System and method for reconfiguration of an entertainment system controlling device

• US 10,306,291 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2018
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Arling, Paul D., Hayes, Patrick H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie B
• Application Number:
  US16/045,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20180332332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42225 characterized by types of remote control, e.g. universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42228 the reprogrammable keys being displayed on a display screen in order to reduce the number of keys on the remote control device itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4852 for modifying audio parameters, e.g. switching between mono and stereo
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus

Abstract

An entertainment device initiates a configuration process of a controlling device in response to a change in an audio visual entertainment system configuration in which at least one of a plurality devices is connected to the entertainment device as an audio and/or visual source and at least one of the plurality of devices is connected to the entertainment device as an audio and/or visual output destination for the entertainment device.

Claims

1. A switch device having a plurality of inputs, each connected to an audio and/or video source appliance, and a plurality of outputs, each connected to an audio and/or video destination appliance, comprising:

a processing device; and

a non-transitory, computer readable media having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the switch device to respond to a received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device by;

automatically selecting a one of the plurality of inputs that is connected to the audio and/or video source appliance associated with the media consuming activity;

automatically selecting a one of the plurality of outputs that is connected to the audio and/or video destination appliance associated with the media consuming activity such that the audio and/or video destination appliance is communicatively coupled to the audio and/or video source appliance through the switch device;

automatically determining, via use of the one of the plurality of inputs, a first current operating state of the audio and/or video source appliance;

automatically causing a first command to be transmitted to the audio and/or video source appliance to place the audio and/or video source appliance into a first desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the first current operating state does not correspond to the first desired operating state;

automatically determining, via use of the one of the plurality of outputs, a second current operating state of the audio and/or video destination appliance; and

automatically causing a second command to be transmitted to the audio and/or video destination appliance to place the audio and/or video destination appliance into a second desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the second current operating state does not correspond to the second desired operating state.

2. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first desired operating state comprises a powered on operating state for the audio and/or video source appliance.

3. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second desired operating state comprises a powered on operating state of the audio and/or video destination appliance.

4. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second desired operating state comprises an input selection state of the audio and/or video destination appliance.

5. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device comprises data indicative of a desire to watch a movie via use of the switch device.

6. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device comprises data indicative of a desire to listen to music via use of the switch device.

7. The switch device as recited in claim 1, wherein the received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device comprises a key command value received from a remote control device.

8. The switch device as recited in claim 7, wherein the switch device automatically causes the remote control device to transmit the first command to the audio and/or video source appliance to place the audio and/or video source appliance into the first desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the first current operating state does not correspond to the first desired operating state.

9. The switch device as recited in claim 7, wherein the switch device automatically causes the remote control device to transmit the second command to the audio and/or video destination appliance to place the audio and/or video destination appliance into the second desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the second current operating state does not correspond to the second desired operating state.

10. The switch device as recited in claim 7, wherein the instructions cause the switch device to respond to the received command having data indicative of the media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device by:

automatically transmitting a communication to the remote control device to cause the remote control device to configure itself to issue command communications directly to the audio and/or video source appliance and automatically transmitting a communication to the remote control device to cause the remote control device to issue command communications directly to the audio and/or video destination appliance.

11. A switch device having a plurality of inputs, each connected to a video source appliance, and at least one output, connected to a video destination appliance, comprising:

a processing device; and

a non-transitory, computer readable media having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the switch device to respond to a received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device by;

automatically selecting a one of the plurality of inputs that is connected to the video source appliance associated with the media consuming activity such that the video destination appliance is communicatively coupled to the video source appliance through the switch device;

automatically determine, via use of the one of the plurality of inputs, a current operating state of the video source appliance; and

automatically cause a command to be transmitted to the video source appliance to place the video source appliance into a first desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the current operating state does not correspond to the desired operating state.

12. The switch device as recited in claim 11, wherein the desired operating state comprises a powered on operating state for the video source appliance.

13. The switch device as recited in claim 11, wherein the received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device comprises data indicative of a desire to watch a movie via use of the switch device.

14. The switch device as recited in claim 11, wherein the received command having data indicative of a media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device comprises a key command value received from a remote control device.

15. The switch device as recited in claim 14, wherein the switch device automatically causes the remote control device to transmit the first command to the video source appliance to place the video source appliance into the desired operating state associated with the media consuming activity when it is determined that the current operating state does not correspond to the desired operating state.

16. The switch device as recited in claim 14, wherein the instructions cause the switch device to respond to the received command having data indicative of the media consuming activity to be facilitated by use of the switch device by automatically transmitting a communication to the remote control device to cause the remote control device to configure itself to issue command communications directly to the video source appliance.

17. The switch device as recited in claim 11, wherein the plurality of inputs comprise a plurality of High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) inputs.

18. The switch device as recited in claim 11, wherein the non-transitory, computer readable media has stored thereon a mapping by which each of a plurality of media consuming activities to be facilitated by use of the switch device is associated with a one of a plurality of video source devices.

19. The switch device as recited in claim 18, wherein user input is used to manually create the mapping that is stored on the non-transitory, computer readable media.