Remote control system having a touch screen

• US 8,384,672 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2011
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Ryutaro, Arie, Isamu, Kubota, Yuki, Hyogo, Kuninori, Matsuoka, Fumiya
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chanh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yang, Kwang-Su
• Application Number:
  US13/285,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20120044061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• Field of Search: 345 21- 23, 345169-173, 348/734
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/025 'Virtual' control panels, e.g. Graphical User Interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• 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 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42226 Reprogrammable remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution

Abstract

The present embodiments provide systems and methods for use in remote controlling devices including consumer electronic devices. Some embodiments provide a remote control system that comprises a processor, a touch screen display coupled with and receiving display control signals from the display driver such that the touch screen display displays one of a plurality of control views with a fixed number of function buttons displayed in each of the plurality of control views, and a wireless transmitter coupled with the processor that wirelessly transmits function signals in response to a detection of a selection of one of the function buttons.

Claims

1. A remote control system, comprising:

a processor;

a touch screen display cooperated with the processor, where the touch screen display is configured to display a first control view of a plurality of control views, with a fixed number of function buttons displayed in each of the plurality of control views;

a wireless transmitter coupled with the processor, where the wireless transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit at least one function signal to a remote multimedia playback device that is separate from the remote control system, where the at least one function signal is configured to control an operation of the remote multimedia playback device;

wherein the processor is configured to identify a change in a state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device and cause the touch screen display to display a second control view of the plurality of control views based on the identified change in the state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device such that the second control view includes the fixed number of function buttons, where control functions associated with one or more of the function buttons displayed in the second control view are different than control functions associated with one or more of the function buttons displayed in the first control view; and

a wireless receiver coupled with the processor, where the wireless receiver is configured to wirelessly receive a control signal from the remote multimedia playback device in response to the remote multimedia playback device receiving the function signal, and where the control signal defines a current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device being controlled in accordance with the function signal to implement one or more functions corresponding to the selected one of the function buttons;

wherein the processor is configured to;

identify, from the control signal wirelessly received from the remote multimedia playback device, the change in the state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device in response to the function signal; and

cause the touch screen to display the second control view of the plurality of control views based on the change in the state of operation and the current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device such that the second control view includes the fixed number of function buttons.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless receiver is further configured to wirelessly receive, in response to a selection of a function button identifying a type of the remote multimedia playback device to control, a listing of two or more available remote multimedia playback devices corresponding to the selected type of the remote multimedia playback device that can implement function commands wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmitter when two or more remote multimedia playback devices of the selected device type are available and can implement the function commands;

and

the touch screen display is configured to display the listing of the two or more available remote multimedia playback devices and the processor is configured to receive a selection of one of the two or more available remote multimedia playback devices such that the function command is directed to the one of the two or more available remote multimedia playback devices.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the fixed number of function buttons in the first control view of the plurality of control views comprises a first set of directional controls to cause a plurality of icons of a menu displayed on a remote display to scroll across the remote display in response to successive selections of one or more of the first set of directional controls.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of a subset of the fixed number of function buttons displayed in the second control view is associated with one of a plurality of different selectable multimedia contents.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the touch screen display receives at least one alternate display control signal such that the touch screen display displays an alternate control view comprising a number of function buttons that is different than the fixed number of function buttons including a listing of multimedia content associated with one of the plurality of different selectable multimedia content.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the control signal comprises the second control view such that the processor extracts the second control view from the control signal and displays the second control view.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the second control view is a replacement to a previous second control view locally stored such that the processor locally stores the second control view to be used in place of the previous second control view in subsequent instances where the previous second control view would have been displayed.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor in causing the touch screen to display the first control view is further configured to cause the touch screen to display the first control view without locally playing back multimedia content on the touch screen display;

and

the processor in causing the touch screen to display the second control view is further configured to cause the touch screen to display the second control view without locally playing back multimedia content on the touch screen display.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor in causing the touch screen to display the first and second control views causes the touch screen to only display the first and second control views and without locally playing back multimedia content.

10. A method for use in providing control over remote devices, comprising:

displaying, locally at a remote control device, a first control view comprising a fixed number of function buttons on a touch screen display with each function button being associated with one of a first plurality of control functions;

identifying a selection of one of the function buttons associated with a first control function;

wirelessly transmitting, to a remote multimedia playback device being controlled by the remote control device, a first function signal corresponding to the selected one of the function buttons;

wirelessly receiving, in response to the first function signal and from the remote multimedia playback device, a first control signal where the first control signal defines a current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device being controlled in accordance with the first function signal to implement one or more functions corresponding to the selected one of the function buttons; and

displaying a second control view on the touch screen display in response to the first control signal and based on the current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device, wherein the second control view comprises the fixed number of function buttons with each function button of the second control view being associated with a second plurality of control functions where a plurality of the second plurality of control functions are different than the first plurality of control functions.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying when a time threshold period has elapsed following the identifying the selection of the function button and none of at least a subset of the function buttons of the second control view are selected; and

displaying the first control view comprising the fixed number of function buttons on the touch screen display when the time threshold has elapsed and none of the subset of the function buttons of the second control view are selected.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first control signal comprises a second control view mapping defining a plurality of locations of the function buttons within the second control view.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first control signal comprises a plurality of graphics relating to a plurality of different multimedia content with each of the plurality of the graphics being associated with one of a plurality of function buttons of the second control view, and where each of the plurality of graphics is a different graphic and depicts an image representative of a corresponding one of the plurality of different multimedia content.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the displaying the second control view comprises:

identifying, from the first control signal, a change in a state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device based on the current state and in response to the function signal; and

identifying, in response to identifying the change in the state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device, the second control view corresponding to the current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the displaying the first control view comprises displaying the first control view without locally playing back multimedia content on the touch screen display, and the displaying the second control view comprises displaying the second control view without locally playing back multimedia content on the touch screen display.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first control signal comprises the second control view such that identifying the second control view comprises extracting the second control view from the first control signal and the displaying the second control view comprises displaying the second control view extracted from the first control signal.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying that the first control signal includes an updated portion to the second control view;

extracting the updated portion of the second control view from the first control signal; and

replacing within a stored second control view a portion of the stored second control view with the updated portion of the second control view;

wherein the displaying the second control view comprises displaying the second control view comprising the updated portion.

18. An apparatus for use in remotely controlling devices, comprising:

means for displaying, locally at a remote control device, a first control view comprising a fixed number of function buttons on a touch screen display with each function button being associated with one of a first plurality of control functions;

means for identifying a selection of one of the function buttons associated with a first control function;

means for wirelessly transmitting, to a remote multimedia playback device, a first function signal corresponding to the selected one of the function buttons;

means for wirelessly receiving, in response to the first function signal and from the remote multimedia playback device, a first control signal defining a current state of operation of a remote multimedia playback device as a result of the remote multimedia playback device implementing the first function; and

means for displaying a second control view on the touch screen display in response to the first control signal and based on the current state of operation of the remote multimedia playback device, wherein the second control view comprises the fixed number of function buttons with each function button of the second control view being associated with a second plurality of control functions where a plurality of the second plurality of control functions are different than the first plurality of control functions.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a tactile screen cover extending over and covering the touch screen display through which the means for identifying the selection can detect the selections of one or more of the function buttons.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the tactile screen cover comprises contouring corresponding with boundaries of each of the fixed number of function buttons.