KR20050115317A - Device, controller, method and signal for remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

Remotely controlling a device still has several inconveniences associated with it, like the plurality of dedicated controllers, the hassle of learning or programming a remote controller, a preprogrammed memory bank which is outdated, the distribution and sharing of programs, or separate efforts to design the receiver of the device and the transmitter of the controller. To solve these inconveniences, the device is equipped with transmitting means for transmission of its properties that explicitly define how the device can be remotely controlled. The remote controller is equipped with receiving means for the properties and subsequently uses the properties for remotely controlling the device, by generating and transmitting signals in accordance with the properties.

Description

Device, controller, method and signal for remote control

The present invention relates to a device remotely controllable by a signal, the device having the property of defining at least partly how the device is remotely controllable.

The invention also relates to a controller for generating a signal and remotely controlling the device by transmitting the signal to the device.

The invention also relates to a system comprising a device remotely controllable by a signal and a controller for remotely controlling the device by generating and transmitting the signal.

The invention also relates to a method of remotely controlling a device by a signal.

The invention also relates to a signal for transmitting a characteristic of a remotely controllable device.

The invention also relates to a signal for initiating the transmission of a characteristic of a remotely controllable device.

One embodiment of the device described at the outset is known from US Pat. No. 6,157,316, which discloses a device that can be controlled from a remote controller, as will be discussed further below.

Remotely controllable devices and their respective controllers exist everywhere these days. These devices are generally shipped and sold with dedicated controllers for the model and brand of that particular device, respectively. One disadvantage is that manipulating these devices requires manipulating multiple controllers. Another disadvantage is that, as described below, the device can be controlled from a so-called universal remote controller, thus avoiding the use of a dedicated controller, thus wasting resources and incurring unnecessary costs.

Well-known learnable remote controllers alleviate this problem, because they can receive, store and retransmit signals transmitted by dedicated controllers. A single learnable remote controller can transmit signals from multiple dedicated controllers and function as a single substitute for multiple dedicated controllers. However, a disadvantage of the learnable remote controller is that learning it is a very cumbersome process on its own. This requires the dedicated controller to be opposed to the learnable controller, and clearly programmed each desired function of the learnable controller by pressing a number of buttons for each stored signal.

Likewise well known universal remote controllers mitigate the problem of programming a learnable controller by including a previously programmed memory bank containing signals for multiple devices. By entering an index number associated with the model and brand of the device, the universal controller is programmed for that device (see US 5,872,562). Another approach is to derive the model and brand of the device by capturing a signal from a dedicated controller (WO98 / 00933). The universal remote controller has the disadvantage that a fixed memory bank is useless for future devices that are not expected when the controller is manufactured.

The method disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,157,316 also includes a universal remote controller having a fixed memory bank. Rather than referencing and entering an index number, a method of powering up in a special mode that periodically transmits an index number to be received by a universal remote controller when the device is first used is disclosed. Upon receipt of the index number, the controller instructs the device to stop the transmission, which by itself refers to the index number in its memory bank to program as a dedicated controller for the device. One disadvantage of this approach is the risk that fixed memory banks are out of date for the device. Another disadvantage is the partially redundant effort required to maintain memory banks and develop devices.

Another known improvement of the universal remote controller involves uploading and downloading the program or parts from the Internet (WO01 / 39150A3). This allows the replacement of programs (part of them) that also address devices of the latest brand and model. One disadvantage of this approach is the difficult creation and distribution of replaced programs.

1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote controller and device of the kind described at the outset which alleviate at least some of the above mentioned disadvantages.

To this end, an aspect of the present invention,

Transmission means for transmitting the characteristic to a remote controller for generating a signal in accordance with the characteristic, and

A receiving means for receiving a signal.

By allowing the device to transmit clear characteristics about how it can be remotely controlled, the device becomes an authoritative source of this information. Indeed, the device itself can now "program" the remote controller. This ensures that the information is updated with the device. Since the device contains information about its control scheme, assuming that the end user already has a remote controller according to the present invention, the device can be shipped and sold without a dedicated controller. In addition, in the event of a loss or breakdown of the dedicated controller, the device can still be remotely controlled from the universal remote controller by transmitting its characteristics. Finally, there is no need for maintenance and no need for distribution of memory banks or programs (parts thereof).

In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the characteristic at least partially defines the signal. By transmitting clear characteristics of the signal, the device simplifies signal generation by the remote controller.

In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the device comprises means for processing the received signal according to the code, the characteristic at least partially defining the code. The remote controller may subsequently generate a signal in accordance with the code and avoid transmitting an unsupported coded signal.

In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the device is remotely controllable by an additional signal and is arranged to transmit a characteristic in response to receiving the additional signal. This allows the remote controller to ask the device about its characteristics.

Another aspect of the invention provides a controller comprising receiving means for receiving a characteristic of the device transmitted by the device, the characteristic at least partially defining how the device is remotely controllable and the controller being received It is arranged to generate a signal according to the characteristics.

In one embodiment of the controller according to the invention, the controller is arranged to generate and transmit further signals for instructing the device to transmit the characteristic. This allows the remote controller to ask the device about its characteristics. This also simplifies the "programming" of a single remote controller for multiple devices.

In one embodiment of the controller according to the invention,

The controller has a control for remotely controlling the remotely controllable device,

A signal is generated and transmitted in response to operating the control,

The controller comprises a display screen for displaying the control,

The characteristic at least partially defines the control. This allows the device to affect how its functions and capabilities are rendered on the remote controller.

The above objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Some of the features shown in the figures may be implemented in software and likewise represent software entities, such as software modules or objects.

1 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of a system 100 in accordance with the present invention, which includes a remote controller 110 and a remote controllable device 120.

Device 120 is typically an audio and / or video device such as a television, set-top box or audio set. It may be suitable for the reception of audio and / or video signals broadcast over a medium such as public, cable or the internet. Device 120 may be suitable for the reproduction of audio and / or video from storage media such as tape, memory, CD, DVD, and the like.

Alternatively, device 120 may be a more exotic device, such as applied to environmental intelligence thermostats, light emitting devices, curtains or sunscreens, and the like.

The device 120 is controllable by the signal 130 generated and transmitted by the controller 110. Signal 130 may be an electromagnetic signal including an acoustic signal (eg, ultrasonic frequencies) or radio signals, (visible or invisible) light signals and, eg, an infrared signal. Medium air, fiber, cables, or the like may carry the signal 130. The device 120 comprises a receiving means 122 capable of receiving a signal 130. Device 120 has certain remote controllable capabilities (not shown). These capabilities include those commonly found in audio devices and video devices, such as audio and / or video reproduction from received broadcasts or from storage media. Typical remote controllable capabilities or functions include, for example, play, fast forward / rewind, pause, volume up / down, channel up / down. The device is remotely controllable in that the device activates a performance or function associated with that particular signal 130 upon receipt of the signal 130.

The device 120 comprises transmitting means 121 for transmitting the characteristics 140 of the device 120. The characteristic defines (at least partially) how the device 120 is remotely controllable. The characteristic 140 is received by the receiving means 111 of the controller 110 and subsequently used to generate the signal 130. This may include a number of processing steps, such as demodulation, decoding, error correction, analysis, and storing the characteristic in a memory (not shown) of the remote controller 110. In addition, the generation of the signal may generally include steps such as generation, modulation, mixing, encoding, translating and synthesis of carrier frequencies. The entire procedure provides the remote controller with a clear recipe for generating signal 130 and, optionally, additional signal 150.

Device 120 may sequentially transmit multiple features 140 or combine multiple device features into a single transmission.

One example of characteristic 140 is the details of signal 130, such as its carrier frequency, modulation scheme, or code set. Signal 130 may be based on code, and device 120 may in this case comprise code processing means 123. The code processing means 123 may process the received signal 130 to obtain a command for the device 120.

Another example of a characteristic 140 is generally a device such as a support instruction set or code set, a mapping between a function associated with a particular code, support interface formats, configuration of the device, implemented device behavior and its semantics. Details of the remotely controllable capabilities or functions of 120.

In order to enable reuse of the components, the transmission means 121 of the device 120 may comprise the same components (not shown) that are generally used for remote controllers. To further facilitate reuse, the transmission means of device 120 is the same or substantially similar wavelengths, carrier frequencies, modulation schemes that are generally used for signals transmitted by a remote controller to control the device. , Encoding schemes, instruction codes and instruction semantics.

To make feature 140 independent of the particulars of receive controller 110, feature 140 may be self-describing or explicit.

To initiate the transmission of the feature 140, the device may include a button or a control. In addition, the transmission may be initiated by selecting a particular capability within the user interface of device 120 using, for example, an on-screen display (OSD) (not shown) of device 140. The characteristic 140 preferably includes the performance of the device 120 which is not typically available from a dedicated controller delivered with the device 120. This facilitates rapid market penetration of the remote controller 110 and the device 120 according to the present invention.

To be suitable for different remote controllers 110, the features 140 may be transmitted in a self-sufficient format, eg, based on a markup language such as XML. In this format, the semantics of the characteristic 140 can be clarified by including meta-information.

To reduce the required bandwidth for transmission, and to reduce the response time for programming the controller 110, the features 140 can be transmitted in a compressed format.

Advantageously, the details of the transmission of the characteristic 140 are normalized in such a way that the compliance remote controller 110 can remotely control any compliant device 120 after the transmission of the characteristics 140.

Characteristics 140 of signal 130 may preferably be related to its wavelength, carrier frequency, modulation, encoding. After receiving and processing at controller 110, these characteristics 140 may be applied to generate signal 130. This may involve the use of a general-purpose processor (not shown) with appropriate software.

The characteristics 140 of the code may relate to a control command set, the semantics of the control command, or the supporting remote control standards RC-5 and RC-6.

To initiate the transmission of the personality 140, the remote controller 110 can transmit an additional signal 150. The details of the additional signal 150 are preferably standardized in such a way that the compliant remote controller 110 can initiate transmission from any compliant device 120. If standardization fails and a number of separate additional signals 150 coexist, the controller 110 may attempt to sequentially transmit each of the separate additional signals 150 to initiate transmission from the device. have.

To prevent misuse of the effective acquisition of remote control via device 120 by transmission of additional signal 150 from second remote controller 110 manipulated by a malicious user, the device may be pressed by a button on the device. The transmission of the characteristic can be delayed until it is lost. Thus, physical access to the device 120 is needed to gain control. Another alternative way of preventing misuse is that the unique identity of remote controller 110 may be included in additional signal 150. The device 120 may store this identity in its memory and subsequently reject the additional signal 150 sent from other remote controllers 110. The stored identity may be released only as a procedure that requires physical access to device 120, for example. This may ensure that there is at most one remote controller 110 that uses the characteristics 140 of the device 120.

The details of the transmission of the characteristic 140 may be standardized in a manner that the compliant remote controller 110 can effectively control any compliant device 120.

The controller 110 may preferably be able to perform a handshake with the device 120 to ensure proper reception of the additional signal 150 by the device 120. This handshake causes the controller 110 to wait for the personality 140 of the device 120 after the additional signal 150 is transmitted, and when the controller 110 fails to receive the personality 140. 120 may be implemented by restarting the transmission of the additional signal 150.

In one embodiment of the controller according to the invention, the controller 110 includes a display screen 112. Instead of the usual fixed physical buttons on dedicated remote controllers, a display screen 112 may be used to display the control 113 serving as a button. Thus, when the controller 113 is operated, the controller 110 generates and transmits a signal 130 for activating the associated capability or function of the device 120.

In another embodiment of the controller according to the invention, the display screen 112 may be a touch screen on which the tapping on the display screen 112 at the position of the displayed control portion 113 will operate this control portion 113. have.

The characteristic 140 of the controller 113 may include geometric shapes, shapes, bitmaps, colors, actions, or attributes of any other controller 113.

The device 120 can effectively render its remote control capabilities on the display screen 112 of the controller 110 by transmitting the properties 140 for the plurality of controls 113.

The controller 110 may determine the layout of the controller 113 on the display screen 112 in response to the received characteristics 140 of the controller 113.

The characteristic includes the unique address of the device (eg, a serial number assigned by the manufacturer) and, therefore, preferably allows the remote controller to address signals to that particular device. This is particularly useful when two or more devices share the brand and model. In this case, the remote controller 110 groups the controls 113 per device 120 while simultaneously rendering the controls 113 for each of these devices 120 on the display screen 112. Can be.

It is to be noted that the above-described embodiments are illustrative rather than limiting of the invention, and those skilled in the art can design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The use of the verb “comprise” and its utilization does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those described in the claims. Singular notation of an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of distinct elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the device claim enumerating multiple means, multiple of these means may be embodied by one and the same hardware article. The fact that only certain measures are listed in different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims (13)

A device 120 remotely controllable by a signal 130, the device 120 having a characteristic 140 that defines at least partially how the device 120 is remotely controllable. In Transmission means (121) for transmitting said characteristic (140) to a remote controller (110) for generating said signal (130) in accordance with said characteristic (140); And A remote controllable device, comprising receiving means (111) for receiving the signal (130). The device of claim 1, wherein the characteristic defines at least partially the signal. The method of claim 2, The device 120 comprises processing means 123 for processing the received signal according to a code, The property (140) defines at least part of the code. The device of claim 1, wherein the device 120 is remotely controllable by an additional signal 150 and is arranged to transmit the characteristic 140 in response to receiving the additional signal 150. Remotely controllable device. In a controller 110 for remotely controlling a device by generating a signal 130 and transmitting the signal 130 to the device 120, Receiving means 111 for receiving the characteristic 140 of the device 120 transmitted by the device 120, the characteristic 140 being at least how remotely controllable the device 120 is; In partly defined, the controller (110) is arranged to generate the signal (130) in accordance with the received characteristic (140). 6. The remotely controllable controller according to claim 5, wherein the controller (110) is arranged to generate and transmit an additional signal (150) to instruct the device (120) to transmit the characteristic (140). . 7. The remotely controllable controller of claim 6, wherein said characteristic (140) at least partially defines said signal (130). The method of claim 7, wherein The controller 110 is arranged to use a code to generate the signal 130, A remote controllable controller, characterized in that said characteristic (140) at least partially defines said code. The method of claim 6, The controller 110 has a controller 113 for remotely controlling the remotely controllable device 120, The signal 130 is generated and transmitted in response to actuating the controller 113, The controller 110 comprises a display screen 112 for displaying the controller 113, The property (140) at least partially defining the control part (113). In system 100, A device 120 remotely controllable by a signal 130, the device 120 having a characteristic 140 defining at least in part how the device 120 is remotely controllable, the device 120 Is, Transmission means 121 for transmitting said characteristic 140, and The device (120) comprising receiving means (122) for receiving the signal (130); And A controller 110 for remotely controlling the device 120 by generating and transmitting the signal 130, the controller 110 further comprising receiving means 111 for receiving the characteristic 140. To include, the controller 110, The controller 110 for generating the signal 130 and remotely controlling the device 120 by transmitting the signal 130 to the device 120 may be configured according to the received characteristic 140. System 100, arranged to generate 130). A method for remotely controlling device 120 by signal 130, wherein device 120 has a characteristic 140 that defines at least partially how the device 120 is remotely controllable. In Transmitting the characteristic 140 of the device 120; Receiving the characteristic 140; And Generating the signal (130) according to the received characteristic (140). In the signal for transmitting the characteristic 140 of the remotely controllable device 120, The signal includes the characteristic (140), the characteristic (140) defining at least in part how the device (120) is remotely controllable. In the signal 150 for initiating the transmission of the personality 140 of the remotely controllable device 120, the personality 140 defines, at least in part, how the device 120 is remotely controllable. 150).