Control device for audio-visual display

• US 8,792,059 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anacom Medtek
• Original Assignee: Anacom Medtek
• Inventors: Kuciera, Joachim, Finnegan, Kevin Paul, Nortrup, Kevin E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rahman, Mustafizur
• Application Number:
  US13/812,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20130229583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 348/734, 348/730, 348/733, 348/725, 348/376, 348/738, 348/462, 340/825.56, 340/825.57, 340/24, 455/181.1
• US Class Current: 348/734
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• 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 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• 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 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device

Abstract

A control device signals user inputs to an audio-video display. The control device may be configured as a pillow speaker and include a speaker for reproducing audio from the audio-video display. The control device is coupled to the audio-video display by wiring. Shared signals in the wiring are used to provide power to operate the control device and are used to signal the user inputs to the audio-video display. A touch panel is used to sense user inputs. The touch panel may be transparent with an underlay containing indicia of user-selectable commands located below the touch panel. The arrangement and selection of commands available to the user may be modified by changing the underlay.

Claims

1. A control device for an audio-visual display, comprising:

a touch panel configured to sense inputs from a user;

a processor coupled to the touch panel and configured to transmit control signals to the audio-visual display based on the sensed inputs, wherein the control device receives power from the audio-visual display via wiring, and wherein the control signals are transmitted over the wiring; and

an energy harvesting circuit configured to receive the power from the audio-visual display and produce a voltage signal for operation of the control device.

2. The control device of claim 1, wherein the touch panel is transparent.

3. The control device of claim 2, further comprising an underlay disposed under the touch panel, the underlay including indicia of commands selectable by the user.

4. The control device of claim 3, wherein the underlay further includes an identifier indicative of a spatial arrangement of the indicia of commands, and wherein the control device further comprises means for reading the identifier.

5. The control device of claim 4, wherein the control signals are further based on the identifier.

6. The control device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to control the touch panel by sensing x-axis and y-axis locations of the inputs from the user.

7. The control device of claim 6, wherein the transmitted control signals correspond to commands associated with the indicia at the x-axis and y-axis locations.

8. The control device of claim 1, wherein the touch panel comprises a liquid crystal display.

9. The control device of claim 1, further comprising a speaker configured to produce sounds corresponding to an audio signal received from the audio-visual display.

10. The control device of claim 1, wherein the energy harvesting circuit receives the power using a data signal and a common signal.

11. The control device of claim 10, wherein the energy harvesting circuit comprises a Schottky diode bridge coupled to the data signal and the common signal.

12. The control device of claim 10, wherein the control signals are transmitted by selectively presenting a low impedance between the data signal and the common signal.