Remote control of electronic devices

• US 6,469,633 B1
• Filed: 01/05/1998
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: D&M Holdings US Incorporated (Masimo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: OpenGlobe, Inc. (Masimo Corporation)
• Inventors: Wachter, Martin Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIMIZU, MATSUICHIRO
• Application Number:
  US09/002,721
• Time in Patent Office: 1,751 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.22, 340/825.24, 340/825.25, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 348/601, 348/563, 348/734, 345/158, 345/163, 345/169
• US Class Current: 340/4.37
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus controls electronic devices, via radio frequency (RF) transmitter and receiver for communication between the apparatus and a user, a central processing unit (CPU) executing software for handling the conversion of an RF signal from the user into a two dimensional location (an X, Y coordinate system) and conversion into a series of remote control commands for transmission to a series of devices equipped for remote control. The user can control the electronic devices of an electronic system, for example a home entertainment system (which might include, by way of example, a television, a DSS or satellite receiver, a CD player, a video recorder, a video disc player, a radio tuner, an amplifier, a tape deck, an audio video preamplifier or a combination of one or more of the foregoing). The CPU also executes software which digitizes real time video and combines it with computer graphics for display.

Claims

1. An apparatus controlling at least one electrical device, comprising:

a display device to display representations of controls for a currently selected device and one of video signals from the currently selected device and a representation of the currently selected device;

a remote control transmitter, including a user interface consisting of only a cursor moving control and buttons to select one of icons and text displayed on said display device and what is displayed at a cursor position, to transmit a user generated signal indicating selection of a position on said display device corresponding to a selected control representation;

a remote control receiver to receive the user generated signal from said remote control transmitter;

a processor, coupled to said remote control receiver, to determine the position on said display device selected by the user generated signal and control operations corresponding thereto; and

a device controller, coupled to said processor and the at least one electrical device, to control operation of the at least one electrical device in accordance with the control operations corresponding to the position selected by the user generated signal.

2. A method of interfacing with remotely controllable playback devices, including at least two of an audio tape deck, a video tape deck, an audio disc player and a video disc player, comprising:

generating on a first portion of a display area produced by a display device, a video display using one of video signals from a currently selected device included in the remotely controllable devices and a representation of the currently selected device; and

displaying representations of operational commands to control the currently selected device on the display device in a second portion of the display area separate from the first portion, including

displaying the video signals from one of the video tape deck and the video disc player when selected as the currently selected device;

displaying an image indicating that a non-video device is the currently selected device when one of the audio tape deck and the audio disc player is selected; and

displaying representations of at least pause, play and stop in substantially identical positions on the control grid when the currently selected device is any of the playback devices.

3. A method of interfacing with remotely controllable devices, comprising:

generating on a first portion of a display area produced by a display device, a video display using one of video signals from a currently selected device included in the remotely controllable devices and a representation of the currently selected device; and

displaying representations of operational commands to control the currently selected device on the display device in a second portion of the display area separate from the first portion;

receiving remote control signals from a user identifying a selected position within the display area; and

switching between a control mode produced by said generating and said displaying of the representations of the operational commands and a full screen mode produced by routing the video signals without conversion from the currently selected device to display on all of the display area, in response to one of the remote control signals without selection of an icon.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising controlling the currently selected device in accordance with one of the operational commands when the selected position corresponds to the representation of the one of the operational commands.