  14   b  including an input changeover switch which switches over the source of video information to be displayed, and switches which select a game, a terrestrial digital broadcast, a BS broadcast, or a CS broadcast; a channel/character switch group  14   c  which performs selection of the channel, input of characters, and the like; a channel selection switch  14   d  which switches the channel; a switch group  14   e  including a screen display switch which selects the display format of the screen, a mute switch, a quick switch, and the like; a volume adjust switch  14   f  which adjusts the sound volume; a switch group  14   g  including a link switch which causes an external apparatus to link with the video display apparatus  2 , a time switch for displaying a past program list, a program list switch for displaying a program list, and the like; a touch pad switch  14   h  which has both the function of a touch pad and that of a press switch; a switch group  14   i  which includes a return switch, a mini-program list switch, an end switch, a broadband switch, a d-data switch, a news switch, color switches; and the speaker  12  which outputs an alarm such as a melody corresponding to a call request. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an example block configuration of the remote controller  1 A. 
     The remote controller  1 A has a receiving/transmitting portion  10 , a control portion  11 , the speaker  12 , a storage portion  13 , an operation portion  14 , and a vibration motor  15 . These portions are connected to one another through a bus  16 . 
     The receiving/transmitting portion  10  receives RF signals such as the call request from the video display apparatus  2 , supplies the signals to the control portion  11 , and, under the control of the control portion  11 , transmits RF signals such as the operation signals to the video display apparatus  2 . 
     The control portion  11  has a CPU, and controls the various portions through control lines such as the bus  16  which are indicated by the solid lines. 
     The speaker  12  outputs an alarm such as a melody under the control of the control portion  11 . 
     The storage portion  13  stores: characteristic information  130  indicating characteristics which can be performed in the remote controller  1 A, such as a call sound pattern which is reproduced in the control portion  11  to be output as an alarm from the speaker  12 , and a vibration pattern of vibrations which are produced in the vibration motor  15 ; a remote controller ID  131  which is identification information for identifying the remote controller  1 A; information which correlates signals output from the operation portion  14  with the operation signals; programs such as shown in  FIG. 8  which operate on the control portion  11 ; and the like. 
     The operation portion  14  includes the plural switches shown in  FIG. 3 , and, when the switches are operated by the user, supplies signals to the control portion  11 . 
     The vibration motor  15  is operated by the control of the control portion  11  in response to the call request or the like, to vibrate the remote controller  1 A. 
       FIG. 5  exemplarily illustrates the call setting information  260 . 
     The call setting information  260  has: a remote controller ID column  260   a  which indicates an identifier of a remote controller; a call registration column  260   b  which indicates whether a calling operation is to be performed or not when the call switch  27   a  is pressed; a call method column  260   c  which indicates the call method such as a melody or vibration; a volume column  260   d  which indicates the sound volume of a melody; and a melody column  260   e  which indicates the kind of the melody. The information described in the call method column  260   c , the volume column  260   d  and the melody column  260   e  are selected in a call setting screen  230 , based on the characteristic information  261  which is received from the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C when the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C are registered in the video display apparatus  2 . 
       FIG. 6  exemplarily illustrates the displayed content on the display portion  23 A. 
     The call setting screen  230  is displayed, on the display portion  23 A, to set the call setting information  260  for designating the call method and the like for the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C. The call setting screen  230  includes a remote controller selection tab  230   a , a call registration check box  230   b , a melody call check box  230   c , a melody pattern menu  230   d  and volume selection menu  230   e , a vibration call check box  230   f  and a decision button  230   g . Through the remote controller selection tab  230   a , a remote controller in which the call setting information  260  is to be set is selected. When the call registration check box  230   b  is checked, the calling operation is performed in the selected remote controller. When the melody call check box  230   c  is checked, the calling operation by using a melody is performed. Through the melody pattern menu  230   d  and volume selection menu  230   e , a melody pattern and a calling volume are selected. When the vibration call check box  230   f  is checked, the calling operation by using a vibration is performed. And, by pressing the decision button  230   g , the settings in the call setting screen  230  are determined. 
     Each of the melody call check box  230   c , the melody pattern menu  230   d , the volume selection menu  230   e , and the vibration call check box  230   f  may not displayed for each of remote controllers  1 A to  1 C according to the characteristic information  261  thereof. In the melody pattern menu  230   d  and the volume selection menu  230   e , the displayed menu may be differentiated for each of remote controllers  1 A to  1 C according to the characteristic information  261  thereof. 
     (Operation of Video Display Apparatus) 
     Hereinafter, an operation example of the video display apparatus in the embodiment will be described with reference to the figures. 
     In order to turn ON the power supply of the video display apparatus  2 , first, the user presses the power supply switch  14   a  of the remote controller  1 A. When the power supply switch  14   a  is pressed, the control portion  11  of the remote controller  1 A produces an operation signal for turning ON the power supply of the video display apparatus  2 . Next, the receiving/transmitting portion  10  transmits the produced operation signal to the video display apparatus  2  by means of an RF signal. 
     When the transmitting/receiving portion  28  of the video display apparatus  2  receives the RF signal, the portion supplies an operation signal to the control portion  25 , and, based on the received operation signal, the control portion  25  requests a power supplying portion (not shown) to turn ON the power supply of the video display apparatus  2 . The above-described operations are performed also when another switch of the operation portion  14  is pressed. 
     When the user wishes to perform the call setting on one of the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, the user operates, for example, the remote controller  1 A to request the call setting screen  230  shown in  FIG. 6  to be displayed on the display portion  23 A of the video display apparatus  2 . In response to the request, the control portion  25  of the video display apparatus  2  displays the call setting screen  230  on the display portion  23 A, and, in accordance with the displayed contents, the user operates the remote controller  1 A. 
     When the user presses the decision button  230   g  to end the call setting in the call setting screen  230 , the control portion  25  stores the settings in the call setting screen  230  into the call setting information  260  of the storage portion  26 . Alternatively, the operations in the call setting screen  230  may be performed through the operation portion  27  of the video display apparatus  2 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an example operation of the video display apparatus  2 . 
     First, the user operates the call switch  27   a  of the operation portion  27  (S 1 : Yes). If the operation designates, for example, the remote controller  1 A as a calling subject (S 2 : Yes), the control portion  25  refers the information relating to the remote controller  1 A in the call setting information  260 , i.e., information corresponding to remote controller ID “0001” shown in  FIG. 5  (S 3 ). Next, the control portion  25  transmits the call signal through the transmitting/receiving portion  28  based on the information of remote controller ID “0001” in the call setting information  260 , and performs the calling operation (S 4 ). In step S 2 , the remote controller is designated by, for example, the number of operations of pressing the call switch  27   a , and identification information and the like of the remote controller to be designated is displayed on the display portion  23 A. 
     If a remote controller is not designated in step S 2  (S 2 : No), the control portion  25  refers information of all of the remote controllers in the call setting information  260  (S 5 ), transmits the call signal through the transmitting/receiving portion  28  based on the information of the respective remote controllers in the call setting information  260 , and performs the calling operation (S 6 ). Namely, the control portion performs the process of calling remote controller IDs “0001”, “0003”, “0004”, and “0005”. For example, the calling of all of the remote controllers in step S 2  is designated by pressing the call switch  27   a  for a long time period (several seconds). 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an example operation of the remote controller  1 A. The remote controllers  1 A to  1 C operate in the same manner, and hence the remote controller  1 A will be representatively described. 
     First, when the receiving/transmitting portion  10  of the remote controller  1 A receives the call signal (S 11 ), the control portion  11  checks whether the call signal contains information coincident with the remote controller ID  131  or not. If such information is contained (S 12 : Yes), a calling operation is performed based on the call method, volume, melody, and the like which are set in remote controller ID “0001” in the call setting information  260  (S 13 ). Namely, in accordance with the characteristic information  130  in the storage portion  13 , the melody of melody pattern  1  is reproduced at a volume of 5 from the speaker  12 , and the vibration motor  15  is operated. 
     Next, when the remote controller  1 A is found by the user and any operation is performed on the remote controller  1 A (S 14 : Yes), or when no operation is performed (S 14 : No) and a given time period elapses (S 16 : Yes), the control portion  11  ends the calling operation (S 15 ). Alternatively, when the operation portion  27  of the video display apparatus  2  is operated, the calling operation may be ended. 
     EFFECTS OF EMBODIMENT 
     According to the above-described embodiment, plural remote controllers can be previously registered as calling subjects in the call setting information  260 , and the desired remote controller can be designated by an operation of pressing the call switch  27   a . Therefore, calling of plural remote controllers can be easily performed by using only the video display apparatus  2 . 
     The call method, volume, melody, and the like can be set respectively for each remote controller in the video display apparatus  2  by using the call setting screen  230 . Therefore, the operation can be performed easily as compared with the case where the setting is performed in each remote controller. The setting can be differentiated for each remote controller. When plural remote controllers are simultaneously called, therefore, the user can easily recognize the locations of the plural remote controllers. 
     Other Embodiments 
     The invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing the spirit of the invention. For example, an RF signal is used in communications between the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C and the video display apparatus  2 . As a method of transmitting an RF signal, a communication method of an omni-directional standard such as IEEE 802.15.4 or low-power Bluetooth may be used, or another standard may be used as far as the communication is omni-directionally performed. Although an omni-directional communication method is preferred, a directional communication method such as infrared communication may be used. 
     When only one remote controller is registered in the video display apparatus  2 , for example, default settings may be used without the user&#39;s operation through the call setting screen  230  so that the call registration and the melody call are always ON. 
     Illuminance sensors or the like may be further disposed in the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C, respectively, and the call volume may be changed in accordance with the illuminance. According to the configuration, even if the remote controllers  1 A to  1 C are left behind things and the alarm sound hardly reaches the user, for example, the volume may be automatically increased (set to the maximum value), so that the user can know the location. 
     There may be configured such that the characteristic information  130  is downloaded from the video display apparatus  2  by an RF signal. The characteristic information  130  may be downloaded from an Internet through wired/wireless communication. This may be applicable also to the vibration pattern of the vibration motor  15 . 
     In the case where the maximum registration number of remote controllers in the video display apparatus  2  is preset and the registration is performed while exceeding the maximum number, the video display apparatus  2  may delete the registration of the oldest registered remote controller. When the registration of a remote controller which has been already registered is requested, a message indicating that the remote controller has been already registered may be displayed on the display portion  23 A. When the registration is further requested in spite of the message, information that has been already registered may be overwritten. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, the user can know the location of a remote controller and can call a specific remote controller in an easy manner.