Wireless transmit-only apparatus and method

• US 7,174,137 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2003
• Issued: 02/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Chamberlain Group LLC
• Original Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc. (The Chamberlain Group LLC)
• Inventors: Fitzgibbon, James J., Wojiak, Bernard J., Keller, Robert Roy Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US10/645,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20050042992A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 455/91, 455/93, 455/95, 455/103, 455/118, 455/150.1, 455/151.1, 455/151.2, 455/153.1, 455352-355, 340/825.71, 340/825.72, 340/825.73
• US Class Current: 455/95
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/62 Rolling code

Abstract

A wireless transmit-only apparatus (20) can be comprised of a controller (21) that selectively controls which of a plurality of resonant devices (24 and 25) are utilized to influence the transmission carrier frequency of a transmitter (26). In a preferred embodiment at least one of the resonant devices comprises a mechanically resonant device (24) such as a surface acoustic wave device, a crystal resonator, or a ceramic resonator. In a preferred embodiment, a user interface (22) includes a plurality of independently assertable inputs. The controller responds to assertion of one of this inputs by selecting a particular set of characterizing transmission parameters (as are stored, for example, in a memory (23) and using those characterizing transmission parameters to transmit a message using a transmission carrier frequency as corresponds to use of a co-selected resonant device.

Claims

1. A wireless transmit-only apparatus comprising:

a user interface comprising at least one independently assertable input;

a plurality of mechanically resonant devices that differ from one another with respect to a characteristic resonant frequency;

a memory containing a plurality of characterizing transmission parameters comprising characterizing transmission parameters that correspond to particular ones of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices, wherein the characterizing transmission parameters correspond to a plurality of transmission messages, which plurality of transmission messages each have;

substantially common bearer content as compared to others of the plurality of transmission messages; and

at least one substantially differing characterizing transmission parameter as compared to others of the plurality of transmission messages;

a controller having access to correlation data that correlates the at least one independently assertable inputs with a corresponding one of the plurality of transmission messages and hence to a particular one of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices, such that assertion of the independently assertable input will result in selection of a particular corresponding one of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices for use when transmitting a particular one of the plurality of transmission messages.

2. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the user interface comprises at least three independently assertable inputs.

3. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least three independently assertable inputs each comprise a discrete push button.

4. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mechanically resonant devices comprise at least one of:

a surface acoustic wave device;

a crystal resonator; and

a ceramic resonator.

5. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mechanically resonant devices each comprises a surface acoustic wave device.

6. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mechanically resonant devices comprise at least two of:

a surface acoustic wave device;

a crystal resonator; and

a ceramic resonator.

7. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mechanically resonant devices comprises:

an oscillator circuit;

a plurality of switches arranged and configured to selectively switch each of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices in and out of the oscillator circuit to thereby facilitate control over a resonant frequency of the oscillator circuit.

8. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mechanically resonant devices comprises a plurality of oscillator circuits wherein each of the oscillator circuits has a different one of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices such that each of the plurality of oscillator circuits has a different resonant frequency.

9. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the characterizing transmission parameters further comprise at least one of:

data frame structure information;

a particular operational code;

a rolling code value;

an algorithm to facilitate calculation of a next code to transmit.

10. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the substantially common bearer content comprises instructional content.

11. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 10 wherein the instructional content comprises an instruction to cause a movable barrier to move from a present position to a different position.

12. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one substantially differing characterizing transmission parameter comprises at least one of:

data frame structure information;

a particular operational code;

a rolling code value;

an algorithm to facilitate calculation of a next code to transmit.

13. The wireless transmit-only apparatus of claim 1 wherein the controller comprises controller means for responding to assertion of a given one of the at least one independently assertable input by selecting corresponding characterizing transmission parameters to thereby cause a transmitter to utilize a particular mechanically resonant device as corresponds to the selected corresponding characterizing transmission parameters when transmitting the transmission message that corresponds to the selected corresponding characterizing transmission parameters.

14. A wireless transmit-only remote control apparatus comprising:

a user interface comprising at least one independently assertable button;

a plurality of mechanically resonant devices that differ from one another with respect to a characteristic resonant frequency;

a memory containing a plurality of characterizing transmission parameters comprising characterizing transmission parameters that correspond to particular ones of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices, wherein the characterizing transmission parameters correspond to a plurality of remote control transmission messages, which plurality of remote control transmission messages each have;

substantially common remote control instructional content as compared to others of the plurality of transmission messages; and

at least one substantially differing characterizing transmission parameter as compared to others of the plurality of transmission messages;

a controller having access to correlation data that correlates at least one of the at least one independently assertable button with a corresponding one of the plurality of remote control transmission messages and hence to a particular one of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices, such that assertion of a given one of the at least one independently assertable button will result in selection of a particular corresponding one of the plurality of mechanically resonant devices for use when transmitting a particular one of the plurality of remote control transmission messages.

15. The wireless transmit-only remote control apparatus of claim 14 wherein the mechanically resonant devices each comprise a surface acoustic wave device.

16. The wireless transmit-only remote control apparatus of claim 15 and further comprising a transmitter that is operably coupled to the controller and that includes an oscillator circuit that switchably includes each of the surface acoustic wave devices.

17. The wireless transmit-only remote control apparatus of claim 15 and further comprising a transmitter that is operably coupled to the controller and that comprises a plurality of switchably selectable oscillator circuits, wherein each of the oscillator circuits includes a different one of the surface acoustic wave devices.

18. A method of facilitating selection of a transmission frequency for a transmit-only apparatus comprising:

detecting assertion of a particular one of a plurality of discrete user assertable inputs;

identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices as corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of discrete user assertable inputs;

transmitting a message comprising bearer content that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of discrete user assertable inputs using the particular mechanically resonant device, wherein the message comprises bearer content that is substantially common as compared to a message that is transmitted upon assertion of at least one other of the plurality of discrete user assertable inputs.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein detecting assertion of a particular one of a plurality of discrete user assertable inputs comprises detecting assertion of a particular one of a plurality of three discrete user assertable inputs.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein detecting assertion of a particular one of a plurality of discrete user assertable inputs comprises detecting assertion of a particular one of a plurality of push buttons.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices comprises identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of three discrete mechanically resonant devices.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices comprises identifying a particular surface acoustic wave device of a plurality of discrete surface acoustic wave devices.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices comprises identifying a particular crystal resonator of a plurality of discrete crystal resonators.

24. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices comprises identifying a particular ceramic resonator of a plurality of discrete ceramic resonators.

25. The method of claim 18 wherein identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of discrete mechanically resonant devices comprises identifying a particular mechanically resonant device of a plurality of mechanically resonant devices that include at least one of:

a surface acoustic wave device;

a crystal resonator; and

a ceramic resonator.