Appliance remote control having separated user control and transmitter modules remotely located from and directly connected to one another

• US 7,760,071 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2006
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: McConnell, John E., Buccinna, Frank, Summerford, Jason, Nantz, John, Chuey, Mark D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEE, ANDREW W.
• Application Number:
  US11/522,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20070013546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.71, 340/5.2, 340/5.21, 340/5.22, 340/5.51
• US Class Current: 340/5.71
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/20 Binding and programming of remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/31 Voice input
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/62 Rolling code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control

Abstract

Vehicle-based programmable appliance control systems and methods include a user control module and a transmitter module which are remotely located from one another. A wired connection, such as a vehicle wiring harness, directly interconnects the modules. The wired connection has two ends and is assigned solely to the modules as the user control module is connected to one end of the wired connection and the transmitter module is connected to the other end of the wired connection. The user control module includes a user control and the transmitter module includes a radio frequency transmitter. The user control module transmits a user activation signal based on assertion of the user control to the transmitter module for receipt by the transmitter via the wired connection. The transmitter transmits a radio frequency appliance activation signal based on the received user activation signal in order to activate an appliance.

Claims

1. A vehicle-based programmable appliance control system for controlling an appliance responsive to an activation signal based on an appropriate fixed code transmission scheme and having a fixed code associated with the appliance, the system comprising:

a wired connection having first and second ends;

a user control module having a user control and a programming input, the user control module is connected to the first end of the wired connection; and

a transmitter module remotely located from the user control module and connected to the second end of the wired connection, the transmitter module having memory holding data describing a plurality of possible fixed code transmission schemes, the transmitter module further having a radio frequency transmitter operative to wirelessly transmit different activation signals based on any of the possible transmission schemes, the transmitter implementing a programming mode and an operating mode;

wherein the memory holds the data describing the possible transmission schemes without any of the data being received by either the user control module or the transmitter module from either another system used to control the appliance or from the appliance;

wherein one of the possible transmission schemes is the appropriate transmission scheme such that the appliance activates upon receiving from the transmitter an activation signal based on the one of the possible transmission schemes and having the fixed code associated with the appliance;

wherein the transmitter module receives a fixed code represented by a sequence of bits from the user control module over the wired connection in response to assertion of the programming input;

wherein the transmitter in the programming mode wirelessly transmitting a sequence of different activation signals including different sets of first and second activation signals in which each set of activation signals is based on a respective one of the possible transmission schemes and each first activation signal includes the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code and each second activation signal includes a bitwise reversal of the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code until user input indicating activation of the appliance is received by the transmitter module from the user control module over the wired connection, wherein the bitwise reversed sequence is such that the first bit in the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code is the last bit in the bitwise reversed sequence and the last bit in the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code is the first bit in the bitwise reversed sequence, wherein the transmitter module determines the transmission scheme for the last transmitted activation signal to be the appropriate transmission scheme upon receiving the user input indicating activation of the appliance and stores in the memory data associating the transmission scheme for the last transmitted activation signal with the user control;

wherein the transmitter in the operating mode wirelessly transmitting an activation signal based on the transmission scheme associated with the user control upon the transmitter module receiving from the user control module over the wired connection a user activation signal in response to assertion of the user control.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the user control includes at least one button, each button generates a user activation signal upon assertion.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein:

the transmitter is programmed to associate each of the buttons with a respective one of the plurality of appliance activation signals;

wherein the transmitter transmits the appliance activation signal associated with a button in response to the user control module transmitting the corresponding user activation signal over the wired connection to the transmitter module.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the user control includes at least one switch, each switch generates a user activation signal upon assertion.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the wired connection is part of a vehicle wiring harness.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein:

the user control module receives electrical power from another part of the vehicle wiring harness for its operation;

wherein the user control module supplies some of the received power over the wired connection to the transmitter module for its operation.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the transmitter module receives electrical power from a vehicle wiring harness for its operation;

wherein the transmitter module supplies some of the received power over the wired connection to the user control module for its operation.

8. A method of programming a vehicle-based remote control for controlling an appliance responsive to an activation signal based on an appropriate fixed code transmission scheme and having a fixed code associated with the appliance, the method comprising:

providing a user control module connected to a first end of a wired connection and a transmitter module connected to a second end of the wired connection such that the user control module and the transmitter module are remotely located from one another, the user control module having a user control and a programming input;

storing in the transmitter module data describing a plurality of possible fixed code transmission schemes without any of the data being received by either the user control module or the transmitter module from either another remote control used to control the appliance or from the appliance;

wherein one of the possible transmission schemes is the appropriate transmission scheme such that the appliance activates upon receiving from the transmitter module an activation signal based on the one of the possible transmission schemes and having the fixed code associated with the appliance;

receiving a fixed code represented by a sequence of bits at the user control module in response to assertion of the user programming input;

transferring the received fixed code from the user control module over the wired connection to the transmitter module;

wirelessly transmitting from the transmitter module a sequence of different activation signals including different sets of first and second activation signals in which each set of activation signals is based on a respective one of the possible transmission schemes and each first activation signal includes sequence of bits representing the received fixed code and each second activation signal includes a bitwise reversal of the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code until user input indicating activation of the appliance is received by the transmitter module from the user control module over the wired connection, wherein the bitwise reversed sequence is such that the first bit in the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code is the last bit in the bitwise reversed sequence and the last bit in the sequence of bits representing the received fixed code is the first bit in the bitwise reversed sequence;

determining the transmission scheme for the last transmitted activation signal to be the appropriate transmission scheme upon the transmitter module receiving the user input indicating activation of the appliance;

storing in the transmitter module data associating the transmission scheme for the last transmitted activation signal with the user control of the user control module; and

wirelessly transmitting from the transmitter module an activation signal based on the transmission scheme associated with the user control upon the transmitter module receiving from the user control module over the wired connection a user activation signal in response to assertion of the user control.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein:

the wired connection is part of a vehicle wiring harness.