Personal programmable universal remote control
First Claim
1. A personal programmable universal remote control apparatus comprising:
- an input module receptive of command sets operable to control devices;
an interface module receptive of manual input from a user;
an organization module operable to organize the command sets into groups based on the manual input, wherein the command sets are device specific, and wherein the groups are location specific, thereby integrating command sets of remotely controllable devices at a particular location into a single, user-defined device system;
a datastore storing the command sets of multiple devices; and
a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object and store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices in a user-defined user interface configuration,wherein said interface module allows the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, and control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, andwherein said user-defined device definition module allows the user to associate a source guide and a program guide with the user defined-device data object, wherein the source guide provides channel-station correspondence for the particular location and the program guide provides program-station correspondence for the particular location.
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Abstract
The present invention is a personal programmable universal remote control apparatus comprising an input module receptive of command sets operable to control devices. The apparatus further comprises an interface module receptive of manual input from a user, and an organization module operable to organize the command sets into groups based on the manual input. The apparatus further comprises an output module operable to communicate commands to the devices based on the groups. According to one aspect, the groups are operable to define operating conditions for interrelated devices based on at least one of user preference and intelligence regarding device interactions. According to another aspect, the groups are operable to define a command sequence operable to perform an action requiring one or more devices that involves use of multiple commands of the associated command sets.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A personal programmable universal remote control apparatus comprising:
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an input module receptive of command sets operable to control devices; an interface module receptive of manual input from a user; an organization module operable to organize the command sets into groups based on the manual input, wherein the command sets are device specific, and wherein the groups are location specific, thereby integrating command sets of remotely controllable devices at a particular location into a single, user-defined device system; a datastore storing the command sets of multiple devices; and a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object and store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices in a user-defined user interface configuration, wherein said interface module allows the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, and control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, and wherein said user-defined device definition module allows the user to associate a source guide and a program guide with the user defined-device data object, wherein the source guide provides channel-station correspondence for the particular location and the program guide provides program-station correspondence for the particular location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A programmable universal remote control apparatus, comprising:
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a datastore storing command sets of multiple devices; a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object and store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices in a user-defined user interface configuration; and a user interface allowing the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, and control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, wherein said user defined-device definition module further allows the user to define command sequences of selected commands, and said user interface allows the user to operate the devices by selecting the command sequence, wherein the command sequences are stored in the form of a state machine of the user-defined device data object a state of the state machine being formed by the user manipulating the devices into a state suitable for interoperability and then saving the state as a user-defined configuration; and wherein said datastore stores said command sets as individual device state machines of the devices, and the user-defined user interface tracks individual states of the devices using the individual device state machines. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A programmable universal remote control apparatus, comprising:
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a datastore storing command sets of multiple devices; a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object and store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices in a user-defined user interface configuration, wherein said user defined-device definition module further allows the user to define command sequences of selected commands, and the command sequences are stored in the form of a state machine of the user-defined device data object, a state of the state machine being formed by the user manipulating the devices into a state suitable for interoperability and then saving the state as a user-defined configuration; a user interface allowing the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, and control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, wherein said user interface allows the user to operate the devices by selecting the command sequence; and a node navigator invoking a command sequence for progressing from a current state reflecting current interoperability of the devices to a desired state selected by the user, wherein edges between nodes of a graph data structure that is the state machine correspond to command sequences for changing from one state to another. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A programmable universal remote control apparatus, comprising:
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a datastore storing command sets of multiple devices; a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object and store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices in a user-defined user interface configuration; and a user interface allowing the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, and control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, wherein said user interface allows the user to define the user-defined device by drag and drop of selected commands into a screen region representing the user-defined user interface. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A personal programmable universal remote control apparatus, comprising:
- an organization module operable to organize command sets for remotely controlling devices into groups based on user input, wherein the command sets are device specific, and wherein the groups are location specific, thereby integrating command sets of remotely controllable devices at a particular location into a single, user-defined device system;
a user-defined device definition module allowing a user to instantiate a user-defined device data object, store therein selected commands from the command sets of multiple devices at the particular location in a user-defined user interface configuration, define command sequences of selected commands, and associate a source guide and a program guide with the user defined-device data object, wherein the source guide provides channel-station correspondence for the particular location and the program guide provides program-station correspondence for the particular location; a user interface allowing the user to select commands of the command sets in order to define the user-defined device, control the multiple devices by interacting with the user-defined interface of the user-defined object in order to send commands to the devices via a wireless output of the apparatus, and operate the devices by selecting the command sequence; and a node navigator, wherein command sequences are stored in the form of a state machine of the user-defined device data object, a state of the state machine being formed by the user manipulating the devices into a state suitable for interoperability and then saving the state as a user-defined configuration, said node navigator invoking a command sequence for progressing from a current state reflecting current interoperability of the devices to a desired state selected by the user, wherein edges between nodes of a graph data structure that is the state machine correspond to command sequences for changing from one state to another, wherein said node navigator creates the state machine by storing a sequence of commands entered by the user in the process of leaving a defined state and progressing to a newly defined state as a command sequence history, and create a command sequence edge describing the defined state and the newly defined state as neighbors based on the command sequence history.
- an organization module operable to organize command sets for remotely controlling devices into groups based on user input, wherein the command sets are device specific, and wherein the groups are location specific, thereby integrating command sets of remotely controllable devices at a particular location into a single, user-defined device system;
Specification