System and method to control a device using a remote control device and a soft remote control

• US 8,325,022 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2005
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Lippincott, Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jiang, Yong Hang
• Application Number:
  US11/233,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20070063862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,630 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.69, 340/3.1, 340/5.5, 340/13.24, 340/13.25, 340/13.2, 340/10.5, 341/176, 348/734
• US Class Current: 340/13.24
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/40 Remote control systems using repeaters, converters, gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared

Abstract

A method and system for remotely controlling a device by using a remote control device and a soft remote control or device skin. The remote control device can be used to send commands to a soft remote control or device skin running as an application on a host device. The device skin incorporates soft control commands that can be used to remotely control an electronic device. The soft control commands are interpreted and forwarded by the host device to the electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a user selection of a device skin for a target device, the selection from multiple device skins for the target device;

displaying the selected device skin;

receiving a command from a remote control device at a host device to remotely control the target device;

interpreting the command in accordance with the selected device skin; and

sending the interpreted command to the target device to remotely control the target device;

wherein the selected device skin provides one or more soft commands for the target device;

wherein the selected device skin further provides a direct mode activation command, and wherein the method further comprises;

receiving a selection of the direct mode activation command available on the selected device skin from the remote control device at the host device;

receiving a further command from the remote control device at the host device;

interpreting the further command in accordance with a direct mode lookup mechanism; and

sending the interpreted further command to the target device from the host device, based on the direct mode activation command selected from the device skin to remotely control the target device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the interpreted command is sent to the target device via an infrared (IR) transmitter array.

3. The method of claim 1:

wherein a host device is running the soft remote control; and

wherein the host device is a digital television (DTV).

13. The method of claim 1, wherein interpreting the command in accordance with the selected device skin comprises determining a likely command to be issued by the user.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting at least one of modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for a remote control device to be different than modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the target device.

4. A remote control device comprising a simple set of buttons, wherein the remote control device is to remotely control a target device via a device skin running on a host device, and wherein a command sent from the remote control device to a host device is interpreted in accordance with the device skin;

wherein a user selects the device skin from multiple device skins corresponding to the target device; and

wherein the selected device skin provides one or more soft commands for the target device;

wherein the selected device skin further provides a direct mode activation command, and wherein the host device receives a selection of the direct mode activation command available on the selected device skin from the remote control device;

receiving a further command from the remote control device at the host device;

interpreting the further command in accordance with a direct mode lookup mechanism; and

sending the interpreted further command to the target device from the host device, based on the direct mode activation command selected from the device skin to remotely control the target device.

5. The remote control device of claim 4, wherein the host device is a digital television (DTV).

14. The remote control device of claim 4, wherein interpreting the command in accordance with the device skin comprises determining a likely next command to be issued by the user.

18. The remote control device of claim 4, wherein the host device selects at least one of modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the remote control device to be different than modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the target device.

6. A system comprising:

a host device;

wherein the host device to provide a device skin used to remotely control a target device, wherein the host device to issue an interpreted command to the target device based on a command received from a remote control device;

wherein the received command is interpreted in accordance with one of the device skin and a user-selectable direct mode lookup mechanism; and

wherein the device skin provides one or more soft commands for the target device;

wherein the device skin provided by the host device is selectable from multiple device skins for the target device;

wherein the device skin further provides a direct mode activation command, and wherein the method further comprises;

receiving a selection of the direct mode activation command available on the device skin from the remote control device at the host device;

receiving a further command from the remote control device at the host device;

interpreting the further command in accordance with the direct mode lookup mechanism; and

sending the interpreted further command to the target device from the host device, based on the direct mode activation command selected from the device skin to remotely control the target device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the interpreted command is sent to the target device via an infrared (IR) transmitter array.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the host device is a digital television (DTV).

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the target device and the host device are in proximity to each other.

15. The system of claim 6, wherein interpreting the command in accordance with the device skin comprises determining a likely command to be issued by the user.

19. The system of claim 6, wherein the host device selects at least one of modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the remote control device to be different than modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the target device.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable medium containing instructions which, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a user selection of a device skin for a target device, the selection from multiple device skins for the target device;

displaying the selected device skin;

receiving a command from a remote control device at a host device to remotely control the target device;

interpreting the command in accordance with the selected device skin; and

sending the interpreted command to the target device to remotely control the target device;

wherein the selected device skin provides one or more soft commands for the target device;

wherein the selected device skin further provides a direct mode activation command, and wherein the method further comprises;

receiving a selection of the direct mode activation command available on the selected device skin from the remote control device at the host device;

receiving a further command from the remote control device at the host device;

interpreting the further command in accordance with a direct mode lookup mechanism; and

sending the interpreted further command to the target device from the host device, based on the direct mode activation command selected from the device skin to remotely control the target device.

11. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the interpreted command is sent to the target device via an infrared (IR) transmitter array.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 10:

wherein a host device is running the soft remote control; and

wherein the host device is a digital television (DTV).

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein interpreting the command in accordance with the selected device skin comprises determining a next likely command to be issued by the user.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises setting at least one of modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the remote control device to be different than modulation frequency, protocol and bit patterns for the target device.