AU2003100726A4 - Electronic equipment monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicants: Actual Inventor: Eugene Amorosi and Brian Alonge Eugene Amorosi Agent and Address for Service: MADDERNS, 1 st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention Title: ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT MONITORING SYSTEM Details of Associated Provisional Application No: 2002951065 dated 29 th August 2002 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the control of consumer electronic equipment in accordance with certain conditions in the surrounding environment.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Most houses and offices in first world countries have at least one piece of electronic equipment such as a television or audio system. Many of these have several of these items including one or more televisions, video cassette recorders, digital video disc players, satellite receivers and a range of audio and/or devices.

These devices are often left on, even when a user is not always present in the immediate environment of the device. This may be due to the user either forgetting to turn the device or devices off when leaving the environment or being distracted over some time, or falling asleep while using the devices.

This results in the devices being left on unnecessarily, resulting in increased wear and tear of the device as well as increased power consumption. Family tensions may also arise due to members of the family being accused of constantly forgetting to switch off a device when it is no longer being used.

Another related problem in the area of universal remote controls which are used to control a plurality of peripheral devices, is that the control device does not always know the status of a particular peripheral device. Thus, sometimes a control signal generated by the control device may not be appropriate for the peripheral device's current state. This problem is compounded in the case where some peripheral devices are in different states to others controlled by the control device. For example, if the control device generates a global "off" command, and some devices are already off, then this global command may actually cause those off devices to turn on, since most such devices use the same command to turn on and off, in a "toggle" arrangement.

It will accordingly be beneficial if a system apparatus and/or method were provided for controlling one or more peripheral devices in a more efficient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device for controlling the operation of a plurality of electronic devices, in accordance with the presence or absence of a person in the vicinity of one or more of the electronic devices.

Preferably, the operation of the plurality of electronic devices being controlled is the ON/OFF operation.

Preferably, the control device will monitor a video or audio output of the plurality of electronic devices to determine each one's current state. If the control device detects that one or more electronic devices is in an ON state, the control device will monitor the surrounding environment for the presence of a person. If a person is not detected within a predetermined time, the control device will cause the one or more electronic devices to turn off.

Preferably, the control device will turn off the one or more electronic devices by transmitting a corresponding OFF command via infra-red to a receiver of the one or more electronic devices. In use, the control device will have been programmed with the appropriate control signals for each of the one or more electronic devices.

Advantageously, one or more devices may have associated therewith, a special state function, whereby the control device does not turn off that device in the absence of a user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device having integrated therein, a control device for generating at least one control signal to the electronic device, to control the operation of the electronic device, in accordance with the presence or absence of a person in the vicinity of the electronic device.

Preferably, the control device includes an infra-red detector for detecting the presence of a person.

This aspect of the invention is most applicable to a television set.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device for controlling the operation of a plurality of electronic devices, wherein the control device modifies control signals that it transmits to respective electronic devices in accordance with a current status of the respective electronic devices.

Preferably, the control device monitors the status of respective electronic devices by monitoring the absence or presence of a signal on an output port of the respective electronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the following drawings in which: Fig 1 shows a schematic of the control device connected to several electronic devices in a typical home entertainment unit environment; Fig 2 is a block diagram of the major components of the control device of Fig 1; and Fig 3 shows a flow chart of the major steps performed by the control device in controlling the one or more electronic devices.

Fig 4 shows a suitable circuit arrangement for detecting the presence of a signal on the output port of a device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A typical application of the present invention is in a home entertainment system which is owned by many modern households. Such a system may include a television 20, a video recorder 30, a digital video disc player 40, audio amplifier for the associated audio system, and satellite receiver Connected to each of these devices is control device 100. A connection is made between control device 100 and each of the electronic devices 20 to 60 via sensor leads 11 plugged into the video or audio output of each device 20 to 60. Ideally, an RCA output connector is used to insert the sensor lead into the device's output. If a cable is already using the connector, the sensor lead may still be connected to the output via a standard piggy-back adaptor.

Once control device 100 has been connected to each of the devices 20 to 60, it needs to be programmed. The programming sequence is as follows.

During the programming stage, the device to which control device 100 is connected and being programmed for must be in the ON state, while the others remain off. The first device that is switched to the ON state will clear the memory containing program instructions to remove any prior programming.

The programming for each connected device is done separately and essentially consists of teaching control device 100 the OFF instruction for each device. This is generally done via a passive infra-red detector (PIRD) 111 (see Fig This process involves the physical pointing of a remote control device for the corresponding device for which the programming is being done, to the PIRD 111 of the control device 100. At the same time, the corresponding infra-red receiver of the device is shielded so that it will not be turned off directly.

When the appropriate OFF command for that device is learned, an LED on control device 100 will signal an appropriate response and control device 100 will test its learned command by powering down the device for which the programming has just been completed, then prompting for the next device to be powered up to an ON state. The programming sequence is then repeated for that device. If the command is not properly learned, or the test fails, it will repeat the programming sequence with the same device.

If one or more of the devices is intended to operate in the absence of any users, a Special State Function (SSF) may be assigned to that device. For example, a video recorder may be programmed to tape a program while the users are away, and it is undesirable that the device be turned off by the control device 100 of the invention. If a SSF has been assigned to one or more devices, these will be ignored by the control device 100, until the SSF has been removed. Alternatively, if one or more other devices are in the ON states, control device 100 could shut down all devices automatically, regardless of whether any has an SSF.

To end the programming function before the programming of all devices has been completed, the user can either wait a predetermined period of time, for example two minutes, for the programming mode to automatically exit or, the user may depress and hold a programming button until the programming LED goes out.

Once the programming is complete, control device 100 should now be in a position to carry out its functions indefinitely without the need for further programming or adjustments from the user. This is of course, provided that the environment or the monitored devices do not change.

Changing the location of the entire system should not require reprogramming so long as each sensor lead 11 is plugged into the same output port it was originally programmed for.

The control device 100 will use a very small amount of power to monitor all program devices to determine whether a device is in an ON or OFF state. This is done via sampling the output signal at the audio or video outputs of each device. The actual process of sampling will not degrade the signal output by any of the devices to any 6 level detectable by humans. There can be detected either line level audio, phone level audio, or video output signals as a voltage. The signal sampling will not differentiate between organised analogue data or random noise.

If no signal is detected, this will indicate to control device 100 that the device being monitored is currently off. Accordingly, no action will be taken. If on the other hand, a signal is detected, a timer will be reset and started. The timer will expire based on a user-adjustable timer setting. While the timer is running, the PIRD 111 will be monitoring the environment for movement. Each time movement is detected, the timer is reset to start again.

If, during the timing sequence, the signal being monitored from the output of the device disappears, this indicates that the device has been turned off and the timer will be stopped, as will the PIRD monitoring. Normal monitoring of the program device will then recommence.

If the timer ends and the sampled signal is still present at the output of the device, device 100 will initiate a shutdown sequence. This will include the transmission of an OFF signal for each device that is detected as still being on. The OFF signal transmitted by the control device 100 will be the appropriate OFF command signal for the particular device being turned off at that time as was programmed into control device 100 during the programming phase. Once a first device has been turned off, control device 100 will then transmit the appropriate OFF command signal for the next device.

When the shutdown sequence is complete or has timed out, normal monitoring of devices will recommence.

In use, if a particular device is detected to be in an ON state, and has been programmed as a Special State Function device (as described above), it will be ignored and not turned off, even if no user is detected in the environment.

A special TEST function may also be provided to test the system, once set up. If, during normal operation, a test button is pressed momentarily (for example, the preexisting program button), control device 100 will immediately go to shutdown mode, as if the timer had elapsed. This can be used to either manually shut down all monitored devices, or test the system to ensure that all the interfaces are working correctly.

Turning now to Fig 2, there is shown the major components of control device 100.

Central controller 110 connects and controls each of the peripheral devices and directly receives programming commands from the user. Flash memory 112 is used to store the program data and instructions received during the programming stage as previously described. Timer 113 is used to count down the time between sensing the absence of a user in the environment when a device being monitored is on and causing the monitored device to turn off. The length of time counted by the timer 113 is variable and may be varied by the user using timing delay 114.

Control device 100 monitors the output of a range of devices via leads 11, with the signals conducted by leads 11 being received in receiver 115. Receiver 115 also receives signals produced by PIRD 111. PIRD 111 detects infrared signals from both a remote device used to provide program and control signals to control device 100, and from the body heat generated by users in the environment. Of course, the detection of users could be done by any other suitable means and need not be restricted to Infra-Red means. These signals are then processed and provided to controller 110.

When controller 110 determines that a particular device needs to be turned off, control signals will be sent to transmitter 116 which causes infra-red diode IRD 117 to transmit the required OFF command for a particular device. LED 118 is also illuminated in accordance with control signals for various circumstances such as indicating to the user a particular status of control device 100. Program switch 119 is used to program and TEST control device 100 as described above.

The entire control device 100 may be powered by an associated power pack 120 or may be plugged directly into mains power.

8 Fig 3 is a flow chart of the steps taken by control device 100 in its various stages of operation. The main stages of operation of control device 100 are the idle mode 200, the programming mode 300 and the normal operation mode 400. In the idle mode 200, the device is switched on and some time is allowed to determine whether the user is going to program the device or whether the device will begin its normal mode of operation. When control device 100 is turned on at start block 201, the program waits five seconds at block 202. If a programming indication has not been given within these five seconds, the operation will proceed to detecting whether there are any devices to which control device 100 is connected that are turned on. This is done at block 203. If no devices are currently on, the operation will loop back to start block 201 and remain looping in this idle mode until one of the devices being monitored is detected to be on at block 203.

If at any time before the initial five seconds at block 202 have elapsed, a programming indication is given (switch 119), the program will jump into TEST mode as previously described and proceed immediately to block 404 which identifies which devices are on, and transmits appropriate signals, being off commands, to each of the devices that are on. After a five second delay at block 405, the system will check to see that no devices are still turned on. If one or more devices are found to be on, the program will return to block 404 and repeat the process until all devices are off or until a maximum of 10 attempts have been made. Upon successfully turning off the devices, the program will loop back to START block 201 in the idle mode.

If one or more devices are detected at block 203, control device 100 will exit the idle mode 200 and enter the normal operation mode 400 and initiate a timer at block 401.

In block 402, the timer will begin to be decremented. In block 403, the timer is tested to determine whether the allowed time has elapsed. If the allowed time has elapsed, control device 100 will then proceed to block 404 in which the appropriate OFF command is transmitted to the device which is on. Block 405 then provides a five second delay to determine whether the device which was intended to be turned off has in fact been turned off. This occurs in block 406. If the device has not turned off, the program will loop back to block 404 (maximum of 10 times) to retransmit the OFF 9 command. If the device has been turned off, the program will loop back to start block 201 in idle mode 200.

If at block 403, the time allowed has not elapsed, the program will proceed to block 407 which checks that the device is still on. If at block 407, the device is detected to have been turned off, the program will loop back to start block 201 in idle mode 200.

If however, the device is still on, the program proceeds to block 408 to check for the presence of a signal from PIRD 111. The detection of a PIRD signal at block 408 means that a user has been detected in the environment, and the device should remain on.

In this case, the program will loop back to start block 201 and follow the procedure described above. If no PIRD signal is received, this indicates that no user is in the environment, and the program loops back to block 402 to decrement the timer, and check again for a PIRD signal. This occurs until either a PIRD signal is received, or the timer runs out, in which case the program will branch off to block 404 from block 403 to turn the device off as previously described.

If at block 202, the user initiates the programming mode 300 (by actuating program switch 119 for example, for five seconds or longer), the program will proceed to block 204, reset a two minute timer, then proceed to block 302 to test for the presence of a device. If no device is detected, the program will skip forward to block 307 to decrement the timer and then proceed to block 308 to check whether the elapsed time for detecting the presence of a device has elapsed. If this time has elapsed, the program will loop back to start block 201 in idle mode 200. If the time has not elapsed, the program will loop back to block 302 to check again for the presence of a device for programming.

If at block 302, a device is detected, the program will proceed to block 309, where it is determined whether the programming sequence being entered is the first run. If so, the memory 112 is cleared at block 301 to remove any previous programming data. If not, then the program will proceed to program block 303. At this point, the user is given the option of setting a special state function as previously described, in block 304. The program will then loop to IIR trigger block 305. In the event that no special state function programmning is required at program block 303, the program will skip forward to IIR trigger block 305.

Block 304 is selected by the user pressing the switch 119 for less than five seconds. If switch 119 is depressed for more than five seconds, the program will exit the programming mode 300 and return to start block 201.

If a trigger signal is received from the user to program an OFF signal to the particular device being set up, the program moves to block 306 to read and store the command and flash the LED to inform the user that the device has been programmed. After each program action by the user at block 306, block 310 will reset a timer to two minutes (for example), which will then be decremented at block 307, and proceed to block 308 as described above. If no IIR trigger signal is received, the program will loop back to block 302 to detect the presence of a device for programming.

Figure 4 shows a circuit arrangement of the device output monitoring system of the present invention. As previously described, the control device 100 is connected via leads 11 to the output of each peripheral device (see Figures 1 and 2) to monitor for the presence or absence of any output signals from the peripheral device, thereby determining a status (eg. ON or OFF) for each device.

Referring to Figure 4, the signal from the output port of a device (not shown), enters A/V IN via lead 11 (not shown). The input signal is high pass-filtered by the capacitor, and then the resultant high frequency AC signal is biased by the 1 MegOhm and 750 kiloOhm resistors, so that it is centred around a known voltage (eg. 2.86V). The signal diode then passes this voltage to the lnF MegOhm resistor network, which acts as an averaging circuit. In this way, the stronger the AC signal input to the circuit, the greater the average DC offset above the known voltage point.

This average DC voltage collected by the circuit is then passed through a selector chip (eg. MC4051B) (not shown) which selects one of eight signal inputs. This selected input is fed into a microcontroller chip which compares this DC input with a preset DC level. If the selected DC input is higher than the preset level, then the chip reads the comparator output as HIGH or This is then determined as a signal being present on the corresponding peripheral device output.

While the device described above has its primary function as a controlling device for turning off peripheral electronic devices when not being used, the control device may have many other uses including as an interface to currently available home control systems and home control systems which may become available in the future.

The device may also be used as an "all off" device to switch off all of the connected devices in one action upon receipt of a master control OFF signal from the user via a remote control device. The device may also be used as an ON/OFF controller to turn devices on and off depending upon the activity in the monitored zone. For example, a device may be turned on when a person enters a room and automatically switched off when the person leaves the room. In addition to turning devices on and off, the control device may be programmed to control other functions of the peripheral devices.

The control device may also be used for a remote control range amplification and may conceivably, replace multiple remote control devices with a single remote control device able to interface with the control device instructing it to control the peripheral devices to which it is connected.

Furthermore, the device may be integrated into electronic equipment as the electronic equipment is being manufactured in the factory. For example, a television set may have built into it, a control device as described above or suitably modified, which senses the environment through the normal infra-red receiver now common on most television sets and other entertainment audio/visual devices, and may control the ON/OFF state of the television automatically in accordance with the detection of the presence or absence of users in the environment being monitored.

The control device can interface with the existing control electronics of the electronic device to perform its required functions. For example, the control device could monitor internal status flags within a microprocessor of the television set to determine whether the television set is on or off. Alternatively, the control device could monitor one of the status LEDs of the television. For example, many television sets display a red LED when in the "STANDBY" mode, and a green LED when

"ON".

The output of the control device could be fed to the input of an appropriate microprocessor within the television to trigger the normal control signals of the television set accordingly. Similarly, timing delays used in the control device described previously could be implemented using the existing microprocessor clock, or alternatively, could be provided as an element of the integrated control device itself.

The above has been described with reference to a particular embodiment however, it will be understood by the person skilled in the art that many variations and modifications may be made within the spirit of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. A control device for controlling the operation of a plurality of electronic devices in accordance with the presence or absence of a person in the vicinity of one or more of the electronic devices.

2. A control device according to Claim 1 wherein the control device monitors an output of at least one of the plurality of electronic devices and generates a control signal accordingly.

3. A control device according to any one of Claims 1 or 2 wherein at least one of the electronic devices has associated therewith a Special State Function, which modifies any control signals generated by the control device.

4. An electronic device having integrated therein a control device for generating at least one control signal to the electronic device, to control the operation of the electronic device in accordance with the presence or absence of a person in the vicinity of the electronic device.

5. A control device for controlling the operation of a plurality of electronic devices, wherein the control device modifies control signals that it transmits to respective electronic devices in accordance with a current status of the respective electronic devices. Dated this 29th day of August, 2003 Eugene Amorosi and Brian Alonge By their Patent Attorneys MADDERNS