Icon mobile phone remote with favorite channel selection
First Claim
1. A mobile phone remote control system comprising:
- a mobile phone including;
a microprocessor;
a memory accessible by the microprocessor;
a setup module configured to set up, based on a geographic region derived from a telephone number assigned to a user of the mobile phone the mobile phone to operate as a remote control by automatically associating each of a plurality of icons with a respective television channel provided by a television provider within the geographic region;
a display screen configured to display an icon of the plurality of icons, the icon corresponding to a channel of a media device and selected from a database of icons stored in the memory; and
a screen interface that allows a selection of the icon, wherein the selection of the icon causes the microprocessor to operate programming instructions stored in the memory; and
a transmitter controlled by the microprocessor to transmit a wireless signal from the mobile phone in response to the operation of the stored programming instructions, the signal containing information to change the channel of the media device to the channel represented by the selected icon.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a mobile phone remote control system, a system for programming the remote control, and methods of programming or using the remote control. The mobile phone remote control system is configured to be selectively set up or programmed using a display screen and corresponding function buttons on the remote control. The remote control system may be used to control the channel of a media device such as a television based on an icon displayed on a screen of the mobile phone. The set up process allows channel numbers to be automatically assigned based on icons selected by a user and previously identified geographic information such as a mobile phone user address postal zip code.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A mobile phone remote control system comprising:
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a mobile phone including; a microprocessor; a memory accessible by the microprocessor; a setup module configured to set up, based on a geographic region derived from a telephone number assigned to a user of the mobile phone the mobile phone to operate as a remote control by automatically associating each of a plurality of icons with a respective television channel provided by a television provider within the geographic region; a display screen configured to display an icon of the plurality of icons, the icon corresponding to a channel of a media device and selected from a database of icons stored in the memory; and a screen interface that allows a selection of the icon, wherein the selection of the icon causes the microprocessor to operate programming instructions stored in the memory; and a transmitter controlled by the microprocessor to transmit a wireless signal from the mobile phone in response to the operation of the stored programming instructions, the signal containing information to change the channel of the media device to the channel represented by the selected icon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of using a mobile phone remote control system the method comprising:
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setting up, based on a geographic region derived from a telephone number assigned to a user of the mobile phone, the mobile phone to operate as a remote control by automatically associating each of a plurality of icons with a respective television channel provided by a television provider within the geographic region; displaying the plurality of icons on a display screen of the mobile phone, the plurality of icons selected from a database of icons stored in a memory of the mobile phone; receiving input from a user through a user interface of the mobile phone indicating a selected icon from the plurality of icons; and communicating with a media device to change the media device from a first state to a second state based on the selected icon. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of configuring a mobile phone remote control system for use with a media device, the method comprising:
setting up, based on a geographic region derived from a telephone number assigned to a user of the mobile phone, the mobile phone to operate as a remote control, by; displaying a plurality of icons on a display screen of the mobile phone; receiving input from a user through a user interface of the mobile phone indicating a selected icon from the plurality of icons; and automatically associating the selected icon with a television channel provided by a television provider within the geographic region. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A remote control system for a mobile phone that includes a microprocessor in communication with a memory, a display screen, and an interface, the system comprising:
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an infrared (IR) transmitter that may be operatively coupled to the mobile phone such that the microprocessor can direct IR transmission; and a software module for storage in the memory and operable by the microprocessor that sets up, based on a geographic region derived from a telephone number assigned to a user of the mobile phone, the mobile phone to operate as a remote control by automatically associating each of a plurality of icons with a respective television channel provided by a television provider within the geographic region, displays an icon of the plurality of icons the icon corresponding to a channel of a media device on the display screen, receives input from a user selecting the icon through the interface, and activates the transmitter to transmit an IR signal based on the selected icon.
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Specification