JP2001275171A - Remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control system that can control electric devices such as existing lighting fixtures, an air-conditioner, video and television from a remote place without replacing them. SOLUTION: In the remote control system D using a phone 2 with a light emitting element where the light emitting element 15 capable of emitting near infrared ray pulses is provided to a phone main body 4, when an instruction from a communication terminal 3 capable of communication with the phone 2 with the light emitting element is inputted into the pone 2 with the light emitting element, the phone 2 generates a remote control signal to an electric device 1 controllable by a near infrared ray remote commander and emits near infrared ray pulses.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control system, and more particularly, to a remote control system capable of controlling an electric device or the like from a remote place where near infrared rays cannot reach via a communication terminal. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a home automation system has been proposed as an electrification system for ordinary households. This home automation system installs a control panel in the home and connects it to a telephone line,
Various electric devices are connected to this control panel in a circuit form. This allows the user to control various home electrical appliances from the telephone via the telephone line even when away from home. In other words, the user can use the home automation system to perform various remote operations, such as operating the air conditioner even when going out and controlling the indoor temperature to just the right level when returning home. Can be.

[0003]

However, introduction of the above-mentioned conventional home automation system to an existing house requires a lot of wiring work, and a great expense is required for the wiring work. In addition, it was inevitable that the more the number of wirings, the worse the appearance. In addition, in order to connect to the home automation system, corresponding electric equipment is required, and when introducing this system, it is necessary to replace an existing electric product with another one. Needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide a remote control device that can be controlled from a remote place without replacing existing lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and electric equipment such as video and television. It is to provide an operation system.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a remote control system according to the present invention uses a telephone equipped with a light emitting element having a light emitting element capable of emitting near-infrared pulses in a telephone body. In the operation system, when a command from a communication terminal capable of communicating with the light-emitting element-equipped telephone is input to the light-emitting element-equipped telephone, a remote control signal for an electric device controllable by a near-infrared remote control is generated. , And pulsed light was emitted as near-infrared light.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a remote control system which can be controlled from a remote place without replacing existing lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and electric equipment such as video and television. That is, according to the above configuration,
If the light emitting unit of the telephone with the light emitting element is arranged in advance toward an electric device to be controlled, by inputting a predetermined command from an external communication terminal to the telephone body, the electric device to be controlled is This makes it possible to control the electric device even from a remote place outside the line of sight of the electric device.

[0007] In particular, since most of recent electric appliances can perform remote control by near-infrared rays, if the remote control system of the present invention is used, many existing electric appliances are controlled from a remote place by the remote control signal. It is possible,
The versatility is high because there is no need for a connection terminal corresponding to a separate home automation system. Note that the expression “remote location” in the present invention indicates a remote location where near infrared rays do not directly reach the electrical device to be controlled. For home use, for example, in a different room or outside Is shown.

[0008] The light-emitting device-equipped telephone may have a storage unit capable of storing the remote control signal as a control signal library.

In this case, for example, if a telephone with a light emitting element is sold in a state where a remote control signal for an electric device is stored in a storage unit in advance, the user can use the light emitting element with a light emitting element when using the remote control system. Initial settings of the telephone can be easily performed. That is, since the format of the remote control signal is determined by the Home Appliances Association, if the content to be stored in the storage unit as the remote control signal is a numeric value such as a custom code or a data code, the telephone of the light emitting element-equipped telephone may be used. Initial setting can be easily performed using the numerical values.

Further, the light-emitting element-equipped telephone has a near-infrared light receiving section, and the light-receiving section receives a remote control signal transmitted as near infrared from a near-infrared remote control dedicated to electric equipment to be controlled, It may be possible to newly add to the control signal library of the storage unit (claim 3).

In this case, a remote control signal for various electric devices can be newly stored in the storage unit, so that the telephone with the light emitting element can be used not only for the existing remote controllable electric devices but also one after another. Versatility will be improved because it can be used in correspondence with a new product of a remote controllable electric device to be released in Japan.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a remote operation system D according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The remote operation system D is an electric device 1 to be controlled.
The electronic device 1 is controlled by inputting a command from the communication terminal 3 capable of communicating with the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 to the telephone 2 with the light-emitting element arranged at a position where the electric device 1 can be controlled. Things.

The electric device 1 may be anything as long as it can be operated by remote control using near-infrared rays, and examples thereof include an air conditioner 1a and a television 1b. Further, a lighting apparatus provided with a near-infrared / ambient illuminance detection unit described in the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 11-244900 may be used.

The light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 is a near-infrared remote controller (not shown) dedicated to the electric equipment 1 to be controlled.
, A remote control signal transmitted as near-infrared light from the remote control device, and the remote control signal can be newly stored as a control signal library (not shown). When a command input is received from the communication terminal 3, the control unit 10 described later generates or selects a remote control signal corresponding to the command input from a control signal library, and emits a pulse of the remote control signal as near-infrared light. It is possible. The telephone with a light emitting element 2 having the above-mentioned function is provided with a light emitting unit 5 for making a remote control signal near infrared and emitting a pulse, and a remote control signal sent as near infrared from the near infrared remote control. And a light receiving unit 6 for receiving.

The telephone body 4 is, for example, a portable telephone which can be connected to a telephone network (not shown) by electromagnetic waves w. Note that a mobile phone as used herein refers to a communication device that is portable and capable of transmitting commands using a telephone line network, such as a digital mobile communication service (PHS) or a home system. Includes telephone handset, portable mobile, etc. Note that the telephone body 4 is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be easily rearranged even if it is impossible to carry a facsimile or a home telephone base unit, and can be connected to a telephone network. A communication device that can be used may be used. In addition,
The telephone network includes a mobile telephone network.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the telephone 2 with light emitting elements, and FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of the telephone 2 with light emitting elements. The telephone body 4 includes an antenna 8 a provided outside the telephone body 4.
A communication circuit 8 connected to the antenna; a battery 9; a control unit 10 including a CPU and a storage unit having various set value data therein; and an oscillation circuit 11 for supplying a pulse for operating the CPU. , A key input switch 12, a display unit 13, and an audio processing unit 14.

The control unit 10 transmits a remote control signal corresponding to a command input from the communication terminal 3 transmitted via the telephone line network 7, the antenna 8 a and the communication circuit 8 from the light emitting unit 5 to an electric device. 1 and a remote control signal from the near-infrared remote controller received by the light receiving unit 6.

A control signal library (not shown) is provided inside the storage unit of the control unit 10, and a remote control signal received by the light receiving unit 6 can be newly added to the control signal library. It is possible.

The key input switch 12 includes a power switch P for turning on / off the power, numeric keys N from 0 to 9, an asterisk (*) key, and a sharp (♯) key.
Special keys U, function keys F
And a cursor key C for moving the cursor vertically and horizontally.

The light emitting section 5 includes a light emitting diode 15 which is a light emitting element capable of emitting near-infrared pulses,
Light emitting element control circuit 1 for controlling the light emitting diode 15
Consists of six. The light emitting diode 15 is located at an appropriate position of the telephone main body 4 (for example, on the same side as the antenna 8a).
The light emitting element control circuit 16
Is provided inside the telephone body 4 and
It is electrically connected to the control unit 10.

The light receiving section 6 includes a photodiode 17 as a light receiving element capable of receiving near infrared rays, and a light receiving element control circuit 18 for controlling the photodiode 17.
Consists of The photodiode 17 is provided at an appropriate position of the telephone main body 4 (for example, on the same side as the antenna 8a).
Reference numeral 8 is provided inside the telephone main body 4 and is electrically connected to the control unit 10.

The positions where the light emitting diodes 15 and the photodiodes 17 are provided may be appropriately determined in consideration of the arrangement of the telephone 2 with the light emitting elements.

The communication terminal 3 only needs to be capable of communicating with the telephone body 4 via the telephone line network 7, and as shown in FIG. 1, for example, a PHS 3a,
b, telephone 3c capable of tone transmission. In addition,
As the communication terminal 3, another telephone 2 with a light emitting element may be used. When a normal mobile phone 7 (see FIG. 4) is used as the communication terminal 3, a remote control device 1 described later is used.
9 may be connected to enhance operability.

FIG. 4A is a front view schematically showing the configuration of the remote control device 19 before being connected to the portable telephone 7, and FIG. 4B is connected to the portable telephone 7. FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing the configuration of the remote control device 19 after the operation, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the remote control device 19, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing a configuration of a switch 20. The remote control device 19 includes a key input switch 20 dedicated to the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2, a battery 21,
The control unit 26 includes a CPU 22 and a storage unit 25 having various set value data 23 and a control signal library 24 therein, an oscillation circuit 27 that supplies a pulse for operating the CPU 22, and an interface 28. . Then, it is possible to connect to the mobile phone 7 via the interface 28.

The key input switch 20 includes a power switch Q for turning on / off the power, numeric keys M from 0 to 12, a recording key, a TV key, an air conditioner key, a lighting key, a video key, and a spare one key. , A special key V such as two spare keys, an operation key, a setting key, a registration key, a reading key, and a transfer key, and a cursor key B for moving a cursor up, down, left and right.

Remote control device 19 having the above configuration
Is connected to, for example, one side of the mobile phone 7 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), if it is configured to be foldable in a state where it is connected to the mobile phone 7, it can be stored compactly. Note that folding may not be possible.

As described above, when the communication terminal 3 is a mobile phone 7 that is widely used, versatility is enhanced. Usually, since a serial communication terminal is provided in the mobile phone, the remote control device 19 can be easily connected to an existing serial communication terminal. Further, since the telephone line is wired everywhere, whether wired or wireless, the user can use the telephone line at any time while away from home to use each electric device 1.
Can be controlled, and the convenience is improved.

Next, the operation of the remote control system D having the above configuration will be described. First, the initial setting of the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 used for the remote control system D will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, various remote control signals of different types are used for each electric device 1 (for example, television 1b) depending on the manufacturer and the manufacturing time. Therefore, in the storage unit of the control unit 10, a remote control signal for operating each electric device 1 of a main maker that is likely to be used is stored in advance as a control signal library.

Therefore, when the user operates the telephone 2 with the light emitting element,
In order to set a remote control signal for a specific electric device 1, a necessary remote control signal for the electric device 1 is extracted from preset remote control signals stored in advance, and the manufacturer of the electric device 1 What is necessary is just to set according to a type. By performing this initial setting, that is, by specifying the manufacturer and type (hereinafter referred to as remote control initial setting data) of the electric device 1 to be controlled, it is possible to control the desired electric device 1 using the telephone 2 with the light emitting element. Becomes When the electric devices 1 to be controlled are, for example, five televisions 1b, air conditioners 1a, lighting fixtures 1d, videos 1c, and others 1e, it is necessary to perform initial settings for each of them.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation for performing the initial setting. The initial setting is performed by operating the key input switch 12 of the telephone 2 with the light emitting element. Hereinafter, the electric device 1 to be controlled is
An operation method for performing the initial setting in the case of the television 1b of the type 1 of the company P (for example, a television manufactured before 1989) will be described. With the power of the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 turned ON, first, the function key F is pressed (S1). Then, remote control operation,
A plurality of commands such as remote control setting 1 and remote control setting 2 are displayed. Then, the command of the remote control setting 1 is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S2).
Then, a television, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture,
Multiple commands are displayed, such as video, etc. Then, a command of the television is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S3). Then, P is displayed on the display unit 13.
A plurality of commands such as company, company T and company A are displayed. Then, the command of company P is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S4). Then, a plurality of commands such as type 1, type 2, and type 3 are displayed on the display unit 13. Then, the type 1 command is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S5). Then, the display unit 1
In 3, a command of registration is displayed. Then, when the enter button is pressed (S6), the initial setting is completed.

In the case where the light emitting element telephone 2 is provided with a function capable of appropriately downloading a remote control signal of each electric device 1 required by the control unit 10 from a telephone line or the like, The initial settings are stored in a library on the Internet, for example, from a desired electrical device 1.
By downloading remote control initial setting data corresponding to the manufacturer and type of the remote control system D, a remote control signal corresponding to the latest electric device 1 can be easily obtained, and the future remote control system D Can be provided.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure for adding / registering a remote control signal to a control signal library. Further, even when the remote control initial setting data of the electric device 1 to be controlled is not in the control signal library of the control unit 10, the remote control signal of the electric device 1 is newly added and registered in the control signal library. By doing so, it is possible to respond. Hereinafter, the television 1b
An operation procedure for adding / registering a remote control signal, which is a command to turn on the power supply, to the control signal library will be described with reference to FIG. With the power of the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 turned ON, first, the function key F is pressed (S1). Then, a plurality of commands such as remote control operation, remote control setting 1 and remote control setting 2 are displayed on the display unit 13. Then, the command of the remote control setting 2 is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S7). Then, a display indicating that pulse reception has been started is displayed on the display unit 13, so that the photodiode 17 of the telephone 2 with the light-emitting element and the light-emitting diode (not shown) of the near-infrared remote controller are faced to each other. A button for turning on the power of the television 1b of the remote controller is pressed (S8). Then, a display indicating that reception has been completed is displayed on the display unit 13, and subsequently, a plurality of commands such as a television, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, a video, and the like are displayed. Therefore,
Using the cursor key C, a television command is selected and determined (S9). Then, the display unit 13 displays ON,
A plurality of commands such as OFF, high volume, low volume, and CH2 are displayed. Therefore, an ON command is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S10). Then, a command of registration is displayed on the display unit 13. Therefore,
When the enter button is pressed (S11), the operation of adding the control signal library is completed.

As described above, if means for reading the light emission pulse of the near infrared remote controller dedicated to the electric equipment 1 to be controlled directly from the light receiving element of the telephone 2 with light emitting element and storing it in the storage section of the control section 10 is provided. A telephone with a light-emitting element 2
And it is very excellent in terms of versatility.

FIG. 10 shows that the remote control system D
6 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure when operating the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 from an external communication terminal 3. Next, the operation of the remote operation system D will be described.
In order to use the remote control system D, the telephone 2 with the light emitting element is controlled so that the electric equipment 1 to be controlled can be controlled, that is, the light receiving of the electric equipment 1 within a range where the light emitting pulse from the light emitting diode 15 reaches. Parts (not shown) need to be arranged.

In order to control the electric equipment 1 to be controlled using the external communication terminal 3 (for example, a mobile phone), first, the telephone number of the telephone 2 with the light emitting element (for example, 075-311-). 1540) is input by pressing the key input switch 12 (S12). After that, if no one answers the phone, the answering machine will guide you. At this time, when the sharp (♯) key is pressed, the answering machine stops guiding, and the mode switches to the password input mode. Then, a recitation number (for example, 1234) is input (S13). Then, instead of the command input mode, a number corresponding to a desired command may be input (S14), and by this operation, a predetermined remote control signal is transmitted from the light emitting unit 5 of the telephone with light emitting element 2 to the electric device 1. Then, the electric device 1 is controlled. This completes the communication.

The command in S14 includes, for example, starting and stopping of video recording, turning on / off the air conditioner, and turning off the air conditioner.
F, lighting and extinguishing of lighting equipment, etc., and a number corresponding to each command is associated. For example, when associating each command with a two-digit number, each electric device 1 may be associated with the tenth digit, and an operation may be associated with the first digit. That is, the tenth digit is 1 for the television 1b, 2 for the air conditioner 1a, 3 for the lighting fixture 1d, 4 for the video 1c, 5 for the other 1e, and the first digit is 0 for OFF, 1 is ON, 2 is UP, 4 is DOW
If N and 5 correspond to recording, respectively, the command to start video recording can be set to 45, and the lighting of the lighting equipment can be set to 31. The association between each command and each command is not limited to the above configuration.

When the communication terminal 3 is a normal mobile phone, most of the communication terminals 3 are provided with a memo function and the like.
Even if the user forgets the number corresponding to the command, it can be confirmed immediately.

FIG. 11 shows that the communication terminal 3 for inputting a command to the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 is
It is a flowchart which shows the operation procedure in case of is roughly. The control of the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 (hereinafter, called the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 on the receiving side), which is placed at a position where the electric device 1 can be controlled in advance, is controlled by another light-emitting-element-equipped telephone 2 In this case, the telephone 2 with the light emitting element on the sending side is used.
The following describes the operation when the lighting apparatus 1c is turned on, the television 1b is activated, the channel 2 is selected, and the volume is increased using the telephone 2 with the light emitting element on the receiving side.

First, the telephone number (for example, 075-311-1540) of the light-emitting element telephone 2 on the receiving side is input to the telephone 2 with light-emitting element on the sending side by pressing the key input switch 12 (S12). After that, if no one answers the phone, the answering machine will guide you. At this time, when the sharp (♯) key is pressed, the answering machine stops guiding, and the mode switches to the password input mode. So the recitation number (for example,
1234) is input (S13). Then, instead of the command input mode, when the function key F is pressed in this mode (S15), a plurality of commands such as remote control operation, remote control setting 1, and remote control setting 2 are displayed on the display unit 13. Then, the command of the remote control operation is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S16). Then, the display unit 13 displays a plurality of commands such as a television, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, a video, and the like. Therefore,
Using the cursor key C, a command for the lighting fixture is selected and determined (S17). Then, the display unit 13 displays O
A plurality of commands such as N and OFF are displayed. Therefore,
The ON command is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S18). The lighting is turned on by the operation up to this point. In step S18, the operation of pressing the enter button after selecting the ON command is performed. However, this operation may be performed by, for example, pressing a call button.

Subsequently, when the function key F is pressed (S19),
A plurality of commands such as remote control operation, remote control setting 1 and remote control setting 2 are displayed on the display unit 13. Then, a command of the remote control operation is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S20). Then, the display unit 1
In 3, a plurality of commands such as a television, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, a video, and the like are displayed. Then, a command of the television is selected and determined using the cursor key C (S21). Then, a plurality of commands such as ON and OFF are displayed on the display unit 13. So, cursor key C
Is used to select and determine an ON command (S2).
2). The TV is activated by the above operations. In step S22, an operation of pressing an enter button after selecting an ON command is performed. However, this operation may be performed by pressing a call button, for example.

After S22, a channel input mode is set. Then, 2 of the numeric key N is pressed (S2
3). By this operation, the channel of the television 1b is set to 2
become. After the step S23, a volume adjustment mode is set. Then, the cursor key C is pressed (S24). This operation increases the volume of the television 1b. This completes the communication.

In S23, when a two-digit channel is input, a preset abbreviated number or code may be used. That is, for example, channel 10 is set to an asterisk (*) key,
Corresponds to the sharp (♯) key, respectively.
Channel selection can be performed more quickly.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure for controlling the light-emitting element-equipped telephone 2 using a portable telephone to which the remote control device 19 is connected. Hereinafter, an operation procedure for transmitting a command from the mobile phone to which the remote control device 19 is connected to the light-emitting element-equipped phone 2 to record a video will be described. First, the telephone number of the telephone 2 with the light emitting element (for example, 075-311
-1540) is input by pressing the key input switch 12 (S12). After that, if no one answers the phone, the answering machine will guide you. At this time, when the sharp (♯) key is pressed, the answering machine stops guiding, and the mode switches to the password input mode. So the recitation number (for example, 1234)
Is input (S13). Then, the mode is changed to the command input mode. In this mode, the video key is pressed (S2).
5) Subsequently, when the recording key is pressed (S26), video recording is started.

In the remote operation system D having the above configuration, when the above-mentioned communication terminal 3 is operated (S1 to S26).
Alternatively, the completion of each process may be confirmed by voice, light, or the like. Further, each operation (S1 to S26) may be performed according to, for example, voice guidance.

According to the remote control system D having the above-described configuration, the electric equipment 1 at home or work can be instantaneously transferred to a remote place, for example, video recording and room temperature adjustment using an air conditioner can be easily performed from outside. Operation can be performed, and further, such effects can be realized at low cost.

Further, if the function of the telephone 2 with a light emitting element having a light emitting element and a light receiving element is applied, stored data such as a telephone number, a mail address, a memo, and a schedule stored in a memory (storage unit) can be transmitted to a near infrared ray. For example, the storage data can be transferred cordlessly using near-infrared pulses when the mobile phone is replaced by a new one.

[0047]

As described above, according to the remote control system of the present invention, control can be performed from a remote place without replacing existing lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and electric equipment such as video and television. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a remote operation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a configuration of a telephone with a light emitting element in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing a configuration of a telephone with a light emitting element in the embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a front view schematically showing a configuration of a remote control device before being connected to a mobile phone, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing a configuration of a remote control device after being connected to a mobile phone.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of the remote control device.

FIG. 6 is a front view schematically showing a configuration of a key input switch of the remote control device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a list of remote control signals of the electric device in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an operation for performing an initial setting of the light-emitting element-equipped telephone in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure when adding / registering a remote control signal to a control signal library.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure when operating the telephone with the light emitting element from an external communication terminal by the remote operation system.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an operation procedure when the communication terminal that inputs a command to the telephone with a light emitting element is a telephone with a light emitting element.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation procedure when controlling the telephone with a light-emitting element using a mobile phone to which a remote control device is connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric equipment, 2 ... Telephone with light emitting element, 3 ... Communication terminal,
4. Phone body, 15 Light emitting device, D Remote control system.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) H04N 5/00 H04N 5/00 A F term (reference) 3L061 BB01 5C056 AA05 BA01 BA08 BA10 CA08 CA11 CA13 CA19 DA01 EA01 EA06 EA09 5K048 BA12 DB04 DC07 EB02 HA03 5K101 KK11 NN21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A remote control system using a light-emitting element-equipped telephone having a light-emitting element capable of emitting near-infrared pulses in a telephone body, wherein the communication with the light-emitting element-equipped telephone is possible. When a command from the terminal is input to the light-emitting device-equipped phone, a remote control signal for an electric device that can be controlled by the near-infrared remote control is generated,
A remote control system characterized in that it emits near infrared rays and emits pulses. 2. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the telephone with a light emitting element has a storage unit capable of storing the remote control signal as a control signal library. 3. The light-emitting element-equipped telephone has a near-infrared light receiving unit, and receives a remote control signal transmitted as near infrared from a near-infrared remote controller dedicated to an electric device to be controlled, in the light receiving unit. The remote control system according to claim 2, wherein the remote control system can be newly added to a control signal library of the storage unit.