Remote control for wireless control of system and displaying of compressed video on a display on the remote

• US 20020044225A1
• Filed: 07/03/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Terayon Communications Systems Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rakib, Selim Shlomo
• Granted Patent: US 6,970,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19658 Telephone systems used to communicate with a camera, e.g. PSTN, GSM, POTS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6424 Access arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/169 Special adaptations of TCP, UDP or IP for interworking of IP based networks with other networks protocols for interworking, protocol conversion H04L69/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• 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 21/4147 : PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4381 : Recovering the multiplex stream from a specific network, e.g. recovering MPEG packets from ATM cells transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 : OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 : Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 : for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 : Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 : IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7605 : on discs or drums H04N5/781, H04N5/805, H04N5/83, H04N5/85 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction

Abstract

A system for wireless remote control of a gateway and ordering or invocation of services provided by a headend. The remote control includes a video display and user input device or keyboard and can decompress and display compressed streaming video in some embodiments. Some species of the remote control can act as web browsers, appliance control, TIVO function control, an IP telephony telephone, a cellular telephone and/or an MP3 player. In some embodiments, the gateway and/or headend can implement TIVO-like functions under control from a wireless remote of custom design or implemented on a Personal Digital Assistant.

Claims

1. A wireless remote control, comprising:

a central processing unit

an infrared or radio frequency transmitter coupled to said central processing unit;

a keyboard or other input device such as a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse, joystick or other pointing device coupled to said central processing unit by which users may select commands and enter data; and

a memory coupled to said central processing unit and storing at least one computer program that controls said central processing unit to send remote control commands selected by a user via said keyboard or other input device using said transmitter.

2. A wireless remote control, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a display coupled to said central processing unit;

an infrared or radio frequency transceiver coupled to said central processing unit;

a keyboard or other input device such as a touchscreen, touchpad, mouse, joystick or other pointing device coupled to said central processing unit by which users may select commands and enter data; and

a memory coupled to said central processing unit and storing at least one computer program that controls said central processing unit to send remote control commands selected by a user via said keyboard or other input device using said transmitter, said at least one computer program also controlling said central processing unit to decompress any compressed video received by said transceiver and display images encoded in said decompressed data on said display, said memory also acting as a frame buffer for digital data to be displayed on said display.

3. A wireless remote control comprising:

a personal digital assistant having a host processor, a display, a user input device for receiving commands and/or text input, and audio input/output circuitry, and with an expansion port or slot with an expansion bus therein, and memory;

a wireless transceiver expansion card engaged with said expansion bus and mechanically supported by said expansion port or slot for transmitting data to and receiving data from another wireless transceiver;

and wherein said memory stores an operating system and one or more programs to control said host processor to act as a remote control for a gateway.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said memory includes an area reserved as a frame buffer and is further programmed with one or more programs that control said host processor to receive compressed video streams and decompress them to uncompressed video data and for converting said uncompressed video data to a format suitable for display on said display and storing said data in said frame buffer and displaying said data on said display.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to act as a wireless web browser.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said wireless remote control to control smart household appliances coupled to a local area network to which said remote control is coupled by said transceiver.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said wireless remote control to control and invoke TIVO functions implemented by a gateway and/or headend by wireless communication to a gateway.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said personal digital assistant further comprises audio input and output circuitry, and wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said wireless remote control to send wireless commands to retrieve MP3 files from an MP3 server in a gateway and to play said MP3 files.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said personal digital assistant further comprises audio input and output circuitry, and wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said wireless remote control to act as a wireless telephone to carry out IP telephony.

10. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said personal digital assistant further comprises audio input and output circuitry, and wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said wireless remote control to act as a cellular telephone by transmitting data packets to a gateway for routing to a cellular transceiver in radio contact with a cellular network.

11. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs to control said host computer to enable said host computer to perform calendar and/or address book functions and to perform word processing and/or database functions.

12. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said memory is further programmed with one or more programs that control said host processor to carry out a wireless discovery process to determine what types of servers are in a gateway or headend coupled to said remote control and the IP addresses of said servers.