METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENABLING TIMED EVENTS OF A PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE TO TRIGGER REMOTE CONTROL OF EXTERNAL DEVICES
First Claim
1. A computing device, comprising:
- an input device to permit manual entry by a user of the computing device;
a processor coupled to the input device via a bus;
a memory unit coupled to the processor via the bus to store instructions for the processor;
a wireless communications device to wirelessly transmit a control signal, the wireless communications device also coupled to the bus; and
a display device coupled to the bus;
wherein;
the processor is configured to execute a timer software application, which produces a device schedule screen on the display device to permit the user of the computing device to manually enter via the input device, a desired action of an external device to occur in the future.
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Abstract
One embodiment in accordance with the present invention includes using a portable computing device to remotely control devices and/or systems wirelessly. Specifically, a software timer application operating on the portable computing device enables its user to predefine the time, date, and the operation(s) that one or more properly enabled devices and/or systems perform in the future. That is, the timer software operating on the portable computing device is able at some predefined time to wirelessly trigger an action or a sequence of actions from devices and/or systems. For example, a user of the portable computing device is able to utilize the timer software to program a predefined date and time that the portable computing device will turn on a favorite radio program and turn up the thermostat. The wireless communication of the portable computing device may occur using a radio frequency (RF) technology like Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, or HomeRF.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A computing device, comprising:
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an input device to permit manual entry by a user of the computing device; a processor coupled to the input device via a bus; a memory unit coupled to the processor via the bus to store instructions for the processor; a wireless communications device to wirelessly transmit a control signal, the wireless communications device also coupled to the bus; and a display device coupled to the bus; wherein; the processor is configured to execute a timer software application, which produces a device schedule screen on the display device to permit the user of the computing device to manually enter via the input device, a desired action of an external device to occur in the future. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
permit a user to cancel the wireless transmitting of the control signal before the control signal is wirelessly transmitted after the alarming.
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12. A method utilizing an electronic device with a memory having instructions recorded for at least one processor, said at least one processor having an integrated internal clock, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying a device schedule menu to permit a user to directly select an external device via the device schedule menu for which operation of the external device is to be controlled in accordance with time data directly entered via the device schedule menu, notifying said user via alarm of an impending action at a first time corresponding to the time data; and wirelessly transmitting, at a first time corresponding to the time data, a control signal to cause the device to perform a first action, said first time indicated by said integrated internal clock. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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18. A method as defined in 12, further comprising the step of:
permitting a user to enter data to the external device schedule menu for controlling operation of a plurality of external devices, the operation of each of the plurality of external devices to be controlled in accordance with respective time data entered via the device schedule menu for a corresponding one of the plurality of external devices.
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23. A method, comprising:
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displaying a device schedule menu, on a portable electronic device, to permit a user to directly select a second device via the device schedule menu for which operation of the second device is to be controlled in accordance with time data directly entered via the device schedule menu, said portable electronic device having an internal clock; notifying said user via alarm of an impending action at a first time corresponding to the time data; and wirelessly transmitting, at a first time corresponding to the time data, a control signal to cause the second device to perform a first action, said first time indicated by said internal clock. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification