Operation and control of wireless appliance networks

• US 20060092037A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation Of America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Neogi, Raja, Lee, Kam
• Granted Patent: US 7,768,420 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/4.3
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/21 Programming remote control devices via third means
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/91 Remote control based on location and proximity
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for operation and control of network appliances using detected signal strength to determine location of a wireless controller.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a location of a wireless controller based, at least in part, on a detected signal strength;

selecting one or more network appliances based, at least in part, on the estimated location; and

presenting a user interface with the wireless controller corresponding to the selected one or more network appliances; and

exercising automatic control of the appliances based on user location.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the location of the wireless controller and the appliances in its proximity comprises estimating the location of the wireless controller.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein estimating the location of the wireless controller and the appliances in its proximity comprises:

retrieving previously generated location-signal strength information; and

using the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate a current location for the wireless controller.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein using the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate the current location for the wireless controller and identify the appliances in its proximity comprises:

selecting location-signal strength information having a signal strength closest to the determined signal strength; and

estimating the current location of the wireless controller to be a location from the selected location-signal strength information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the location of the wireless controller and the appliances in its proximity comprises predicting the location of the wireless controller.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein predicting the current location for the wireless controller and the appliances in its proximity comprises:

retrieving location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths; and

interpolating the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein predicting the current location for the wireless controller and the appliances in its proximity comprises:

retrieving location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths; and

extrapolating the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless controller comprises a personal digital assistant (PDA).

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless controller comprises a universal remote controller.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more network appliances comprises one or more of:

one or more televisions, one or more radio receivers, one or more compact disc (CD) players, one or more video cassette recorders (VCRs), one or more digital video disc (DVD) players, one or more satellite decoders, one or more cable television decoders, one or more set top boxes, one or more computer systems, and one or more electronic mail appliances.

11. An article comprising one or more computer-readable medium having stored thereon content that, when executed, cause one or more processors to:

determine a location of a wireless controller based, at least in part, on a detected signal strength;

select one or more network appliances based, at least in part, on the estimated location; and

present a user interface with the wireless controller corresponding to the selected one or more network appliances.

12. The article of claim 11 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to determine the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to estimate the location of the wireless controller.

13. The article of claim 12 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to estimate the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to:

retrieve previously generated location-signal strength information; and

use the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate a current location for the wireless controller.

14. The article of claim 13 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to use the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to:

select location-signal strength information having a signal strength closest to the determined signal strength; and

estimate the current location of the wireless controller to be a location from the selected location-signal strength information.

15. The article of claim 11 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to determine the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to predict the location of the wireless controller.

16. The article of claim 15 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to predict the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to:

retrieve location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths; and

interpolate the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

17. The article of claim 15 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to predict the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to:

retrieve location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths; and

extrapolate the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

18. The article of claim 11 wherein the wireless controller comprises a personal digital assistant (PDA).

20. The article of claim 11 wherein the one or more network appliances comprises one or more of:

one or more televisions, one or more radio receivers, one or more compact disc (CD) players, one or more video cassette recorders (VCRs), one or more digital video disc (DVD) players, one or more satellite decoders, one or more cable television decoders, one or more set top boxes, one or more computer systems, and one or more electronic mail appliances.

19. The article of claim 111 wherein the wireless controller comprises a universal remote controller.

21. A method comprising:

causing multimedia content to be processed by at least a first appliance in response to the one or more commands transmitted by a wireless controller;

detecting a change in location of the wireless controller that has been used to control one or more appliances by transmitting one or more commands;

selectively transferring processing of the multimedia content by at least a second appliance in response to the change in location of the wireless controller.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein causing the multimedia content to be processed comprises playback of audio or video data.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the wireless controller comprises a personal digital assistant (PDA).

24. The method of claim 21 wherein the wireless controller comprises a universal remote controller.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein the one or more network appliances comprises one or more of:

one or more televisions, one or more radio receivers, one or more compact disc (CD) players, one or more video cassette recorders (VCRs), one or more digital video disc (DVD) players, one or more satellite decoders, one or more cable television decoders, one or more set top boxes, one or more computer systems, and one or more electronic mail appliances.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein detecting the change in location of the wireless controller comprises:

determining a first location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a first detected signal strength;

determining a second location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a second detected signal strength; and

determining a magnitude of the change in location based, at least in part, on the first detected signal strength and the second detected signal strength.

27. An article comprising one or more computer-readable medium having stored thereon content that, when executed, cause one or more processors to:

cause multimedia content to be processed by at least a first appliance in response to the one or more commands transmitted by a wireless controller;

detect a change in location of the wireless controller that has been used to control one or more appliances by transmitting one or more commands;

selectively transfer processing of the multimedia content by at least a second appliance in response to the change in location or movement of the wireless controller.

28. The article of claim 27 wherein the selective transfer of processing of the multimedia content is based, at least in part, on historical data.

29. The article of claim 27 wherein the selective transfer of processing of the multimedia content is based, at least in part, on a user profile.

30. The article of claim 27 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to cause the multimedia content to be processed comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to playback audio or video data.

31. The article of claim 27 wherein the wireless controller comprises a personal digital assistant (PDA).

32. The article of claim 27 wherein the wireless controller comprises a universal remote controller.

33. The article of claim 27 wherein the one or more network appliances comprises one or more of:

one or more televisions, one or more radio receivers, one or more compact disc (CD) players, one or more video cassette recorders (VCRs), one or more digital video disc (DVD) players, one or more satellite decoders, one or more cable television decoders, one or more set top boxes, one or more computer systems, and one or more electronic mail appliances.

34. The article of claim 27 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to detect the change in location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to:

determine a first location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a first detected signal strength;

determine a second location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a second detected signal strength; and

determine a magnitude of the change in location based, at least in part, on the first detected signal strength and the second detected signal strength.

35. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a media reading device coupled with the processor; and

a medium having stored thereon content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to determine a location of a wireless controller based, at least in part, on a detected signal strength, select one or more network appliances based, at least in part, on the estimated location, and present a user interface with the wireless controller corresponding to the selected one or more network appliances in the proximity of the wireless controller.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to determine the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to estimate the location of the wireless controller.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to estimate the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to retrieve previously generated location-signal strength information and use the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate a current location for the wireless controller.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to use the retrieved location-signal strength information to estimate the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to select location-signal strength information having a signal strength closest to the determined signal strength and estimate the current location of the wireless controller to be a location from the selected location-signal strength information.

39. The system of claim 35 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to determine the location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to predict the location of the wireless controller.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to predict the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to retrieve location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths, and interpolate the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to predict the current location for the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to retrieve location-signal strength information corresponding to multiple signal strengths, and extrapolate the current location of the wireless controller using at least two of the retrieved location-signal strength information.

42. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a media reading device coupled with the processor; and

a medium having stored thereon content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to cause multimedia content to be processed by at least a first appliance in response to the one or more commands transmitted by a wireless controller, detect a change in location of the wireless controller that has been used to control one or more appliances by transmitting one or more commands, and selectively transfer processing of the multimedia content by at least a second appliance in response to the change in location and movement of the wireless controller.

43. The article of claim 42 wherein the selective transfer of processing of the multimedia content is based, at least in part, on historical data.

44. The article of claim 42 wherein the selective and predictive transfer of processing of the multimedia content is based, at least in part, on a user profile.

45. The system of claim 42 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to cause the multimedia content to be processed comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to playback audio or video data.

46. The system of claim 42 wherein the content that causes the one or more processors to detect the change in location of the wireless controller comprises content that, when executed, causes the one or more processors to determine a first location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a first detected signal strength, determine a second location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on a second detected signal strength, and determine a magnitude of the change in location based, at least in part, on the first detected signal strength and the second detected signal strength.

47. A network comprising:

a wireless controller capable of communicating using wireless commands using one or more wireless protocols;

an access point capable of communicating with the wireless controller using at least one of the wireless protocols having a location agent to determine a location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on signal strength information from a signal transmitted by the wireless controller, wherein the location agent determines an interface to be displayed by the wireless controller in response to the signal strength information and causes an indication of the determined interface to be transmitted to the wireless controller; and

one or more appliances capable of receiving wireless commands from the wireless controller.

48. The network of claim 47 wherein the one or more wireless protocols comprises a radio frequency (RF) communication protocol.

49. The network of claim 47 wherein the one or more wireless protocols comprises an infrared (IR) communication protocol.

50. The network of claim 47 wherein determining the location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on signal strength information from a signal transmitted by the wireless controller comprises detecting a signal strength of the signal transmitted by the wireless controller.

51. The network of claim 47 wherein determining the location of the wireless controller based, at least in part, on signal strength information from a signal transmitted by the wireless controller comprises processing information received via the signal transmitted by the wireless controller to extract signal strength information corresponding to a signal strength detected by the wireless controller.

52. The network of claim 47 wherein the one or more network appliances comprises one or more of:

one or more televisions, one or more radio receivers, one or more compact disc (CD) players, one or more video cassette recorders (VCRs), one or more digital video disc (DVD) players, one or more satellite decoders, one or more cable television decoders, one or more set top boxes, one or more computer systems, and one or more electronic mail appliances.