REMOTE CONTROL

• US 20120081615A1
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Starr, Ephraim D., Locker, Howard J., Rutledge, James S., Dubs, Justin T.
• Application Number:
  US12/895,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20120081615A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4222 Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415
• 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 21/42227 the keys being reprogrammable, e.g. soft keys

Abstract

An apparatus includes a display, a communication interface, circuitry configured to receive information via the communication interface via a handshake process where the information includes identifying information for a television unit, and circuitry configured to render a graphical remote control to the display based at least in part on received identifying information for a television unit. Various other apparatuses, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

a wireless communication interface;

circuitry configured to receive information via the wireless communication interface via a handshake process wherein the information comprises identifying information for a television unit; and

circuitry configured to render a graphical remote control to the display based at least in part on received identifying information for a television unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the identifying information comprises identifying information for a television unit that comprises a set-top box.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display comprises a touch-sensitive display and further comprising circuitry configured to receive input via the touch-sensitive display, the input corresponding to one or more graphical buttons of the graphical remote control.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising circuitry configured to render instructional information to the display wherein the instructional information comprises instructions for operation of the graphical remote control.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the instructional information comprises instructions for operation of a physical remote control associated with the identifying information for a television unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 1

wherein the display comprises a touch-sensitive display,

further comprising circuitry configured to render thumbnails of video content to the display,

further comprising circuitry configured to receive input corresponding to one or more of the thumbnails, and

further comprising circuitry configured to transmit information responsive to receipt of input via the touch-sensitive display, the input corresponding to one or more of the thumbnails.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein at least some of the thumbnails comprise video thumbnails of video content currently available via one or more broadcast networks.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the information transmitted responsive to receipt of input via the touch-sensitive display comprises information to instruct a television unit to render video content associated with one or more of the thumbnails.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the information to instruct comprises information to instruct a television unit to render simultaneously video content associated with two or more of the thumbnails.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuitry configured to render renders an arrangement of at least some features of the graphical remote control wherein the arrangement corresponds to an arrangement of features of a physical remote control associated with the identifying information.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising circuitry configured to enable an interrupt mode, the interrupt mode configured to transmit at least one instruction to a television unit responsive to receipt of a phone call or an email by the apparatus.

12. A method comprising:

receiving identifying information for a television unit;

associating the identifying information with a remote control;

rendering a graphical representation of the remote control to a touch-sensitive display;

receiving input via the touch-sensitive display; and

transmitting information according to a television unit-implementable communication protocol wherein the information comprises information to instruct a television unit to receive video content from a broadcast network.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the receiving receives information according to a Bluetooth®

communication protocol.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the associating comprises transmitting at least some of the identifying information via an IP network interface and, responsive to the transmitting, receiving information via the IP network interface.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the receiving input via the touch-sensitive display comprises receiving input from one or more rendered graphical buttons which correspond to one or more physical buttons of the represented remote control.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising rendering thumbnails of video content to the touch-sensitive display.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the identifying information comprises identifying information for a television unit that comprises a set-top box.

18. One or more computer-readable media comprising processor-executable instructions to instruct a computing device to:

receive identifying information for a television unit;

associate the identifying information with a remote control;

render a graphical representation of the remote control to a touch-sensitive display;

receive input via the touch-sensitive display; and

transmit information according to a television unit-implementable communication protocol wherein the information comprises information to instruct a television unit to receive video content from a broadcast network.

19. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 18 comprising instructions to receive a keyword, to associate the keyword with a feature of a television unit and to render to the display information describing the feature.

20. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 18 comprising instructions to receive and render thumbnails of video content to the touch-sensitive display.