Interpreting a script to generate an operational signal on a remote control device

• US 7,339,513 B1
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Issued: 03/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IXYS Intl Limited (Littelfuse Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: ZiLOG Incorporated (Littelfuse Incorporated)
• Inventors: Provis, Adam P. G., Vergis, George C., Miramontes, Oscar C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III; Edwin C.
• Application Number:
  US10/928,520
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• Field of Search: 341/173, 341/176, 340/825.22, 340/825.24, 340/825.25, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 348/734, 398106-112, 717/115, 717/139
• US Class Current: 341/173
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/33 Remote control using macros, scripts
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1803 Stop-and-wait protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42226 Reprogrammable remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4437 Implementing a Virtual Machine [VM] virtual machines in general G06F9/45533

Abstract

A script is stored on a remote control device. When a key is pressed, an interpreter on the remote control device interprets the script thereby causing codeset information (for example, key codes and protocol information) stored on the remote control device to be used to output a sequence of marks and spaces. Adjacent marks are combined into a larger mark and adjacent spaces are combined into a larger space. From these marks and spaces, a mark/space table and a string of timing information are generated. The mark/space table and the string of timing information are then used to generate an operational signal that is transmitted from the remote control device. In one embodiment, only one mark/space table and one string of timing information is ever present on the remote control device at one time. This reduces memory requirements, thereby reducing manufacturing cost of the remote control device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a script on a remote control device, wherein the remote control device has a key, and wherein the script contains codeset information of a codeset associated with an electronic consumer device;

detecting that the key was pressed;

interpreting the script to generate a mark/space table and a string of timing information; and

generating an operational signal using the mark/space table and the string of timing information, wherein the operational signal is transmitted from the remote control device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operational signal is received by an electronic consumer device and causes the electronic consumer device to perform a function corresponding to the key that was pressed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the script is interpreted by a virtual machine, and wherein the virtual machine comprises a script interpreter and a processor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the processor is an 8-bit microcontroller.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the virtual machine further comprises an infrared transmission engine API functionality, and wherein the generating the operational signal is performed using the infrared transmission engine API functionality.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote control device has a second key, further comprising:

detecting that the second key was pressed;

interpreting the script to generate a second mark/space table and a second string of timing information; and

generating a second operational signal using the second mark/space table and the second string of timing information, wherein the second operational signal is received by an electronic consumer device and causes the electronic consumer device to perform a function corresponding to the second key that was pressed.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic consumer device is taken from the group consisting of:

a television set, a video cassette recorder, a digital video disk player, a stereo equalizer, a radio tuner, a set-top box for receiving programming via a satellite, a set-top box for receiving programming via a cable, a home entertainment system and a video game controller.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the codeset information includes mark times, space times and a keycode, wherein the keycode is a digital number represented by a string of marks and spaces, and wherein the interpreting the script to generate the mark/space table and the string of timing information comprises:

generating the string of marks and spaces that represents the keycode, wherein the string of marks and spaces has two adjacent marks;

determining a combined mark time, wherein the combined mark time has a duration equal to a combined duration of the two adjacent marks; and

generating the mark/space table, wherein the mark/space table contains the mark times of the codeset information and the combined mark time.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the interpreting the script to generate the mark/space table and the string of timing information involves including an index in the string of timing information that points to the combined mark time.

10. A remote control device comprising:

a microcontroller having a memory, wherein a script is stored in the memory, and wherein the script contains codeset information of a codeset associated with an electronic consumer device; and

a script interpreter that interprets the script to generate a mark/space table and a string of timing information, wherein;

the mark/space table and the string of timing information are usable to generate an operational signal and

the operational signal is transmitted from the remote control device.

11. The remote control device of claim 10, further comprising:

a key, wherein the codeset information includes a keycode corresponding to the key and to a function of the electronic consumer device; and

a key scanning functionality that detects that the key was pressed, wherein the script interpreter interprets the script after the key scanning functionality detects that the key was pressed.

12. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the microcontroller is an 8-bit microcontroller.

13. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the codeset information includes mark times, space times and a keycode, wherein the keycode is a digital number represented by a string of marks and spaces, further comprising:

a level one builder, wherein the level one builder receives from the script interpreter the string of marks and spaces, wherein the string of marks and spaces has two adjacent marks, wherein the level one builder determines a combined mark time with a duration equal to a combined duration of the two adjacent marks, and wherein the mark/space table contains the combined mark time and the mark times of the codeset information.

14. The remote control device of claim 10, further comprising:

an infrared transmission engine, wherein the operational signal is transmitted by the infrared transmission engine.

15. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the memory of the microcontroller includes program memory and data memory, and wherein the microcontroller has no more than 64 kilobytes of program memory and no more than 4 kilobytes of data memory.

16. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the memory includes program memory and data memory, wherein the script is located in program memory, and wherein the mark/space table is located in data memory.

17. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the operational signal controls a function of the electronic consumer device, and wherein the function is taken from the group consisting of:

volume up, volume down, channel advance, channel back, cursor up, cursor down, cursor right, cursor left, select, play, record, stop, forward, back, pause, play VCR, DVD and stereo equalizer power on, play DVD, and TV power on.

21. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein a transmission engine generates the operational signal using the mark/space table and the string of timing information, and wherein the transmission engine is a software subroutine executed by the microcontroller.

22. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein a transmission engine uses the string of timing information to generate the operational signal, and wherein the transmission engine is a combination of software and hardware.

23. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein a signal engine generates the operational signal, and wherein the signal engine is sent to the remote control device by transmitting an application programming interface together with the script interpreter to the remote control device.

24. The remote control device of claim 10, wherein the script interpreter interprets the script to call a function of a level one builder, and wherein the level one builder generates the mark/space table and the string of timing information.

18. A device comprising:

a memory, wherein a script is stored in the memory, and wherein the script contains codeset information of a codeset associated with an electronic consumer device;

a key, wherein the codeset information includes a keycode corresponding to the key and to a function of the electronic consumer device; and

means for generating a mark/space table and a string of timing information from the script when the key is pressed and for generating an operational signal using the mark/space table and the string of timing information, wherein the operational signal causes the electronic consumer device to perform the function.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the means generates the mark/space table and the string of timing information using no more than 64 kilobytes of program memory and no more than 4 kilobytes of random access memory (RAM).

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the means is a software subroutine that executes on an 8-bit microcontroller.

25. A remote control device comprising:

a microcontroller having a memory, wherein a script is stored in the memory, and wherein the script contains codeset information of a codeset associated with an electronic consumer device; and

a script interpreter that interprets the script to generate a mark/space table and a string of timing information.

26. The remote control device of 25, wherein the script interpreter is a set of processor-executable instructions stored in the memory and executing on a processor of the microcontroller.

27. A remote control device comprising:

a microcontroller having a memory, wherein a script is stored in the memory, and wherein the script contains codeset information of a codeset associated with an electronic consumer device;

a script interpreter that interprets the script to generate a mark/space table and a string of timing information;

a transmission engine that uses the mark/space table and the string of timing information to generate an operational signal; and

a transmitter that transmits the operational signal from the remote control device.

28. The remote control device of claim 27, wherein the transmission engine is an infrared transmission engine, and the transmitter is an infrared transmitter.