System and method for configuration of a controlling device to enable selection of media streams

• US 9,071,272 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2013
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Black, Jeremy K., Hayes, Patrick H.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, MIRZA F
• Application Number:
  US13/924,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20130278449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 340/3.1, 340/825.22, 340/825.69, 340/825.24, 340/825.25, 340/3.9, 340/3.7, 340/10.5, 340/3.71, 340/572.4, 340/572.1, 340/825.49, 340/5.64, 340/5.7, 340/569, 340/12.22, 340/5.61, 340/12.23, 340/12.28, 340/815.6, 340/4.11, 709/217, 709/203, 709/229, 709/219, 709/221, 341/22, 341/23, 341/176, 345156-179, 345/641
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0238 Programmable keyboards key guide holders G06F3/0224
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2219/0026 having outer surface of housing of electronic apparatus programmable as display and/or input device
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 11/04 Coding of multifunction keys
• 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 21/42212 Specific keyboard arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42227 the keys being reprogrammable, e.g. soft keys

Abstract

A controlling device has a configurable key. An overlay, such as a sticker, is provided to the configurable key and includes an indicia representative of media content and machine readable data indicative of an identity of the media content represented by the indicia. A memory of the controlling device stores a correspondence between the configurable key and data indicative of a source of the media content. Upon activation of configured, configurable key, the controlling device uses select command codes from a library of command codes and the correspondence between the configurable key and the data indicative of the source of the media content to transmit one or more commands for causing one or more appliances to access the source of the media content.

Claims

1. A method for configuring a controlling device having a configurable key to command a functional operation of an intended target appliance, the method comprising:

using a data reading device associated with the configurable key of the controlling device to read data from an overlay that has been placed on the controlling device proximate to the configurable key of the controlling device;

causing the data read from the overlay to be provided to a server device in communication with the controlling device whereupon the server device uses the provided data read from the overlay to identify command generating data;

receiving at the controlling device the command generating data identified by the server device; and

using the received command generating data at the controlling device to generate a command to command the functional operation of the intended target appliance in response to an activation of the configurable key of the controlling device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the controlling device is in communication with the server device via use of an intermediate device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the command generating data comprises data for use by the controlling device in generating a command to command the intended target appliance to access a media stream.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the command generating data comprises a channel mapping data.

6. The method as recited in claim 3, comprising providing to the server device data for identifying a geographic location whereupon the server device uses the data for identifying the geographic location and the data read from the overlay to identify command generating data.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the data for identifying a geographic location comprises a zip code.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay comprises an RFID tag having stored thereon the data and wherein the data reading device associated with the configurable key of the controlling device comprises a device for the RFID tag.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay comprises a binary encoded representation of the data and wherein the data reading device associated with the configurable key of the controlling device comprises a device for reading the binary encoded representation.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step of using a data reading device associated with the configurable key of the controlling device to read the data is performed in response to activation of one or more predetermined keys of the controlling device provided for placing the controlling device into a configuration mode.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, comprising storing in memory of the controlling device a key assignment table in which is maintained a correspondence between the configurable key and the received command generating data.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the command generating data is identified by the server device considering of a set of overlays to which the overlay belongs.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay comprises a sticker.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay is positioned on an upper surface of the configurable key.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay is positioned on an upper surface of the controlling device in proximity to the configurable key.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the configurable key comprises a push-button type hard key.

5. The method as recited in 3, comprising providing to the server device data for identifying a service provider whereupon the server device uses the data for identifying the service provider and the data read from the overlay to identify command generating data.