CN100371920C - Electronic device/system with self-defined remote control mechanism and related method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic device/electronic system capable of being configured by a user-defined remote control mechanism and a related method. The electronic device can firstly carry out a setting mode, and prompts various functions of the electronic device to a user, so that the user can carry out self-defined operation and control on the remote controller aiming at the given function, such as pressing a self-selected key; when the electronic device receives the remote control signal generated by the user's customized control, the customized control can be corresponding to the given function. After the setting mode is finished, the electronic device can operate in a general mode, receive a remote control signal sent by a user for subsequent operation on the remote controller, and analyze which self-defined operation the user performs on the remote controller from the remote control signal so as to execute a function corresponding to the self-defined operation.

Description

Electronic device/system with customizable remote control mechanism and related method

technical field

The present invention relates to an electronic device/system and related methods that provide a customizable remote control mechanism, and in particular to an electronic device/electronic device that can provide a user interface to assist users in establishing a custom remote control mechanism/setting any optional remote control. systems and related methods.

Background technique

With the advancement of electronic technology, various electronic devices have become a part of modern social life. Consumer electronic devices such as TVs, CD players, and DVD players that play audio-visual multimedia have been widely used in the lives of the general public. In order to allow users to conveniently control various electronic devices, most modern electronic devices are equipped with corresponding remote controls, especially remote controls with wireless technology, allowing users to remotely control electronic devices through the remote control.

As known to those skilled in the art, the existing known remote control technology is one-to-one, that is, each electronic device has a dedicated remote control. Under this known remote control technology, each function that an electronic device can perform is fixedly corresponding to a remote control signal with specific information. The remote control dedicated to the electronic device will be provided with a plurality of buttons used to control different functions; the button to control a certain function can cause the remote control to send a remote control signal with specific information for the function, such as infrared or electromagnetic wave wireless remote signal. When the user wants to control the electronic device to perform a certain function, the user can press the button corresponding to the function on the remote controller, so that the remote control signal sent by the remote controller carries specific information corresponding to the function. When the electronic device receives the remote control signal, it will judge the specific information in the remote control signal, and execute the function corresponding to the specific information according to the corresponding relationship between the specific information and the function.

However, the above-mentioned prior art remote control mechanism also has disadvantages. Since the corresponding relationship between the specific information of each remote control signal and each function in the electronic device has been fixedly built in the electronic device, an electronic device can only be matched with its exclusive remote control. If other types of remote controllers are replaced, since the remote control signals sent by other remote controllers will not carry specific information that can be identified by the electronic device, even if the electronic device receives the remote control signals sent by other remote controllers, it will not be able to Decipher what function to perform. And the above-mentioned one-to-one relationship will cause a lot of inconvenience to the user. When the user loses the exclusive remote control of an electronic device, or when the exclusive remote control fails, the user must specify the exclusive model of the electronic device in order to maintain the remote control of the electronic device continuously, and cannot obtain it with other conveniences. The remote controller is used to replace the dedicated remote controller; this will cause trouble for the user when maintaining the remote control mechanism, and increase the maintenance cost and time of the remote control mechanism.

In addition, the exclusive remote control design of the electronic device may not be suitable for the user, but the user can only adapt to the exclusive remote control design. For example, some remote controls are too heavy or too thin for older or younger users to hold them conveniently. Or, the button configuration on the exclusive remote control is more suitable for right-handed users, but it is inconvenient for left-handed users; the functions on some exclusive remote controls are too complicated, and there are too many buttons, which makes the elderly or young Users tend to touch other unnecessary keys by mistake. However, due to the one-to-one relationship in the existing remote control technology, users still have to adapt to the design of the exclusive remote control, and cannot choose the remote control they want according to the user's own needs, nor can he customize the remote control Key/control configuration.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the main purpose of the present invention is to propose an electronic device/system and related method capable of customizing the remote control mechanism, so that the user can customize the button configuration on the remote control, and even choose any suitable remote control to control the remote control. A remote control mechanism is established to overcome the shortcomings of the existing remote control mechanism.

In the electronic device of the present invention, the corresponding relationship between each function and the specific information of each remote control signal can be set by the user; the electronic device of the present invention can operate in a setting mode, and in this mode, the user can Change the specific information of the remote control signal corresponding to each function, so that the user can customize the remote control; similarly, in this mode, the user can also choose the remote control he wants, and let the electronic device of the present invention receive the self-selected remote control The remote control signal sent by the device, and according to the settings of the user, the specific information of these remote control signals corresponds to various functions of the electronic device, and then the newly created corresponding relationship is stored. In this way, when the user uses a customized/selected remote controller to send a remote control signal, the electronic device of the present invention can perform the corresponding function according to the corresponding relationship in the memory, and also allows the user to use the customized/selected remote controller. The remote control and the remote control mechanism are used to remotely control the electronic device.

To further explain, in this setting mode, the electronic device of the present invention can realize a user interface by using visual image or voice/sound in combination with buttons on the electronic device. On the user interface, the present invention can first prompt various remote control functions of the electronic device, and the user can select a function to be set through the user interface. Then, the user interface can prompt the user to perform a custom operation on the remote control to correspond to the function to be set, and the user can select a convenient button on the remote control to press and send Corresponding remote control signal. Next, the electronic device of the present invention can receive the remote control signal sent by the remote control, record the specific information carried in the remote control signal, and make the specific information correspond to the function to be set, and establish the specific information and The corresponding relationship of the function is stored, and the corresponding relationship is stored. After ending this setting mode, when the user presses the same button on the remote control again to send a remote control signal, the electronic device will execute the corresponding relationship established/stored in the setting mode after receiving the remote control signal. The function of the item is set to realize the user-defined remote control mechanism.

Compared with the prior art, the electronic device/system and the remote control mechanism disclosed in the present invention have the following advantages. First of all, the user can customize the button configuration on the exclusive remote control to make the button configuration more suitable for the user's personal needs. Further, the user can choose other types of remote controllers according to the needs. After setting the setting mode, the user can use other remote controllers to remotely control the electronic device of the present invention. different needs of the mechanism.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the electronic system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device in FIG. 1 operating in a setting mode.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device in FIG. 1 operating in a normal mode.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a setting procedure performed by the electronic device in FIG. 1 in a setting mode.

FIG. 5 is a situation where the electronic device in FIG. 1 performs the process in FIG. 4 with the user interface of the visual screen.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the information structure of various remote control signals carrying related information.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a receiving module of the electronic device in FIG. 1 .

8 and 9 are two application examples of the electronic system of the present invention.

Description of reference symbols

10 electronic system 12, 12b electronic device

14 function modules 16 control modules

18 receiving modules 20 storage modules

22 control module 24 management module

26 setting modules 28 interface modules

30, 30b remote control 32-36 buttons

38 receiving circuit 40 identification module

42 Decoding Modules 46 Sampling Modules

100 process 102-114 steps

K(～), Kb(～) buttons IR(～), IRb(～) remote control signal

If(~), Ifb(~) format signal

R(～), Rb(～) reference format signal

F(～), Fb(～) functions

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 ; FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic system 10 in which an electronic device 12 and a remote controller 30 are combined according to the present invention. The electronic device 12 can be (but not limited to) a multimedia playback device, such as a TV, a monitor, a CD player, a digital versatile disc player (DVD player), a video recorder, a stereo, etc., or it can be Other types of consumer electronic devices, such as air conditioners (such as air conditioners) and so on. In the electronic device 12, a function module 14, a control module 16, a storage module 20, a comparison module 22 and a receiving module 18 are provided; in order to realize the technology of the present invention, a management module 24, A setting module 26 and an interface module 28 . The remote control 30 is a remote control mechanism for the electronic device 12 , allowing the user to control the electronic device 12 through the remote control 30 .

In the electronic device 12, the functional module 14 is used to actually execute various functions F(1), F(2) to F(M) of the electronic device 12, and the control module 16 is used to control the operation of the functional module 14 to determine Functions to be executed by the function module 14. For example, if the electronic device 12 is a TV or a monitor, the functional module 14 can include a display screen and related driving circuits, and the functions F(1) to F(M) can be power on and off, volume adjustment, Brightness adjustment and the like; if the electronic device 12 is a compact disc/digital versatile disc player, the functional module 14 may include hardware such as a motor driving the disc to rotate, a reading head for reading the disc signal, and its various functions F (1) to F(M) can respectively be power on and off (power), disc ejection (eject), disc play (play), pause playback (pause), and play the previous chapter/next chapter of the disc content (previous/next), fast forward/reverse playback (FF/FB) and slow forward/reverse playback (SF/SB), etc. The control module 16 may be a microprocessor controlling the functional module 14 . In addition, the remote controller 30 may be provided with a plurality of keys K(1) to K(Q), each of which corresponds to different remote control signals IR(1) to IR(Q). may carry different specific information. When the user presses a certain button K(q) (q=1~Q), the remote controller 30 can send a corresponding remote control signal IR(q); each remote control signal can be a wireless signal, such as Infrared or radio wave remote control signal.

Corresponding to the remote control 30 , the receiving module 18 in the electronic device 12 can receive various remote control signals IR(q) sent by the remote control 30 , and can respond according to the relevant information/specific information carried in the remote control signal IR(q). Provide a corresponding format signal If(q) (in FIG. 1 and subsequent figures, IR(-) represents any remote control signal sent by the remote controller, and If(-) represents the format signal corresponding to the remote control signal). In contrast, in order to establish a remote control mechanism in the electronic device 12, the storage module 20 in the electronic device 12 can store multiple sets of reference format signals R(1) to R(M), and each reference format signal R(1) to R( M) respectively correspond to the functions F(1) to F(M) of the electronic device 12 . When the electronic device 12 accepts remote control, the receiving module 18 will provide a corresponding format signal If(q) after receiving a certain remote control signal IR(q), and the comparison module 22 can compare the Whether the format signal If(q) conforms to one of the reference format signals; if the format signal conforms to a certain reference format signal R(m), the control module 16 can make the function module according to the corresponding relationship in the storage module 20 14 Start to execute the function F(m) corresponding to the reference format signal R(m).

As discussed above, in the existing remote control mechanism, the corresponding relationship between the specific information of the remote control signal and each function is fixed and built-in, and cannot be changed (in particular, cannot be changed by the user). That is to say, assuming that the electronic device 12 follows the existing technology and needs to be used with the remote controller 30 to establish a remote control mechanism, the corresponding relationship in the storage module 20 is fixed and cannot be changed, and each reference format signal is fixedly equal to a certain format. Signal If(-); This also makes the relationship between the electronic device and the remote controller one-to-one. If you want to use other types of remote controllers to remotely control the electronic device 12, because the specific relevant information carried in the remote control signal sent by other remote controllers will not conform to the specific format signal If(-), of course it will not conform to Any one of the reference format signals, and the electronic device 12 cannot be controlled to perform any function.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention allows the user to customize the content (definition) of each reference format signal, and the user can reset the remote control mechanism and establish a self-defined remote control mechanism according to his own needs, so as to relieve the current situation. There are various limitations in the remote control mechanism. In order to realize the technical spirit of the present invention, the setting module 26 in the electronic device 12 of the present invention can be used to reset the content of each reference format signal, so that each reference format signal does not have to be fixedly equal to a specific remote control on the exclusive remote control The format signal carried by the signal. After resetting by the setting module 26, the reference format signal can be changed to a format signal carried by another remote control signal on the exclusive remote control, so that the user can redefine the key configuration on the exclusive remote control by himself. Similarly, the reference format signal can also be the format signal of the remote control signal of other remote controllers. In this way, the user can choose other remote controllers to establish the remote control mechanism of the electronic device 12 .

Cooperating with the operation of the setting module 26, the interface module 28 in the electronic system 10 of the present invention can realize a user interface (UI, User Interface), so that the user can establish a customized remote control mechanism through the user interface. The management module 24 is used to control whether to reset; the management module 24 can make the electronic device 12 operate in a setting mode and a general mode, and the user can trigger the management module 24 to switch to the setting mode through the interface module 28 with the general pattern. In the setting mode, the user can further manipulate the setting module 26 through the interface module 28 to reset the content/definition of each reference format signal. In the normal mode, the electronic device 12 can operate normally according to the reset remote control mechanism, so that the user can use a customized button configuration or a remote control of his own choice to remotely control the electronic device 12 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interface module 28 can be provided with buttons 32, 34 and 36, etc., to assist the user to trigger the setting mode/general mode, and select the reference format he wants to customize/set signal.

In order to further illustrate the situation that the electronic device 12 of the present invention operates in various modes, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 (and refer to FIG. 1 together); FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 respectively illustrate that the electronic device 12 of the present invention operates in the setting mode Same as normal mode. First, as shown in FIG. 2 , when the user wants to reset the remote control mechanism of the electronic device 12 , the electronic device 12 can be triggered to enter the setting mode through the user interface provided by the interface module 28 . In the example of FIG. 2 , it is assumed that the user wishes to use the key K( 2 ) on the remote controller 30 to control the function F( 1 ) of the electronic device 12 . Therefore, the user can select the function F(1) to be reconfigured under the prompt of the user interface, and the setting module 26 can prepare the reference format signal R( 1). Then, the user interface can prompt the user to perform a custom control on the remote controller 30 (press the button K (2)), so that the remote controller 30 sends a corresponding remote control signal IR (2). After receiving the remote control signal IR(2), the receiving module 18 can provide a corresponding format signal If(2) according to its relevant information, and the management module 24 transmits the format signal If(2) to the setting module 26 (not to the control module 26). Module 22). Next, the setting module 26 can record the format signal If(2) in the storage module 20 as the reference format signal R(1). In this way, the key K(2) can be used to control the function F(1). After finishing the setting of the remote control mechanism of the function F(1), the user interface can prompt the user to continue setting other functions. For example, if the user wants to use the button K (5) to remotely control the function F(M) of the electronic device 12, he can select the function F(M) through the user interface, so that the setting module 26 is ready to set the function F (M) corresponds to the reference format signal R(M). Next, the user interface can prompt the user to perform a customized operation for the function F(M) on the remote controller 30, and the user presses a self-selected button K(5). Through the operation of the remote controller 30, the receiving module 18, the management module 24 and the setting module 26, the reference format signal R(M) in the storage module 20 can be redefined as If(5), so as to pass the "button K (5)-Remote control signal IR(5)-Format signal If(5)-Reference format signal R(M)-Function F(M)" correspondence relation makes the button K(5) on the remote controller 30 available to remotely control the function F(M) of the electronic device 12 .

After finishing the setting of the self-defined remote control mechanism in the setting mode, the reset definition of each reference format signal will be stored in the storage module 20, and the user can also make the management module 24 end the setting through the operation of the interface module 28. fixed mode. After the setting mode is finished, the management module 24 can switch the electronic device 12 to operate in the normal mode, as shown in FIG. 3 . In the normal mode of FIG. 3 , the user can use the remote control mechanism previously customized in the setting mode to remotely control the electronic device 12 . In this general mode, the setting module 26 can suspend operation; when the user presses a button on the remote controller 30 to send a remote signal IR(-), the receiving module 18 will provide the corresponding format according to the remote signal IR(-) signal If(-), and the management module 24 will transmit the format signal to the comparison module 22, and the comparison module 22 can compare the format signal If(-) with the definition of each reference format signal in the recording module 20. If the format signal If(-) matches a reference format signal, the comparison module 22 can transmit the comparison result to the control module 16, and the control module 16 controls the function module 14 to perform this function. For example, if the user presses the button K(2) to cause the remote controller 30 to send out the remote signal IR(2), the comparison module 22 will find that the format signal If(2) corresponding to the remote signal IR(2) conforms to the stored According to the reference format signal R(1) recorded in the module 20, the electronic device 12 can start to perform the function F(1), and operate normally according to the self-defined remote control mechanism set by the user in the setting mode, so as to realize the present invention Spirit.

It should be emphasized here that, from the discussion of FIGS. 1 to 3 , it can be seen that the remote controller 30 may be a dedicated remote controller of the electronic device 12 or any other remote controller. Through the setting mode in Figure 2, the user can redefine the keys of the exclusive remote control; for example, the original key K (2) is used for the remote control function F (2), but after the redefinition of the setting mode in Figure 2 After that, the key K(2) can be used to remote control function F(1). In other words, in the present invention, the user can customize the button configuration on the exclusive remote control without having to adapt to the built-in configuration of the exclusive remote control when it leaves the factory. Similarly, the remote control 30 can also be another type of remote control selected by the user, so that the user can create a remote control mechanism that is more flexible and more suitable for the user's needs.

Please refer to FIG. 4 (and refer to FIG. 2 together); the process 100 in FIG. 4 can be regarded as a setting procedure, that is, the operation process of the electronic device 12 in the setting mode of the present invention. Process 100 has the following steps:

Step 102: start. The electronic device 12 starts to enter the setting mode. When the user wants to create a customized remote control mechanism, the electronic device 12 of the present invention can be triggered to enter the setting mode.

Step 104: The electronic device 12 can remind the user of various functions that the electronic device itself can remotely control, and the user can choose which function to reset its corresponding remote control mechanism. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interface module 28 of the electronic device 12 should be able to prompt the user through interfaces such as visual images or voice, and allow the user to input the function he wants to select. For example, if the electronic device 12 itself is a TV or a monitor, then the electronic device 12 itself should have a screen, and the present invention can utilize the screen setting display function (OSD, On-Screen Display) of the electronic device 12 itself, Prompts the user with a visual image on its own screen. If the electronic device 12 is a video playback device such as a video recorder/digital versatile disc player, this type of electronic device 12 will be externally connected to a display/television to output video images, and the present invention can use these external methods to prompt with video images user. Similarly, if the electronic device 12 is a music player such as a CD player, it should be able to output sound itself, or output sound through an external speaker, and the present invention can use the output of sound/voice to prompt the user. In fact, most modern electronic devices are equipped with small display screens to display their operating conditions, and the present invention can also utilize such display screens to prompt users. In addition, buttons (such as buttons 32 to 36 in FIG. 2 ) may also be provided on the electronic device 12 so that users can input their selected functions.

Step 106 : The user performs a corresponding custom control on the remote controller 30 , so that the custom control corresponds to the function selected in step 104 . After the previous step 104 is finished, the electronic device 12 should have known the remote control mechanism of which function the user wants to reset, and the electronic device 12 can prompt the user to start customizing on the remote control in this step. manipulation. After accepting the prompt from the electronic device 12 , the user can perform customized control on the remote controller 30 . Like pressing a user-selected button on a remote control.

Step 108 : After the user performs custom control on the remote controller 30 in step 106 , the electronic device 12 can receive a corresponding remote control signal from the remote controller 30 . Then, the electronic device 12 can form a corresponding format signal according to the relevant information carried in the remote control signal.

Step 110: For the function selected in step 104, the electronic device 12 can use its storage module 30 to record the format signal in step 108 as a reference format signal corresponding to the function, and establish the correspondence between the format signal and the function relation. In this way, the user can correspond the customized control in step 106 to the function selected in step 104 through the correspondence between "button-remote control signal-format signal-reference format signal-function".

Step 112: After step 110 is finished, the electronic device 12 may prompt the user to ask whether the user wants to reset/customize the remote control mechanism for another function. If yes, then go back to step 104 to allow the user to select another function to customize the remote control mechanism of this function. If not, proceed to step 114 .

Step 114: The electronic device 12 exits the setting mode, and ends the setting procedure of the flow 100 .

Next, the electronic device 12 can enter into the general mode ( FIG. 3 ) to perform general procedures. In the general mode, the electronic device 12 can compare the relevant information (that is, the format signal) of the remote control signal when receiving the follow-up remote control signal of the remote controller 30 to whether it conforms to the reference format signal corresponding to each function in the electronic device; If the relevant information of the signal matches a certain reference format signal, the electronic device 12 can execute the function corresponding to the reference format signal, thereby realizing a user-defined remote control mechanism.

Please refer to Figure 5 (and Figures 2 and 4). FIG. 5 illustrates how the electronic device 12 of the present invention prompts the user to perform the setting process of the process 100 by taking the user interface of the visual screen as an example. In the example of FIG. 5 , the user can press the button 36 of the interface module 28 ( FIG. 2 ), so that the electronic device 12 starts to operate in the setting mode, that is, the process 100 starts. First, proceed to step 104, the user interface can display various remote control functions with visual images, such as power on and off, disc ejection, disc play, pause playback, and play the previous chapter/next chapter of the disc content , fast forward/reverse playback, slow forward/reverse playback, etc. (here, it is assumed that the electronic device 12 is a digital versatile disc player). The prompt sentence "Select a FUNCTION to configure..." can also be used on the visual screen to prompt the user to select a function to customize the remote control mechanism of the function. The user can press the button 32 to select different functions, and the selected function can be displayed on the visual screen by highlighting (highlight). After the user selects the desired function, he can press the button 34 to confirm; and the process 100 can also proceed to step 106 .

Assuming that the function selected by the user in step 104 is to play the disc "PLAY", in step 106, the user interface can prompt the user to press a key for "PLAY"..." on the remote control 30. Perform custom controls. And the user can select a button on the remote controller 30 to press; and this button can be used to control the function "PLAY" later (after the setting is completed). After the user presses the button, the process 100 will proceed to subsequent steps 108 to 110 . Proceeding to step 112, the user interface can remind the various functions of the electronic device 12 again, allowing the user to decide whether to continue to select other functions to set the remote control mechanism, or the user can directly exit the setting mode. For example, the user can press the button 36 to exit the setting mode, or an exit option "exit" can be provided on the visual screen of the user interface, the user can use the button 32 to select this option and confirm with the button 34, and The electronic device 12 can exit the setting mode and return to the normal mode. In step 112 , the reset function (the function “PLAY” in the example of FIG. 5 ) can be specially presented on the visual screen of the user interface, indicating that the function has been reset. In addition, the interface module 28 can also use the touch display panel to implement the user interface shown in FIG. 5 , so that the user can directly select the desired customized function by touching the screen.

In addition, the present invention can also use a voice user interface to prompt the user to assist the user to perform the setting procedure of the process 100 . For example, the buttons on the user interface can be marked with numbers "1", "2", "3" and so on; when proceeding to step 104, the user interface can issue a voice saying "To reset such-and-such function, please press 1; if you want to reset a certain function, please press 2..." to prompt the user to select the function to be reset. Similarly, when step 106 is performed, the user interface can prompt the user to perform customized control by saying "please press a button of your choice on the remote control".

Among the various user interfaces mentioned above, various buttons on the user interface (such as the buttons 32 to 36 in FIG. 5 ) can be used to assist the process 100 to proceed. These buttons can be directly set on the body of the electronic device 12 , or these buttons can also be set on the exclusive remote control of the electronic device 12 . In other words, the dedicated remote controller of the electronic device 12 may have a plurality of function buttons to control various functions of the electronic device 12 , and may also have various setting buttons to assist the reset procedure of the process 100 . Using these setting buttons, the user can rearrange the configuration of each function button on the dedicated remote controller. Similarly, the user can also perform the process 100 on another remote controller through the setting button on the dedicated remote controller, so that other remote controllers can also establish a remote control mechanism with the electronic device 12 .

In another embodiment, the present invention can also directly use the control panel on the electronic device 12 to implement the user interface in the setting mode. Most of the electronic devices have their own control panels, on which are provided various buttons that can directly control various functions. For example, the video player itself has a play button to control the playback function, and a pause button to control the pause function. When the present invention is implemented on such an electronic device, when the electronic device operates in the general mode, these buttons can normally control its corresponding functions according to the original design, and when the electronic device operates in the setting mode/setting program of the present invention When performing step 106, the user can directly press a certain button on the control panel to select the function represented by the button. For example, when the user wants to reset the remote control mechanism for the playback function, he can directly press the playback button on the control panel. According to the user's manipulation on the control panel, the electronic device can know that the user wants to reset the remote control mechanism for the playback function. Next, the user can perform self-defined control on the remote controller and proceed to steps 108 to 110 to reset the remote control mechanism for the playback function.

Generally speaking, the remote control signals sent by the current remote controllers (such as infrared remote controllers) do not have a uniform signal coding format/protocol. That is to say, the remote control signals sent by different types of remote controllers often use different coding formats. /protocol to carry specific relevant information. In order to be compatible with various remote controllers, it is convenient for users to establish a remote control mechanism with other remote controllers, so the electronic device 12 of the present invention can be built with a variety of different encoding formats/protocols to interpret remote control signals of different formats/protocols , analyze the corresponding format signal from these remote control signals. Please refer to FIG. 6 first; FIG. 6 illustrates the situation where the remote control signal carries specific relevant information under different encoding formats/protocols. As shown in Figure 6, every time a button is pressed on the remote controller, the remote controller will send out a whole section of remote control signal which can be regarded as a data packet. Different waveforms form digital 0 and digital 1 respectively; combining waveform segments of multiple digital bits can form a remote control signal in the form of a data packet. In the remote control signal in the form of data packets, it can include the preamble (lead), client code (custom code)/inverted client code, data code (data code)/inverted data code and separation code, etc. . Among them, the client code/reverse client code is used to identify the remote control itself, and the data code/reverse data code can be used to carry specific information to identify different remote control signals. That is to say, on the same remote control, the remote control signal data packets corresponding to different keys may have the same client code (inverted client code), but the remote control signal data packets corresponding to different keys will have different data codes ( reverse data code), so that different remote control signals correspond to different buttons.

However, remote control signal data packets sent by remote controllers with different formats/protocols will have different preambles, and other parts of the data packets will also include different numbers of bits. For example, as shown in Figure 6, under the encoding format/protocol of NEC, the client code/reverse client code and the data code/reverse data code are all 8 bits respectively, and there is no separation code (separation code number of digits is 0). Under the encoding format/protocol of SANY0, the client code/reverse client code has 13 bits respectively, and the length of the data code/reverse data code is 8 bits. Under Mitsbuishi's encoding format/protocol, the client code and data code are 8 bits long respectively, there is no reversed client code and reversed data code, and there is a 1-bit separation code. In addition, different manufacturers may also launch remote controls with different formats/protocols.

In order to be able to widely adapt to remote control signals of various encoding formats/protocols, and support users to establish remote control mechanisms with electronic devices 12 with different types of remote controls, the electronic device 12 of the present invention should have a specific remote control signal interpretation mechanism, so as to obtain from different The corresponding format signal is parsed from the remote control signal of the encoding format/protocol to correspond to various remote control signals. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this remote control signal interpretation mechanism can be built in a variety of remote control signal encoding formats/protocols (such as the aforementioned NEC, SANY0 and Mitsbuishi encoding formats/protocols); if the remote control signal does not belong to these The built-in remote control signal encoding format/protocol can form a format signal through proper signal processing (such as sampling), and this format signal can represent the original remote control signal. For this remote control signal interpretation mechanism, please refer to FIG. 7 (and also refer to FIG. 1); FIG. In the receiving module 18 of the electronic device 12 , the receiving module 18 may further include a receiving circuit 38 , an identification module 40 , a decoding module 42 and a sampling module 46 . The receiving circuit 38 can receive the remote control signal as an electronic remote control signal and transmit it to the identification module 40 . For example, the receiving circuit 38 can be provided with circuits such as light sensors to sense infrared remote control signals and convert them into electronic remote control signals. The recognition module 40 of the present invention can judge whether the coding format/protocol of the remote control signal belongs to the built-in coding format/protocol of the present invention according to the electronic remote control signal. For example, the identification module 40 can compare the preamble in the remote control signal, and judge whether the electronic remote control signal conforms to a certain built-in encoding format/protocol according to the form of the preamble. If yes, then transmit the electronic remote control signal to the decoding module 42, and the decoding module 42 can decode the electronic remote control signal according to the built-in remote control signal coding format/protocol, and obtain the client in the electronic remote control signal Code and data code, and use the client code and data code as the format signal corresponding to the remote control signal.

In contrast, if the identification module 40 finds that the encoding format of the electronic remote control signal does not conform to the built-in remote control signal format/protocol, the identification module 40 will transmit the electronic remote control signal to the sampling module 46, and the sampling module 46 will target the electronic remote control signal. The waveform of the signal is sampled (for example, the first rising edge/falling edge starts to trigger the sampling when the level in the remote control signal changes), and a series of digital data obtained by sampling can be used as the format corresponding to the remote control signal signal. In a word, the receiving module 18 in the present invention should be able to obtain representative relevant information (especially digital information) from the remote control signal to form a corresponding format signal, and the format signal represents/corresponds to the remote control signal. In the setting mode, the format signal obtained by the receiving module 18 from the remote control signal can be used to define the reference format signal corresponding to each function, and in the normal mode, the format signal obtained by the receiving module 18 from the subsequent remote control signal will be Compare with each reference format signal, and then realize the remote control mechanism.

Since the present invention removes the one-to-one relationship between the electronic device and the dedicated remote control in the existing remote control mechanism, the present invention can realize various applications. Please refer to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 (and refer to FIG. 1 together); FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrate different application situations of the present invention. First of all, what is shown in FIG. 8 is that in the electronic system 10 of the present invention, the user can use the technology of the present invention to remotely control The same electronic device 12 . Except that the electronic device 12 itself can have a dedicated remote control (such as the remote control 30), the user can also choose other remote control 30b by himself, and use the setting mode/program (Fig. 2, Fig. 4) to establish the remote control 30b pair The remote control mechanism of the electronic device 12 . For example, the user can specify the function F(1) in the setting program to set the remote control mechanism of the function F(1), and then press the button Kb(1) on the remote controller 30b to send the remote control signal IRb(1), The electronic device 12 adds the corresponding format signal Ifb(1) to the reference format signal R(1) corresponding to the function F(1), so that the function F(1) can simultaneously correspond to the format signals Ifb(1) and If(2 ). In this way, both the key K(2) on the remote controller 30 and the key Kb(1) on the remote controller 30b can be used to control the function F(1) of the electronic device 12 . In other words, if the user feels that the dedicated remote control of the electronic device 12 is not suitable, or the buttons are too complicated and the remote control functions are too many to cause trouble, the user can refer to the application example in FIG. 8 and choose another one that is more suitable. remote control; the user can use the setting mode/program of the present invention to map some commonly used functions of the electronic device to the buttons on the optional remote control, and other less commonly used functions do not need to be set on the optional remote control button. In this way, the user can customize a more suitable optional remote controller.

As shown in FIG. 9, if the technology of the present invention can be applied to different electronic devices, the present invention can integrate the remote control mechanisms of different electronic devices on the same remote control, and use the same remote control to remotely control different electronic devices. In the application example of FIG. 9 , in addition to the electronic device 12 in the electronic system 10 of the present invention, there is another electronic device 12b whose basic function block is the same as that of the electronic device 12, so it can also operate in the setting mode/general mode , to create a custom remote control mechanism by the user. Using the technology of the present invention, the user can first set the electronic device 12 such that the buttons K ( Q0 ) to K ( Q1 ) on the remote controller correspond to the functions F ( 1 ) to F (M) of the electronic device 12 . Then, the user can configure the electronic device 12b again, so that the buttons K ( Q2 ) to K ( Q3 ) on the remote controller correspond to the functions Fb ( 1 ) to Fb (M) of the electronic device 12 b. After finishing the setting, the user can use the same remote controller 30 to remotely control different functions of different electronic devices. Utilizing the application example of the present invention in FIG. 9 , the user can integrate the remote control mechanisms of different electronic devices on the same remote control, such as integrating the remote control mechanisms of a TV and a digital versatile disc player on the same remote control, so that It is convenient to use the same remote controller to remotely control various electronic devices.

To sum up, under the remote control mechanism of the prior art, the electronic device can only be fixedly equipped with a dedicated remote control, and the user can only accommodate the dedicated remote control. In contrast, the remote control mechanism of the present invention allows the user to arrange the functions of the remote control corresponding to the buttons on the remote control, so that the user can customize the button configuration of the remote control, and even allow the user to choose other types of remote control. Therefore, the present invention can make the remote control mechanism of the electronic device/system better meet the individual needs of users, and can also reduce the cost and time for maintaining the remote control mechanism. In the electronic device of the present invention, each module can be realized by hardware circuit or software/firmware respectively. For example, in FIG. 1, the comparison module 22, the setting module 26, and the management module 24 of the electronic device 12 can be integrated into the same microprocessor with the control module 16, or different software can be executed by a microprocessor. /Firmware program code to realize the functions of different modules. In addition, the recognition module 40, the decoding module 42, and the sampling module 46 in FIG. 7 can also be integrated into a microprocessor together with the management module 24, the setting module 26, the comparison module 22, and the control module 16. In addition, in addition to the remote control, the present invention is also applicable to other input peripherals, such as keyboard/mouse, etc., so that users can reset/customize the control mechanism between these input peripherals and electronic devices.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A method for enabling an electronic device to cooperate with a custom remote control, comprising: Prompting the user of a given function of the electronic device and prompting the user to initiate user-defined controls on the customized remote control; Make the electronic device receive a remote control signal corresponding to the user's self-defined control; and recording the relevant information of the remote control signal as a corresponding reference format signal, wherein the reference format signal corresponds to the given function, When recording the relevant information of the remote control signal as a corresponding reference format signal, it also includes: Decoding the remote control signal according to a predetermined encoding format to decode a digital content of the remote control signal, and recording the digital content as the reference format signal; or sampling the waveform of the remote control signal and recording the sampling results as the reference format signal; or Record a variety of preset encoding formats, identifying whether the signal format of the remote control signal conforms to one of the multiple default encoding formats, and If the signal format of the remote control signal conforms to a certain encoding format, decode the remote control signal according to the encoding format to decode the digital content of the remote control signal, and record the digital content as the reference format signal; if the If the signal format of the remote control signal does not conform to any preset encoding format, the waveform of the remote control signal is sampled, and the sampling result is recorded as the reference format signal. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a user interface on the electronic device; prompting the user with multiple functions of the electronic device through the user interface, and allowing the user to select a given function from the multiple functions through the user interface; and After the user selects the given function, the given function is prompted to the user via the user interface, and the user is prompted to start user-defined control on the remote controller. 3. An electronic device that can cooperate with a custom remote control, the electronic device includes: A storage module, which can make each function of the electronic device correspond to a reference format signal, and record the content of each reference format signal; A receiving module, used to receive a remote control signal sent by the custom remote control, so as to provide a corresponding format signal according to the relevant information of the remote control signal; an interface module, which allows the user to select a given function of the electronic device, so that the reference format signal corresponding to the given function in the storage module can be set; and A management module, which can operate in a setting mode and a general mode; when the management module operates in the setting mode, the management module can transmit the format signal provided by the receiving module to a setting module, so that the The setting module can set the content of each reference format signal in the storage module according to the format signal provided by the receiving module; and when the management module operates in the normal mode, the management module can transmit the format signal provided by the receiving module to A comparison module. 4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the comparison module is used to compare the corresponding format signal of the receiving module with each reference format signal; if the corresponding format signal matches a certain reference format signal, then use A control module executes the function corresponding to the given reference format. 5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein there are a plurality of buttons on the custom remote controller, and when each button is pressed, the custom remote controller can send a corresponding remote control signal; in the management module When operating in the setting mode, after the user selects a given function of the electronic device through the interface module, the interface module can prompt the user to press a user-selected button on the remote controller; and the The receiving module can receive the remote control signal corresponding to the button, so that the management module can transmit the format signal corresponding to the remote control signal to the setting module. 6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the interface module can use voice or visual images to prompt the user; or, the interface module can include a plurality of buttons, and the user can press each button to access the interface from the interface. Select the given function on the module; or, the interface module can be a touch display panel for the user to select the desired function by touch. 7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the receiving module further comprises: A receiving circuit for receiving the wireless remote control signal of the remote controller and providing a corresponding electronic remote control signal; An identification module, which records multiple encoding formats and can identify whether the signal format of the electronic remote control signal conforms to one of the multiple encoding formats; and A decoding module, if the signal format of the electronic remote control signal conforms to a certain coding format, the decoding module can decode the remote control signal according to the coding format to decode the digital content of the remote control signal, and convert the The digital content is used as the format signal corresponding to the remote control signal. 8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the receiving module further comprises: A sampling module, if the identification module judges that the signal format of the electronic remote control signal does not conform to any encoding format, the sampling module can sample the waveform of the electronic remote control signal, and use the sampling result as the corresponding format of the remote control signal signal. 9. An electronic system with a remote control mechanism that can be customized by the user, the electronic system includes: At least one remote control, each remote control can be manipulated by the user to send a corresponding remote control signal; and At least one electronic device, each electronic device includes: a control module, which can control the electronic device to perform at least one function; A storage module, which can make each function of the electronic device correspond to a reference format signal, and record the content of each reference format signal; a setting module, used to set the content of each reference format signal in the storage module; A receiving module, used to receive the remote control signals sent by each remote control, and provide a corresponding format signal according to the relevant information of the remote control signals; A management module, which can operate in a setting mode and a general mode; when the management module is operating in the setting mode, the management module can transmit the format signal provided by the receiving module to the setting module; and when When the management module operates in the normal mode, the management module can transmit the format signal provided by the receiving module to a comparison module; and An interface module, which can be operated by the user; when the management module is operating in the setting mode, the user can select a given function of the electronic device through the interface module, and the setting module can be based on the management The format signal sent by the module and set the reference format signal corresponding to the given function in the storage module; and when the management module is operating in the normal mode, the receiving module can continue to receive subsequent remote control signals and provide the corresponding format signal, and the comparison module can compare the format signal sent by the management module with each reference format signal; if the format signal matches a certain reference format signal, the comparison module can make the control module execute the given reference format corresponding function.

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