Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
  • H04N21/4126—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
  • H04N21/41265—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
  • H04L12/2816—Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities
  • H04L12/2818—Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities from a device located outside both the home and the home network
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08B—SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
  • G08B13/00—Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
  • G08B13/02—Mechanical actuation
  • G08B13/14—Mechanical actuation by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
  • G08B13/1409—Mechanical actuation by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles for removal detection of electrical appliances by detecting their physical disconnection from an electrical system, e.g. using a switch incorporated in the plug connector
  • G08B13/1418—Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
  • H04L12/2823—Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network
  • H04L12/2825—Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
  • H04N21/4131—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
  • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
  • H04N21/42206—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor characterized by hardware details
  • H04N21/4221—Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
  • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
  • H04N21/42206—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor characterized by hardware details
  • H04N21/4222—Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
  • H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
  • H04N21/43615—Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/47—End-user applications
  • H04N21/485—End-user interface for client configuration
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/47—End-user applications
  • H04N21/488—Data services, e.g. news ticker
  • H04N21/4882—Data services, e.g. news ticker for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
  • H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
  • H04N21/643—Communication protocols
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
  • H04L2012/284—Home automation networks characterised by the type of medium used
  • H04L2012/2841—Wireless
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
  • H04L2012/284—Home automation networks characterised by the type of medium used
  • H04L2012/2845—Telephone line
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
  • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
  • H04L2012/2847—Home automation networks characterised by the type of home appliance used
  • H04L2012/285—Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
  • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
  • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
  • H04N21/426—Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof

Definitions

• the present invention relates to novel apparatus having the capability of communicating with household (and/or other) appliances.
• the present invention relates to an apparatus as characterized in the preceding paragraph which: can communicate with appliances via existing electrical wiring; can process and display messages originated by an appliance and forward those messages to a designated cellular phone. can process and display messages transmitted to the apparatus from a cellular phone.
• the present invention relates to novel integrated units for apparatus as characterized above which have multiple modes of operation, at least: (1) a TV mode in which the unit has the capabilities of a television set, and (2) an APPLIANCE mode in which a user can send commands by way of the integrated unit to an appliance served by the integrated unit, using an input device such as a cellular phone, a keyboard, or a remote control.
• the integrated unit is also designed to receive and display messages transmitted to the unit from a cellular phone.
• Copending application No. 09/116,785 discloses, in detail, systems with integrated units of the character just described which have an APPLIANCE mode of operation.
• the systems disclosed in the '785 application have the ability to make information on the status of an appliance available: (a) on a display screen of the unit, and (b) to a repair or service facility at a site removed from the loci of the appliance and the integrated unit.
• the systems disclosed in the '785 application also have the capability of controlling the operation of appliances in addition to the just-described appliance monitoring and reporting features. They also have the capability of supervising more than one appliance, and a wide variety of appliances can be monitored. These include, without limitation: electric stoves and ovens, refrigerators, freezers, window and central air conditioning systems, central heating systems, room heaters, and central vacuuming systems.
• the apparatus of the present invention is akin to that disclosed in the '785 application in that it has appliance monitoring, controlling, and reporting functions.
• the systems disclosed herein have integrated units with a GSM or comparable device which enables the integrated unit to call a specified cellular phone and report the existence of an appliance-related problem to the person answering the phone.
• a person using the designated cellular phone can call the integrated unit and leave a message on a display screen component of that unit.
• Another novel feature of the apparatus disclosed herein is that a message identifying an appliance-related problem can be placed on a screen of the display unit irrespective of the mode in which the system is operating, preferably in a manner which is unobtrusive and does not more than minimally distract the system user (and/or other person(s)) from the activity such as watching TV in which he is engaging.
• Yet another advantage of apparatus as described herein is that icons representing the different appliances supervised by the integrated unit of the apparatus automatically appear when the APPLIANCE mode of operation is selected. Selecting an icon brings up a screen displaying the status of the associated appliance and, optionally, one or more icons which can be employed to control the operation of the appliance.
• Still another novel feature of the systems disclosed herein is the use of network interface boards (NIBs) in the integrated units of the apparatus and the inclusion of a complementary NIB in each associated appliance.
• the NIBs embed messages in network communications protocols, and strip the protocols to retrieve the messages.
• This schemata allows in place electrical wiring to be used to transmit messages between the integrated unit of the apparatus and the associated appliances.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system which includes: (a) a set of household appliances, and (b) a multimode information/entertainment (MIE) appliance which has:
• MIE multimode information/entertainment
• the MIE appliance is constructed, and communicates with the household appliances and the cellular phone in accord with the principles of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of an overhead cabinet installation which includes one representative MIE appliance that embodies the principles of the present invention and can be employed in the system of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 3 is a plan view of a remote control which can be used to operate the FIG. 2 MIE appliance;
• FIGS. 4A and 4B taken together, show, in block diagram form, the operating components of an integrated unit which is a component of the FIG. 2 MIE appliance along with certain associated units such as input devices, a power supply, a module for controlling access through an entryway, and a camera for surveilling an area removed from the unit;
• FIG. 4C is a pictorial view of a mode selection register and video/audio switch arrangement which is incorporated in the integrated unit and the relation of those devices to other components of the MIE appliance;
• FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing how a user of the FIG. 2 MIE appliance can employ that apparatus to control the operation of a household appliance - in this exemplary instance, an oven;
• FIG. 6 shows in flow diagram form how a user can control the operation of the oven by calling the MIE appliance from a cellular phone;
• FIG. 7 shows, again in flow diagram form, how a representative household appliance - in this case, the FIG. 1 refrigerator - can send a "problem exists" message to the MIE appliance and, if the problem is not timely corrected, have the message forwarded to a designated cellular phone;
• FIG. 8 shows a representative image which appears on a screen of an MIE appliance display unit when operation of the MIE appliance in an APPLIANCE mode is selected
• FIG. 9 is an image that appears on the screen if a user selects an "oven control" option from the FIG. 8 image;
• FIG. 10 is an image that appears on the screen if a household appliance- associated sensor detects a problem - in this case a refrigerator door having been left open;
• FIG. 11 is an image that appears on the screen if a user selects a "cellular phone” message option from the FIG. 8 image.
• the MID appliance has an integrated unit (or module) 24; a remote control 26; and, optionally, a keyboard 28.
• the integrated unit 24 of the system 22 communicates with the representative, illustrated appliances in complement 20 - oven 30, refrigerator/freezer 32, dishwasher 34, and washer/dryer 36 - via installed electrical wiring 38 and the power cords (or local electrical wiring) 40-46 of the appliances.
• the integrated unit 24 is also designed to communicate with a specified cellular phone 48.
• Exemplary MIE 22 has the following modes of operation:
• MIE appliance 22 It is not necessary that MIE appliance 22 have all five of the operating modes identified above. One or more of these modes may be omitted or a mode may be disenabled, typically with a provision for mode activation as described in copending application No. 09/478922 filed 6 January 2000.
• the integrated unit 24 of system 22 includes: a display unit 52 with a flat screen 54.
• the display unit 52 is mounted to the integrated unit by a universal coupling 56 which allows the display unit screen to be rotated and tilted to face a viewer and to be folded up against the bottom 58 of integrated unit cabinet 59 when MIE appliance 22 is not in use.
• the details of the universal coupling are not part of the present invention and will accordingly not be described herein.
• the universal coupling is, however, disclosed in detail in copending application No. 09/516,427 filed 1 March, 2000, to which the reader may refer, if desired.
• Audio speakers 62 and 64 are attached to opposite ends of integrated unit 24. This eliminates speaker wires and otherwise facilitates the installation of MIE appliance 22 and enhances the appearance of the installation.
• the integrated unit 24 of system 22 with speakers 62 and 64 is designed to be mounted in an overhead cabinet system 66; it is more specifically designed to be mounted beneath two adjacent center cabinets 68 and 70. Those cabinets are located between outer overhead cabinets 72 and 74 of greater depth.
• Cabinets of the character illustrated in FIG. 2 are often supplied in conventional widths and heights.
• the module 24 of MIE appliance 22 is preferably designed and dimensioned for compatibility with such cabinets of standard dimensions.
• the two shorter or shallower cabinets 68 and 70 between longer cabinets 72 and 74 define a downwardly opening, horizontally extending recess 76.
• the assembly 78 of integrated unit 24 and audio speakers 62 and 64 is dimensioned to fit into recess 76 with: (a) the ends 80 and 82 of assembly 78 abutting outer cabinets 72 and 74, and the upper wall 84 of the assembly flush with the bottoms 86 and 88 of the two outermost cabinets.
• the illustrated module 24 also has a player 94 for a conventional or interactive, laser readable disk 96.
• This player is optional; it can be provided or omitted, depending upon the market for which the system is intended.
• Commands for operating the TV and disk player and for selecting the mode of operation of MIE appliance 22 can be inputted by the above-mentioned remote control 26 or keyboard 28 or by the FIG. 2 onboard pushbutton controls 60.
• One representative onboard control is identified in FIG. 4A by reference character 98.
• the operating components of integrated unit 24, together with certain ancillary devices which may be activated in different operating modes of MIE appliance 22, are depicted schematically in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C.
• the integrated unit operating components include a mode selection register 100 and a video/audio switch 102, both activated when a particular one of the appliance 22 operating modes is selected.
• the video/audio switch channels the input available in the selected operating mode to the screen 54 of display unit 52 and to audio speakers 62 and 64.
• a connection to a source for a television signal such as an antenna, a cable, and/or a VCR is made through switch 102.
• the operation of an entryway security system of the character just described is disclosed in detail in copending application No. 09/116,825 filed 16 July 1998, to which the reader may refer if desired.
• integrated unit 24 primarily located on secondary board 114 or controller board 116, are listed below along with the function of each component.
• secondary board 114 Also located on or operatively associated with secondary board 114 are the following additional components:
• appliance module 24 can transmit and receive data via a telephone line as well as by cellular phone linkups.
• the telephone line is shown in FIG. 4A and identified by reference character 140.
• module 24 also has a USB port 142 as well as links (or connections) 144, 146, and 148 for transmitting appropriately formatted data to a printer and to video and audio devices— viz., display unit screen 54 and speaker units 62 and 64.
• the module 24 of MIE appliance 22 preferably also has an Ethernet port 150. This: (1) allows MIE appliance 22 to be networked to compatible devices, and (2) allows appliance 22 to be connected to the Internet via a DSL or other broad bandwidth link.
• TELEVISION, CD (if present), APPLIANCE, SECURITY / MONITOR, and INTERNET modes of operation of MIE appliance 22 may be selected by the user of that appliance with push button mode controls 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160 of remote control 26 (see FIG. 3) or with corresponding pushbuttons of keyboard 28, or with corresponding ones of the onboard controls 60.
• the electronic video/audio switch 102 of module 24 is illustrated as a mechanical switch in the interest of clarity. This switch has five positions labeled 1-5.
• Video switch 102 is thereupon set to the number in selection register 100, causing MIE appliance 22 to operate in the selected mode. Additional details of the operating components of MIE appliances of the same general character as appliance 22 are to be found in the following U.S. patent and copending applications hereby incorporated by reference herein.
• buttons on remote control 26 and the keys on keyboard 28 are described in the '102 patent and in the copending '103 application and accordingly have been omitted in this specification as they are not germane to an understanding of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 shows a display 162 that appears on screen 54 when a user of MIE appliance 22 selects the APPLIANCE mode of operation by pressing remote control mode button 160.
• This display includes a banner 164 with the current date and time and icons 166, 168, 170, and 172 respectively representing oven 30, refrigerator/freezer 32, dishwasher 34, and washer/dryer 36 of FIG. 1.
• the display may include a warning such as the one identified by reference character 174. This aspect of invention is discussed in detail below.
• the MIE appliance user employs remote control 26 or keyboard 28 to select oven icon 166.
• This display includes date and time banner 164 and a block 178 in which the status of oven 30, represented by oven icon 166, is displayed.
• the user of MIE appliance 22 wishes to turn oven 30 off and accordingly selects OFF button 180 in display block 178 with remote control 26 or keyboard 28.
• a "oven off command is- transmitted from controller board 116 (see FIGS. 1 and 4A) to appliance network interface board (NIB) 128.
• NIB 128 embeds this command in an appropriate network protocol and sends the message over electrical wiring 38 and local power cord 40 to oven 30.
• An oven NIB 182 detects the message, strips off the network communications protocol, and sends the "oven off command to the oven controller 183 of oven 30 which, upon receipt of the command, turns oven 30 off.
• Oven NIB 182 detects a signal from the oven controller 183 confirming that the oven has been turned off, embeds this confirming message in the network communications protocol, and sends the message to NIB 128 of the MIE appliance integrated unit 24. NIB 128 strips the network communications protocol from the confirming message and transmits the latter to controller board 116. This results in a confirmation that the oven has been turned off being displayed to the MIE appliance user.
• the OFF label of icon 180 changes to START, and the color of the oven icon 166 changes from yellow to green.
• the respective appliance icon on the MIE's display screen will be greyed out and will become inaccessible to the user.
• Commands are selected by using LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN buttons 200, 202, 204, and 206 of remote control 26 (see FIG. 3) or the corresponding buttons of keyboard 28 — if present — to move the cursor arrow (see FIGS. 8 and 9) icon 190 representing the desired action.
• GO button 192 (see FIG. 3) is pressed to execute the command.
• the user of MIE appliance 22 may also use cellular phone 48 to transmit the "oven off command to oven 30. To do this, (see FIG. 6), the user calls the GSM module 132 of MIE appliance integrated unit 24. Once the connection is made, the user enters by way of the cellular phone keyboard a numerical code corresponding to the "oven off command.
• Controller board 116 then sends the "oven off command to appliance NIB 128, wherein the command is embedded in the network protocol, and transmitted to the NIB 182 of oven 30, in the same fashion as if the "oven off command were originated by remote control 26 or keyboard 28.
• the confirming message is in this case displayed on screen 54 and also relayed via GSM module 132 of the integrated unit 24 to cellular phone 48.
• FIGS. 7 and 10 it was pointed out above that, if a problem with a household appliance supervised and controlled by MIE appliance 22 occurs, a warning message will be displayed on the screen 54 of display unit 52 irrespective of the mode in which the MIE appliance is operating.
• the user of MIE appliance 22 (or another person) has selected the TV mode of operation by pressing push button 156 on remote control 26 or, alternatively, if a keyboard is present, by pressing the corresponding mode selection button on the keyboard. It is further assumed in this scenario that, while TV is being watched, the door of refrigerator/freezer 32 is left ajar.
• This condition is detected by the refrigerator controller 185 which sends a "door ajar” alarm to the NIB 184 of the refrigerator.
• the refrigerator NIB 184 embeds the "door ajar” alarm in the selected network communication protocol and sends the alarm over power cord 42 and installed electrical wiring 38 to the appliance NIB 128 of the supervising MIE appliance 22 (see FIG. 4B).
• the network protocol is stripped away and the alarm message transmitted to the MIE controller board 116, which sends the message to the screen 54 of MIE display unit 52.
• the warning message is preferably displayed toward the bottom of screen 54 in a window as identified by reference character 174 in FIG. 10.
• FIG. 4a is started.
• controller board 116 determines whether the problem has been remedied; i.e., whether the refrigerator door has been closed. If it has, the warning message display 174 is removed from screen 54, and the program ends. If the refrigerator door has not been closed before the time lapses, controller board 1 16 sends the
• FIG. 11 How messages received from the appliances supervised by MIE appliance 22 and messages received from cellular phone 48 are displayed is shown in more detail in FIG. 11. These messages appear on screen 54 in window 194 irrespective of their origin. Scroll UP and scroll DOWN buttons 196 and 198 allow a user to bring up in window 194 messages which are hidden if window 194 is filled and there are additional messages.
• the cellular phone icon 208 is displayed (see FIG. 8) to alert the MIE appliance user that one or more messages have been received from cellular phone 48.
• a scroll button is selected with LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN buttons 200, 202, 204, and 206 and activated with GO button 192.
• Integrated unit 24 can also be used for purposes not discussed above, for example, energy management. As an example, many utilities charge a premium for electricity used at a rate above a floor level, especially during peak hours. It may happen that oven 30 is turned on while dishwasher 34 is running. If it does, integrated unit 24 can put the dishwasher into a pause mode in which it does not consume electricity so that the floor level is not exceeded and the premium avoided.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
• Cable Transmission Systems, Equalization Of Radio And Reduction Of Echo (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
• Radio Relay Systems (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=24129182

Family Applications (1)

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• 2000
  • 2000-04-04 EP EP00920136A patent/EP1277352A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-04-04 AU AU2000240718A patent/AU2000240718A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-04-04 HK HK03101709.7A patent/HK1050287A1/zh unknown
  • 2000-04-04 CA CA002400556A patent/CA2400556A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-04-04 CN CN00819373A patent/CN1451242A/zh active Pending
  • 2000-04-04 WO PCT/US2000/008973 patent/WO2001074089A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2000-04-04 JP JP2001571680A patent/JP2003529299A/ja active Pending
  • 2000-04-04 NZ NZ521493A patent/NZ521493A/en unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-09-17 ZA ZA200207456A patent/ZA200207456B/en unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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