The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings or images may not necessarily be to scale. For example, some elements may be arbitrarily enlarged or otherwise modified to improve clarity. Further, the illustrated shapes of the elements may not convey their actual shapes, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition. Various embodiments are briefly described with reference to the following drawings:
One preferred example of the invention takes the form of a remote control having a display screen configured to display a number of menu items. For example, the screen may be able to display icons that represent particular channels of a media device, such as the channels of a television as provided by a particular cable television provider within a specific geographic region. The display screen may be configured to present color versions of the icons, where the icons are logos that identify a particular network channel, such as a television (local or other), cable, satellite, radio, or other media device channel. In this example, a user is able to change the channel on the television by selecting an icon that is visible or at least accessible on the display screen (i.e., scroll up, down, left, right on the screen to access additional icons). The user may select the icon by touching it on the screen or by pressing an associated button adjacent to the screen rather than one of the conventional methods of selecting a channel which may include selecting and then scrolling through a channel guide displayed on the television screen or memorizing favorite channels and entering numbers on a keypad to switch between or go to those favorite channels. As many remote control users appreciate, if the channel numbers are not entered quickly then the desired channel is not selected.
In one embodiment of the invention, the remote control is programmable by direct interaction, which is accomplished using the display screen, using a keypad, using function keys or buttons, or some combination of the above. In one example, the remote control is preprogrammed with a collection of icons representative of network channels. The icons may be associated with particular television channels or, alternatively, may be unassigned. The icons may be in various forms such as text, image, or a combination of both. In addition, the icons may represent trademarked logos for particular media distributors (e.g., ABC®, CNN®, HBO®, ESPN®, etc.). The following group of channel icons or logos, which may be available in the United States, is shown for illustrative purposes and is not meant to be an all-inclusive listing:
The association of an icon with a particular television channel number may depend on a specific geographical region where the television is located, a particular service provider, or both. A single channel, for example the American Broadcast Company, ABC®, may be associated with different channel numbers in different regions of the United States because one provider on the West Coast may assign channel “4” to ABC while a different provider on the East Coast assigns channel “7” to ABC. Accordingly, the remote control may be purchased with a pre-assigned, stored icon/number database for a geographic region specified by a user upon ordering the remote control or the remote control may be programmed by the user after purchase. In one embodiment, the association of the icons with the channels numbers in accordance with a particular geographic region includes entering a postal zip code into the remote control.
In addition to assigning all or any subset of the available icons to particular media device channels, the remote control may be configured to operate a variety of media devices. Various methods of configuring the remote control for desired media devices and favorite media device channels are discussed in greater detail below. In addition, any of the keys or icons may be programmed to carry out a variety of commands. One example of storing and executing macro commands via a remote control is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,998,997, which is incorporated by reference. In one example of the present invention, the remote control includes the ability to store and execute macro commands as described in the '997 patent, with one or more macro commands being triggered by touching an icon displayed on the display screen or pressing an option button located adjacent to the screen.
In one embodiment, the remote control is programmable using a wired or wireless data communications link between the remote control and a computer. The computer includes software that permits the user to customize features of the remote control and then download or transmit those features to the remote control. The remote control is selectively programmable, which means the user can choose to program or set up certain aspects of the remote control while skipping over other setup menus or leaving certain aspects of the remote control in a default or in a non-programmed configuration.
In one embodiment of the invention, the computer 102 is employed to set up or program the remote control 104. For example, icons corresponding to channels potentially available on a user's television are downloaded onto the computer 102 over a network, such as the Internet. These downloaded icons are then transferred to the remote control 104 via the connection between the computer 102 and the docking station 106. The network connection with the computer 102 allows for further updating information stored in the remote control 104, which may include, but is not limited to, downloading new icons, revising existing, stored icons, reconfiguring the remote control 104 for use in a different geographic region, adding to or revising a database of media device codes stored in the remote control, etc.
While these actions may be performed using the computer 102, the invention also provides that these actions can be accomplished without the computer 102. As will be described in greater detail below, the process of setting up or programming the remote control 104 may be done directly through various input/output (I/O) interfaces arranged on the remote control 104 and which may also include selecting menu items visually displayed on the remote control 104. In one embodiment, the process of setting up or programming the remote control 104 is accomplished with a cellular telephone (not shown) in a manner that is similar to downloading a ringtone or a digital photo.
The docking station 106 is preferably coupled to the computer by a wired connection 112a. Additionally or alternatively, the communication between the computer 102 and remote 104 may be a wireless connection 112b, and may not require the docking station 106. By way of example, a wireless connection 112b can be via BLUETOOTH®, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), or other means. The wired connection 112a may be via a serial, USB, FIREWIRE®, or other cable received in appropriate ports (not shown) of the computer 102 and the docking station 106. The docking station 106 preferably includes a power connection to the remote 104 so that rechargeable batteries in the remote control 104 may be recharged when the remote 102 is electrically coupled with the docking station 106. Optionally, the remote 104 may connect directly to the computer 102 via the wired connection 112a or the wireless connection 112b to modify remote settings.
In one embodiment, the remote control 104 includes batteries that provide electrical power to the remote control 104 further provide power to the first memory 120 or the second memory 122. A capacitor (not shown) provides backup power to the memories 120, 122 while the batteries are being changed or charged. In an alternative embodiment, an EEPROM is used in lieu of the capacitor.
The remote control 104 further includes a display device 124 and a transmitter 126. The display device 124 receives input signals under control of the microprocessor 116 and displays information to the user. The transmitter 126 receives electronic signals from the microprocessor 116. In one embodiment, the transmitter 126 is an optical transmitter that cooperates with the microprocessor 116 to perform an electro-optical conversion of the electronic signals to optical signals for transmission to a media device 128 (
The commands issued by the remote may be a simple instruction such as the command to change a channel. Alternatively one command may issue multiple instructions such that the remote control 104 operates to turn on the cable box, turn on the television, select a particular channel, and set the volume to a desired level. In accordance with a preferred implementation of the invention, the remote control 104 includes programming instructions stored in at least the first memory 120 and executable by the microprocessor 116 to assign a sequence of command instructions, referred to as a macro, to a button or icon for controlling the remotely controlled media device 128. The components of a remote 104 capable of carrying out such macros are described in the aforementioned '997 patent.
The display screen 202 may take various forms such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a thin film transistor (TFT) display, or a touch screen. In one embodiment, the display screen 202 includes a status bar indicator (not shown) to indicate downloading, uploading, or data transferring progress while the remote control 200 is being directly programmed or is in communication with the computer 102. During initial setup of the remote control 200, the display screen 202 may optionally display the icon of a vendor, such as a cable company or the store where the remote control 200 was purchased (e.g., Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc.). In addition, such a vendor icon may be displayed during initial power up after the batteries are inserted into the remote control 200.
In the illustrated embodiment, the peripheral buttons 204 comprise ten user-defined buttons associated with the menu items 206. In the event the remote control 200 contains more menu items 206 than buttons 204, the remote control 200 may have a scroll mechanism, such as the up/down buttons 222a, 222b shown in the illustrated embodiment. Alternatively, the scroll mechanism may comprise a scroll wheel or other similar mechanism. The scroll mechanism 222 permits the user to scroll among menu items 206 that are not presently visible on the display screen 202. In such a case, scrolling down would cause menu items 206 to successively move up the screen 202 such that the menu items at the top of the screen would drop off and move out of view while new menu items appear at the bottom of the screen and continue to move upward as long as the scrolling instruction is maintained. Scrolling up causes the opposite movement of the menu items 206.
As best seen in
In some examples of the invention, the remote control 200 is capable of downloading additional icons 223 via the computer 102. The icons 223 are then transferable to the remote control 200 and can be added as channel favorites. When personalized with the user's favorite channels (e.g., his, hers, or kids), the icons 223 will be displayed in the screen 202 next to the buttons 204. Pressing an associated button 204 will send a sequence of commands to change to that channel of the media device, for example pressing the button 204 next to an ABC® icon (not shown) changes the television channel from the present channel to ABC®. In one embodiment, the computer 102 includes a configuration utility that allows multiple users to be assigned to the remote control 200 where each user will have the ability to assign up to ten favorite buttons 204 (or more depending on memory limitations). In an alternative embodiment, a single user may assign any number of favorite channels and scroll through these favorites on the display screen 202. These features and other aspects of the remote control 200 are described in additional detail below.
The assignment of icons (or buttons) to particular channels can be made directly on the remote by following menu-driven setup instructions presented on the screen. Alternatively, as discussed above, the remote setup including channel assignments can be performed on a home computer and then transferred to the remote. If the computer 102 includes an Internet connection, software accompanying the remote and operable by the computer may access a remote server containing a database of icons and channel associations. By accessing the remote server, a user can download the channel associations for the user's area (or that have been assigned by the user's television service provider). In one example, the software operating on the computer requests user information such as the user's zip code or phone number, then accesses the remote server to determine the appropriate channels associated with the desired icons for the entered zip code or phone number. The channel associations are then downloaded to the personal computer and transferred to the remote. In a similar fashion, the remote server may store sets of macro commands that can be downloaded and transferred to the remote control.
Any number of users may share a common remote control in this fashion, using a scrolling function to scroll the listed users or user groups 226 up and down as necessary until a desired user or group is found. By pressing the button (or touching the screen) associated with a user or group 226, programming within the remote control causes the favorite channels (i.e., icons, logos, or alphanumeric characters) associated with that user or group 226 to be displayed on the display screen 202. Likewise, the memory stores data files associated with each user group or category, defining the stored icons and channels or actions desired to be contained in that group. For example, one user may favor all sports channels and tailors the remote control to place those icons prominently at the top of the display. Another user may prefer movie channels and may tailor the remote to place those channel icons at the top of the display. By selecting the appropriate group 226, the display is quickly tailored to the preferences of the user.
In the illustrated embodiment, the remote control 200 includes buttons 228, identified as a “His” and a “Hers” buttons for example, that allows the remote control 200 to be quickly reconfigured for either him or her. This “his and her” example is an alternate form of the personalization described above and is ideally suited, for example, for use by a couple. In this form, pressing the “Her” button 228 on the remote control will set the remote control to display her favorite channels on the display screen 202.
The programming and setting up of the remote control 200 may be accomplished directly or via a computer. In one embodiment, directly programming the remote control 200 includes the user physically interacting with the remote control 200, whereas indirectly programming the remote control 200 includes the user employing a keyboard, mouse, or some other I/O device to operate the computer, which in turn transfers data to the remote control 200. The setup or configuration software is preferably in the form of a program that guides the user through setup options, enabling the user to selectively indicate the portions of the setup that are desired. As noted, one setup option preferably includes the ability to assign channels to icons, or vice-versa. The modified remote data is transferable to the remote control 200 via the docking station 106 (
Referring back to
At block 304, the remote control provides a display requesting that certain geographic reference information, such as a postal zip code, area code, or some other geographic designator, be input into the remote control. One purpose for requesting this geographic reference information is to allow the remote control to automatically identify and associate channel icons with channel numbers or to automatically provide at least one media provider within the user's geographic region. At block 306, the geographic reference information is received by the remote control. At block 308, the memory of the remote control is scanned or searched to determine if matching geographic reference information is stored in the remote control. One purpose for block 308 is to make sure that the geographic reference information was entered properly, which means that inputting a four number zip code instead of five numbers would prompt a message to re-enter the geographic reference information as provided in block 310 and sequentially illustrated in
At block 312, the remote control uses the geographic reference information to generate a menu or list of service providers, which are then displayed on the display screen of the remote control. One example of this process is shown in
This form of building an icon association database is based on a memory within the remote control that contains databases for a plurality of geographic regions, including the region associated with the entered zip code. If the memory size is sufficient, this form may be preferred. Alternatively, the channel and icon database is retrieved remotely. The remote retrieval option may be preferable because it requires less memory capacity in the remote control and can allow the system to be easily updated for new channels and changed channel numbers. In this form, the remote control preferably obtains the channel and icon database from a remote server that is accessed via the computer in communication with the remote control.
At block 406, the remote control is placed in wireless communication with the media device that is to be controlled. At block 408, the “Power” button on the remote control is pressed and released in an attempt to associate a setup or device code of the media device with the remote control, or vice-versa. At block 410, the user determines whether pressing the “Power” button turned the media device either ON or OFF, depending on its initial state. If pressing the “Power” button had no effect on the media device, then at block 412 the user continues to press the “Power” button, which results in the remote control testing other device codes that may be stored in a device code library in the remote control. If pressing the “Power” button does change the state of the media device, then at block 414 the user has the option of setting up other functions such as the “Channel+/−” function, which permits the remote control to successively step up or down through the channels of the media device. At any time during the setup method 400, the user may save settings or end the setup process as shown at block 416. Saving the setup configuration of the remote control allows the remote control to be subsequently used to control the setup features of the media device without going through additional or similar setup steps. After a first media device has been setup to be controlled by the remote control, the method 400 may be repeated for other media devices such as a cable box, DVR, DVD, CD, etc.
For brevity, the processes of associating a channel number with an icon or associating an icon with a channel number are described alternatively and in parallel. At block 502a, a channel number of a media device is input into the remote control. In one embodiment, the channel number is input into the remote control using the numeric keypad 210 (
As an alternative to the above-described process, the icon may be selected first and then automatically paired with a channel number. Hence, at block 502b, the icon is selected from a list of icons presented on the display screen of the remote control—where the selection is done via one of the peripheral buttons 204. At block 504b, the channel number that is to be paired with the icon is displayed on the display screen. Again, the pairing of the channel number with the icon may depend on the geographic reference information (e.g., zip code) previously received by the remote control.
At block 506, the remote control provides an option for the user to revise or edit the channel number/icon pairing, if so desired. Thus, the user retains the option of associating or customizing the pairing, for example the user can assign a different icon with the channel number “4.” In one embodiment, the icons are custom-made icons that are not similar to the “official” or trademarked channel brand icons, some of which were illustrated above. Revising or editing the pairing may include assigning a different channel number to a particular icon or vice-versa. At block 508, the pairing is saved or otherwise stored in the remote control. At block 510, the remote control prompts the user to create additional pairings or end this setup feature.
In another embodiment of the invention, the remote control 200 may be setup to have a universal ON/OFF feature, such as the “QuickPower” menu item referred to in
In yet another embodiment of the invention,
The remote control 200 includes a transceiver (e.g., 310 MHz, 433 MHz) to send or receive signals from various devices of the home security system directly or via the computer 102. At block 702, a home security device of the home security system transmits a signal in response to a condition of the home security system. The signal is received by either the remote control directly as shown in block 704 or by a computer as shown in block 706. If the latter, then block 708 indicates that the computer transmit an associated signal to the remote control. In one example of the invention, the computer 102 receives modulated radio frequency (RF) signals from a sensor of the home security system, such as an optical sensor—specifically a wireless motion sensor coupled to a door or window. In another example, the computer 102 receives electromagnetic modulated signals from a smoke alarm system of the home security system. This format may be preferable because a home personal computer may already be set up to control and monitor signals from a variety of home security devices.
After the remote control 200 receives the signal either directly from the home security device or from the personal computer, at block 710 the remote control displays a message or a security status indicator on the display screen 202, which may indicate a condition of the home security system (e.g., that a particular window or door is open). The status indicator may be in the form of a textual message, an iconic representation, or a combination of both. Optionally at block 712, the remote control 200 may be programmed to activate an audible alarm or other sound to indicate that one of the home security sensors has detected some sort of activity or condition that may have immediate security or safety implications.
Many other changes can be made in light of the above detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all types of remote controls, computers, and data communication means that operate in accordance with the claims. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to be determined entirely by the following claims.
The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/806,254 filed Jun. 29, 2006 which is hererein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60806254 | Jun 2006 | US |