Patent Application
20090158345
The present invention relates generally to televisions and, more particularly, to systems and methods that facilitate ease of use while hiding advance functions and settings.
The capabilities and features of televisions continue to expand and improve. Many televisions include features and capabilities that allow a user or operator to fine tune picture and audio performance, device setup and the like in order to provide the highest quality presentation for a given viewing environment and content to be viewed. Although useful for certified CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) installers, this expansion in capabilities and features has increased the operational complexity of televisions for ordinary users. As a result, ordinary users can find themselves unnecessarily searching through an array of rarely used features or selections to conduct basic operations of the television, or find themselves attempting to improve picture quality or simply experimenting with the televisions settings only to find they have significantly degraded the picture quality or the operation of the television in general. Other users including children may also inadvertently change settings that have been carefully setup and/or tweaked by the owner or installer
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods that facilitate ease of daily use by hiding or disabling rarely used and/or advanced features.
Embodiments described herein are directed to improved methods and systems for effectively hiding or disabling rarely used features and capabilities of a television so such features do not disturb the daily ease of use of the television and unauthorized users are prevented from changing settings and degrading the performance of the television. As provided in the embodiments described herein, the television system can be setup or programmed to work in either an “advanced mode” or a “daily use mode.” In the advanced mode, a user or installer is provided access to both all setup and all daily use functionality or features of the television. The advanced mode is of particular relevance during the installation process done by a professional installer or a household member doing the installation of the television. In the advanced mode the user or operator can adjust, e.g., picture performance parameters, audio performance parameters, connections, connected device (e.g. names of devices), user preferences (e.g., menu language, v-chip settings, closed caption, etc.), and the like to optimize the performance of the television.
In daily operation, the advance settings or capabilities can significantly disturb operation of the television and enable unintentional degradation of its performance. Such drawbacks are overcome by switching or setting the television system to the “daily use mode,” which is preferably the default setting for the television after setup of the television. In the daily use mode, which can be activated through a simple user interface or the television's on screen menu system, the overall user interface is optimized to avoid cluttering the menu system with features not needed for daily use. Users can operate all the features of the television necessary for daily use without altering any of the “authorized user only” settings and the less technically skilled will enjoy improved ease of use.
Other objects, systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of this invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. It will be understood that the particular methods and apparatus are shown by way of illustration only and not as limitations. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the principles and features explained herein may be employed in various and numerous embodiments.
The details of the invention, both as to its structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, all illustrations are intended to convey concepts, where relative sizes, shapes and other detailed attributes may be illustrated schematically rather than literally or precisely.
It should be noted that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purpose throughout the figures. It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments.
Embodiments described herein are directed to improved methods and systems for effectively hiding or disabling rarely used features and capabilities of a television so such features do not disturb the daily ease of use of the television and unauthorized users are prevented from changing settings and degrading the performance of the television. As provided in the embodiments described herein, the television system can be setup or programmed to work in either an “advanced mode” or a “daily use mode.” In the advanced mode, a user or installer is provided access to both all setup and all daily use functionality or features of the television. The advanced mode is of particular relevance during the installation process done by a professional installer or a household member doing the installation of the television. In the advanced mode the user or operator can adjust, e.g., picture performance parameters, audio performance parameters, connections, connected device (e.g. names of devices), user preferences (e.g., menu language, v-chip settings, closed caption, etc.), and the like to optimize the performance of the television.
In daily operation, the advance settings or capabilities can significantly disturb operation of the television and enable unintentional degradation of its performance. Such drawbacks are overcome by switching or setting the television system to the “daily use mode,” which is preferably the default setting for the television after setup of the television. In the daily use mode, which can be activated through a simple user interface or the television's on screen menu system, the overall user interface is optimized to avoid cluttering the menu system with features not needed for daily use. Users can operate all the features of the television necessary for daily use without altering any of the “authorized user only” settings and the less technically skilled will enjoy improved ease of use.
Turning to the figures, the embodiments provided herein are described in detail. A typical television 10, as depicted in
The television system 10 preferably further includes a remote control device 26 wirelessly coupled to the television 10 to operate and control the television. The remote control device 26 can send infra red (IR) signals, radio frequency (RF) signals or like that are received by a receiver 28 housed in the enclosure 12 and coupled to the CPU 14. The televisions system 10 can also be controlled through the use of buttons positioned on a control panel (not shown) located on the front or adjacent the front of the enclosure 12 and coupled to the CPU 14.
In operation, preferably advanced mode of operation can be activated by the user or installer. In one embodiment, the advanced mode can be activated through the television's menu system 100 as depicted in
Similarly, if the system is in “advanced” mode, the user or installer is prompted at step 113 to indicate whether the “daily use” mode should be activated. If the user or installer indicates the “advanced” mode should not be activated, the system sets the counter to zero at step 116 and prompts the user or installer for a passcode at step 118. If the daily use mode is selected at step 113, the daily use menu will be displayed at 115.
Alternatively, the desired mode of operation can be activated by using a single button on the remote control 26 or the front panel of the television 10 to toggle to the advanced mode as illustrated in the process 130 shown in
If, however, additional security is desired, the operator could be prompted to enter a passcode or the remote control 26 could be equipped with a biometric reader to scan the thumb print of the operator to confirm the operator is authorized to change modes of operation.
If the advance mode is not activated and the daily use menu is displayed at step 210 of process 200 shown in
If the “advanced” mode is active, the system will display the advanced menu at step 222 of process 220 shown in
In order to prevent unauthorized access to advanced or “authorized user only” features, the system can include a “time out” feature that will automatically toggle the system from the “advance” mode to the “daily use” mode after a predetermined amount of time. Preferably, the system is automatically toggled from the “advance” mode to the “daily use” mode after power or AC off or at power or AC on.
The particular examples set forth herein are instructional and should not be interpreted as limitations on the applications to which those of ordinary skill are able to apply this device. Modifications and other uses are available to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the following claims.
