Remote control system
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method includes the steps of selecting an appliance to be controlled from a list of appliances stored in the cellular device, selecting an instruction to be communicated to the selected appliance from a list of instructions stored in the cellular device, and transmitting the instruction to a cellular interface associated with the selected appliance via a public cellular telephone infrastructure by dialing a telephone number stored in the cellular device.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1-27. -27. (canceled)
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28. A method for controlling the operation of an appliance from a remote location using a cellular device, the method comprising the steps of:
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presenting a list of one or more appliances capable of being controlled by a central hub;
receiving a selection of an appliance to be controlled from the list of appliances;
presenting a list of instructions associated with the selected appliance;
receiving a selection of an instruction from the list of instructions;
using the cellular device to transmit the instruction to the central hub; and
wherein the list of appliances and the list of instructions are retrieved from memory in the cellular device, without connecting to a remote device. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A hub for controlling one or more appliances based on communications with a cellular device, the hub comprising:
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a cellular interface configured to connect to a base station of a public cellular telephone infrastructure;
a communications mechanism configured to transmit instructions to one or more appliances;
a memory configured to store a cellular telephone number associated with a cellular device and instructions capable of controlling a selected appliance from a list of one or more appliances;
a processor operatively coupled with the cellular interface and the memory, wherein the processor includes a program of instructions comprising;
instructions to answer an incoming telephone call from a cellular device, wherein answering the telephone call establishes a communication link between the hub and the cellular device via a public cellular network;
instructions to receive a command string from the cellular device over the public cellular network;
instructions to determine which of the appliances stored in the memory is an intended recipient of the command string;
instructions to send the command string to the intended recipient;
instructions to retrieve a cellular telephone number associated with the cellular device from the memory;
instructions to dial the cellular telephone number associated with the cellular device upon completion of executing the command string, wherein dialing the cellular telephone number establishes a communication link between the controller and the cellular device via a public cellular network; and
instructions to send verification to the cellular device that the command string has been executed via the public cellular network. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, the product comprising instructions operable to cause a processor to:
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retreive a list of one or more appliances capable of being controlled from local memory, without connecting to a remote device;
present the list of appliances retrieved from local memory;
receive a selection of an appliance to be controlled from the list of appliances;
retrieve a list of instructions associated with the selected appliance from local memory, without connecting to a remote device;
present the list of instructions retrieved from local memory;
receive a selection of an instruction from the list of instructions;
dial a telephone number associated with the selected appliance, wherein dialing the telephone number establishes a communication link between the cellular device and a hub associated with the selected appliance; and
transmit the instruction from the cellular device to the hub over the communication link. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification