Many remote controls for entertainment devices include a feature that detects a low battery condition and alerts the user of the low battery condition. For example, a remote control for a satellite television receiver may detect that the battery powering the remote control only has 10% of its usable life left. The remote control may communicate the low battery condition to the satellite television receiver, and the receiver may present an indicator to a user regarding the low battery condition. Thus, the user may take action to replace the batteries to avoid experiencing a subsequent dead battery in the remote control.
The low battery condition is typically detected based on comparing a terminal voltage of the battery with a low battery threshold voltage. The usable life of the battery is directly correlated with a terminal voltage of the battery. A specified point on a voltage discharge curve indicates a remaining usable life of the battery. However, there are many different types of batteries, and each type of battery does not follow the same voltage discharge curve. For example, a terminal voltage of ˜1.20 V may correspond to 10% of the remaining usable life of a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery, whereas a terminal voltage of ˜1.05 V may correspond with the same remaining usable life of an alkaline battery. Because the batteries of a remote control may be replaced with either type of battery, the utilization of a single threshold value indicating a low battery condition often results in providing a user with little warning regarding dead batteries or prompting the user to replace the batteries more often than necessary. Thus, the user may become dissatisfied with the battery replacement indicators provided by the satellite television receiver.
The same number represents the same element or same type of element in all drawings.
The various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus, systems and methods for indicating to a user a low battery condition of a remote control for an entertainment device. More particularly, the various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus, systems and methods which facilitate determining an appropriate voltage threshold utilized to determine/define a low battery condition of the remote control based on a type of the battery utilized in the remote control. In short, the various embodiments described provide apparatus, systems and/or methods for adjusting a low battery threshold based on a type of battery utilized in a remote control.
The entertainment device 102 is operable to receive content from one or more content sources (not shown in
The remote control 106 may comprise any system or apparatus configured to remotely control the output of content by the entertainment device 102. For example, the remote control 106 may communicate commands to the entertainment device 102 requesting to playback content, temporally move through content (e.g., fast-forward or reverse), adjust the volume, access electronic programming guides and the like. In some embodiments, the remote control 106 may additionally be configured to remotely control the presentation device 104. The remote control 106 may communicate with the entertainment device 102 and/or the presentation device 104 through any type of wireless communication medium, such as infrared (IR) signals or radio-frequency (RF) signals.
The remote control 106 is powered by one or more removable batteries. The terms “battery” and “batteries” will be used interchangeably herein. It is to be appreciated that the techniques described herein may be applied to remote controls powered by a single removable battery or multiple removable batteries. The removable batteries may be any type of battery, such as AA batteries or AAA batteries typically used to power consumer electronic devices, such as remote controls. Further, the removable batteries may comprise any type of battery typically used to power consumer electronic devices, such as alkaline batteries, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries or Lithium Ion batteries. The remote control 106 is configured to detect a low battery condition when the batteries have a specified usable life remaining, such that the entertainment system 100 may indicate the low battery condition to the user 108. Thus, the user 108 may replace the batteries powering the remote control 106 to avoid future interruptions to their viewing experience caused by dead batteries in the remote control 106.
For example, the entertainment system 100 may indicate to the user 108 when the remaining usable life of the batteries in the remote control 106 reaches 10% (e.g., a low battery condition). In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106 detects the existence of the low battery condition and transmits a low battery message to the entertainment device 102 regarding the low battery condition. Thus, the entertainment device 102 may include a message in the presentation stream output to the presentation device 104 responsive to the low battery message. For example, if the presentation stream is an audio/video stream, then the entertainment device 102 may insert a warning message or other type of indicator into the audio/video stream for display by the presentation device 104. The entertainment device 102 may also indicate the low battery condition using a low battery indicator (e.g., an-LED) on the exterior of the entertainment device 102.
In other embodiments, the remote control 106 may include an integrated presentation device, such as a display screen or speaker that is capable of presenting information to the user 108. Thus, the remote control 106 may be configured to communicate an indicator to the user 108 regarding the low battery condition without cooperative operation with the entertainment device 102. For example, the remote control 106 may present an indicator to the user 106 on an integrated display screen of the remote control 106 regarding the low battery message.
In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106 detects the low battery condition by measuring the voltage of the batteries powering the remote control and comparing the voltage against a pre-defined threshold. As described above, the user 108 may replace the batteries in the remote control with any type of appropriate battery, including alkaline batteries, NiMH batteries or NiCad batteries. Thus, if the remote control 106 utilizes a single low battery threshold to detect the existence of the low battery condition, then the entertainment system 100 may provide the user 108 with little warning regarding dead batteries or may prompt the user 108 to replace the batteries more often than necessary.
To avoid this problem, the remote control 106 is configured to determine the type of battery powering the remote control 106 and adjust the threshold utilized to detect the low battery condition accordingly. For example, the remote control 106 may be configured to differentiate between alkaline batteries, NiMH batteries or NiCad batteries. The remote control 106 may detect the type of battery (e.g., the battery chemistry) utilizing any appropriate detection technique. In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106 detects the battery type by measuring the initial voltage of the replacement batteries in the remote control 106. The voltage measurement detection technique is described in greater detail below.
In other embodiments, the remote control 106 includes a switch having multiple positions, with each position of the switch corresponding with a particular battery type (e.g., alkaline, NiMH or NiCad). For example, the switch may be disposed within the battery compartment of the remote control 106. Upon replacing the batteries in the remote control 106, the user 108 selects the appropriate position of the switch to designate the type of the battery that is powering the remote control 106. The remote control 106 thus may responsively adjust the threshold utilized to identify a low battery condition based upon the position of the switch. In another embodiment, the remote control 106 and the entertainment device 102 cooperatively operate to solicit user input from the user 108 identifying the type of the replacement batteries in the remote control responsive to the user 108 replacing the batteries. The solicitation of user input is described in greater detail below.
After identifying the type of batteries utilized in the remote control 106, the remote control 106 selects an appropriate threshold for identifying a low battery condition. The remote control 106 may then utilize the threshold to monitor for a low battery condition. In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106 monitors for a low battery condition while processing each user input entered by the user 108. In other words, as components of the remote control 106 draw power from the battery, the remote control 106 monitors the batteries to determine whether the terminal voltage is below the low battery threshold. If the terminal voltage is below the low battery threshold, then a low battery condition within the remote control 106 may exist.
The input module 206 is operable for receiving user input from the user 108 (see
The transmitter 202 is operable for wirelessly communicating with the entertainment device 102 (see
The remote control 106A further includes a battery connector 212 that connects to a battery 210 powering the remote control 106A. The battery connector 212 may comprise any type of connector that connects to the battery 210 to draw power for supplying other components of the remote control 106A. For example, the battery connector 212 may include two opposing connections for connecting to the terminals of an AA or AAA battery. In at least one embodiment, the battery connector 212 is configured to connect to multiple batteries, such as 2 or 4 AAA batteries.
The low battery detection module 208 is operable to detect low battery conditions of the remote control 106A. More particularly, the low battery detection module 208 is operable to determine whether a terminal voltage of the battery 210 drops below a threshold value, indicating a low battery condition. The low battery detection module 208 is capable of utilizing multiple threshold values for indicating a low battery condition, depending on the type of battery 210 utilized in the remote control 106A.
After the battery 210 is replaced in the remote control 106A, the low battery detection module 208 determines a type of the battery 210 connected to the battery connector 212. In at least one embodiment, the low battery detection module 208 measures the initial terminal voltage or impedance of the battery 210 to determine the type of the battery 210. For example, an initial voltage of ˜1.50V for a single battery 210 may indicate an alkaline type battery 210. By contrast, an initial voltage of ˜1.40 V for a single battery 210 may indicate a NiMH type battery 210. The low battery detection module 208 may include an analog-to-digital converter utilized to perform measurement functions for determining the type of the battery 210 powering the remote control 106A.
Responsive to determining the type of the battery 210, the low battery detection module 208 selects an appropriate low battery threshold value corresponding to the type of the battery 210. In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106A may store a table of threshold values, such as in the non-volatile memory 204, that correspond to various types of batteries useable by the remote control 106A. The threshold value may be selected to provide adequate warning to a user regarding a low battery condition.
If the terminal voltage of the battery 210 drops too low, then it may be unsafe for the remote control 106A to perform certain operations. For example, the remote control 106A may not be able to write data to the non-volatile memory 204 if the terminal voltage of the battery 210 is too low. Thus, in at least one embodiment, the low battery detection module 208 is adapted to compare the terminal voltage of the battery 210 with multiple threshold values. A first threshold value indicates when to warn the user 108 about the low battery threshold condition and a second threshold value indicates when the remote control 106A should refrain from performing certain functions, e.g., writing to memory. In at least one embodiment, the first threshold value is greater than the second threshold value. Thus, the user 108 is alerted about the low battery condition before the voltage of the battery 210 drops too low to perform certain functions of the remote control 106A.
The input interface 402 is operable for receiving presentation content, e.g., video content. The input interface 402 may be operable for receiving and tuning any type of video content. For example, the input interface 402 may receive an over-the-air broadcast signal, a direct broadcast satellite signal or a cable television signal. In at least one embodiment, the input interface 402 may receive or retrieve content from a storage medium, such as an optical disk, internal or external hard drives, portable storage devices (e.g., universal serial bus (USB) memory sticks) and the like. The input interface 402 may also receive content from external servers, such as video servers, that are communicatively coupled to the entertainment device 102A over the internet or other types of data networks.
The wireless receiver 404 is operable to wirelessly receive and/or transmit data to the remote control 106 (see
The output interface 406 is operable for controlling the operation of the entertainment device 102A. In at least one embodiment, the output interface 406 receives video content and responsively generates an output stream for presentation on a presentation device 104. The output interface 406 is further operable to receive a key code and manipulate the output of the video content responsive to the key code. In other words, the output interface 406 operates responsive to the key code to control an output stream of video content.
The output interface 406 is further operable to receive the low battery message and output an indicator to the user 108 regarding the low battery condition. For example, the output interface 406 may output a warning message in a video stream for presentation by the presentation device 104.
As described above, the entertainment device 102A (see
Responsive to receiving the battery replacement message, the entertainment device 102A outputs a menu for presentation by the presentation device 104.
The process includes determining a type of battery powering a remote control for an entertainment device (operation 702). In at least one embodiment, the type of battery may be determined through detection circuitry of the remote control that detects the type of the battery by measuring an initial voltage of the battery. In other embodiments, user input may be utilized to determine the type of the battery. For example, the remote control may include a switch with selectable positions, each position corresponding with a particular type of battery powering the remote control. The remote control and the entertainment device may also solicit user input through one or more interfaces presented to the user by the entertainment devise and/or other associated presentation devices.
The process further includes selecting a low battery threshold for the battery based on the type of the battery (operation 704). The low battery threshold indicates a low battery condition of the remote control. In at least one embodiment, the remote control determines the low battery threshold by selecting a value from a stored table that corresponds with the battery type. In other embodiments, the remote control may query the entertainment device for the low battery threshold responsive to determining the type of the battery powering the remote control.
The process further includes measuring a voltage of the battery (operation 706). The voltage measurement may be performed by circuitry of the remote control, such as a processor and/or an analog-to-digital converter. In at least one embodiment, the remote control measures the voltage of the battery during processing of user input received via a keypad or other input device or during transmission/reception of data to the entertainment device.
The process further includes determining whether the voltage of the battery is below the low battery threshold (operation 708). If the voltage is below the low battery threshold, then processing continues at step 710. Otherwise, processing returns to 706 to complete another measurement operation during processing of subsequent user input or transmission of data. The determination operation may be performed by any type of processor and/or comparison circuitry of the remote control.
In operation 710, the remote control transmits a low battery message to the entertainment device responsive to determining that the voltage of the battery is below the low battery threshold. The entertainment device utilizes the low battery message to present an indicator to a user regarding the low battery condition of the remote control. For example, a television receiver may output a warning message prompting the user to replace the batteries in the remote control. In at least one embodiment, the remote control presents an indicator to a user on a display screen or other presentation device integrated with the remote control rather than transmitting a low battery message to the television receiver. Through the operation of the process of
The adjustment of the low battery threshold based on a type of battery utilized in a remote control may also be utilized to restrict the remote control from performing certain functions if the terminal voltage of the battery drops too low for safe operation.
The process includes determining a type of battery powering a remote control (operation 802). Operation 802 may be performed similarly to operation 702 of
The process further includes receiving user input (operation 806). The user input may be received from a user via a keypad, touch screen or other similar input device of the remote control. In at least one embodiment, processing of the user input involves the remote control writing data to non-volatile memory. However, it may be unsafe for the remote control to write to non-volatile memory if the voltage of the battery is below the low battery threshold.
The process further includes measuring a voltage of the battery during processing of the user input (operation 808). Operation 808 may be performed similarly to operation 706 of
If the voltage of the battery is below the low battery threshold, then processing continues in step 812, and the remote control processes the user input without writing to the non-volatile memory. In at least one embodiment, the remote control sends a “critically low battery” message to the entertainment device for presentation to a user. If the voltage of the battery is not below the low battery threshold, then the remote control processes the user input and writes data to memory (operation 814), and loops back to operation 806. Thus, another measurement may be performed responsive to the next user input processed by the remote control. Through the operation of the process of
Although specific embodiments were described herein, the scope of the invention is not limited to those specific embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the following claims and any equivalents therein.
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/104,291, entitled “Systems, Methods, and Apparatus for Adjusting a Low Battery Detection Threshold of a Remote Control,” filed Apr. 16, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12104291 | Apr 2008 | US |
Child | 13188280 | US |