System and method for optimized appliance control

• US 9,693,006 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2015
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Arling, Paul D., Barnett, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aziz, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US14/936,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20160066029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• 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 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4222 Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42226 Reprogrammable remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 for the sound signals

Abstract

A device receives a request from a controlling device, such as a remote control, smart phone, or the like, where the request is intended to have one or more target devices perform one or more functional operations. The device responds to the request by applying the optimum methodology to propagate one or more commands to each intended target appliance to cause each intended target appliance to perform the intended one or more functional operations.

Claims

1. A universal control engine, comprising:

a processing device;

a plurality of communication interfaces coupled to the processing device wherein each of the plurality of communication interfaces corresponds to a communication method; and

a memory in which is stored a listing comprised of a plurality of functional operations of an intended target appliance, wherein each of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance is associated within the listing with a plurality of communication methods, and in which is stored instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the universal control engine to respond to a request received from a controlling device to cause the intended target appliance to perform a one of the plurality of functional operations by identifying the plurality of communication methods that have been associated in the listing with the one of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance, identifying a highest prioritized one of the identified plurality of communication methods, and transmitting to the intended target appliance a command appropriate for controlling the one of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance via use of the identified highest prioritized one of the identified plurality of communication methods and a corresponding one of the plurality of communication interfaces.

2. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to transmit a further command for controlling the functional operation of the intended target appliance via use of at least a next highest prioritized one of the identified plurality of communication methods in the listings and a corresponding at least one of the plurality of communication interfaces when performance of the functional operation by the intended target appliance in response to transmission of the command via use of the identified highest prioritized one of the identified plurality of communication methods in the listing and the corresponding one of the plurality of communication interfaces is unconfirmed.

3. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication methods that are associated with each of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance in the listing is prioritized as a function of at least one characteristic associated with each of the plurality of communication methods.

4. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprises at least an HDMI communication interface, an IR communication interface, and an Ethernet communication interface.

5. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to interrogate the intended target appliance to determine which of a plurality of communication methods are supported by the intended target appliance for use in receiving a command for controlling each of the plurality of functional operations and to use results obtained from the interrogation to create the listing for storage in the memory.

6. A universal control engine, comprising:

a processing device;

a plurality of communication interfaces coupled to the processing device wherein each of the plurality of communication interfaces corresponds to a communication method; and

a memory in which is stored a listing comprised of a plurality of functional operations of an intended target appliance, wherein a first one of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance in the listing is associated with a first one of the plurality of communication methods and a second one of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance in the listing is associated with a second one of the plurality of communication methods which is different than the first one of the plurality of communication methods, and in which is stored instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the universal control engine to respond to a request received from a controlling device to cause the intended target appliance to perform a one of the first one and the second one of the plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance by identifying the communication method that was associated in the listing with the one of the first one and the second one of the functional operation of the intended target appliance and transmitting to the intended target appliance a command appropriate for controlling the one of the first one and the second one of the functional operations of the intended target appliance via use of the communication method associated with the one of the first one and the second one of the functional operations in the listing and a corresponding one of the plurality of communication interfaces.

7. The universal control engine as recited in claim 6, wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprises at least two of an HDMI communication interface, an IR communication interface, and an Ethernet communication interface.