Claims
- 1. A method of remotely controlling a television set comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing to a user of said television set an electrically operated remote control transmitter having a plurality of key receiving sites thereon;
- (b) providing to said user, separate from said remote control transmitter, a set of function control keys, each function control key of said set having a uniquely patterned surface that is uniquely associated with a corresponding control function;
- (c) said user selecting a subset of said set of function control keys;
- (d) said user inserting said subset of function control keys at a respective plurality of arbitrarily selected key receiving sites on said substrate;
- (e) said user pressing one of said inserted subset of function control keys;
- (f) sensing the uniquely patterned surface of said pressed one of said inserted subset of function control keys by electrical means within said remote control transmitter;
- (g) transmitting a remote control command from said remote control transmitter to said television set corresponding to said control function uniquely associated with said pressed one of said inserted subset of function control keys.
RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/147,855 filed Nov. 5, 1993, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/065,598 filed May 21, 1993, abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (54)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3309817 |
Sep 1984 |
DEX |
878324 |
Nov 1981 |
SUX |
2103943 |
Mar 1983 |
GBX |
2188850 |
Oct 1987 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
"Customizable Keys Using Add-On Plugs'", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 33, No. 1B, Jun. 1990, pp. 426-429. |
D. O. Johnson, Jr., "Keyboard with Changeable Encoding and Key Designation", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 13, No. 7, Dec. 1970, pp. 2041-2042. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
147855 |
Nov 1993 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
65598 |
May 1993 |
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