Television receiver and electric apparatus control method

• US 7,242,439 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Orion Electric (Orion Denki KK)
• Inventors: Tsurusaki, Tetsuo, Mizushima, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, TRANG U
• Application Number:
  US10/843,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20040227857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 348/734, 348/552, 348/553, 348/554, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/7.39
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration

Abstract

An object of this invention is to control operations of electric apparatuses other than a television receiver successively with an operation of the television receiver. The television receiver 1 includes an other-apparatus-code storage section 15, a successive control section 12, an other-apparatus-code output processing section 17, a transmission section 3, and a successive operation definition unit for making a specific operation of the television receiver 1 and specific operations of the other electric apparatuses correspond to one another in advance. The other-apparatus-code storage section 15 stores control codes for the other electric apparatuses. Successively with the specific operation of the television receiver 1, the control codes for the other electric apparatuses made to correspond to the specific operation of the television receiver 1 by the successive operation definition means are read from the other-apparatus-code storage section 15 into the successive control section 12, and the control codes are output to the other-apparatus-code output processing section 17. The other-apparatus-code output processing section 17 carries out a processing for transmitting by radio the control codes input from the successive control section 12, and causes the transmission section 3 to transmit the processed control codes to the other electric apparatuses.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising:

an other-apparatus-code storage section which stores a control code for an electric apparatus other than the television receiver, an operation of the other electric apparatus being controlled by transmitting the control code by radio to the other electric apparatus by a remote controller;

successive operation definition means for setting a conditional correspondence, as defined by a user, between a specific operation of the television receiver and a specific operation of the other electric apparatus controlled by a specific control code stored in the other-apparatus-code storage section, said specific operation is independently executed by the television receiver or the other electric apparatus without being conditioned upon each other but for the conditional correspondence;

an other-apparatus-code output processing section which carries out a processing for transmitting the control code for the other electric apparatus by radio;

a successive control section which outputs the specific control code for the other electric apparatus corresponding to the specific operation of the television receiver as defined via the successive operation definition means by the user, to the other-apparatus-code output processing section, successively with the specific operation of the television receiver;

a transmission section which transmits the specific control code after processed by the other-apparatus-code output processing section to the other electric apparatus by radio; and

a control section which controls operations of the television receiver, wherein

the specific control code corresponding to the specific operation of the television receiver defined via the successive operation definition means is transmitted from the transmission section successively with the specific operation of the television receiver, thereby controlling said specific operation of the other electric apparatus.

2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein

if a television control code other than the control code for the other electric apparatus is transmitted by radio to the television receiver by a television remote controller other than the remote controller for the other electric apparatus, the operations of the television receiver are controlled based on the transmitted television control code, and

the television receiver has a learning function of, when the control code for the other electric apparatus is transmitted to the television receiver by the remote controller for the other electric apparatus, storing the transmitted control code in the other-apparatus-code storage section.

3. The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein

the other electric apparatus carries out the specific operation, which differs depending on a plurality of control codes, and

the successive operation definition means is set with a correspondence, as defined by the user, between a plurality of specific operations of the television receiver and a plurality of specific operations of the other electric apparatus.

4. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein

the other electric apparatus carries out the specific operation, which differs depending on a plurality of control codes, and

the successive operation definition means is set with a correspondence, as defined by the user, between a plurality of specific operations of the television receiver and a plurality of specific operations of the other electric apparatus.

5. The television receiver according to claim 4, wherein

a plurality of the electric apparatuses are present, and

the successive operation definition means is set with a correspondence, as defined by the user, between the specific operations of the plurality of other electric apparatuses and one of the plurality of specific operations of the television receiver.

7. The television receiver according to claim 3, wherein

a plurality of the electric apparatuses are present, and

the successive operation definition means is set with a correspondence, as defined by the user, between the specific operations of the plurality of other electric apparatuses and one of the plurality of specific operations of the television receiver.

6. An electric apparatus control method of controlling an electric apparatus other than a television receiver using the television receiver,

comprising:

transmitting a control code for the other eleetric apparatus by a remote controller by radio to the television receiver, and storing the control code in the television receiver;

setting and storing in the television receiver a conditional correspondence, as defined by a user, between a specific operation of the television receiver and a specific operation of the other electric apparatus controlled by a specific control code, said specific operation being independently executed by the television receiver or the other electric apparatus without being conditioned upon each other but for the conditional correspondence; and

transmitting by radio the specific control code to the other electric apparatus corresponding to the specific operation of the television receiver as defined by the user, successively with the specific operation of the television receiver, thereby controlling said specific operation of the other electric apparatus.