Patent Application
20070097274
1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to televisions and remote control units for televisions, and more specifically to means for a user to locate a misplaced remote control unit.
2. Background Art
Virtually all television sets are now supplied with wireless remote control units whereby a user may operate the various controls of the television set without being in immediate proximity to the television set. These remote control units communicate via a one-way wireless link to their television sets. The link is one-way in that the remote control unit contains only a transmitter and not a receiver. The wireless like may communicate via e.g. radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), or other means.
A few “universal” remote control units have been known to be equipped with a transmitter for sending signals to the television, as well as a receiver for receiving signals from another remote control. This enables the universal remote to learn how to emulate the other remote control unit, by associating particular buttons with digital values transmitted by the other remote when corresponding buttons are pressed by the user. Thereafter, the user can use the universal remote to control the appliance (DVD player, stereo, what have you) which came with the other remote, which can now be put in a drawer and forgotten.
Users often misplace remote control units. Owing to their relatively small size, remote control units can be difficult to then locate, as they fit readily under furniture, under sofa cushions, behind bookshelves, and so forth.
Cordless telephone handsets are similarly sized, and just as easily misplaced. Handsets are necessarily equipped with bidirectional communication links with their base stations, so the user can both speak and listen over the wireless link. Handsets are also equipped with audio transducers, such as small loudspeakers and/or piezoelectric transducers, for playing voice signals and e.g. ring tones. Many base stations are now equipped with a “find handset” button. When the user presses this button, the base station sends a predetermined signal to the handset via the conventional, existing wireless link. Upon receiving this signal, the handset generates an audible sound via its output transducer, enabling the user to find the handset. This system works because the handset not only has a wireless receiver and an audio output transducer, but further because the handset is actively monitoring the receiver to detect incoming telephone calls from the base station.
What is desirable is an improvement in televisions and their remote control devices enabling the user to locate a lost remote control device.
The invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of embodiments of the invention which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments described, but are for explanation and understanding only.
The remote control unit includes logic such as a microprocessor, an ASIC, or the like for performing logic and control functions, and memory for holding instructions and data for those functions. Some remote control units include a small display for presenting data to the user. A battery supplies electric power for the remote control unit. The remote control unit further includes a plurality of buttons which the user can press to send predetermined signals to the television set via a wireless transmitter of the remote control unit. The memory holds the values of the signals to be sent. For example, when the user presses the channel up button, the logic may retrieve the value 0×551F from the memory and send that value to the television set via the wireless communication link between the remote control unit's wireless transmitter and the television set's wireless receiver.
The present invention adds a wireless transmitter to the television set and a wireless receiver to the remote control unit, for establishing a link in the other direction. In some embodiments, each component's transmitter and receiver may be implemented as a single transceiver. The invention further adds to the television set means whereby the user can cause the television set to send a “Identify Your Location” signal to the remote control unit, and further adds to the remote control unit means whereby the remote control unit enables the user to find it.
In one embodiment, the television set thus includes a “Find Remote” button which the user can press to cause the “Identify Your Location” signal to be sent. In another embodiment, the television set's on-screen menu system includes a selectable “Find Remote” item which the user can select via the buttons on the television set, to cause the “Identify Your Location” signal to be sent. In some embodiments, the television set may include both a button and a menu item for sending the signal.
In one embodiment, the remote control unit thus includes an audio transducer such as a small loudspeaker or a piezoelectric transducer, which the logic causes to play some predetermined sound in response to receiving the “Identify Your Location” signal. In another embodiment, the remote control unit includes a vibrating mechanism such as found in pagers and cell phones. In yet another embodiment, it includes a bright light source such as a cluster of LEDs. In some such embodiments, it may include light sources on more than one surface, in case it is face-down and one of the light sources is not visible to the user. These vibrating and visual mechanisms are useful for hearing impaired users. In some embodiments, the remote control unit may include a combination of audio, vibrating, and/or visual location mechanisms. Other visual mechanisms may include moving parts, such as flags, which may wave or which may even cause the body of the remote control unit to move sufficiently for the user to detect its motion.
Adding a receiver to the remote control unit will tend to increase its battery consumption. A conventional remote control consumes extremely little power except when actually sending a signal, because it only needs to have enough circuitry “alive” to check whether the user has pressed a button. But with the addition of the present invention, the remote control unit needs to more or less continuously monitor the receiver to see if the television set has sent the “Identify Your Location” signal. This will shorten the charge life of the battery. One way of compensating is to use a larger battery.
One way of minimizing the battery life impact is to reduce the frequency at which the remote control unit activates its receiver. Rather than continuously listening for a sent-once signal, the system can be implemented such that the television set sends the “Identify Your Location” signal repeatedly for some predetermined time, such as four seconds, and such that the remote control unit samples at least once per that amount of time. Alternatively, or additionally, the television set may send the signal repeatedly until it receives an acknowledgement signal back from the remote control unit. Or, the remote control unit could periodically send an “Are You Looking For Me” signal to the television set, then listen for a brief period for a “Yes I Am” reply.
The various features illustrated in the figures may be combined in many ways, and should not be interpreted as though limited to the specific embodiments in which they were explained and shown.
Those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will appreciate that many other variations from the foregoing description and drawings may be made within the scope of the present invention. Indeed, the invention is not limited to the details described above. Rather, it is the following claims including any amendments thereto that define the scope of the invention.
