Remote control programming system

• US 9,414,005 B1
• Filed: 07/22/2014
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ROVI Product Corporation (Xperi Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Seidel, Craig, Bruce, David E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin
• Application Number:
  US14/338,335
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: 340/12.23
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/20 Binding and programming of remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/42226 Reprogrammable remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42228 the reprogrammable keys being displayed on a display screen in order to reduce the number of keys on the remote control device itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4663 : involving probabilistic networks, e.g. Bayesian networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 : using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 : using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 : for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 : End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 : comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 : involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 : using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction

Abstract

A method and apparatus for programming a remote control is provided. Control data that identifies one or more mode codes is stored in a computing device that is operationally connected to a detector. A user presses a button on a source remote control to cause an input signal to be transmitted from the source remote control to be received by the detector. The detector decodes the input signal, and consults the control data to determine a particular IR code that is associated with the source remote control. The computing device may then display information identifying a particular mode code on a display to allow the user to manually program a target remote control with the particular mode code. Alternately, the computing device may transmit the particular mode code to the target remote control to allow the target remote control to automatically configure itself with the particular mode code.

Claims

1. A method for programming a target remote control, comprising:

causing display, by a computing device, of information instructing a user to select a brand of device from a displayed plurality of brands of devices;

receiving, at the computing device, input selecting a particular brand of device to be controlled from the displayed plurality of brands of devices;

receiving, at the computing device, a control signal transmitted from a source remote control;

determining a set of control codes for the device to be controlled using the particular brand of the device selected from the displayed plurality of brands of devices and the received control signal;

sending an indicator representing the determined set of control codes to a target remote control, the target remote control configuring itself using the indicator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending user interface information that describes a user interface for the target remote control.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interface information is selected based, at least in part, on the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interface information is transmitted with the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interface enables a user to use the target remote control to perform operations associated with the source remote control.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator representing the determined set of control codes is a mode code.

7. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, storing instructions, which when executed by one or more processors cause:

causing display, by a computing device, of information instructing a user to select a brand of device from a displayed plurality of brands of devices;

receiving, at the computing device, input selecting a particular brand of device to be controlled from the displayed plurality of brands of devices;

receiving, at the computing device, a control signal transmitted from a source remote control;

determining a set of control codes for the device to be controlled using the particular brand of the device selected from the displayed plurality of brands of devices and the received control signal;

sending an indicator representing the determined set of control codes to a target remote control, the target remote control configuring itself using the indicator.

8. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 7, further comprising sending user interface information that describes a user interface for the target remote control.

9. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8, wherein the user interface information is selected based, at least in part, on the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

10. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8, wherein the user interface information is transmitted with the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

11. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8, wherein the user interface enables a user to use the target remote control to perform operations associated with the source remote control.

12. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 7, wherein the indicator representing the determined set of control codes is a mode code.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that causes display of information instructing a user to select a brand of device from a displayed plurality of brands of devices;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives input selecting a particular brand of device to be controlled from the displayed plurality of brands of devices;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives a control signal transmitted from a source remote control;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines a set of control codes for the device to be controlled using the particular brand of the device selected from the displayed plurality of brands of devices and the received control signal;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that sends an indicator representing the determined set of control codes to a target remote control, the target remote control configuring itself using the indicator.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that sends user interface information that describes a user interface for the target remote control.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface information is selected based, at least in part, on the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface information is transmitted with the indicator representing the determined set of control codes.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface enables a user to use the target remote control to perform operations associated with the source remote control.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the indicator representing the determined set of control codes is a mode code.