Definition                                                                                                                                          

The item described here is a TV remote, which is an electronic device used to control a television wirelessly from a distance. TV remotes were invented so users could operate their TV without having to manually push buttons on the TV. Remotes are utilized to turn on and off televisions, to browse channels, to increase and decrease sound, and more. Most TV remotes contain more commands than what are found on the television and the latest generation of remotes even have voice commands.

Overview

TV remotes vary in size, but LG remotes are usually 8 x 3.2 x 2.5 inches. The remote is made of hard plastic and is solid black with a slight shine. It has 48 buttons made of soft rubber material of varying sizes and shapes, the majority of which are rectangular.

The remote’s case is divided into two parts. The upper level case’s shape is a long, skinny rectangle with very shallow depth. The edges of the upper level case are straight on both long sides, with a straight top, that has a semi-circle shape in the middle so it doesn’t block the sensor. The bottom edge is shallower than the other edges and is made of a straight line with a curve on both corners. It has a smooth texture, except for a set of four dots on the left edge in an “L” shape next to the Volume button and a set of two parallel dots next to the Channel button, presumably to help the user with gripping or distinguishing the Volume from the Channel buttons without looking away from the TV screen. The case also has a shallow cross-shaped indent approximately two-thirds down on the remote, which surrounds four button holes including four arrow buttons (pointing up, down, left, and right) and a center button in the middle of the four arrow buttons. Approximately one-third of the way down on the remote, there is white writing that says “QUICK ACCESS” above one of the groupings of button holes. Near the bottom of the upper-level case, the LG logo can be seen in white, along with the company name, “LG.” Below this, there is a product number that reads AKB75375604.

On the lower level of the case, the edge is similar to the upper level’s edge and is straight on top with a semi-circle shape in the middle, so it doesn’t block the sensor. The bottom edge’s depth increases to meet the upper level case’s bottom edge. On the long sides, the edges have a slight curve and the case’s depth starts shallow at the top and increases as it gets closer to the bottom to make room to hold the batteries. The case is smooth with a few exceptions – near the top of the remote, there is a raised bar that makes the remote more stable when it is set down by the user. Below this bar, the outline of a garbage can with an “X” through it can be seen in black, signifying this device should not be thrown away. Under this symbol, there is a very slightly raised horizontal line and below this, near both the left and right edges, there is a very small raised curved line. About halfway down the remote, the lower level case has a rectangular panel, which can be opened to reveal the battery slot. The panel has a slightly raised triangle to improve grip when the user is opening the panel.

 

Components

            The LG TV remote is crafted into four main layers that fit together to make the whole functioning remote. The first layer forms the top part of the remote and has holes that fit the next layer of buttons. In the next layer, the button board contains buttons with writing or symbols on them with the corresponding commands. The buttons would have no purpose if it weren’t for the circuit board, which lays under the button board. The circuit board is the most complex layer, as it is composed of tiny wires that control the commands of the remote. The various terminals are in control of the functioning device. The last layer is the lower level of the case, which holds the two innermost layers and is the home of the batteries.

The button pad has 48 buttons made of soft rubber material, as mentioned previously. The button pad fits into the upper level case snugly so the buttons have minimal mobility within their slots. The majority of the buttons are black with white writing, which directs the user on how to navigate the TV.

There are two round buttons at the top of the remote near the left and right corners:

• One is colored red with a Power symbol
• The other is smaller and black and says “TV”

Below that is a line of four small, rectangular, black buttons – with white writing, they are labeled with:

• “CC/SUB” (signifying “Closed Captions/Subtitles)
• A gear wheel symbol (signifying “Settings”)
• A magnifying glass symbol (signifying a “Search” function)
• A plug symbol (signifying “Source”)

Below this, there is a three by four grid of same-sized, rectangular, black buttons.

• The top nine buttons are labeled “1” through “9” in white writing
• In the last row of this grid, there are three buttons – with white writing, they are labeled with:
  • “LIST” with a white horizontal line above the writing
  •  The number “0”
  • “Q.View”

Below this button grid, there is a grouping of five buttons.

• Near the left edge, is a black oblong rectangle – in the center of this button is written “VOL” in white, signifying volume. The rubber is raised in parts on this button, forming a Plus sign near the top of the button and a Minus sign near the bottom of the button allowing the user to increase or decrease the TV’s volume.
• Parallel to this button, there is another oblong rectangle button of the same size near the right edge. This button is also black with white writing – in the middle of the button, it says “CH” and under that, it says “PAGE,” allowing the user to change TV channels or browse pages if the user was accessing the internet via the TV. This rubber on this button is also raised in parts, with an Up arrow near the top and a Down arrow near the bottom of the button.
• In between the oblong Volume and Channel buttons is a column of three black, small, wide buttons – with white writing, they are labeled with:
  • “FAV” (signifying Favorite)
  • “INFO” along with an “i” in a circle (signifying information)
  • A speaker symbol with a slash through it (signifying Mute)

Below this grouping of five buttons, there is a row of three buttons:

• The first is a white button with the red Netflix logo
• The next button is black with a black symbol of a house inside a white box, signifying an option to go to the “Home” menu
• The last button is a white button with the black and green Amazon logo

Below this row, there is a grouping of nine black buttons with white writing:

• A cross-shaped configuration with five buttons:
  • This consists of four arrow buttons (Up, Down, Left, and Right)
  • A middle button that is labeled “OK” with a dot inside of a circle above the writing.
• Surrounding the cross-shaped configuration, are four black buttons at each corner with white writing:
  • The top left is labeled “GUIDE”
  • The top right is labeled “LIVE ZOOM”
  • The bottom left is labeled “BACK”
  • The bottom right is labeled “EXIT”

Below this group of buttons, there is a row of three wide, black buttons – with white writing, they are labeled with:

• “SAP/*” (signifying Secondary Audio Program)
• “REC/*” (signifying a Record function)
• The last button in the row has a white box symbol (signifying Stop)

Below this row is a row of four small black buttons – with white writing, they are labeled with:

• Two arrows facing left (signifying Rewind)
• One arrow facing right (signifying Play)
• Two parallel lines (signifying Pause)
• Two arrows facing right (signifying Fast Forward)

Below this is a row of four buttons:

• The first is red with a white dot in the middle
• The next is green with two parallel white dots in the middle
• The next button is yellow with three white dots in the middle in a triangle shape
•  The last button is blue with four white buttons in a square shape in the middle

The circuit board of the remote is a printed circuit board (PCB) made of a thin pad of fiber where small copper wires lay that connect all the elements of the circuit board. A solder mask covers the PCB and protects the copper wires. The PCB displays two faces. The upper face contains 48 slots that the buttons rest on and the lower face of the circuit is made of the components of an electrical circuit: resistors, capacitors, inductors, potentiometers, transformers, diodes, transistors, integrated circuits, switches, relays, and sensors. All these parts of the lower face of the PCB make up an electrical circuit.

When the panel on the lower level of the remote case is opened, there are two slots that hold the batteries – the slots include metal spring coils to connect the batteries and a Plus sign and Minus sign indent to show in which direction the batteries should be placed. The interior of the panel is a light brown color and has white writing indicating which kind of battery should be used for this remote (UM-4/AAA/LR03).

 

Explanation

            The mechanism behind the structure of a remote and how it works is simple. The LG model uses infra-red radiation communication as most new generation remotes do. When the user presses a particular button on the remote, the action will trigger the same particular command on the PCB. The information starts on the spot where the pressure is applied and will travel through different elements of the electrical circuit. This produces a binary code that will exit the circuit board by the light-emitting diode situated at the front of the remote. This binary code will be received by the infrared sensor on the television and convert the message from a binary code into an electrical signal that will then be executed inside the television.

Top view of the upper case of the remote and the buttons

Top view of the lower case with the battery panel open

View of the two faces of the circuit board – although not a picture of the LG remote, it is a very similar one

 

Conclusion

Televisions were invented in the late 1920s, but TV remotes were introduced in the 1950s. The first effective TV remote was invented by Austrian physicist Robert Alder, whose work previously focused on improving war communication devices. First, TV remotes were directly wired to the television and directly sent commands to the TV. Then, wireless remotes were created, but they used ultrasound technology and they had to be directly pointed to certain spots for desired results.

The LG remote is unique in the sense that the binary codes sent by the remote are only received by LG televisions because some remotes are also able to command other televisions. The LG TV remote is affordable at a price of $12 from most retailers. Contrary to popular belief, users shouldn’t hit their remote when they are not working; changing the batteries three to four times a year is highly recommended.

 

 

References 

Brain, M. (2000, April 1). Inside a TV Remote Control. HowStuffWorks. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/inside-rc.htm.

Mark, L. (2020, February 10). Why are PCBs green?: ABL Circuits. PCB Manufacture and Design. https://www.ablcircuits.co.uk/why-are-pcbs-green/.

How Infrared Remote Control Work? (2018). YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nNsSi1eMGg.