Remote control apparatus, remote control system and device-specific information display method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technique for acquiring information specific to a device via an imaging element and performing remote-control of a desired device based on the acquired information specific to the device, and an object thereof is to suspend information display of certain devices in order to suppress disorderliness of a screen and enable remote control of devices to be easily performed. By arranging displaying of the information specific to the device to be suspended according to device state information, the present invention can reduce the risk of remote control being impeded by specific information displayed in an indiscriminant and disordered manner, and efficient remote control operations may be achieved.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a remote control system;

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a remote control apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of remote control processing;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which specific information is superimposed on a still image in which the subject is a device in a power-on state;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which specific information is not superimposed on a still image in which the subject is a device in a sleep state; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which sleep information is superimposed on a still image in which the subject is a device in a sleep state.

Claims

1. A remote control apparatus comprising: an acquisition section that continually acquires, by an imaging element, an image in which subject is a remote control target device, information specific to the device that are optically transmitted from the device, and state information of the device;a display section that superimposes the image with the information specific to the device continually acquired by the acquisition section and displays the superimposed image;an instruction acceptance section that accepts, from a user, instructions regarding a selection of information specific to a desired remote control target device among devices for which the information specific to the device has been acquired and a selection of desired control contents regarding the device for which the information specific to the device has been selected;a remote control section that transmits a remote control signal corresponding to the control contents selected at the instruction acceptance section to a device for which the information specific to the device has been selected at the instruction acceptance section; anda display control section that controls the display section so as to suspend superposition/display of the information specific to the device onto the images according to the state information of the device continually acquired by the acquisition section.

2. The remote control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control section commences the suspended superposition/display of the information specific to the device in response to an instruction to the instruction acceptance section.

3. The remote control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state information of the device includes information indicating that control of original operations of the devices is restricted.

4. The remote control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the state information of the device includes information indicating that control of original operations of the devices is restricted.

5. A remote control system comprising: a device that optically transmits specific information and state information;an acquisition section that continually acquires, by an imaging element, an image in which subject is the device, information specific to the device that is optically transmitted from the device, and the state information of the device;a display section that superimposes the image with the information specific to the device continually acquired by the acquisition section and displays the superimposed image;an instruction acceptance section that accepts, from a user, instructions regarding a selection of information specific to a desired remote control target device among devices for which the information specific to the device has been acquired and a selection of desired control contents regarding the device for which the information specific to the device has been selected;a remote control section that transmits a remote control signal corresponding to the control contents selected at the instruction acceptance section to a device for which the information specific to the device has been selected at the instruction acceptance section; anda display control section that controls the display section so as to suspend superposition/display of the device-specific information onto the image according to the state information of the device continually acquired by the acquisition section.

6. A device-specific information display method comprising the steps of: continually acquiring, by an imaging element, an image in which subject is a remote control target device, information specific to the device that are optically transmitted from the device, and state information of the device;superimposing the image with the information specific to the device continually acquired by the acquisition section and displaying the superimposed image; andcontrolling the display section so as to suspend superposition/display of the information specific to the device onto the image according to the state information of the device continually acquired.