Apparatus, systems and methods to communicate received commands from a receiving device to a mobile device

• US 9,521,460 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2013
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Taylor, Thomas S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsvey, Gennadiy
• Application Number:
  US13/735,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20130125152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/40 Remote control systems using repeaters, converters, gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/40 Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A receiving device embodiment receives a user command from an external source. The user command is directed to a remote target destination. A first interactive programming command communicator embodiment generates a mobile device command from the received user command, and communicates the mobile device command to a mobile device. A second interactive programming command communicator embodiment receives the mobile device command from the receiving device. A target destination is identified from information in the mobile device command, and information from the mobile device command is communicated to the target destination.

Claims

1. A method to wirelessly communicate commands with a mobile device, comprising:

receiving a mobile device command from a set top box, the set top box actively processing and presenting audio/visual programming content, wherein the received mobile device command includes at least one image from a stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the and a text-based phrase selected from a plurality of text-based phrases pre-stored in the mobile device, the text-based phrase associated with the audio/visual programming content, the stream having been modified by at least forwarding or reversing the presentation of the stream or wherein the received mobile device command includes a clip of audio/visual programming from the stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the set top box and a text-based message written by a first user;

automatically acknowledging receipt of the mobile device command to the set top box;

identifying a target destination from information in the mobile device command, the target destination including account information associated with a second user;

forming a short message service (SMS) message that includes both text-based message information from the mobile device command and audio/visual programming information from the mobile device command; and

communicating the SMS message from the mobile device to the target destination.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving personal user information, the personal user information uniquely identifying a user associated with the set top box; and

storing the personal user information in the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

retrieving the stored personal user information; and

communicating the personal user information to the target destination.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising:

adding an order to purchase from a vendor to the information communicated to the target destination.

5. The method of claim 3, comprising:

adding a vote to the information communicated to the target destination.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

delaying further communication of the mobile device command until a different time.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile device command is received with a wireless receiver circuit arranged to communicate via a Bluetooth frequency.

8. A wireless mobile device operable to communicate with set top boxes and target destinations, comprising:

a set top box interface configured to receive a mobile device command from a set top box and configured to automatically acknowledge the received mobile device command, the set top box arranged to process and present audio/visual programming content, wherein the received mobile device command includes at least one image from a stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the set top box and a text-based phrase selected from a plurality of text-based phrases pre-stored in the mobile device, the text-based phrase associated with the audio/visual programming content, the stream having been modified by at least forwarding or reversing the presentation of the stream or wherein the received mobile device command includes a clip of audio/visual programming from the stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the set top box and a text-based message written by a first user;

a processing system operable to identify a target destination based upon the received mobile device command the target destination including account information associated with a second user, the processing system further operable to form a short message service (SMS) message that includes both text-based message information from the mobile device command and audio/visual programming information from the mobile device command; and

a transceiver configured to communicate the SMS message from the wireless mobile device toward a second wireless mobile device associated with the identified target destination.

9. The wireless mobile device according to claim 8, comprising:

a memory to store personal user information received from the set top box, wherein the processing system is further operable to communicate the personal user information to the target destination.

10. The wireless mobile device according to claim 8 wherein the set top box interface has a Bluetooth radio chipset and the set top box is a receiving device.

11. The wireless mobile device according to claim 8 wherein the transceiver has a cellular radio chipset.

12. The wireless mobile device according to claim 11 wherein the identified target destination is one of an Internet address, an email address, and a telephone number.

13. The wireless mobile device according to claim 8 wherein the wireless mobile device and the set top box are coupled via a programming command communicator external to the set top box.

14. A mobile device, comprising:

a processing system;

a set top box interface configured to receive a mobile device command from a set top box and configured to automatically acknowledge the received mobile device command, the set top box arranged to process and present audio/visual programming content, wherein the received mobile device command includes at least one image from a stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the set top box and a text-based phrase selected from a plurality of text-based phrases pre-stored in the mobile device, the text-based phrase associated with the audio/visual programming content, the stream having been modified by at least forwarding or reversing the presentation of the stream or wherein the received mobile device command includes a clip of audio/visual programming from the stream of audio/visual programming content presented by the set top box and a text-based message written by a first user;

a wireless transceiver; and

a memory, the memory arranged to store program logic software, the program logic software executable by the processing system and operable to;

parse information communicated in the mobile device command;

form a short message service (SMS) message that includes both text-based message information from the mobile device command and audio/visual programming information from the mobile device command;

identify a target destination from the parsed information the target destination including account information associated with a second user; and

communicate the SMS message from mobile device toward a second mobile device associated with the target destination.

15. The mobile device according to claim 14 wherein the mobile device is at least one of a cell phone, a personal media players (PMP), a personal digital assistants (PDA), a laptop computer, and a handheld personal computers (HPC).

16. The mobile device according to claim 14 wherein the program logic software stored in the memory and executable by the processing system is further operable to:

add a vote to the information communicated to the target destination; and

communicate the vote to the target destination a user-directable number of times.