GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE AND DATA TRANSFER METHODS IN A CONTROLLING DEVICE

• US 20140229889A1
• Filed: 04/18/2014
• Published: 08/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Hilbrink, Marcel, Xu, Rex, Alvarado, Cesar, Arling, Paul D., Hayes, Patrick H.
• Granted Patent: US 9,405,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• 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 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game

Abstract

A smart device is provided with a main remote control application that may be configured using information obtained from a QR code. The main remote control application may present images of original remote controls corresponding to devices which are controllable by the configured main remote control application. In connection with a presented image of an original remote control, the display may present icons that are representative of a subset of the buttons of the original remote control. The user interface also allows a user to select amongst the images of the original remote controls to change which appliances are to be controlled via the user interface. A pop-up remote control widget may also be provided which may be invoked without switching to the main remote control application provisioned on the smart device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory, computer-readable media having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processing device, perform steps comprising;

causing an image representative of a first original equipment remote control having a plurality of keys to be displayed in a first portion of a display of a smart device;

causing a first plurality of icons representative of a first subset of the plurality of keys of the first original equipment remote control to be displayed in a second portion of the display of the smart device wherein at least one of the first plurality of icons is selectable to cause a command to be issued from the smart device to control a functional operation of a first target device corresponding to the first original equipment remote control; and

in response to a first user input, causing a second plurality of icons representative of a second subset of the plurality of keys of the first original equipment remote control to be displayed in the second portion of the display of the smart device wherein at least one of the second plurality of icons is selectable to cause a command to be issued from the smart device to control a functional operation of the first target device.

2. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause a first portion of the image representative of the first original equipment remote control which corresponds to the first portion of the first original equipment remote control which carries the first subset of the plurality of keys to be highlighted and, in response to the first user input, causes a second portion of the image representative of the first original equipment remote control which corresponds to the second portion of the first original equipment remote control which carries the second subset of the plurality of keys to be highlighted.

3. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input comprises a touch made upon the first portion of the display of the smart device over the image of the first original equipment remote control.

4. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input comprises a sliding motion made upon the display of the smart device.

5. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input comprises a sliding motion made upon the first portion of the display of the smart device.

6. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input comprises a sliding motion made upon the second portion of the display of the smart device.

7. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input comprises a sliding motion made upon the second portion of the display of the smart device in a direction that is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the image representative of the first original equipment remote control.

8. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 2, wherein the instructions cause highlighting applied to the image of the first original equipment remote control to be scrolled in accordance with a sliding motion made upon the display of the smart device.

9. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein, in response to a second input, the instructions cause a plurality of images each being representative of an original remote control for which the smart device is configured to command functional operations of to be displayed in the display of the smart device.

10. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 9, wherein the second input comprises a sliding motion made upon the display of the smart device.

11. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 9, wherein the first input comprises a first sliding motion made upon the display of the smart device and the second input comprises a second sliding motion made upon the display of the smart device and wherein the first sliding motion is distinct from the second sliding motion.

12. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the first input comprises a sliding motion made in a direction that is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the image representative of the first original remote control and wherein the second input comprises a sliding motion made in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the image representative of the first original equipment remote control.

13. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 9, wherein the plurality of images each being representative of an original remote control are displayed in both the first and second portions of the display of the smart device.

14. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 9, wherein, in response to a selection of an image representative of a second original remote control from the plurality of images each being representative of an original remote control, the instructions cause the image representative of the second original equipment remote control to be displayed in the first portion of the display of a smart device and cause a first plurality of icons representative of a first subset of a plurality of keys of the second original equipment remote control to be displayed in the second portion of the display of the smart device wherein at least one of the first plurality of icons is selectable to cause a command to be issued from the smart device to control a functional operation of a second target device corresponding to the second original equipment remote control.