Multiple user control of a down loadable application

• US 8,601,461 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2006
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Vrijsen, Alexander P. P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Wei
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROPHY, MATTHEW J
• Application Number:
  US11/908,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20090113417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,833 Days
• Field of Search: 717/168
• US Class Current: 717/168
• 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 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4431 characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4433 Implementing client middleware, e.g. Multimedia Home Platform [MHP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34

Abstract

Control of an operation of a multimedia terminal by an application, for example, a game or interactive television module, using remote control input signal is provided. An application is downloaded (S1), input signals from remote control units (RC-1, RC-2, RC-N) are received (S3) at the multimedia terminal, a message, including a source indication indicating the remote control from which the input signal was received, is sent (S5) to the downloaded application. According to the downloaded application, the operation of the multimedia terminal is controlled (S6) based on the source indication. The message may be sent to the downloaded application by an application program interface-based module resident at the multimedia terminal. A disable signal to disable a key could be transmitted to one or more of the remote control devices, for example, to disable the key for a specified time or a specified turn of a user.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an operation of a multimedia terminal by an application that is down loadable, the method comprising:

downloading via a network the application to the multimedia terminal, wherein the downloaded application is installed to the multimedia terminal or to a device connected with the multimedia terminal;

receiving at the multimedia terminal an input signal from (i) a first remote control device of multiple remote control devices used by a first user of multiple users or (ii) a second remote control device of the multiple remote control devices used by a second user of the multiple users;

sending a message to the downloaded application, the message being generated in response to the input signal and including (i) a command or data extracted from the input signal together with (ii) a source indication, based on the input signal, the source indication indicating whether the input signal was received from the first remote control device used by the first user or the second remote control device used by the second user; and

controlling the operation of the multimedia terminal according to the downloaded application based on (a) a processing of the command or data contained in the message by the downloaded application and (b) in accordance with an associated remote control device of the multiple remote control devices that has been identified by the source indication, wherein the downloaded application partially or completely disables all other respective remote control devices by ignoring commands received from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices that are from a key or keys specified by the downloaded application as disabled, for a downloaded application specified time or for a downloaded application specified user'"'"'s turn, to allow a user of the associated remote control device to enter commands without interference from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices,

further comprising transmitting a disable signal to disable a key to at least one of the first remote control device and the second remote control device by the multimedia terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is sent to the downloaded application by an application program interface-based module resident at the multimedia terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further includes a type indication indicating a type of the remote control device from which the input signal was received.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the type indication indicates at least one of a keypad, a keyboard, a joystick, and a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said sending of the message includes sending a key indication indicating a key of the remote control device from which the input signal was received.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the disable signal disables the key for at least one of a specified time and a specified turn of a user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the downloaded application is one of a game module and an interactive television module.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program of instructions for controlling an operation of a multimedia terminal by an application that is down loadable, said program comprising:

instructions for downloading via a network the application to the multimedia terminal, wherein the downloaded application is installed to the multimedia terminal or to a device connected with the multimedia terminal;

instructions for receiving at the multimedia terminal an input signal from (i) a first remote control device of multiple remote control devices used by a first user of multiple users or (ii) a second remote control device of multiple remote control devices used by a second user of the multiple users;

instructions for sending a message to the downloaded application, the message being generated in response to the input signal and including (i) a command or data extracted from the input signal together with (ii) a source indication, based on the input signal, the source indication indicating whether the input signal was received from the first remote control device used by the first user or the second remote control device used by the second user; and

instructions for controlling the operation of the multimedia terminal according to the downloaded application based on (a) a processing of the command or data contained in the message by the downloaded application and (b) in accordance with an associated remote control device of the multiple remote control devices that has been identified by the source indication, wherein the downloaded application partially or completely disables all other respective remote control devices by ignoring commands received from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices that are from a key or keys specified by the downloaded application as disabled, for a downloaded application specified time or for a downloaded application specified user'"'"'s turn, to allow a user of the associated remote control device to enter commands without interference from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices,

and further comprising instructions for transmitting a disable signal to disable a key to at least one of the first remote control device and the second remote control device by the multimedia terminal, the disable signal disabling the key for at least one of a specified time and a specified turn of a user.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions for sending the message to the downloaded application comprise an application program interface-based module resident at the multimedia terminal.

10. A system of controlling an operation of a multimedia terminal by an application that is down loadable, the system comprising:

an input signal processor;

an application installer configured to download, via a network, a broadcast stream, another medium, or a combination of these, the application to the multimedia terminal, wherein the downloaded application is installed as a downloaded application module to the multimedia terminal or to a device connected with the multimedia terminal;

a user interface configured to receive at the multimedia terminal an input signal from (i) a first remote control device of multiple remote control devices used by a first user of multiple users or (ii) a second remote control device of the multiple remote control devices used by a second user of the multiple users; and

a message generator configured to send a message to the downloaded application, the message being generated in response to the input signal and including (i) a command or data extracted from the input signal together with (ii) a source indication, based on the input signal, the source indication indicating whether the input signal was received from the first remote control device used by the first user or the second remote control device used by the second user, wherein the downloaded application module is configured to control the operation of the multimedia terminal according to the downloaded application based on (a) a processing of the command or data contained in the message by the downloaded application and (b) in accordance with an associated remote control device of the multiple remote control devices that has been identified by the source indication, wherein the downloaded application partially or completely disables all other respective remote control devices by ignoring commands received from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices that are from a key or keys specified by the downloaded application as disabled, for a downloaded application specified time or for a downloaded application specified user'"'"'s turn, to allow a user of the associated remote control device to enter commands without interference from the all other respective remote control devices of the multiple remote control devices

wherein said user interface is configured to transmit a disable signal to disable a key to at least one of the first remote control device and the second remote control device by the multimedia terminal.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said message generator sends the message to the downloaded application by means of an application program interface-based module.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said message generator further generates the message to include a type indication indicating a type of the remote control device from which the input signal was received.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the type is at least one of a keypad, a keyboard, a joystick, and a combination of these.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein said message generator generates the message to include a key indication indicating a key of the remote control device from which the input signal was received.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the disable signal disables the key for at least one of a specified time and a specified turn of a user.

16. The system of claim 10, comprising an N-th remote control device, N being an integer greater than 2.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the downloaded application is one of a game module and an interactive television module.