Universal remote control programming

• US 9,235,986 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2007
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Drimusz, Laszlo Otto, Lyons, Kenneth S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Benlagsir, Amine
• Application Number:
  US11/626,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20080174468A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,276 Days
• Field of Search: 341/176, 341/173, 340/825.69, 340/825.07, 340/825.22, 340/825.56, 340/825.57
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/92 Universal remote control

Abstract

An apparatus and method for programming a universal remote control. The method includes receiving a transmitted signal of unknown modulation technique from a native remote control and characterizing the received signal in parameters of a pre-determined modulation technique.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

directing a user to select a first indicator to radiate a first command signal of unknown modulation technique from a native remote control;

interpreting, by a universal remote control programmer the first command signal to provide a first command code expressed in parameters of a pre-determined modulation technique, the parameters including a carrier frequency;

determining, by the remote control programmer, based on correspondence between the first indicator and the first command code, if a command set of the native remote control can be uniquely identified; and

in an event that the command set of the native remote control cannot be uniquely identified directing the user to select a second indicator to radiate a second command signal, wherein the first indicator and the second indicator are selected to minimize a number of indicators necessary to identify the command set of the native remote control;

determining the shortest on period t(on) for which all other on intervals are integer multiples;

inserting a zero length off period for each t(on) period; and

determining the shortest off period t(off) for which all other off intervals are integer multiples;

inserting a zero length on period for each t(off) period.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising comparing the correspondence between the first command code and the first indicator with a database including command codes expressed in the parameters of the pre-determined modulation technique.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the pre-determined modulation technique is pulse-width modulation.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the parameters of the pre-determined modulation technique comprise ON and OFF time of a first symbol and ON and OFF time of a second symbol.