EP3084744B1 - System und verfahren zur optimierten anwendungssteuerung - Google Patents

System und verfahren zur optimierten anwendungssteuerung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3084744B1
EP3084744B1 EP14872863.7A EP14872863A EP3084744B1 EP 3084744 B1 EP3084744 B1 EP 3084744B1 EP 14872863 A EP14872863 A EP 14872863A EP 3084744 B1 EP3084744 B1 EP 3084744B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
intended target
appliance
target appliance
command
uce
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EP14872863.7A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP3084744A1 (de
EP3084744A4 (de
Inventor
Paul D. Arling
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Universal Electronics Inc
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Universal Electronics Inc
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Priority claimed from US14/136,023 external-priority patent/US9449500B2/en
Application filed by Universal Electronics Inc filed Critical Universal Electronics Inc
Priority to PL14872863T priority Critical patent/PL3084744T3/pl
Publication of EP3084744A1 publication Critical patent/EP3084744A1/de
Publication of EP3084744A4 publication Critical patent/EP3084744A4/de
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C17/00—Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
    • G08C17/02—Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link using a radio link
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C23/00—Non-electrical signal transmission systems, e.g. optical systems
    • G08C23/04—Non-electrical signal transmission systems, e.g. optical systems using light waves, e.g. infrared
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C2201/00—Transmission systems of control signals via wireless link
    • G08C2201/20—Binding and programming of remote control devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C2201/00—Transmission systems of control signals via wireless link
    • G08C2201/90—Additional features
    • G08C2201/93—Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop

Definitions

  • Controlling devices for example remote controls, for use in issuing commands to entertainment and other appliances, and the features and functionality provided by such controlling devices are well known in the art.
  • various communication protocols, command formats, and interface methods have been implemented by appliance manufacturers to enable operational control of entertainment and other appliances, also as well known in the art.
  • wireless and wired communication and/or digital interconnection methods such as WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc.
  • appliance manufacturer adoption of such newer methods remains inconsistent and fragmented. This, together with the large installed base of prior generation appliances, may cause confusion, mis-operation, or other problems when a user or manufacturer of a controlling device, such as a remote control, attempts to take advantage of the enhanced features and functionalities of these new control methods.
  • US 2013/249679 A1 describes a system and method for optimized appliance control.
  • US 2012/297040 A1 describes an information processing apparatus including a storage block configured to store information about a combination of devices to be controlled.
  • US 2009/239587 A1 describes a system and method for appliance control via a personal communication or entertainment device.
  • This invention relates generally to enhanced methods for appliance control via use of a controlling device, such as a remote control, smart phone, tablet computer, etc., and in particular to methods for taking advantage of improved appliance control communication methods and/or command formats in a reliable manner which is largely transparent to a user and/or seamlessly integrated with legacy appliance control technology.
  • the instant invention comprises a modular hardware and software solution, hereafter referred to as a Universal Control Engine (UCE), which is adapted to provide device control across a variety of available control methodologies and communication media, such as for example various infrared (IR) remote control protocols; Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) as may be implemented over a wired HDMI connection; internet protocol (IP), wired or wireless; RF4CE wireless; Bluetooth (BT) wireless personal area network(s); UPnP protocol utilizing wired USB connections; or any other available standard or proprietary appliance command methodology. Since each individual control paradigm may have its own strengths and weaknesses, the UCE may be adapted to combine various control methods in order to realize the best control option for each individual command for each individual device.
  • IR infrared
  • CEC Consumer Electronic Control
  • IP internet protocol
  • RF4CE wireless
  • BT Bluetooth
  • UPnP protocol utilizing wired USB connections
  • the UCE itself may be adapted to receive commands from a controlling device, for example, a conventional remote control or a remote control app resident on a smart device such as a phone or tablet, etc., utilizing any convenient protocol and command structure (IR, RF4CE, BT, proprietary RF, etc.)
  • a controlling device for example, a conventional remote control or a remote control app resident on a smart device such as a phone or tablet, etc.
  • the controlling device may range from a very simple unidirectional IR device to a fully functional WiFi enabled smart phone or the like.
  • the UCE may receive command requests from such a controlling device and apply the optimum methodology to propagate the command function(s) to each intended target appliance, such as for example a TV, AV receiver, DVD player, etc.
  • the UCE may enable a single controlling device to command the operation of all appliances in a home theater system while coordinating available methods of controlling each particular appliance in order to select the best and most reliable method for issuing each command to each given device.
  • a UCE may utilize IR commands to power on an AV receiver appliance while CEC commands or another method may be used to select inputs or power down the same AV receiver appliance; or CEC commands may be used to power on and select inputs on a TV appliance while IR commands may be used to control the volume on the same TV appliance.
  • a UCE may comprise modular hardware and software which may be embodied in a standalone device suitable for use in an existing home theater equipment configuration, or may be incorporated into any one of the appliances such as a STB, TV, AV receiver, HDMI switch etc. Further, when incorporated into an appliance, UCE functionality may be provisioned as a separate hardware module or may be incorporated together with other hardware functionality, e.g., as part of an HDMI interface IC or chip set, etc.
  • a UCE device 100 may be used to issue commands to control various controllable appliances, such as a television 106, a cable set top box combined with a digital video recorder ("STB/DVR") 110, a DVD player 108, and an AV receiver 120. While illustrated in the context of a television 106, STB/DVR 110, a DVD player 108, and an AV receiver 120, it is to be understood that controllable appliances may include, but need not be limited to, televisions, VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, cable or satellite converter set-top boxes (“STBs”), amplifiers, CD players, game consoles, home lighting, drapery, fans, HVAC systems, thermostats, personal computers, etc.
  • STBs digital video recorder
  • appliance commands may be issued by UCE 100 in response to infrared (“IR”) request signals 116 received from a remote control device 102, radio frequency (“RF") request signals 118 received from an app 124 resident on a smart device 104, or any other device from which UCE 100 may be adapted to receive requests, using any appropriate communication method.
  • IR infrared
  • RF radio frequency
  • transmission of the requested appliance commands from the UCE to appliances 106,108,112,120 may take the form of wireless IR signals 114 or CEC commands issued over a wired HDMI interface 112, as appropriate to the capabilities of the particular appliance to which each command may be directed.
  • AV receiver 120 may not support HDMI inputs, being connected to audio source appliances 108,110 via, for example S/PDIF interfaces 122. Accordingly UCE 100 may be constrained to transmit all commands destined for AV receiver 120 exclusively as IR signals, while commands destined for the other appliances 106 through 110 may take the form of either CEC or IR signals as appropriate for each command. By way of example without limitation, certain TV manufacturers may elect not to support volume adjustment via CEC. If the illustrative TV 106 is of such manufacture, UCE 100 may relay volume adjustment requests to TV 106 as IR signals 114, while other requests such as power on/off or input selections may be relayed in the form of CEC commands over HDMI connection 112.
  • transmissions to and from UCE device 100 may take the form of any convenient IR, RF, hardwired, point-to-point, or networked protocol, as necessary for a particular embodiment.
  • wireless communications 116, 118, etc., between exemplary devices are illustrated herein as direct links, it should be appreciated that in some instances such communication may take place via a local area network or personal area network, and as such may involve various intermediary devices such as routers, bridges, access points, etc. Since these items are not necessary for an understanding of the instant invention, they are omitted from this and subsequent Figures for the sake of clarity.
  • UCE 100 may receive wireless request signals from a remote control 200 and/or an app resident on a tablet computer 202.
  • command transmissions to appliances 106,108,110 may take the form of wired CEC commands or wireless IR commands.
  • remote control 200 may be in bi-directional communication 208 with UCE 100 and accordingly the UCE may delegate the transmission of IR commands 210 to the remote control device 200, i.e., use remote control 200 as a relay device for those commands determined to be best executed via IR transmissions.
  • a setup app 214 executing on a smart device such as tablet computer 202 may be utilized in conjunction with an Internet (212,204) accessible or cloud based server 206 and associated database 207 to initially configure UCE 100 for operation with the specific group of appliances to be controlled, i.e., to communicate to UCE 100 a matching command code set and capability profile for each particular appliance to be controlled, for example based on type, manufacture, model number, etc., as will be described in greater detail hereafter.
  • UCE functionality 100' may be embedded in an appliance, for example STB/DVR 310.
  • remote control 102 and/or smart device 104 may transmit wireless request signals directly to STB/DVR 310 for action by the built-in UCE function 100', which actions may, as before, comprise CEC command transmissions via HDMI connection 112 or IR command transmissions 114, originating in this instance from an IR blaster provisioned to the STB/DVR appliance 310.
  • a set up application resident in STB/DVR 310 may be utilized to configure UEC 100', using for example an Internet connection 304 accessible through a cable modem and/or cable distribution system headend.
  • UCE functionality 100' may be embedded in an AV receiver 420 which may serve as an HDMI switch between various content sources such as a STB/DVR 110 or a DVD player 108 and a rendering device such as TV 106.
  • AV receiver 420 may also support various other input formats, for example analog inputs such as the illustrative 404 from CD player 408; composite or component video; S/PDIF coaxial or fiberoptic; etc.
  • request signals 406 may be directed to AV receiver 420, for example from remote control 402, for action by UCE function 100'.
  • resulting appliance commands may be transmitted using CEC signals transmitted over HDMI connections 112, or via IR signals 114 transmitted from an associated IR blaster.
  • initial configuration of UCE 100' to match the equipment to be controlled may be performed by an Internet-connected app resident in AV receiver 420, or by an app resident in tablet computer 202 or other smart device, as mentioned previously in conjunction with Figure 2 .
  • UCE function 100' may be incorporated into an Internet-capable TV, an HDMI switch, a game console, etc.
  • appliance command set and capability database 207 may be located at an internet cloud or a cable system headend, may be stored locally (in all or in part), which local storage may take the form of internal memory within the UCE itself or in an appliance such as a TV, STB or AV receiver, or may take the form of a memory stick or the like attachable to a smart device or appliance; etc.
  • an exemplary UCE device 100 may include, as needed for a particular application, a processor 500 coupled to a memory 502 which memory may comprise a combination of ROM memory, RAM memory, and/or non-volatile read/write memory and may take the form of a chip, a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory stick, etc., or any combination thereof. It will also be appreciated that some or all of the illustrated memory may be physically incorporated within the same IC chip as the processor 500 (a so called "microcontroller") and, as such, it is shown separately in Fig. 5 only for the sake of clarity.
  • Interface hardware provisioned as part of the exemplary UCE platform may include IR receiver circuitry 504 and IR transmitter circuitry 506; an HDMI interface 508; a WiFi transceiver and interface 510; an Ethernet interface 512; and any other wired or wireless I/O interface(s) 514 as appropriate for a particular embodiment, by way of example without limitation Bluetooth, RF4CE, USB, Zigbee, Zensys, X10/Insteon, HomePlug, HomePNA, etc.
  • the electronic components comprising the exemplary UCE device 100 may be powered by an external power source 516.
  • processor 500 and/or memory 502 and/or certain portions of interface hardware items 504 through 514 may be shared with other functionalities of the host appliance.
  • the memory 502 may include executable instructions that are intended to be executed by the processor 500 to control the operation of the UCE device 100 (collectively, the UCE programming) as well as data which serves to define the necessary control protocols and command values for use in transmitting command signals to controllable appliances (collectively, the command data).
  • the processor 500 may be programmed to control the various electronic components within the exemplary UCE device 100, e.g., to monitor the communication means 504,510 for incoming request messages from controlling devices, to cause the transmission of appliance command signals, etc.
  • the UCE device 100 may be adapted to be responsive to events, such as a received request message from remote control 102 or smart device 104, changes in connected appliance status reported over HDMI interface 508, WiFi interface 510, or Ethernet interface 512, etc. In response to an event, appropriate instructions within the UCE programming may be executed.
  • events such as a received request message from remote control 102 or smart device 104, changes in connected appliance status reported over HDMI interface 508, WiFi interface 510, or Ethernet interface 512, etc.
  • appropriate instructions within the UCE programming may be executed.
  • the UCE device 100 may retrieve from the command data stored in memory 502 a preferred command transmission medium (e.g., IR, CEC over HDMI, IP over WiFi, etc.) and a corresponding command value and control protocol to be used in transmitting that command to an intended target appliance, e.g., TV 106, in a format recognizable by that appliance to thereby control one or more functional operations of that appliance.
  • a preferred command transmission medium e.g., IR, CEC over HDMI, IP over WiFi, etc.
  • the status of connected appliances may be monitored and/or tabulated by the UCE programming in order to facilitate adjustment of appliance settings to match user-defined activity profiles, e.g. "Watch TV”, “View a movie”, etc.
  • the UCE programming of an exemplary UCE device 100 may comprise a universal control engine core 650 together with a series of scalable software modules 652 through 660, each module supporting a particular appliance command protocol or method and provisioned as appropriate for a particular embodiment.
  • the illustrative embodiment of Figure 6 may include an internet protocol (IP) module 652, a CEC over HDMI module 654, a Bluetooth module 656, an IR module 660, and other modules(s) 658, as appropriate for the particular application.
  • the appliances to be controlled may include an IP enabled AV receiver 620, an IP enabled STB/DVR 610, TV 106, DVD player 108, and CD player 408.
  • HDMI 112 and/or Ethernet 670 interfaces may be interconnected via HDMI 112 and/or Ethernet 670 interfaces.
  • the illustrative interconnections 112 and 670 of Figure 6 are intended to depict logical topography only, and accordingly details of exact physical cabling structure and/or the presence of any necessary switches, routers, hubs, repeaters, interconnections, etc., are omitted for the sake of clarity.
  • the preferred method/protocol/medium for issuance of commands to the exemplary appliances of Figure 6 may vary by both appliance and by the function to be performed.
  • volume control and analog input selection commands 622 targeted to AV receiver 620 may be required to be issued via IR transmissions
  • power on/off and HDMI input selection functionality commands 624 may be better communicated via CEC commands and advanced functionality commands 626 such as sound field configuration may be best communicated via an Ethernet connection.
  • the various operational functions of the other appliances may best commanded via a mixture of mediums, methods, and protocols, as illustrated.
  • a particular appliance may support receipt of an operational command via more than one path, for example the power on/off function of AV receiver 620 may be available not only as a CEC command, but also via an IR command.
  • the UCE preferred command format may be that which has been determined to offer the greatest reliability, for example in the above instance the CEC command may be preferred since this form of command is not dependent on line-of-sight and also permits confirmation that the action has been performed by the target appliance.
  • the exemplary UCE core program 650 may be provisioned with a preferred command matrix 700, as illustrated in Figure 7 .
  • Exemplary preferred command matrix 700 may comprise a series of data cells or elements, e.g. cells 712, each corresponding to a specific command 702 and a specific one of the appliances to be controlled 704.
  • the data content of such a cell or element may comprise identification of a form of command/transmission to be used and a pointer to the required data value and formatting information for the specific command.
  • the data element 712 corresponding to the "Input 2" command 706 for the configured TV appliance 708, may comprise an indicator that a CEC command is to be used, i.e., an indicator of the transmission device that is to be used to communicate the command to the intended target appliance, together with a pointer to the appropriate command data value and HDMI-CEC bus address; while data element 714 corresponding to the same command function for the configured AV receiver 710 may comprise an indicator that an IR command is to be used, together with a pointer to appropriate command data and formatting information within an IR code library stored elsewhere in UCE memory 502 .
  • one or more secondary command matrices 716 may also be provisioned, allowing for the use of alternate command methods in the event it is determined by the UCE programming that a preferred command was unsuccessful.
  • Command matrix 700 may also contain null entries, for example 718, where a particular function is not available on or not supported by a specific appliance.
  • command matrix 700 may be created and loaded into the memory 502 of UCE 100 during an initialization and set-up process, as will now be described in further detail.
  • a setup application may be provided.
  • such a set up application may take the form of programming to be executed on any convenient device with a suitable user interface and capable of establishing communication with the UCE, such as without limitation a smart phone, tablet computer, personal computer, set top box, TV, etc., as appropriate for a particular embodiment.
  • such a set up application may be incorporated into the UCE programming itself, utilizing for example a connected TV screen and an associated controlling device as the user interface.
  • the series of steps which may be performed by a UCE set up application when configuring a UCE device for operation with a specific set of appliances remains similar. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the methods comprising the illustrative UCE set up application presented below in conjunction with Figures 8 and 9 may be generally applied, mutatis mutandis, to various alternative set up application embodiments.
  • a tablet computer such as the exemplary device 202 of Figure 2 may comprise, as needed for a particular application, a processor 800 memory 802 which memory may comprise a combination of ROM memory, RAM memory, and/or non-volatile read/write memory and may take the form of a chip, a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory stick, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • a processor 800 memory 802 which memory may comprise a combination of ROM memory, RAM memory, and/or non-volatile read/write memory and may take the form of a chip, a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory stick, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • external memory 804 may take the form of an SD card, memory stick, or the like.
  • Hardware provisioned as part of an exemplary tablet computer platform may include an LCD touchscreen 810 with associated display driver 806 and touch interface 808; hard keys 812 such as for example a power on/off key; a USB port 816; WiFi transceiver and interface 818; a Bluetooth transceiver and interface 820; a camera 822; and various other features 824 as appropriate for a particular embodiment, for example an accelerometer, GPS, ambient light sensor, near field communicator; etc.
  • the electronic components comprising the exemplary tablet computer device 202 may be powered by a battery-based internal power source 814, rechargeable for example via USB interface 816.
  • Memory 802 may include executable instructions that are intended to be executed by the processor 800 to control the operation of the tablet computer device 202 and to implement various functionalities such as Web browsing, game playing, video streaming, etc.
  • programming comprising additional functionalities may be downloaded into tablet computer 202 via, for example, WiFi interface 818, USB 816, external memory 804, or any other convenient method.
  • one such app may comprise a remote control app, for example as that described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 13/329,940 of like assignee, which app may be for use in commanding the operation of appliances 106, 108, 110 and/or 120 via UCE device 100.
  • tablet computer 202 may also be provisioned with a setup app 214, either as part of a remote control app or as separately downloadable item.
  • such a setup app upon being invoked at step 902 may initially request that the user place all of the appliances to be controlled into a known state, e.g., powered on, in order to enable the appliance detection and/or testing steps which follow.
  • the setup app may determine the identity of those appliances which are CEC-enabled. This may be accomplished by communicating a request to the associated UCE, which at step 906 which may cause the UCE programming to scan connected HDMI devices for appliances which are CEC-enabled and/or identifiable via interaction over the HDMI interface, for example as described in co- pending U.S. Patent Application No. 13/198,072 , of like assignee, and communicate such appliance identities to the setup application.
  • the setup application may determine if additional non-CEC appliances are connected to the UCE device via the HDMI interface. This may be accomplished by requesting the UCE programming to scan for any further HDMI connections at step 910 and communicate the findings back to the setup application. Though not illustrated, it will be appreciated that where appropriate for a particular embodiment the UCE programming may conduct similar scans to in order to discover appliances connected via Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, RF4CE, WiFi etc., where such interfaces may be provisioned to a UCE.
  • the setup application may display a listing of detected appliances (both identified and not yet identified) to the user.
  • the user may be prompted to enter appliance identifying information for those HDMI or otherwise connected appliances which were detected but not identified, as well as identifying information regarding any additional appliances which may form part of the system to be controlled but are not discoverable as described above (for example appliances such as AV receiver 120 or CD player 408 which may be responsive only to unidirectional IR commands).
  • such identifying information may take the form of user-entered data such as an appliance type, brand and model number, or a setup code from a listing in a user guide; or may take the form of scanned or electronic information such as a digital picture of the appliance itself or of a bar code, QR code, or the like associated with appliance; near field acquisition of RFID tag data; etc.; or any combination thereof as appropriate for a particular embodiment.
  • the setup app may communicate that information to a database server, for example server 206, for performance of step 918, comprising identification of and retrieval of command codeset and capability data corresponding to the identified appliances from a database 207, and provision of this data to the setup application for processing and ultimate transfer to the UCE device.
  • the transferred codeset data may comprise complete command data values and formatting information, may comprise pointers to command data values and formatting information already stored in the memories 502 and/or 802/804 of the UCE or the device upon which the setup application is currently resident, or a combination thereof.
  • database 207 may contain alternate codesets for an identified appliance, or where uncertainty exists regarding a particular appliance model number, etc.
  • various control paradigms and/or command data sets may be tested against the appliances to be controlled. Such testing may take the form of soliciting user response to effects observable commands, monitoring of HDMI interface status changes as described for example in U.S. Patent Application No. 13/240,604 , of like assignee and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, or any other method as convenient for a particular application.
  • a suitable preferred command matrix for example as illustrated in Figure 7 , may be constructed and stored into the memory 502 of exemplary UCE device 100, the matrix being constructed by considering the communication capabilities and functionalities of the devices identified via the above-described processes.
  • any suitable method may be utilized, for example a system-wide prioritization of command media and methods by desirability (e.g. apply IP, CEC, IR in descending order); appliance-specific command maps by brand and/or model; function-specific preference and/or priority maps (e.g. all volume function commands via IR where available); etc.; or any combination thereof.
  • the exact selection of command method priorities or mapping may take into account factors such connection reliability, e.g. wired versus wireless, bidirectional versus unidirectional communication, etc.; speed of command transmission or execution; internal priorities within an appliance, e.g. received IP received packets processed before CEC packets, etc.; type of protocol support (e.g. error correction versus error detection; ack/nak, etc.); or any other factors which may applied in order to achieve optimum performance of a particular embodiment.
  • said preferred command matrix may be performed at the database server or within the setup application, or a combination thereof, depending on the particular embodiment.
  • a preferred command matrix has been finalized and stored in the UCE device, at step 932 a series of desired appliance configurations associated with specific user activities may be configured and stored into the UCE device, as will be now be described.
  • an exemplary setup application may subsequently guide a user through a series of steps in order to establish the desired appliance configurations for a series of possible activities.
  • the user may be presented with a list of possible activities, e.g., "Watch TV”, “Watch a movie”, “Listen to music", etc.
  • the user may also be able to edit activity titles and/or create additional user defined activities.
  • a user may select a particular activity for configuration, for example "Watch TV”.
  • the user may be prompted to identify the content source for the activity being configured, for example cable STB/DVR 110 for the exemplary "Watch TV" activity.
  • Such a prompt may take the form of a listing of eligible appliances as determined during the foregoing appliance set up steps; explicit user entry of an appliance type; etc.
  • the user may be prompted in a similar manner to select video and audio rendering appliances for use in this activity, for example TV 106 and AVR receiver 120 respectively.
  • the set up application in concert with UCE programming may be able to ascertain which input port of each rendering appliance is attached to the content source appliance identified for this activity and/or if any intermediate switching appliance is in use (for example AV receiver 420 of the system illustrated in Figure 4 ).
  • the set up application may automatically create all or part of an appropriate rendering device input selection for the activity being configured. If not, at steps 1008 and 1010, the user may be additionally requested to identify the applicable content route(s) to the rendering appliances, e.g., input port numbers, presence of intermediate switches, etc.
  • the set up application may construct an activity matrix, for example as illustrated in Figure 11 .
  • activity matrix 1100 for a "Watch TV" activity may comprise a series of cells, for example 1110 or 1112, each corresponding to a desired configuration of a particular state 1106 or function 1108 of a specific appliance 1104 during the specified activity.
  • cell 1110 may indicate that the input of AV receiver 120 is to be set to "S/PDIF2"
  • cells 1112 and 1114 may indicate that transport function commands (e.g., "play”, “pause”, “fast forward” etc.) are to be directed to STB/DVR 110 and not to DVD 114.
  • the assignment of functions such as, for example, volume control, to specific appliances during a particular activity may be performed within an individual controlling device, i.e., the controlling device may determine the appliance to which volume control commands are to be directed, in a preferred embodiment this assignment may be performed within the UCE, thereby ensuring consistency across each activity when multiple controlling devices are present in an environment, for example devices 102 and 104 of the environment illustrated in Figure 1 .
  • the newly-constructed activity matrix 1100 may be tested by causing the UCE programming, utilizing preferred command matrix 700, to issue the commands necessary to place the identified appliances into the desired state and thereafter receiving verification at step 1018 that the desired activity was successfully initiated.
  • verification may comprise, for example, detection and reporting of HDMI or other content streams and/or appliance status by UCE programming by directly monitoring CEC status or by using methods such as described for example in U.S. Patent Application No. 13/240,604 ; solicitation of user input confirming correct operation; monitoring for presence or absence of analog input signals; recording of appliance status or error messages; etc.; or any combination thereof as appropriate for a particular embodiment.
  • step 1018 the set up application may return to step 1002 to allow reconfiguration of that activity and/or definition of alternative activities. If testing was successful, at steps 1020 and 1022 the completed activity matrix, for example 1100 as illustrated in Figure 11 , may be transferred to the UCE 100 for storage in UCE memory 502. Thereafter, at step 1024 the user may be offered the opportunity to return to step 1002 to define additional activity configurations, for example 1101,1102 as illustrated in Figure 11 , or to exit the activity configuration process.
  • the series of steps performed by the UCE programming in order to convey a function command to an appliance in accordance with a command request 1300 received from a controlling device such as remote control 102 or 200, smart device 104 or 202, etc., or in accordance with an internally generated requirement resulting from receipt of an activity request (as will be described hereafter) may initially comprise retrieval from a preferred command matrix that data element which corresponds to the requested command and target appliance.
  • receipt of a "TV power on" request from remote control 102 or the like at a UEC provisioned with the preferred command matrices illustrated in Figure 7 may cause retrieval of data element 720, indicating that the command is to be communicated to the TV appliance, e.g., television 106, using an HDMI CEC command.
  • the UCE programming may determine if the retrieved value constitutes a null element. If so, the referenced appliance does not support the requested command and accordingly at step 1314 an error message may be generated and the process thereafter terminated.
  • error message may depend upon the particular embodiment and/or the requesting controlling device: for example, if the request originated from a controlling device which is in bidirectional communication with the UCE the error may be communicated back to the requesting device for action, i.e., display to the user, illuminate a LED, activate a buzzer, etc. as appropriate.
  • action i.e., display to the user, illuminate a LED, activate a buzzer, etc.
  • that appliance's front panel display may be utilized.
  • the UCE may communicate the corresponding function command to the target appliance using the indicated command value and transmission method, e.g., for the exemplary data element 720 this may comprise issuing a CEC "power on" command to CEC logical device address zero (TV) via the UCE HDMI interface 508.
  • the UCE programming may determine if the communication interface and protocol used in issuing the command provides for any confirmation mechanism, i.e., explicit acknowledgement of receipt, monitoring of HDMI status on an interface, detection of a media stream or HDCP handshake, etc.
  • the UCE programming may simply assume that the command was successful and processing is complete. If however confirmation means exists, at step 1310 the UCE programming may wait to determine if the command was successfully executed. Once positive confirmation is received, processing is complete. If no confirmation or a negative confirmation is received, at step 1312 the UCE programming may determine if an alternative method is available to communicate the command to the target appliance.
  • this may comprise accessing a secondary command matrix 716 in order to determine if an alternative communication method is available for the specific function, e.g., "TV power on.” If an alternative does exist, at step 1316 the substitute command value and transmission method may be retrieved and processing may return to step 1306 to initiate an alternative attempt.
  • an IR "power on” command encoded according to SIRCS Spin Infrared Control System
  • an exemplary UCE may also support activity selection, whereby receipt of a single user request from a controlling device may cause a series of commands to be issued to various appliances in order to configure a system appropriately for a particular user activity, such as for example, watching television.
  • activity selection whereby receipt of a single user request from a controlling device may cause a series of commands to be issued to various appliances in order to configure a system appropriately for a particular user activity, such as for example, watching television.
  • a set of matrices defining desired equipment states suitable to various activities may be stored in UCE memory 502 for access by UCE programming when executing such a request.
  • the programming of an exemplary UCE may maintain an additional matrix 1200 representative of the current state of the controlled appliances, arranged for example by appliance 1202 and by operational state 1204.
  • data elements 1206 and 1208 in the illustrative table 1200 may indicate that TV 106 is currently powered on (1208) with HDMI port number 2 selected as the input (1206).
  • the data contents of the elements in such a table may be maintained in any convenient manner as appropriate to a particular embodiment, for example without limitation retrieval of HDMI/CEC status; monitoring input media streams and/or HDCP status; measuring power consumption; construction of a simulated appliance state such as described for example in U.S. Patent 6,784,805 ; etc.; or any combination thereof.
  • certain appliances such as for example AV receiver 120 which may be controllable only via unidirectional IR, the current state of the appliance may not be discernible.
  • a null data element 1210 maybe entered into exemplary matrix 1200 to indicate that this appliance may require configuration using discrete commands only and/or user interaction.
  • the data contents of the illustrative table may be maintained in memory 502 on an ongoing basis by UCE programming, while in other embodiments this data may be gathered "on the fly” at the time the activity request is being processed. Combinations of these methods may also be used, for example "on the fly” gathering for appliances connected via an HDMI bus combined with maintenance of a simulated state for appliances controlled via IR signals.
  • UCE programming may compare a desired state matrix, for example 1100, to a current state matrix, for example 1200, element by element, issuing commands as necessary to bring appliances to the desired state.
  • a desired state matrix for example 1100
  • a current state matrix for example 1200
  • element by element issuing commands as necessary to bring appliances to the desired state.
  • an exemplary series of steps which may be performed by the programming of a UCE in order to effect a "Watch TV" activity configuration will now be presented in conjunction with Figure 14 .
  • the reader may also wish to reference the equipment configuration of Figure 1 and the activity and current state matrices 1100 and 1200 of Figures 11 and 12 .
  • the exemplary UCE programming may access an applicable appliance state matrix 1100.
  • communication of the "power on” command to TV 106 may comprise a CEC command issued over HDMI connection 112.
  • a "mute" command may be communicated to TV 106, since element 1116 of illustrative matrix 1100 indicates that TV106 is not the primary audio rendering appliance.
  • communication of the "mute" command to TV 106 may comprise an IR transmission 114.
  • the active input of TV 106 may be set to "HDMI1" via a CEC command, and at steps 1414,1416 a CEC "power on” command may be communicated to STB/DVR 110 if that appliance is not already powered on.
  • the exemplary UCE programming may set an internal status to indicate that future transport command requests (e.g., play, pause, FF, etc.) should be routed to STB/DVR 110, as indicated by element 1112 of matrix 1100.
  • future transport command requests e.g., play, pause, FF, etc.
  • steps 1420,1422 a CEC "power off' command may be communicated to STB/DVR 108 if that appliance is not already powered off.
  • steps 1424 and 1426 “power on” and "input S/PDIF2" commands may be communicated to AV receiver 120 via IR signals.
  • the exemplary UCE programming may set an internal status to indicate that future volume control command requests (e.g. volume up/down, mute) should be routed to AV receiver 120, as indicated by element 1118 of matrix 1100, where after processing of the activity request is complete.
  • future volume control command requests e.g. volume up/down, mute
  • the exemplary UCE may also support activity selection, whereby receipt of a single user request from a smart device may cause a series of commands to be issued to various appliances in order to configure a system appropriately for one or more user activities, such as "watch TV,” “watch movie,” “listen to music,” etc.
  • activity selection whereby receipt of a single user request from a smart device may cause a series of commands to be issued to various appliances in order to configure a system appropriately for one or more user activities, such as “watch TV,” “watch movie,” “listen to music,” etc.
  • Fig. 15 To setup the user interface of the smart device to support such macro command functionality, an exemplary method is illustrated in Fig. 15 . More particularly, with reference to Fig. 15 , upon invocation of a setup app at step 1502 a user may be requested to place all of the appliances to be controlled into a known state, e.g., powered on or already joined in a wireless network, in order to enable the appliance detection and/or testing steps which follow.
  • the setup app may determine the identity of those appliances which are CEC-enabled or IP enabled. This may be accomplished by communicating a request to the associated UCE, which at step 1506 may cause the UCE programming to scan connected HDMI devices for appliances which are CEC-enabled and/or identifiable via interaction over the HDMI interface, for example as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 13/198,072 , of like assignee, and communicate such appliance identities to the setup application.
  • the setup app may also determine if the appliances has any associated icon information (for example stored as metadata on the appliance, available from a remote server, or the like) as well as information related to interface connection types, e.g., WI- FI, HDMI input/output, for use in the creation of supported macros. If the icon information is available, the icon information may be sent to the smart device by the appliance and/or retrieved by the smart device using other information provided by the appliance as appropriate as shown in step 1526.
  • icon information for example stored as metadata on the appliance, available from a remote server, or the like
  • information related to interface connection types e.g., WI- FI, HDMI input/output
  • icon information may then be automatically added to the user interface of the smart device whereupon an activation of the added icon may be used to provide access to command and control functionalities associated with the corresponding controllable device, including commands in the form of a listing of automatically generated macros available for that controllable device as described below.
  • icon information provided to the smart device may be used in connection with information stored on the smart device, stored in the internet cloud and/or at a remote server to automatically add an icon to the user interface of the smart device where the icon can be in the form of a logo for the controllable appliance, icons in the form of logos for content (e.g., television station logos) that can be accessed via the controllable appliance, etc.
  • icons may function as soft keys which may be selected to cause the performance of a further action for example, to display a device control page (e.g., to present television control soft keys such as channel up, channel down, etc.), cause the transmission of commands, etc. as described for example in U.S. Patent Application No. 10/288,727 , (now U.S. Patent 7,831,930 ) of like assignee, or any other method as convenient for a particular application.
  • the setup application then continues to step 1510 (after scanning for CEC connected appliances as discussed above) whereat the setup application may next determine if additional non-CEC appliances are connected to the UCE device via the HDMI interface. This may be accomplished by requesting the UCE programming to scan for any further HDMI connections at step 1512 and communicate the findings back to the setup application. Though not illustrated, it will be appreciated that, where appropriate for a particular embodiment, the UCE programming may conduct similar scans in order to discover appliances connected via Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, RF4CE, WiFi etc., where such interfaces may be provisioned to a UCE.
  • the setup application may display a listing of detected appliances (both identified and not yet identified) to the user.
  • the user may then be prompted to enter appliance identifying information for those HDMI or otherwise connected appliances which were detected but not identified, as well as identifying information regarding any additional appliances which may form part of the system to be controlled but which were not discoverable as described above (for example appliances such as AV receiver 120 or CD player 408 which may be responsive only to unidirectional IR commands).
  • such identifying information may take the form of user-entered data such as an appliance type, brand and model number, or a setup code from a listing in a user guide; or may take the form of scanned or electronic information such as a digital picture of the appliance itself or of a bar code, QR code, or the like associated with appliance; near field acquisition of RFID tag data; MAC address; etc.; or any combination thereof as appropriate for a particular embodiment.
  • the setup app may communicate that information to a database server, for example server 206, for performance of step 1520 in which the database server uses the identification information to retrieve icon information as needed (e.g., when such data was not obtainable from the appliance), command information as discussed previously, and in step 1522, to automatically generate macros which correspond to the appliance or a plurality of appliances considering their capability data as maintained in a database 207 and/or as retrieved from the appliances. Any such data gathered from and/or created by the server 206 will then be provisioned to the setup application for processing and ultimate transfer to the smart device and/or UCE as required.
  • a database server for example server 206
  • the transferred information and/or metadata may comprise complete command data values, appliance input/output data and current status, formatting information, pointers to command data values and formatting information already stored in the memories 502 and/or 802/804 of the UCE or the device upon which the setup application is currently resident, etc.
  • database 207 may contain alternate codesets, icon metadata, or macro information for an identified appliance, or where uncertainty exists regarding a particular appliance model number, etc.
  • control paradigms and/or command data sets may be tested against the appliances to be controlled. Such testing may take the form of soliciting user response to effects observable commands, monitoring of HDMI interface status changes as described for example in U.S. Patent Application No.
  • a suitable preferred user profile 1524 may be constructed and stored into the memory 502 of exemplary UCE device 100, the user profile 1524 being constructed by considering the communication capabilities and functionalities of the devices identified via the above-described processes.
  • any suitable method may be utilized, for example a system-wide prioritization of command media and methods by desirability (e.g. apply IP, CEC, IR in descending order); appliance-specific command maps by brand and/or model; function-specific preference and/or priority maps (e.g. all volume function commands via IR where available); etc.; or any combination thereof.
  • the exact selection of command method priorities or mapping may take into account factors such connection reliability, e.g. wired versus wireless, bidirectional versus unidirectional communication, etc.; speed of command transmission or execution; internal priorities within an appliance, e.g. received IP received packets processed before CEC packets, etc.; type of protocol support (e.g. error correction versus error detection; ack/nak, etc.); or any other factors which may applied in order to achieve optimum performance of a particular embodiment.
  • said construction of said user profile 1524 may be performed at the database server or within the setup application, or a combination thereof, depending on the particular embodiment.
  • the programming of an exemplary UCE may utilize a command prioritization list, for example a prioritization list "IP, CEC, IR" may cause the UCE programming to first determine if the requested command can be issued using Internet Protocol, only if not, then determine if the requested command can be issued using a CEC command over the HDMI interface, and only if not, then attempt to issue the requested command via an infrared signal.
  • a prioritization reflects an exemplary preference of using bi-directional communication protocols over uni-directional communication protocols over line of sight communication protocols, e.g., IR, when supported by the intended target appliance.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Verfahren zum Steuern eines funktionellen Betriebs eines beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120), umfassend:
    als Reaktion auf ein erfasstes Vorhandensein des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) innerhalb einer logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte, Verwenden von Identitätsinformationen, die dem beabsichtigten Zielgerät zugeordnet sind, um automatisch ein Symbol, das für das beabsichtigte Zielgerät repräsentativ ist, zu einer grafischen Benutzeroberfläche einer Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) hinzuzufügen, und um an einem Universalsteuermotor (100) eine Liste von Kommunikationsverfahren zur Verwendung bei einem Steuern entsprechender funktionellen Betriebe des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) zu erstellen; und
    als Reaktion auf ein abgetastetes Aktivieren des Symbols, das für das beabsichtigte Zielgerät (106, 108, 112, 120) repräsentativ ist, wie zu der grafischen Benutzeroberfläche der Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) hinzugefügt, Veranlassen der Steuervorrichtung, in einen Betriebszustand versetzt zu werden, der zum Steuern von funktionellen Betrieben des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts geeignet ist, während der Universalsteuermotor (100) veranlasst wird, wenigstens eines von mehreren Kommunikationsverfahren in der Liste von Kommunikationsverfahren zu verwenden, die dem beabsichtigten Zielgerät zugeordnet worden ist, um wenigstens einen Befehl an das beabsichtigte Zielgerät zu übertragen, um das beabsichtigte Zielgerät in einen vorbestimmten Betriebszustand zu versetzen, wobei das Versetzen der Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) in einen Betriebszustand, der zum Steuern von funktionellen Betrieben des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) geeignet ist, das Veranlassen der Steuervorrichtung umfasst, eine grafische Benutzeroberflächenseite mit aktivierbaren Symbolen anzuzeigen, die für steuerbare Funktionen des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts repräsentativ sind, wobei die aktivierbaren Symbole der grafischen Benutzeroberflächenseite aktivierbare Symbole mit Logos umfassen, die für Medieninhalte repräsentativ sind, die über das beabsichtigte Zielgerät (106, 108, 112, 120) zugänglich sind, und wobei die Logos, die für Medieninhalte repräsentativ sind, die über das beabsichtigte Zielgerät zugänglich sind, automatisch auf den aktivierbaren Symbolen durch Verwenden der Identitätsinformationen bestückt werden, die mit dem beabsichtigten Zielgerät (106, 108, 112, 120) verknüpft sind.
  2. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei die Identitätsinformationen Symbolmetadaten einschließen, die der Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) von dem beabsichtigten Zielgerät (106, 108, 112, 120) bereitgestellt werden, und wobei die Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) die Symbolmetadaten verwendet, um das Symbol, das für das beabsichtigte Zielgerät repräsentativ ist, automatisch zu der grafischen Benutzeroberfläche der Steuervorrichtung hinzuzufügen.
  3. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei die Identitätsinformationen Symbolmetadaten einschließen, die an die Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) von einer entfernt befindlichen Servervorrichtung bereitgestellt werden, und wobei die Steuervorrichtung die Symbolmetadaten verwendet, um das Symbol, das für das beabsichtigte Zielgerät repräsentativ ist, automatisch zu der grafischen Benutzeroberfläche der Steuervorrichtung hinzuzufügen.
  4. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Universalsteuermotor (100) als Reaktion auf ein abgetastetes Aktivieren des Symbols, das für das beabsichtigte Zielgerät (106, 108, 112, 120) repräsentativ ist, wie zu der grafischen Benutzeroberfläche der Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) hinzugefügt, veranlasst wird, eine automatisch erzeugte Makrobefehlssequenz auszuführen, um wenigstens ein zusätzliches steuerbares Gerät innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte in einen entsprechenden vorbestimmten Betriebszustand zu versetzen.
  5. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei die Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) ein Smartphone oder eine Tablet-Rechenvorrichtung umfasst.
  6. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, umfassend das Veranlassen der Steuervorrichtung (200, 202), das Vorhandensein des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte zu erfassen.
  7. Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, wobei eine Kommunikation, die durch Verwenden eines Bluetooth-Kommunikationsprotokolls ausgetauscht wird, durch die Steuervorrichtung (200, 202) verwendet wird, um das Vorhandensein des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte zu erfassen.
  8. Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, umfassend das Versetzen des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) in einen vorbestimmten Zustand, um das Erfassen des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte zu erleichtern.
  9. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, umfassend das Erfassen des Vorhandenseins des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts (106, 108, 112, 120) innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte durch ein Gerät mit dem Universalsteuermotor (100).
  10. Verfahren nach Anspruch 9, wobei eine Kommunikation, die durch Verwenden eines Bluetooth-Kommunikationsprotokolls ausgetauscht wird, durch das Gerät mit dem Universalsteuermotor (100) verwendet wird, um das Vorhandensein des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts innerhalb der logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte zu erfassen.
  11. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, umfassend ein Auffordern eines Benutzers, Daten bereitzustellen, die die Identitätsinformationen angeben, die mit dem beabsichtigten Zielgerät verknüpft sind, als Reaktion auf ein erfasstes Vorhandensein des beabsichtigten Zielgeräts innerhalb einer logischen Topographie steuerbarer Geräte.
  12. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei die beabsichtigte Zielvorrichtung den Universalsteuermotor (100) umfasst.
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EP3084744A4 (de) 2016-12-28

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