REMOTE CONTROL TO OPERATE COMPUTER SYSTEM

• US 20110279376A1
• Filed: 10/22/2010
• Published: 11/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LiTL LLC (TRI Ventures, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LiTL LLC (TRI Ventures, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bilien, Johan, Bambacus, Chris, Chuang, John, Eliason, Eben, Moody, Chris, Havoc Pennington, Robert Sanford, Tang, Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 9,436,219 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control

Abstract

According to one aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a remote control comprising a housing comprising a first and second housing portion, wherein the first housing portion is coupled to the second housing portion and is configurable in at least two positions, a touchpad, a keypad, a processor configured to receive control signals from the touch pad and the keypad, and an RF transmitter configured to transmit signals from the processor to the computer system, wherein, in a first configuration of the remote control, the first housing portion is configured to be manipulated to a first position and the remote control is configured to operate in a first mode of operation, and wherein, in a second configuration of the remote control, the first housing portion is configured to be manipulated to a second position, and wherein the remote control is configured to operate in a second mode of operation.

Claims

1. A remote control for operating a computer system, the remote control comprising:

a housing comprising a first housing portion and a second housing portion, wherein the first housing portion is coupled to the second housing portion and is configurable in at least two positions in relation to the second housing portion;

a touchpad coupled to the first housing portion;

a keypad coupled to the second housing portion;

a processor located within the housing and operatively coupled to both the touchpad and the keypad, the processor being configured to receive control signals from the touch pad and the keypad; and

an RF transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit signals from the processor to the computer system;

wherein, in a first configuration of the remote control, the first housing portion is configured to be manipulated to a first position in relation to the second housing portion and the remote control is configured to operate in a first mode of operation; and

wherein, in a second configuration of the remote control, the first housing portion is configured to be manipulated to a second position in relation to the second housing portion, and wherein the remote control is configured to operate in a second mode of operation.

2. The remote control of claim 1, wherein the first housing portion is slideably coupled to the second housing portion, wherein, in the first configuration, the first housing portion is configured to be slid to the first position in relation to the second housing portion, and wherein, in the second configuration, the first housing portion is configured to be slid to the second position in relation to the second housing portion.

3. The remote control of claim 2, wherein in the first configuration, the first housing portion is configured to be slid to the first position so as to limit access to the keypad.

4. The remote control of claim 2, wherein in the second configuration, the first housing portion is configured to be slid to the second position so as to provide access to the keypad and the touchpad.

5. The remote control of claim 1, wherein the touchpad is configured to provide a first set of control signals to the processor in response to the remote control being operated in the first mode of operation, and wherein the touchpad is configured to provide a second set of control signals to the processor in response to the remote control being operated in the second mode of operation.

6. The remote control of claim 1, further comprising a mechanical flag coupled to the first housing portion, the second housing portion and the processor, wherein the mechanical flag is configured to send a configuration signal to the processor indicating whether the remote control is in the first or second configuration and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the configuration signal to the computer system.

7. The remote control of claim 1, wherein the touchpad includes a depressible switch.

8. The remote control of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor coupled to the processor, wherein the motion sensor is configured to provide motion signals to the processor indicating any movement of the remote control, and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the motion signals to the computer system.

9. The remote control of claim 8, wherein the motion sensor is an accelerometer.

10. The remote control of claim 1, further comprising a microphone coupled to the processor, wherein the microphone is configured to receive external audio signals and to provide the external audio signals to the processor, and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the external audio signals to the computer system.

11. The remote control of claim 1, further comprising:

a power module coupled to the processor;

wherein the power module is configured to provide power to the processor;

wherein the power module is configured to provide a power signal to the processor indicating an amount of available power remaining stored in the power module; and

wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the power signal to the computer system.

12. The remote control of claim 1, wherein the keypad includes at least one dedicated button, wherein the at least one dedicated button is configured to send a dedicated signal to the processor, the dedicated signal being configured to automatically initiate a pre-defined function of the computer system, and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the dedicated signal to the computer system,

13. A method for operating a remote control configured to communicate with a computer system, the method comprising acts of:

pairing the remote control with the computer system;

manipulating the remote control to one of a plurality of configurations;

transmitting a configuration status bit, indicating the current configuration of the remote control, to the computer system in response to the act of manipulating; and

operating the remote control in one of a plurality of modes in response to the act of manipulating.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the act of pairing comprises:

transmitting an initial pairing request signal from the remote control to the computer system;

requesting, by the computer system in response to the initial pairing request, that the remote control resend a pairing request at a reduced signal strength;

transmitting a reduced strength pairing request signal from the remote control to the computer system;

determining whether the computer system receives the reduced strength pairing request; and

in response to the computer system receiving the reduced strength pairing request, exchanging communication information between the remote control and the computer system.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the act of manipulating comprises selectively sliding a first portion of the remote control to either a first or second position, and wherein the act of operating comprises operating the remote control in a first mode in response to the first portion of the remote control being slid to the first position and operating the remote control in a second mode in response to the first portion of the remote control being slid to the second position.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising acts of:

supplying the remote control with power from a power module;

determining an amount of power stored in the power module; and

transmitting a power status bit to the computer system, the power status bit indicating the amount of power stored in the power module.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising acts of:

transmitting a firmware status bit, from the remote control to the computer system, wherein the firmware status bit indicates a status of firmware stored on the remote control;

determining, in response to the firmware status bit, whether the firmware of the remote control requires updating;

determining, in response to the power status bit, whether the amount of power stored in the power module is adequate to power a firmware update; and

in response to the firmware status bit indicating that a firmware update is required and in response to the power status bit indicating that the power stored in the power module is adequate, initiating a firmware update.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the act of initiating a firmware update comprises:

transmitting a firmware update status bit, from the remote control to the computer system, indicating that a firmware update is in progress;

receiving updated firmware from the computer system;

updating the firmware of the remote control; and

operating the remote control from protected memory, located within the remote control, until receiving an indication from the computer system that the firmware update has been successfully completed.

19. A remote control for operating a computer system;

the remote control comprising

a housing;

a touchpad coupled to the housing;

a keypad coupled to the housing;

a processor within the housing coupled to the touchpad and the keypad and configured to receive control signals from the touch pad and the keypad;

an RF transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit control signals from the processor to the computer system; and

means for manipulating the remote control into a plurality of configurations, the current configuration of the remote control determining an operational mode of the remote control.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a processor, perform a method for operating a remote control configured to communicate with a computer system, the method comprising acts of:

pairing the remote control with the computer system;

manipulating the remote control to one of a plurality of configurations;

transmitting a configuration status bit, indicating the current configuration of the remote control, to the computer system in response to the act of manipulating; and

operating the remote control in one of a plurality of modes in response to the act of manipulating.