Personal preference information communication method and apparatus

• US 6,625,503 B1
• Filed: 06/09/2000
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Dwight Randall
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, RAMESH B
• Application Number:
  US09/590,593
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 700/25, 700/17, 700/83, 700/19, 700/20, 700/65, 700/66, 345/173, 345/810, 345/866, 707/104.1, 707/1, 707/500.1, 709/227, 709/217, 725/25, 725/37, 725/78, 379/211.02
• US Class Current: 700/83
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method of setting user control preferences where a personal communication device communicates user control preferences to a control device. The control device controls the controllable attributes of a location in accordance with the user control preferences. In addition, general control preferences can be communicated to the control device followed by manual adjustment of the controllable attributes where the adjusted controllable attributes are communicated to the personal communication device and stored therein.

Claims

1. A method of setting user control preferences, comprising:

determining whether a specific user control preference is available to use for controllable attributes of a controllable entity;

determining whether a generic user control preference is available to use for the controllable attributes of the controllable entity, if a specific user control preference is unavailable;

communicating the available user control preferences from a personal communication device to a control device, the control device controlling the controllable attributes of the controllable entity; and

adjusting the controllable attributes of the controllable entity by the control device in accordance with the user control preferences after communicating the user control preferences from the personal communication device to the control device.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the personal communication device is portable and is capable of wirelessly communicating the user control preferences to the control device.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user control preferences are stored in the personal communication device before the personal communication device communicates the user control preferences to the control device.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controllable entity is an interior cabin of an automobile.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the controllable attributes comprise at least one of the group consisting of distance of a seat from a gas pedal, height of the seat, an angle of incline of the seat, a temperature of the automobile, a radio station setting, a lighting level in the automobile, mirror positions and humidity settings.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controllable entity is a hotel room.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controllable attributes comprise at least one of the group consisting of an interior temperature, humidity, lighting level, television volume, television channel, alarm clock volume, alarm clock awake time, preferred long distance provider, calling card numbers, network shows, television language, caption settings and preferred cable stations.

8. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein control attributes are stored in the personal communication device and categorized according to an automobile model type.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the radio station setting is controlled by communicating a user programming type preference from the personal communication device to the control device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control device obtains a geographic location of the personal communication device and determines a radio station corresponding to the user programming type preference for the geographic location.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a television channel is controlled by communicating a user programming type preference from the personal communication device to at least one of the group consisting of the control device or the television.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the control device and the personal communication device adjusts the controllable attributes in accordance with multiple user control preferences.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein at least one of the control device and the personal communication device queries each of a plurality of personal communication devices to obtain respective seating positions and adjusts the controllable attributes in accordance with the corresponding user control preferences.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein at least one of the control device and the personal communication device takes an average of a plurality of user control preferences and adjusts the controllable attributes in accordance with the average of the user control preferences.

18. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the multiple user control preferences can be stored in respective personal communication devices.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein voting priorities can be assigned to the personal communication devices, respectively, and the controllable attributes are adjusted in accordance with the voting priorities.

12. A method of setting controllable entity specific control preferences, comprising:

communicating general control preferences from a personal communication device to a control device, the control device changing controllable attributes in accordance with the general control preferences communicated to the control device from the personal communication device;

manually adjusting the controllable attributes after the control device changes the controllable attributes in accordance with the general control preferences, the control device detecting the adjusted settings; and

communicating the manually adjusted controllable attributes from the control device to the personal communication device.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the personal communication device stores the adjusted controllable attributes after the adjusted controllable attributes are transmitted from the control device to the personal communication device.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein a controllable entity identifier corresponding to a specific controllable entity of the control device is manually input to the personal communication device to adjust the controllable attributes of the control device to controllable entity-specific controllable attributes corresponding to the controllable entity identifier.

20. A method of setting controllable entity specific control preferences, comprising:

storing general control preferences in a personal communication device;

communicating the general control preferences from the personal communication device to a control device, the control device changing controllable attributes in accordance with the general control preferences;

manually adjusting the controllable attributes of the controllable entity;

communicating the adjusted controllable attributes from the control device to the personal communication device; and

storing the adjusted controllable attributes and a corresponding controllable entity identifier in the personal communication device.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a control device controlling controllable attributes of a controllable entity; and

a personal communication device being capable of communicating specific and generic user control preferences to the control device, wherein the controllable attributes of the controllable entity are adjusted by the control device in accordance with the user control preferences after communicating the user control preferences communicated from the personal communication device to the control device.

22. A device comprising:

a communication unit being capable of communicating specific and generic user control preferences to a control device, wherein controllable attributes of a controllable entity are adjusted in response to the user control preferences communicated by the communication unit.

23. The device as claimed in claim 22, further comprising a storage unit to store the user control preferences.

24. The device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the device is portable and capable of wirelessly transmitting the user control preferences to the control device.

25. A control device comprising:

a receiver, capable of receiving specific user control preferences and generic user control preferences, to receive user control preferences transmitted from a personal communication device; and

a controller to adjust controllable attributes of a controllable entity in accordance with the user control preferences.

26. The device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the controllable entity is an interior cabin of an automobile.

27. The device as claimed in claim 26, wherein the controllable attributes comprise at least one of the group consisting of distance of a seat from a gas pedal, height of the seat, an angle of incline of the seat, a temperature of the automobile, a radio station setting.

28. The device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the controllable entity is a hotel room.

29. The device as claimed in claim 28, wherein the controllable attributes comprise at least one of the group consisting of an interior temperature, humidity, lighting level, television volume, television channel, alarm clock volume, alarm clock awake time, preferred long distance provider, calling card numbers, network shows, television language, caption settings and preferred cable stations.