Remote control system

• US 6,021,319 A
• Filed: 11/14/1994
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Colorado Meadowlark Corporation
• Original Assignee: Colorado Meadowlark Corporation
• Inventors: Tigwell, David C.
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/338,374
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: 455/151.1, 455/151.2, 455/151.3, 455/352, 455/92, 455/353, 455/150.1, 455/151.4, 455/152.1, 455/154.1, 455/154.2, 455/155.1, 455/89, 455/90, 455/186. 1, 340/825.57, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/825.71, 340/825.22, 340/825, 340/31, 348/211, 348/734, 375/25, 375/242
• US Class Current: 340/12.28
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/20 Binding and programming of remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0025 in a remote control unit remote control tuning in general H03J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control

Abstract

A remote control system having a universal transmitter capable of being programmed to match the frequency and modulation pattern of any pulse modulated remote control transmitter. The system combines the universal transmitter and a separate apparatus for programming the universal transmitter. The programming unit detects the frequency and modulation pattern transmitted by a selected transmitter. The programming unit transfers the detected modulation pattern to the universal transmitter. The universal transmitter is operative to transmit the frequency detected by the programming unit. The universal transmitter thus duplicates the transmission of the selected transmitter. The system, apparatus and methods of this invention are particularly well adapted for application to low cost remote control transmitters permanently installed in vehicles.

Claims

1. A system for learning and transferring a frequency and modulation pattern of an encoded modulated template transmitter, which functions to actuate a device remote therefrom, to a separate universal transmitter such that said separate universal transmitter is thereby programmed to transmit the frequency and modulation pattern learned front said template transmitter and such that said separate universal transmitter thereby functions to actuate said remote device, the system comprising:

said separate universal transmitter including;

means for transmitting a first signal, said means for transmitting including a transmit antenna, means, coupled to said means for transmitting, for tuning a frequency of the first signal to be transmitted from said transmit antenna, memory means for storing said modulation pattern to be transmitted, means, coupled to said memory means for storing, for modulating the first signal such that said modulation pattern stored in said memory means is transmitted by said transmit antenna of said separate universal transmitter when said separate universal transmitter is actuated, and means, coupled to said means for modulating, for actuating transmission of said modulated first signal by said separate universal transmitter; and

a frequency and modulation receiving apparatus separate from said separate universal transmitter for transferring frequency and modulation data to said separate universal transmitter including;

means for receiving a modulated second signal from said template transmitter, said means for receiving including a receive antenna, and means for learning a frequency and a modulation pattern of the modulated second signal received by said receive antenna, said means for learning including means, coupled to said means for receiving, for detecting a frequency of the second signal, means, coupled to said means for detecting, for determining a modulation pattern of the second signal and means, coupled to said means for determining, for transferring the modulation pattern determined by said means for determining to said memory means in said separate universal transmitter, wherein said means for detecting coupled to said means for receiving is operable to monitor and detect the frequency of the first received by said receive antenna such that the frequency of the first signal is tuned by said means for tuning the frequency of the first signal so as to match the frequency of the first and second signals.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus further comprises means for verifying that said separate universal transmitter, programmed by said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus, transmits said frequency and modulation pattern of said template transmitter by analyzing said frequency and modulation pattern generated by said separate universal transmitter.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the frequency of said template transmitter and said separate universal transmitter is in the ultra high frequency range.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said frequency detecting means of said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus comprises an adjustable frequency filter means coupled to said means for receiving and means for detecting and monitoring magnitude of an output signal of the means for receiving to locate a peak output corresponding to said frequency of said template transmitter.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said frequency detecting means and said adjustable frequency filter means comprise said receive antenna coupled to an adjustable bandpass filter.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said means for receiving further comprises an amplifier which amplifies an output signal of said filter.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said bandpass filter has a passband of about ±

200 kHz from a passband center frequency of the filter.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus further comprises an intermediate memory means for temporary storage of a modulation pattern of a received signal.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said separate universal transmitter is permanently installed in a vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said transmitting means of said separate universal transmitter comprises said transmit antenna coupled to a frequency-tunable, pulse-modulated oscillator.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said transmit antenna and said oscillator are part of a resonant network.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for determining said modulation pattern comprises a pulse modulated signal detector, which generates an analog waveform from the output signal of said means for receiving, coupled to means for shaping said analog waveform to a two level signal and means for converting said two level signal into a set of signal ON and signal OFF time intervals which represent the modulation pattern stored in said transmitter memory means.

13. The system of claim 4 wherein said means for detecting amplitude is operative to adjust said adjustable frequency filter means until maximum signal amplitude is detected, thereby providing determination of the frequency of the second signal.

14. A method for programming a separate universal transmitter with a learned frequency and modulation pattern of a signal generated by a template transmitter for actuating a device located remote therefrom, wherein said separate universal transmitter can actuate said remote device after programming with the learned frequency and modulation pattern, the method comprising:

(a) detecting and learning the frequency of the signal transmitted by said template transmitter with a frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having a receive antenna separate from said separate universal transmitter having a transmit antenna, by tuning an adjustable filter to obtain a maximum amplitude from the signal transmitted by said template transmitter and received by said receive antenna and tuning a frequency of a signal transmitted by said transmit antenna of said separate universal transmitter and received by said receive antenna to obtain the maximum amplitude out of said adjustable filter such that it matches the frequency of the signal transmitted by said template transmitter as detected and learned by said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus, and

(b) demodulating, at the frequency and modulation receiving apparatus, the signal received by said receive antenna of said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus from said template transmitter to determine and learn the modulation pattern transmitted by said template transmitter and storing the modulation pattern detected and learned in a memory means of said separate universal transmitter.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said method further comprises a step of verifying said separate universal transmitter transmits the frequency and modulation pattern of said template transmitter by analyzing said frequency and modulation pattern generated by said separate universal transmitter.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of detecting and learning the frequency of the signal transmitted by said template transmitter and tuning the frequency of the signal transmitted by said separate universal transmitter such that it matches the frequency of the signal transmitted by said template transmitter comprises:

receiving at the frequency and modulation receiving apparatus a signal transmitted by said template transmitter using a receiver means in said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus, followed by adjusting the frequency passed by said receiver means to substantially match a frequency transmitted by said template transmitter, receiving at the frequency and modulation receiving apparatus a signal transmitted by said separate universal transmitter by said receiver means that has been frequency filtered followed by tuning the frequency of the signal transmitted by the separate universal transmitter such that it substantially matches the frequency passed by said receiver means.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the frequency passed by said receiver means is adjusted to maximize the signal output of said receiver means when the signal of said template transmitter is received and wherein the frequency of said separate universal transmitter is tuned to maximize the signal output of said receiver means.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the detected and learned modulation pattern is stored in intermediate memory in said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said separate universal transmitter is permanently installed in a vehicle.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of demodulating the signal received from said template transmitter and determining and learning the modulation pattern of said signal comprises detecting the analog waveform corresponding to the signal received from said template transmitter, converting said analog waveform to a shaped, two-level signal and converting said two-level signal into a set of signal ON and signal OFF time intervals which represent the modulation pattern of said signal received from said template transmitter.

21. A separate universal UHF transmitter having a first internal controller and a first antenna capable of being programmed by a learning external frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having a second internal controller and a second antenna to emulate a transmission frequency and pulse-modulation pattern of a template UHF transmitter learned by the learning external frequency and modulation receiving apparatus which comprises:

means for transmitting, but not receiving, a UHF signal by the first antenna, means, coupled to said means for transmitting, for tuning a frequency of the UHF signal to be transmitted, memory means for storing said modulation pattern of said UHF template transmitter to be transmitted, means, coupled to said memory means, for pulse-modulating the UHF signal of said transmitting means such that said modulation pattern stored in said memory means can be transmitted by said separate universal transmitter, said means for pulse-modulating including said first internal controller operable to control the pulse-modulation of the UHF signal, and means, coupled to said means for pulse-modulating, for actuating transmission of said pulse-modulated UHF signal by said separate universal transmitter, wherein said universal transmitter having said first internal controller is separate from said frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having said second internal controller, and the second internal controller is operable to learn the modulation pattern of the signal received by the second antenna.

22. The separate universal transmitter of claim 21 which is permanently installed in a vehicle.

23. The separate universal transmitter of claim 21 wherein said means for transmitting comprises said first UHF antenna coupled to a frequency-tunable, pulse-modulated UHF oscillator.

24. The separate universal transmitter of claim 23 wherein said first antenna and said oscillator are part of a resonant network.

25. The separate universal transmitter of claim 21 wherein said memory means comprises an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory device.

26. A frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having a first internal controller and a first antenna for learning and transferring a transmission frequency and a modulation pattern of a signal emanating from a template transmitter to a separate universal transmitter having a second internal controller and a second antenna, the frequency and modulation receiving apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, but not transmitting by the first antenna, a modulated UHF signal from the template transmitter, means, coupled to said means for receiving, for detecting and learning the frequency and modulation pattern of the modulated UHF signal received, said means for detecting and learning including said first internal controller operable to learn the modulation pattern of the modulated UHF signal, and means for transferring said detected frequency and said modulation pattern of the modulated UHF signal to said separate universal transmitter having said second internal controller, wherein said separate universal transmitter thereafter generates signals at substantially the same frequency and modulation pattern as detected and learned from the modulated UHF signal received by the means for receiving from the template transmitter, and wherein the means for receiving, the means for detecting and learning including said first internal controller, and the means for transferring are separated from the separate universal transmitter having said second internal controller, and the second Internal controller is operable to control the modulation pattern generated by the second antenna.

27. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 26 which further comprises means for verifying that said separate universal transmitter transmits the frequency and modulation pattern of said template transmitter by analyzing said frequency and modulation pattern generated by said separate universal transmitter.

28. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 26 wherein said means for detecting and learning frequency comprises an adjustable frequency filter means coupled to said means for receiving and means for detecting magnitude of a filtered output signal of said receiving means to locate a peak output corresponding to said frequency of said template transmitter.

29. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 28 wherein said means for detecting magnitude and said adjustable frequency filter means comprise said first UHF antenna coupled to an adjustable bandpass filter.

30. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 29 wherein said bandpass filter has a passband of about ±

200 Kz from a center frequency of the filter.

31. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 28 further comprising an amplifier coupled between said frequency filter means and said means for detecting magnitude.

32. The frequency and modulation receiving apparatus of claim 26 which further comprises an intermediate memory means for temporary storage of a modulation pattern of a received UHF signal.

33. A system for learning and transferring a frequency and modulation pattern of an encoded modulated template transmitter to a separate universal transmitter, such that the separate universal transmitter is thereby programmed to transmit the frequency and modulation pattern learned from the template transmitter, the system comprising:

a frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having a first antenna and means for detecting and learning the frequency and modulation pattern of the template transmitters, and means coupled to said means for detecting and learning for transferring indications of the frequency and modulation pattern, said means for detecting and learning including a first internal controller operable to learn the modulation pattern of the template transmitter; and

a separate universal transmitter having a second antenna, separate from the frequency and modulation receiving apparatus, having means, in communication with the means for transferring, for receipt and storage of the indications of the frequency and modulation pattern and means coupled to the means for receipt and storage for generating a signal in accordance with the indications, said means for generating including a second internal controller operable to control the modulation pattern of the signal generated from the second antenna.

34. A method for programming a separate universal transmitter having a first antenna with a learned frequency and modulation pattern of a signal generated by a transmitter, the method comprising:

(a) detecting and learning a frequency and modulation pattern of the transmitter with a frequency and modulation receiving apparatus having a first internal controller and a second antenna, separate from the separate universal transmitter, in a learn mode, said first internal controller operable to learn the modulation pattern of the transmitted; and

(b) downloading the learned frequency and modulation pattern to the separate universal transmitter having a second internal controller in a download mode, said second internal controller operable control the modulation of a signal transmitted by said separate universal transmitter by the first antenna.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the step of detecting is effected using a programmable phase-locked loop and said first internal controller operative to sequentially program the phase-locked loop to operate over a predetermined range of frequencies.