JP2000330700A - Information processor and remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To facilitate remote control operation when audio is reproduced by remote control of a PC. A wireless remote controller of a PC includes a first remote controller that instructs a first direction (x, y directions) obliquely in front, rear, left, and right directions.
Control stick 1 capable of performing a second operation in a direction (z direction) orthogonal to the surface of the remote controller
4, when the second operation is performed on the control stick 14, the operation mode is switched between the mouse mode and the audio control mode, and when the first operation is performed, the operation content is changed to the current operation mode. And a microcomputer 16 for converting the data into data according to the mode state and transmitting the data from the IR transmitter 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer capable of reproducing, for example, images and sounds, and a remote controller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers (hereinafter referred to as P
C), the development of multimedia technology
In addition to music CD playback, music playback technology (hereinafter, referred to as silicon audio technology) using an audio compression / decompression technology such as MP3 has been developed.

[0003] This silicon audio technology is a technology that secures almost the same sound quality as a CD while compressing the data size to one tenth or less as compared with a CD. It is expected that the number of users will increase more and more in the future because of the features such as the ability to import data to the top and playback on a PC and facilitate file management.

[0004] Currently, in most cases, on a PC, silicon audio is reproduced using dedicated reproduction software (player software). For this reason, the user operates a graphic user interface (GUI) of the player software using an instruction operating means such as a mouse connected to the PC.

[0005] On the other hand, among PCs, desktop PCs and the like require a keyboard and a mouse.
In addition to the S operation, an operation using a wireless remote control has also come to be seen.

[0006] A wireless remote control is generally provided with a control stick (operation lever), a selection execution button (click button), and the like. By operating these buttons, a pointer (arrow, etc.) on the screen is moved in the same manner as a mouse. It can be performed.

Therefore, when playing back silicon audio using such a remote control, similarly to the case of using a mouse, the function operation buttons (playback button, fast forward button, By moving the pointer to a rewind button or the like and pressing the click button, the music is reproduced by selecting and operating the function of the player software.

[0008]

However, in order to move the pointer on the screen with the control stick on such a remote controller to match the position of the operation button of the GUI of the player software, it is necessary to operate the control stick properly Is required to be moved to the position of the operation button, and thus is not suitable when the operation is unfamiliar or when performing fine trick play.

On the other hand, for audio reproduction, it is conceivable to provide operation buttons such as a play button and a fast-forward button on the operation surface of the remote controller in advance in an independent manner. Since it is necessary to release one finger from another and press another button, it is too cumbersome to perform audio playback and other computer operations in parallel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and a remote control that can easily perform the basic operation of the above and the operation of the running software in parallel.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises x, y
An operation lever capable of performing a first operation in a first direction and a second operation in a z direction, and when a second operation is performed on the operation lever, a plurality of operation modes are sequentially switched to perform a first operation. Is performed, a remote controller having generating means for generating data for the operation mode at that time, transmitting means for transmitting the generated data, receiving means for receiving data from the remote control, A main unit having control means for selecting a function of the running software or moving a pointer on the screen according to the data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the control means includes:
When the second operation on the operation lever is continuously performed, an operation mode other than the function selection of the activated software or the movement of the pointer on the screen is executed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the remote controller according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a movement instruction on the screen is operated in the x and y directions, and a switching instruction related to a software function is operated in the z direction. When the lever is operated in the z direction, a first operation mode for controlling system software and a second operation mode for controlling application software are sequentially switched, and the operation lever is moved to x, y
Means for generating and transmitting data according to the operation mode at the time of operation in the direction.

In the present invention, the first operation in the x and y directions and z
An operation lever capable of performing a second operation in the direction is provided on the remote controller. When the user performs a second operation on the operation lever, a plurality of operation modes are sequentially switched, and
Is performed, data for the operation mode at that time is generated and transmitted from the remote controller. When this data is received by the main unit, the function of the running software is selected or the pointer on the screen is moved according to the received data. A switching operation and a function selecting operation or a pointer moving operation can be performed. That is,
When the application software is operated by the computer, an instruction to the OS and an instruction to select a function to the application software can be performed without releasing the finger from the remote controller, thereby facilitating the operation of the remote controller.

When the second operation on the operation lever is performed continuously, an operation mode other than the function selection of the running software or the movement of the pointer on the screen is executed. It can support various functions.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows software (player software) for reproducing silicon audio according to the present invention.
Installed on a personal computer (P
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the PC main body and the wireless remote controller, FIG. 3 (a) is a front view of the remote controller, FIG. 3 (b) is a rear view of the remote controller, and FIG. 3 (c). 4A is a side view of the remote controller, FIG. 4A is a plan view showing the structure of the control stick, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 4A showing the structure of the control stick.

1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a desktop PC main body (hereinafter, referred to as PC main body) as a main body.
The PC body 1 includes an IR receiver 2 for receiving an infrared signal (data) emitted from a wireless remote controller 10, a microcomputer 3, a remote controller driver 4, player software 5, and an operating system 6 (hereinafter referred to as OS 6).
Etc. are provided.

The IR receiver 2 transfers the received data to the microcomputer 3. The microcomputer 3 converts the passed data to operate in the current mode state (mouse mode or reproduction control mode) and passes the converted data to the remote control driver 4. The remote control driver 4 drives the function of the player software 5 or the OS 6 based on the data of each mode passed from the microcomputer 3. The player software 5 is music reproduction software using an audio compression / decompression technique such as MP3. When data is received in the reproduction control mode during startup, the function button is selectively moved according to the received data. When data is received in the mouse mode, the OS 6 moves the mouse cursor according to the received data, and performs a selection and an execution operation. The player software 5 is not limited to MP3,
Music playback software using an audio compression / decompression technique such as AAC or TwinVQ may be used. Reference numeral 10 denotes a wireless remote controller for sending a signal to the PC main body 1 and operating it. The wireless remote control 10 includes an IR transmitter 11 and a function button 1
2, click button 13, control stick 14 as operation lever, mode LED 15, microcomputer 16
Etc. are provided.

The IR transmitter 11 converts the data passed from the microcomputer 16 into an infrared signal and transmits the infrared signal to the PC 1. The function button 12 is provided on the front side of the wireless remote controller 10 and is used to operate functions other than the audio reproduction function. The two click buttons 13 are provided on the rear side of the wireless remote controller 10 at positions operable with the index finger and the middle finger, and function as a mouse click button. The wireless remote control 10 is tilted so that the control stick 14 can be tilted in a first direction (x, y directions) such as front, rear, left, right, and diagonally.
Is swingably provided at a position on the front side of the device which can be operated by the thumb. The control stick 14 can also be pushed down (second direction) (z direction).
The mode LED 15 is a mode status notifying unit that indicates the status of each operation mode described below in two colors such as red and green. The microcomputer 16 has a function of converting the depression of the buttons 12 and 13 and the movement of the control stick 14 into data and transferring the data to the IR transmitter 11, and a function of switching modes according to the depression movement of the control stick 14. . The data conversion function of the microcomputer 16 is a function of generating reproduction control data / album selection data / mouse data and the like according to the operation of the control stick 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control stick 14 of the wireless remote controller 10 is composed of a plurality of switches 20 and 21 and a pressing portion 22 arranged on a base. The switches 21 are provided at a central portion directly below the pressing portion 22, and eight switches 20 are provided radially so as to surround the switch 21. The switch 21 has a stronger biasing force than the switch 20. Normally, when the control stick 14 is tilted, the switch 21 becomes a fulcrum,
Switch 2 in the direction in which control stick 14 is tilted
The switch 21 is turned on only when 0 is turned on and the control stick 14 is strongly pushed directly below.

In addition, the wireless remote controller 10
In some cases, for example, a button for starting the player software 5 or a variable volume button may be mounted.

Next, each mode will be described. PC
The microcomputer 3 of the main body 1 has a plurality of operation modes such as a silicon audio reproduction control mode (hereinafter referred to as a reproduction control mode), a mouse pointer operation mode (hereinafter referred to as a mouse mode), and an album selection mode. During startup, every time the control stick 14 is pressed down (z direction) once, mode switching data is transmitted, and the operation mode of the microcomputer 3 is switched.

The "mouse mode" is a mode in which the cursor on the screen is moved in a direction in which the control stick 14 is tilted in the x and y directions, and can be said to be a mode in which the basic operation functions of the computer are executed.

The "playback control mode" is a mode in which the user performs an operation of tilting the control stick 14 as described below to operate the audio playback function, so to speak, O
This is a mode for controlling the functions of the software operating under the environment of S6.

For example, tilt the control stick 14 forward (↑) once: Play (pause during playback), then tilt it once (↓): Stop: Continue tilting right (→): Fast forward Tilt left (←) Continue: Rewind Two times to the right (→): Next song (used in the second operation example) Two times to the left (←): Previous song (Used in the second operation example) 2 before (↑) Tilt down: Repeat playback, tilt down twice (↓): Album selection mode (used in Example 2) In the same mode, move the cursor by pushing down the control stick 14 and tilting it back and forth and left and right Can be.

By pressing the control stick 14 twice in succession, it becomes a decision button.

Thus, operations other than the above eight basic operations, such as shuffle play and music file search, can be performed by the GUI operation of the player software 5.

Hereinafter, a first operation example of the PC will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, when the player software 5 is started in the PC body 1, the initial value is set to the reproduction control mode (S101 in FIG. 5).

Then, the user operates the wireless remote control 10.
When the control stick 14 is pressed down with the thumb (S102), the mode of the PC body 1 is switched to the mouse mode (S103).

Subsequently, when the user tilts the control stick 14 in the desired direction with the thumb, the microcomputer 16 determines the mode at that time (S104). The data is converted into data for pointer operation (S105) and the IR transmitter 11
And the IR transmitter 11 transmits the passed data to the PC main unit 1.
Send to

When the control stick 14 is depressed again with the thumb, the mode is switched to the reproduction control mode. When the control stick 14 is tilted in a desired direction, the microcomputer 16 determines the mode at this time ( S104) In this case, since the playback control mode is set, the content of the direction operation of the control stick 14 is converted into data for audio playback control (S106), and I
The data is passed to the R transmitter 11, and the IR transmitter 11 transmits the passed data to the PC body 1.

On the other hand, on the PC main body 1 side, when data is received by the IR receiver 2, the microcomputer 3 converts the data and passes the data of each mode to the remote control driver 4.

When the data converted into each mode is passed to the remote control driver 4, the data is passed to the corresponding application, and the application operates based on the data. If the converted data is, for example, reproduction control data or album selection data, the remote control driver 4 passes the data to the player software 5, and the player software 5 operates the function button on the screen each time the player software 5 operates based on the data. Are sequentially selected. If the converted data is, for example, data for pointer operation, the remote control driver 4 passes the data to the OS 6, and the OS 6 moves the pointer on the screen in the operation direction based on the data.

Further, when the software end operation is performed (S
The microcomputer 3 switches the mode to the mouse mode (S108), and terminates the player software 5.

As described above, according to the first operation example, only the movement of the pointer on the screen can be performed only by the conventional control stick.
While operating the control stick, the pointer must be moved to the position of the operation button displayed on the screen by operating the control stick, and then another button must be pressed to instruct selection confirmation, but as in the present embodiment, Control stick 1
By adding the function of switching the playback control mode / mouse mode by the pushing operation of No. 4, the mouse pointer can be moved and the audio playback function can be operated by moving the control stick 14 back and forth, left and right without releasing the finger from the control stick 14. Can be performed in parallel and easily.

Next, a second operation example will be described. This second operation example is an application example of the first operation example,
This is an example in which is further multi-functional. In the case of the player software 5 such as MP3, unlike a music CD, the user selects a desired audio file from audio files stored in an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk device or a flash memory and changes the order of the reproduced music. A set playlist (hereinafter referred to as an album) can be created.

In the case of the second operation example, the PC body 1
A function called “album selection mode” for selecting a desired one from albums created in advance is further provided. The album refers to an album in which a plurality of music pieces are put together so as to be reproduced in a desired order.

In order to select the "album selection mode", the control stick 1 is selected in the same manner as the switching to the silicon audio reproduction mode of the first embodiment.
4 is pressed downward (second direction) (z direction). In this case, the control stick 14 is pressed.
By pressing twice continuously in the downward direction (second direction) (z direction), the mode is switched to the “album selection mode”.

As described above, when the "album selection mode" is provided, each process can be performed by operating the control stick 14 as follows.

For example, the control stick 14 is tilted forward (前) once: The currently displayed album is reproduced. (Enter playback control mode.) Tilt down once (↓): Return to playback control mode. Tilt right (→) once: Display the next album. Tilt left (←) once: Displays the previous album. Continue to tilt right (→): Fast forward (continuously display the next album at a fixed time interval) Continue to tilt left (←): Rewind (continuously display the previous album at a fixed time interval)

Hereinafter, a second operation example of the PC will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, when the player software 5 is started in the PC body 1, the initial value is set to the reproduction control mode (S201 in FIG. 6).

Then, the user operates the wireless remote control 10.
When the control stick 14 is pressed down with the thumb (S202), the mode of the PC body 1 is switched to the mouse mode (S203).

Subsequently, when the user tilts the control stick 14 in the desired direction with the thumb, the microcomputer 16 determines the mode at that time (S204). The data is converted into data for pointer operation (S205), and the IR transmitter 11
And the IR transmitter 11 transmits the passed data to the PC main unit 1.
Send to

When the control stick 14 is depressed again with the thumb, the mode is switched to the reproduction control mode. When the control stick 14 is tilted in a desired direction, the microcomputer 16 determines the mode at this time ( In this case, since the reproduction control mode is set, the contents of the direction operation of the control stick 14 are converted into data for audio reproduction control (S204).
06), the data is passed to the IR transmitter 11, and the IR transmitter 11 transmits the passed data to the PC main body 1.

On the other hand, when the data is received by the IR receiver 2, the microcomputer 3 determines the number of times the control stick 14 has been pressed (S 20).
7) Convert the data and pass the data of each mode to the remote control driver 4.

Here, for example, the control stick 1
If the button 4 has been pressed down twice (YES in S207), the operation of the control stick 14 is converted into data in the album selection mode (S208), and the remote control driver 4
The remote control driver 4 that has received the data passes the data to the player software 5, and when the player software 5 receives the data, the remote control driver 4 opens a screen displaying a list of a plurality of albums, and selects an album from the displayed screen. Are sequentially changed in the operation direction (S209). Further, when a software end operation is performed (YE in S210).
S), the microcomputer 3 switches the mode to the mouse mode (S211), and terminates the player software 5.

As described above, according to the second operation example, the audio playback operation and the PC operation can be performed in parallel in the normal use state without releasing the finger from the control stick 14 as in the first embodiment. In addition to the effect that the control stick 14 can be easily performed, the control stick 14 can be continuously pressed twice downward (in the second direction) (z direction).
Since the mode can be further switched to the "album selection mode" which is a third mode other than the reproduction control mode / mouse mode, an arbitrary music album can be easily selected and reproduced from a plurality of music albums created in advance. This makes it possible to reduce the number of operations of setting the order of the reproduced music pieces when reproducing a plurality of music pieces.

The present invention is not limited only to the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the "reproduction control mode"
Although an example has been described in which three operation modes such as a “mouse mode” and an “album selection mode” are switched, various other modes such as a program play mode and a sound quality adjustment mode can be added. In the above embodiment, the software for reproducing the compressed audio data has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to software for reproducing image data, text data, and the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the software controlling the operation of the microcomputer may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a floppy disk. In this case, the software (program) stored in the storage medium is used. Is read by the computer, the processing in each embodiment becomes possible.

As the storage medium, a magnetic disk,
Floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk (C
D-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk (MO, etc.), a semiconductor memory, or any other storage medium that can store programs and that can be read by a computer. May be.

Also, based on the instructions of the program installed in the computer from the storage medium, an OS running on the computer, MW (middleware) such as database management software, network software, etc. realizes this embodiment. May be partially executed.

Further, the storage medium is not limited to a medium independent of the computer, but also includes a storage medium in which a program transmitted through a LAN, the Internet, or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored.

Further, the number of storage media is not limited to one, and the case where the processing in the present embodiment is executed from a plurality of media is also included in the recording medium of the present invention, and any media configuration may be used.

The computer executes each process in the present embodiment based on a program stored in a storage medium. The computer includes one device such as a personal computer and a system in which a plurality of devices are connected to a network. Any of these configurations may be used.

The computer is not limited to a personal computer, but also includes an arithmetic processing unit included in an information processing device, a microcomputer alone, and the like, and is capable of realizing the functions of the present invention by a program. And so on.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An operation lever capable of performing a first operation in the x and y directions and a second operation in the z direction is provided on the remote controller. When the user performs a second operation on the operation lever, a plurality of operations are performed. The modes are sequentially switched, and when the first operation is performed, data for the operation mode at that time is generated and transmitted to the main unit. In the main unit, upon receiving the data, according to the received data, Since the function of the running software is selected or the pointer on the screen is moved, the user can easily perform the basic operation of the OS and the operation of the running software in parallel without releasing the finger from the operation lever. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a personal computer (PC) according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a PC main body and a wireless remote controller.

FIG. 3A is a front view of a remote controller. (B) is a remote control back view. (C) is a side view of the remote controller.

FIG. 4A is a plan view showing the structure of a control stick. (B) is an AA 'cross-sectional view of the structure of the control stick shown in Fig. 4 (a).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a first operation of the PC.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a second operation of the PC.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Desktop PC main body (PC main body), 2 ... IR receiver, 3 ... Microcomputer, 4 ... Remote control driver, 5 ... Silicon audio reproduction software (player software), 6 ... Operating system (OS), 10 ...
Wireless remote control, 11 IR transmitter, 12 function button, 13 click button, 14 control stick, 15 mode LED, 16 microcomputer.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first operation in x and y directions and a second operation in z direction
When a second operation is performed on the operation lever and the operation lever, the plurality of operation modes are sequentially switched. When the first operation is performed, the operation mode for the operation mode at that time is changed. A remote controller having a generating unit for generating the data of the above, a transmitting unit for transmitting the generated data, a receiving unit for receiving the data from the remote controller, and a function of the activated software according to the received data. An information processing apparatus comprising: a main unit having control means for selecting a pointer or moving a pointer on a screen. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to select a function of the software being activated or a pointer on a screen when the second operation on the operation lever is performed continuously. An information processing device for executing an operation mode other than movement. 3. An operation lever for performing a movement instruction on the screen by operating in the x and y directions, and performing a switching instruction relating to a software function by operating in the z direction, and the operation lever is operated in the z direction. In this case, the first operation mode for controlling the system software and the second operation mode for controlling the application software are sequentially switched, and when the operation lever is operated in the x and y directions, the operation mode according to the operation mode at that time is changed. Means for generating and transmitting data.