Method and apparatus for remote use of personal computer

• US 7,102,691 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2001
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Noa, David, Dischert, Lee R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnael, Paulos M.
• Application Number:
  US09/924,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20030030660A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,854 Days
• Field of Search: 348/552, 348/553, 348/460, 348722-723, 709/217, 709/203, 700/12, 700/17, 700/83
• US Class Current: 348/552
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0231 Cordless keyboards

Abstract

A Personal Computer (PC) in a second location, provides video signals to a television monitor located in a first location. A stereo amplifies audio from the PC and provides the signal to loudspeakers in the first location. A keyboard, mouse, and controller in the first location, use infrared radiation to transmit commands. An IR receiver, in the first location, detects the commands and provides them to the PC. A communication port is used to receive the initial commands. After the initial remote commands negotiate control the input select switch interchanges the input devices of the second location with input devices of the first location. The interchange gives control of the PC to the first location keyboard, mouse and controller. A video switch/matrix in the second location is also controlled from the first location so that video is provided from the PC to the TV monitor in the first location.

Claims

1. A system for providing audio and video information from a second location to a first location and for controlling said audio and video information from the first location, comprising

a computer, in the second location, including a data input port, responsive to operational commands to controllably provide video information;

a television monitor, in the first location, coupled to the computer for selectively displaying the provided video information;

a local keyboard, in the second location, for providing first ones of the operational commands;

a remote control transmitter in the first location for communicating command and control signals;

a remote control receiver, in the first location, for receiving and decoding the command and control signals from the remote control transmitter and providing second ones of the operational commands; and

an input select switch, in the second location, having first and second input ports and a data output port, the first input port being coupled to the remote control receiver, the second input port being coupled to the local keyboard and the data output port being coupled to the data input port of the computer to provide either the first ones of the operational commands or the second ones of the operational commands to the data input port of the computer.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the computer includes a control input port, coupled to the input select switch to receive a control request signal; and

the input select switch includes;

a communications port interface, coupled to the remote control receiver for receiving the second ones of the operational commands and for generating therefrom the control request signal and for receiving a select signal and generating a selection signal to cause the input select switch to provide either the first ones of the operational commands or the second ones of the operational commands to the data input port of the computer;

a control output port coupled to the provide the control request signal to the control input port of the computer and to receive the select signal from the computer.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the data input port and the control input port are respectively different communications ports on the computer, each selected from a group consisting of RS-232 ports, keyboard input ports, small computer systems interface (SCSI) ports, universal serial bus (USB) ports, IEEE 1394 ports, and parallel data parts.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein the computer includes software, coupled to receive the control request signal provided by the control output port of the input select switch, which implements a priority scheme that determines which of the first ones of the operational commands and the second ones of the operational commands are selected by the input select switch responsive to the select signal.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the remote control transmitter includes a further computer keyboard and an infrared transmitter; and

the remote control receiver includes an infrared receiver.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

the remote control transmitter includes a plurality of direction switches which provide direction signals and an infrared transmitter that transmits the direction signals; and

the remote control receiver includes an infrared receiver and circuitry which converts the direction signals into signals compatible with a computer pointer device.

7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an alternate video source which provides further video information;

a video switch, responsive to a video source control signal to provide either the video information from the computer or the further video information from the alternate video source to the television monitor;

wherein, the input select switch includes circuitry, responsive to a video source selection signal provided by the remote control receiver for generating the video source control signal.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the alternate video source is coupled to the computer to provide at least audio signals to the computer and the computer is configured to provide the audio signals to audio processing circuitry at the first location.

9. A system according to claim 7, wherein the alternate video source is configured to provide audio signals to the video switch and the video switch is responsive to the video source control signal to provide the audio signals to audio processing circuitry at the first location.

10. A system according to claim 7, wherein:

the alternate video source includes a plurality of video sources;

the circuitry in the input select switch sends data to the computer requesting the one of the plurality of video sources in response to a request from the remote control receiver for the one of the plurality of video sources; and

the alternate video source is responsive to a control signal from the computer to select one of the plurality of video sources to provide the further video information to the video switch.

11. A system according to claim 7, wherein the video switch includes a format converter that converts the video signals provided by the computer and by the alternate video source into a format compatible with the television monitor.

12. A method for controlling a computer at a second location from one of a remote-control transmitter at a first location and a keyboard at the second location and for providing video information from the computer to a television monitor at the first location, the computer having a data input port and a control input/output (I/O) port, the method comprising the steps of:

sensing an infrared (IR) command signal from the remote control transmitter;

generating a control request signal, responsive to the IR command signal, and sending the control request to the computer via the control I/O port;

responsive to the control request signal, receiving a select signal from the computer via the control I/O port;

directing data signals from one of the remote control transmitter or the keyboard to the data input port of the computer, exclusive of another one of the remote-control transmitter or the keyboard, responsive to the received select signal;

converting the video information to a form compatible with the television monitor; and

providing the video information to a computer monitor at the second location or a television monitor at the first location, responsive to the received select signal.

13. A method according to claim 12, further including the step of prioritizing the control request signal with input signals received by the computer from the keyboard to generate the select signal.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the prioritizing step generates the select signal only when the computer has not received signals from the keyboard for a predetermined interval.

15. A system for providing audio and video signals from a second location to a first location and for controlling the audio and video signals from the first location, comprising

a computer, in the second location, coupled for controllably providing video, and audio output signals;

a television monitor, in the first location, coupled to the computer for selectively displaying the video output signals provided thereby;

a local keyboard, in the second location;

a remote control transmitter in the first location for communicating command and control signals;

a remote control receiver, in the first location, for receiving and decoding transmissions from the remote control transmitter; and

an input select switch, in the second location, having a first and second input port and a first and second output port, the first input port being coupled to the remote control receiver and the second input port being coupled to the local keyboard wherein the first output port and the second output port are coupled to the computer;

an alternate video source, in the second location, coupled to the computer for receiving a selection signal from the computer; and

a video switch matrix, in the second location, having first second input ports, an output port and an enable port wherein the first input port is coupled to the computer for receiving a computer video signal, and the second input port is coupled to the alternate video source for receiving the alternate video source video signal and the enable port is coupled to the input select switch to selectively couple the video signal applied to the first input port or the video signal applied to the second input port to the output port.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the plurality of video sources includes at least two of a DVD player, a video tuner output, a HDTV, and a video capture device.