Apparatus and method to facilitate universal remote control
First Claim
1. A universal remote control for controlling one or more appliances, the universal remote control, comprising:
- a display screen;
a user input mechanism;
a processing unit configured to display information on the display screen and to accept selection data from the user input mechanism; and
a wireless communication mechanism configured to provide communications between the processing unit and one or more appliances;
wherein the processing unit is configured to receive from a first one of the one or more appliances a specification for a user interface to display on the display screen;
wherein the specification for the user interface is specific to the first appliance, is customized for a current state of the first appliance, and is one of a plurality of spe2cifications for a user interface that the processing unit can receive from the first appliance;
wherein the specification customized for the current state of the first appliance includes one or more display items to display on the display screen and one or more input mechanisms to accept user input;
wherein the processing unit is configured to use the specification to implement the user interface so that the universal remote control can operate with the first appliance; and
wherein the processing unit is further configured to accept information entered through the user input mechanism for communication to the first appliance.
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Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides a universal remote control, which includes a display screen and a user input mechanism. The universal remote control also includes a processing unit that is configured to display information on the display screen and to accept selection data from the user input mechanism. The universal remote control additionally includes a wireless communication mechanism that is configured to provide communications between the processing unit and an appliance or computer program running on a computer system. The appliance provides information to be displayed on the display screen, and information entered through the user input mechanism is communicated to the appliance. Since the appliance provides the information to be displayed on the display screen and also interprets the entries on the input mechanism, the universal remote control needs no special knowledge about the appliance.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A universal remote control for controlling one or more appliances, the universal remote control, comprising:
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a display screen; a user input mechanism; a processing unit configured to display information on the display screen and to accept selection data from the user input mechanism; and a wireless communication mechanism configured to provide communications between the processing unit and one or more appliances; wherein the processing unit is configured to receive from a first one of the one or more appliances a specification for a user interface to display on the display screen; wherein the specification for the user interface is specific to the first appliance, is customized for a current state of the first appliance, and is one of a plurality of spe2cifications for a user interface that the processing unit can receive from the first appliance; wherein the specification customized for the current state of the first appliance includes one or more display items to display on the display screen and one or more input mechanisms to accept user input; wherein the processing unit is configured to use the specification to implement the user interface so that the universal remote control can operate with the first appliance; and wherein the processing unit is further configured to accept information entered through the user input mechanism for communication to the first appliance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22)
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12. A method for configuring a remote control to operate an appliance, comprising:
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sending a request for a specification of a user interface from the remote control to the appliance; in response to the request, receiving the specification for the user interface from the appliance; and configuring the remote control to implement the user interface to operate the appliance; wherein the specification for the user interface is specific to the appliance, and is customized for a current state of the appliance, and is one of a plurality of specifications for a user interface that the processing unit can receive from the appliance; and wherein the specification customized for the current state includes one or more display items to display on the display screen and one or more input mechanisms to accept user input. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification