System and method for optimized appliance control

• US 9,716,853 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Williams, Graham, Ammari, Ramzi, Hatambeiki, Arsham, Arling, Paul D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aziz, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US14/948,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20160080679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• 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; and

a memory device having stored thereon instructions executable by the processing device, the instructions, when executed by the processing device, causing the universal control engine to respond to a detected presence of an intended target appliance within a logical topography of controllable appliances which includes the universal control engine by using an identity associated with the intended target appliance to create a listing comprised of at least a first communication method and a second communication method different than the first communication method for use in controlling each of at least a first functional operation and a second functional operation of the intended target appliance and to respond to a received request from a controlling device intended to cause the intended target appliance to perform a one of the first and second functional operations by causing a one of the first and second communication methods in the listing of communication methods that has been associated with the requested one of the first and second functional operations to be used to transmit to the intended target appliance a command for controlling the requested one of the first and second functional operations of the intended target appliance.

2. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to respond to the request by causing a highest prioritized one of the first and second communication methods in the listing of communication methods that has been associated with the requested one of the first and second functional operations to be used to transmit to the intended target appliance a command for controlling the requested one of the first and second functional operations of the intended target appliance.

3. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to initiate a detection of the presence of the intended target appliance within the logical topography of controllable appliances.

4. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein data obtained from a communication exchanged via use of a Bluetooth communication protocol is used by the universal control engine to detect the presence of the intended target appliance within the logical topography of controllable appliances.

5. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instruction cause the universal control engine to cause a prompt to be displayed in a display associated with the universal control engine in response to a detected presence of the intended target appliance within a logical topography of controllable appliances, the prompt requesting a user to provide data indicative of the identity associated with the intended target appliance.

6. The universal control engine as recited in claim 2, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to use at least one characteristic associated with each of the plurality of communication methods in the listing to prioritize the first and second communication methods in the listing.

7. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to initiate an interrogation of the intended target appliance to determine which of a plurality of communication methods are supported by the appliance for use in receiving a command for controlling at least one of the first and second functional operations and using results obtained from the interrogation to create the listing.

8. The universal control engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the universal control engine to initiate a transmission of a test communication for controlling at least one of the first and second functional operations of the intended target appliance via use of at least one test communication method and to cause the universal control engine to omit the at least one test communication method from the listing of communication methods for use in controlling the at least one of the first and second plurality of functional operations of the intended target appliance when the at least one test communication method fails to elicit a performance by the intended target appliance of the at least one of the first and second functional operations.