Remote controlling system and gateway apparatus for controlling electronic appliances within space

• US 20090136231A1
• Filed: 11/24/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Compal Communications Incorporated (Compal Electronics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Compal Communications Incorporated (Compal Electronics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lai, Yen-Hung
• Application Number:
  US12/292,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20090136231A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/112
• 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 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission

Abstract

The present invention provides a remote controlling system for controlling a plurality of electronic appliances within a space, such as a home, an office, etc. Each of the electronic appliances includes a respective radiation-based signal receiver. By use of the remote controlling system, a user can conveniently control the electronic appliances in the situation through a user interface or an external communication network, such as an Internet.

Claims

1. A remote controlling system for controlling N electronic appliances within a space, N being a natural number, each of the N electronic appliances having an individual radiation-based signal receiver and functioning according to an individual set of first instructions, the remote controlling system comprising:

M sensing devices, M being a natural number, each of the M sensing apparatuses comprising;

an individual first receiving/transmitting module, the first receiving/transmitting module selectively receiving a trigger signal based on a wireless local communication protocol; and

an individual sensor electrically connected to the first receiving/transmitting module, the sensor responding to the trigger signal to generate a sensing signal around the sensor and broadcasting the sensing signal through the first receiving/transmitting module based on the wireless local communication protocol;

a controlling apparatus, comprising;

a radiation-based signal transmitter, the radiation-based signal transmitter covering the N radiation-based signal receiver in communicating;

a first storing device storing a first look-up table, the first look-up table recording K first commands and K sets of second instructions, each set of the K sets of the second instructions corresponding to one of the K first commands, K being a natural number;

a second receiving/transmitting module, the second receiving/transmitting module selectively receiving one of the first commands based on the wireless local communication protocol; and

a first processing module electrically connected to the radiation-based signal transmitter, the first storing device and the second receiving/transmitting module respectively, the first processing module being used for fetching one of the K sets of the second instructions, the one set of the second instructions corresponding to the one of the first commands received by the second receiving/transmitting module, the first processing module controlling the radiation-based signal transmitter to broadcast a set of radiation-based signals, the set of the radiation-based signal representing the fetched set of the second instructions; and

a gateway device, comprising;

a second storing device storing a second look-up table, the second look-up table recording K second commands and K activating rules, each of the K activating rules corresponding to one of the K second commands and comprising one of the first commands;

a third receiving/transmitting module;

a network communication module, the network communication module being linked to an external communication network; and

a second processing module electrically connected to the second storing device, the third receiving/transmitting module and the network communication module respectively, the second processing module being used for receiving one of the second commands, the one of the second commands being inputted through the external communication network by a user, the second processing module fetching the activating rule corresponding to the received second command, according to the fetched activating rule, the second processing module broadcasting the trigger signal to one or multiple sensing devices of the M sensing devices through the third receiving/transmitting module based on the wireless local communication protocol, the second processing module receiving the sensing signals from the triggered sensing devices through the third receiving/transmitting module based on the wireless local communication protocol, the second processing module judging whether the received sensing signals reach a fetching standard, if the judging is positive, the second processing module broadcasting the first command of the fetching standard through the third receiving/transmitting module based on the wireless local communication protocol;

wherein one of the N electronic appliances utilizes the own individual radiation-based signal receiver to receive the set of the broadcasted radiation-based signals, converts the set of the received radiation-based signals into the one set of the second instructions, judges whether one or multiple sets of the second instructions match each set of the first instructions, and if the judging is positive, functions according to the matched set of the first instructions.

2. The remote controlling system of claim 1, wherein the external communication network is one selected from the group consisting of a local area network, an intranet, an internet, a radio telecommunication network and a public switched telephone network.

3. The remote controlling system of claim 1, wherein each of the broadcasted radiation-based signals is infrared, and -each of the radiation-based signal receivers is an infrared receiver, and the radiation-based signal transmitter is an infrared transmitter.

4. The remote controlling system of claim 1, wherein the gateway device further comprises a user interface coupled to the storing device, and the user interface enables the user to edit the second commands and the activating rules stored in the second storing device.

5. The remote controlling system of claim 1, wherein the wireless local communication protocol is one selected from the group consisting of an IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, an IEEE 802.11 series protocol and a Bluetooth protocol.

6. A gateway device for controlling N electronic appliances within a space, M sensing devices being disposed within the space, the N electronic appliances being wirelessly connected to a remote controller, the remote controller having a first storing device storing a first look-up table, the first look-up table recording K first commands, both M and N being natural numbers, the gateway device comprising:

a second storing device storing a second look-up table, the second look-up table recording K second commands and K activating rules, each of the K second commands corresponding to one of the K activating rules, each of the K activating rules corresponding to one of the K first commands, K being a natural number;

a receiving/transmitting module; and

a processing module electrically connected to the second storing device and the receiving/transmitting module, the processing module receiving a user command through an external communication network, the user command being one of the second commands, according to the one of the second commands, the processing module broadcasting a trigger signal to one of the M sensing devices through the receiving/transmitting module based on a wireless local communication protocol, for driving the one of the sensing devices to detect surroundings of the one of the sensing devices, the one of the sensing devices generating a sensing signal feeding back to the processing module, the processing module judging whether the sensing signal reaches the activating rule, if the judging is positive, the processing module broadcasting the one of the first commands corresponding to the one of the activating rules to the N electronic appliances by a radiation-based signal transmitter through the receiving/transmitting module, for controlling the N electronic appliances.

7. The gateway device of claim 6, wherein one of the N electronic appliances are able to function according to an individually set of the first instructions, and the first look-up table further records K sets of the second instructions, each set of the K sets of second instructions corresponding to one of the K first commands, and if the processing module judges that the sensing signal reaches the activating rule, the processing module broadcasts the one of the first commands corresponding to the activating rule and the one set of the second instructions corresponding to the one of the first commands to the N electronic appliances through the receiving/transmitting module, and each of the N electronic appliances receives the one of the first commands and the one set of the second instructions broadcasted by the receiving/transmitting module and judges whether the one or multiple sets of the second instructions match the individual set of the first instructions, and if the judging is positive, the one of the N electronic appliances functions according to the matched set of the first instructions.

8. The gateway device of claim 6, wherein the external communication network is one selected from the group consisting of a local area network, an intranet, an internet, a radio telecommunication network and a public switched telephone network.

9. The gateway device of claim 6, wherein the wireless local communication protocol is one selected from the group consisting of an IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, an IEEE 802.11 series protocol and a Bluetooth protocol.

10. The gateway device of claim 6, wherein the radiation-based signal transmitter is an infrared transmitter.