Universal remote control apparatus, system for controlling universal remote control, and method for the same

• US 8,519,881 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2007
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Sang Do, Kim, Jun Hyeong
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, ALBERT KANG
• Application Number:
  US11/936,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20090058708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,120 Days
• Field of Search: 178/4.1 R, 715/705, 715/716, 715/730, 715/761, 715/762, 715/764, 715/864, 715/866, 715/748, 345/168, 345/173, 725 2- 4, 725/14, 725/38, 725/78, 348/14.03, 348/14.05, 348/725, 341/176, 341/22
• US Class Current: 341/176
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control

Abstract

A universal remote control apparatus, a system for controlling a universal remote control, and a method for the same, and more particularly, to a universal remote control apparatus, a system for controlling a universal remote control, and a method for the same, which includes batch instruction information having graphical user interface (GUI) components corresponding to status information of at least one device, and provides the GUI adapting mechanical properties of the device to a user.

Claims

1. A universal remote control apparatus comprising:

a device recognition unit for recognizing at least one device, and acquiring device status information from the recognized device;

a batch instruction generation unit for generating batch instruction information from the device status information;

a batch instruction database for storing and/or maintaining the batch instruction information;

a user interface implementation unit for combining graphical user interface (GUI) components and displaying the combined GUI components; and

a control unit for generating menu information with respect to the GUI components, storing the generated menu information in the batch instruction database, and executing the batch instruction information including a batch instruction in response to a user request for executing the batch instruction,

wherein the batch instruction information includes GUI component information corresponding to the device status information,

wherein the GUI component information includes a status information tag with respect to the GUI components capable of controlling the device, and the user interface implementation unit acquires the GUI components from the device based on the status information tag, and displays the acquired GUI components on a display unit,

wherein the device status information is source input mode information, and

wherein the batch instruction is an instruction to obtain, from the at least one device, at least one GUI icon for a corresponding device status according to the status information tag.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication interface unit for acquiring the device status information and/or the GUI components from the at least one device connected with each other via a wired/wireless network.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user interface implementation unit combines the GUI components acquired from the device and displays the combined GUI components.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit analyzes priority information with respect to the GUI components and stores a GUI component having a highest priority in the menu information.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a control command acquisition unit for acquiring a control instruction.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control command includes a generation information input of the batch instruction, and the batch instruction generation unit generates the batch instruction information corresponding to the generation information input.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the batch instruction information includes status information of a status into which the at least one device is changed.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the control unit reads the batch instruction information from the batch instruction database according to the generation information input, and the user interface implementation unit combines the GUI components from the read batch instruction information and displays the combined GUI components.

21. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface implementation unit combines graphical user interface (GUI) components for a plurality of different devices connected to the universal remote control apparatus.

9. A system for controlling a universal remote control, the system comprising:

a device including a graphical user interface (GUI) database for storing and maintaining GUI components; and

a universal remote control apparatus for acquiring the GUI components from at least one device and dynamically controlling the at least one device through the GUI components,

wherein the universal remote control apparatus comprises;

a device recognition unit for recognizing the device and acquiring device status information from the recognized device;

a batch instruction generation unit for generating batch instruction information from the device status information;

a batch instruction database for storing and/or maintaining the batch instruction information;

a user interface implementation unit for combining the GUI components and displaying the combined GUI components; and

a control unit for generating menu information with respect to the GUI components, storing the generated menu information in the batch instruction database, and executing the batch instruction information including a batch instruction in response to a user request for executing the batch instruction,

wherein the batch instruction information includes GUI component information corresponding to the device status information,

wherein the GUI component information includes a status information tag with respect to the GUI components capable of controlling the device, and the user interface implementation unit acquires the GUI components from the device based on the status information tag, and displays the acquired GUI components on a display unit,

wherein the device status information is source input mode information, and

wherein the batch instruction is an instruction to obtain, from the at least one device, at least one GUI icon for a corresponding device status according to the status information tag.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the universal remote control apparatus further comprises a communication interface unit for acquiring the device status information and/or the GUI components from the at least one device connected with each other via a wired/wireless network.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the universal remote control apparatus further comprises a control command acquisition unit for acquiring a control instruction.

12. A method of controlling a remote control for a device, the method comprising:

recognizing at least one device in a device acquisition unit, and acquiring device status information from the recognized device;

generating, in a batch instruction generation unit, batch instruction information from the device status information; and

combining, in a user interface implementation unit, graphical user interface (GUI) components from the batch instruction information, and displaying the combined GUI components; and

executing, in a control unit, the batch instruction information including a batch instruction,

wherein the batch instruction information includes GUI component information corresponding to the device status information,

wherein the GUI component information includes a status information tag with respect to the GUI components capable of controlling the device,

wherein the combining includes acquiring, in the user interface implementation unit, the GUI components from the device based on the status information tag, and displaying the acquired GUI components,

wherein the device status information is source input mode information, and

wherein the batch instruction is an instruction to obtain, from the at least one device, at least one GUI icon for a corresponding device status according to the status information tag.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the batch instruction information includes status information of a status into which to the at least one device is changed.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the generating includes storing and maintaining the batch instruction information in a batch instruction database.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the combining includes generating, in a control unit, menu information with respect to the GUI components, and storing the generated menu information in the batch instruction database.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

acquiring the GUI components from the at least one device via a communication interface unit.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

analyzing, in the control unit, priority information with respect to the GUI components, and storing a GUI component having a highest priority in the menu information.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

acquiring a control instruction, wherein the control command includes a generation information input of the batch instruction from the user.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

executing, in the batch instruction generation unit, the batch instruction information corresponding to the generation information input.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for implementing the method of claim 12.