APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO COMMUNICATE RECEIVED COMMANDS FROM A RECEIVING DEVICE TO A MOBILE DEVICE

• US 20090111392A1
• Filed: 10/25/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies Corporation (Dish Network Corporation)
• Inventors: Taylor, Thomas S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,369,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/88
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/40 Remote control systems using repeaters, converters, gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/40 Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A receiving device embodiment receives a user command from an external source. The user command is directed to a remote target destination. A first interactive programming command communicator embodiment generates a mobile device command from the received user command, and communicates the mobile device command to a mobile device. A second interactive programming command communicator embodiment receives the mobile device command from the receiving device. A target destination is identified from information in the mobile device command, and information from the mobile device command is communicated to the target destination.

Claims

1. A method to wirelessly communicate commands with receiving devices, comprising:

receiving with a receiving device a user command from an external source, the user command directed to a remote target destination;

generating a mobile device command from the received user command; and

communicating the mobile device command to a mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the mobile device command from the received user command comprises:

adding an order to purchase an item from the remote target destination into the mobile device command.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the mobile device command from the received user command comprises:

retrieving personal user information from a memory; and

adding the personal user information into the mobile device command.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising:

adding an order to purchase an item from the remote target destination into the mobile device command to cause delivery of the item ordered; and

based on the personal user information, receiving an invoice corresponding to the item purchased.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the mobile device command from the received user command comprises:

adding a vote into the mobile device command.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the mobile device command from the received user command comprises:

adding a user message into the mobile device command; and

adding an electronic address corresponding to the remote target destination into the mobile device command.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein communicating the mobile device command comprises:

transmitting the mobile device command to the mobile device such that the mobile device communicates the user message to the remote target destination based on the electronic address.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein adding a user message into the mobile device command comprises:

adding text from the user command into the user message; and

adding protocol information into the user message to identify a protocol used to forward the user message to the remote target destination.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein adding a user message into the mobile device command comprises:

adding data corresponding to an image into the user message; and

adding image protocol information into the user message to identify a type of program usable to present the image on a presentation device at the remote target destination.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the user command from an external source comprises:

receiving the user command from a remote control.

11. A method to wirelessly communicate commands with mobile devices, comprising:

receiving a mobile device command from a receiving device;

identifying a target destination from information in the mobile device command; and

communicating information from the mobile device command to the target destination.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

receiving personal user information, the personal user information uniquely identifying a user associated with the receiving device; and

storing the personal user information in the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

retrieving the stored personal user information; and

communicating the personal user information to the target destination.

14. A receiving device operable to communicate with mobile devices, comprising:

a programming interface configured to receive programming from a program source;

a command receiver configured to receive a user command from an external source;

a processing system operable, upon receiving the user command, to construct a mobile device command directed to a remote target destination; and

a mobile device interface configured to communicate the mobile device command to a mobile device.

15. The receiving device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a memory to store personal user information, wherein the processing system is further operable to retrieve the personal user information and format the personal user information into the mobile device command.

16. The receiving device according to claim 14 wherein the mobile device interface comprises:

a transmitter configured to communicate to the mobile device a signal having the mobile device command therein.

17. A mobile device operable to communicate with receiving devices and target destinations, comprising:

a receiving device interface configured to receive a mobile device command from a receiving device;

a processing system operable to identify a target destination based upon the received mobile device command; and

a transceiver configured to communicate information corresponding to the mobile device command to the identified target destination.

18. The mobile device according to claim 17, comprising:

a memory to store personal user information received from the receiving device, wherein the processing system is further operable to communicate the personal user information to the target destination.

19. The mobile device according to claim 17 wherein the receiving device interface has a Bluetooth radio chipset and the receiving device is a set top box.

20. The mobile device according to claim 17 wherein the transceiver has a cellular radio chipset.