Remote control apparatus

• US 20020180894A1
• Filed: 05/28/2002
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Ohkubo, Hirotoshi, Azuma, Kenji, Okajima, Takahiro, Yasukura, Tsuneki, Inoue, Hiroya, Hasegawa, Akihide
• Application Number:
  US10/154,816
• Publication Number:
  US 20020180894A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• 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 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• 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 21/42209 for displaying non-command information, e.g. electronic program guide [EPG], e-mail, messages or a second television channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/8186 specially adapted to be executed by a peripheral of the client device, e.g. by a reprogrammable remote control

Abstract

A remote control apparatus is made up of a transceiver 1 for remotely controlling an electronic machine such as a television receiver 3 or a recorder 4 and a portable remote controller 2 for giving a remote control command to the transceiver 1. The transceiver 1 has section for extracting supplementary information of an electronic program guide, etc., from television broadcasts and the remote controller 2 has storage section for storing control information to remotely control electronic machines in such a manner that the control information can be updated and storage section for storing the supplementary information of an electronic program guide, etc., supplied from the transceiver 1 in such a manner that the supplementary information can be updated.

Claims

1. A remote control apparatus for remotely controlling at least one electronic machine for processing contents, said remote control apparatus comprising:

control information storage section for previously storing control information to remotely control said at least one electronic machine;

supplementary information storage section for storing supplementary information relevant to the contents; and

control section, when a command to remotely control said at least one electronic machine is given, for remotely controlling said electronic machine specified in the command based on the control information in said control information storage section and the supplementary information in said supplementary information storage section.

2. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said supplementary information storage section stores information of an electronic program guide concerning broadcast programs distributed in television broadcasts as the supplementary information, and

when a preselection command to start said at least one electronic machine is given based on the information of the electronic program guide, said control section remotely controls said electronic machine specified in the command based on the control information in said control information storage section and the information of the electronic program guide in said supplementary information storage section.

3. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

display section for displaying the supplementary information stored in said supplementary information storage section, and

operation section for instructing said control section to remotely control said at least one electronic machine in accordance with the contents of the supplementary information displayed on said display section.

4. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said control information storage section stores the control information so as to update the control information.

5. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein

said control section acquires the control information supplied by communication media or a storage medium, and stores the control information in said control information storage section.

6. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said supplementary information storage section stores the supplementary information so as to update the supplementary information.

7. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein

said control section acquires the supplementary information supplied by at least one of broadcast, communication, and storage media, and stores the supplementary information in said supplementary information storage section.

8. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

communications are conducted by optical communications.

9. The remote control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

communications are conducted by radio waves.