Controlling device having multiple user interfaces

• US 10,333,573 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2018
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Hayes, Patrick H., Klein, Sandro David
• Primary Examiner(s): Blouin, Mark S
• Application Number:
  US15/981,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20180337702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 340 1222
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control

Abstract

A controlling device having a plurality of user selectable operating modes, a user interface providing a plurality of function keys each operable to cause a transmission of at least one command to at least one of a plurality of appliances for commanding at least one operating function of the at least one of the plurality of appliances, and a light source for illuminating the user interface in multiple distinct colors. The light source is caused to illuminate the user interface in at least one of the multiple distinct colors as a function of a one of the plurality of operating modes in which the controlling device is currently placed.

Claims

1. A method for using a controlling device to direct attention of a user to at least one controllable functional operation of a home entertainment system having a plurality of controllable devices including a display device, comprising:

sending at least one instruction from the home entertainment system to the controlling device, the at least one instruction sent to the controlling device being an instruction to cause the controlling device to provide at least one of a plurality of input elements of the controlling device with a predetermined appearance wherein the at least one of the plurality of input elements of the controlling device provided with the predetermined appearance is activable to cause the controlling device to issue a communication to control at least one controllable functional operation of the home entertainment system that is associated with a content the home entertainment system is causing to be displayed in the display device associated with the home entertainment system; and

causing the controlling device to use the instruction received from the home entertainment device to cause the at least one of a plurality of input elements of the controlling device to have the predetermined appearance to thereby direct attention of the user to the at least one controllable functional operation of the home entertainment system when the content is caused to be displayed in the display device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of input elements of the controlling device provided with the predetermined appearance comprise input elements for controlling navigation operational functions of at least one of the plurality of devices within the home entertainment device system.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of input elements of the controlling device provided with the predetermined appearance comprise input elements for controlling volume operational functions of at least one of the plurality of devices within the home entertainment device system.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predetermined appearance provided to the least one of the plurality of input elements comprises causing the at least one of the plurality of input elements to be illuminated in a predetermined color.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predetermined appearance provided to the at least one of the plurality of input elements comprises causing a predetermined indicia to be displayed in association with the at least one of the plurality of input elements.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predetermined appearance provided to the at least one of the plurality of input elements comprises causing a predetermined label to be displayed in association with the at least one of the plurality of input elements.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of input element comprises soft keys displayed in a touch screen display of the controlling device.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of input elements comprises hard keys of the controlling device.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the home entertainment system includes a settop box device and wherein the display device comprises a television.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the controlling device uses an infrared communication protocol to issue the communication to the home entertainment system to control at least one controllable functional operation of the home entertainment system that is associated with the content the home entertainment device is causing to be displayed in the display device.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the controlling device uses a radio frequency communication protocol to issue the communication to the home entertainment system to control at least one controllable functional operation of the home entertainment system that is associated with the content the home entertainment system is causing to be displayed in the display device.