SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SAVING AND RECALLING STATE DATA FOR MEDIA AND HOME APPLIANCES

• US 20110157476A1
• Filed: 03/09/2011
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2003
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Momot, Mark, Arling, Paul D., Scott, Wayne, Chambers, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US13/043,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20110157476A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/731
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• 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: H04N 21/25858 involving client software characteristics, e.g. OS identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42225 characterized by types of remote control, e.g. universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• 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 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6332 directed to client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/647 Control signaling between network components and server or clients; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients, e.g. controlling the quality of the video stream, by dropping packets, protecting content from unauthorised alteration within the network, monitoring of network load, bridging between two different networks, e.g. between IP and wireless real-time session protocols H04L65/1101
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/818 OS software
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85406 involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format

Abstract

A set of media playback and device settings data from each home appliance of a first set of home appliances is stored on a central server and/or sent to a remote control device upon initiation of a suspend command by a user. The stored media and devices states may be used at a later time to control the first set of home appliances, or a user may, after relocating to a second set of home appliances, initiate a resume state command whereupon media playback and device settings data from the central server and/or remote control device controls each home appliance in the second set of home appliances to bring about the same or substantially similar media and device states as in the first set of home appliances.

Claims

1. A method for saving state data with a control event in a media control system located in an environment, the method comprising:

receiving into a hand-held, portable controlling device input for programming a macro command sequence;

storing in a memory of the hand-held, portable controlling device data related to at least one of a state of an appliance and a state of an environment in which the appliance is located at a time that the input was received; and

in response to the hand-held, portable controlling device being thereafter instructed to execute the programmed macro command sequence, causing the hand-held, portable controlling device to both execute the programmed macro command sequence and transmit one or more command communications to thereby bring about in the at least one of the appliance and the environment in which the appliance is located the state the at least one of the appliance and the environment in which the appliance is located was in at the time that input was received wherein the one or more command communications transmitted by the hand-held, portable controlling device are determined as a function of the data related to at least one of a state of an appliance and a state of an environment in which the appliance is located at a time that the input was received as stored in the memory of the hand-held, portable controlling device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a channel number tuning command transmission.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the state data includes at least one of a state of volume, tint, brightness, contrast, ambient lighting, and temperature.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, comprising using sensors resident on the hand-held, portable controlling device to obtain the state data.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a genre based channel tuning command transmission.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a ratings based channel tuning command transmission.

7. A computer-readable media embodied in a non-transient, physical memory device having stored thereon instructions for saving state data with a control event in a hand-held, portable controlling device of a media control system located in an environment, the instructions performing steps, comprising:

receiving into the hand-held, portable controlling device input for programming a macro command sequence;

storing in a memory of the hand-held, portable controlling device data related to at least one of a state of an appliance and a state of an environment in which the appliance is located at a time that the input was received; and

in response to the hand-held, portable controlling device being thereafter instructed to execute the programmed macro command sequence, causing the hand-held, portable controlling device to both execute the programmed macro command sequence and transmit one or more command communications to thereby bring about in the at least one of the appliance and the environment in which the appliance is located the state the at least one of the appliance and the environment in which the appliance is located was in at the time that input was received wherein the one or more command communications transmitted by the hand-held, portable controlling device are determined as a function of the data related to at least one of a state of an appliance and a state of an environment in which the appliance is located at a time that the input was received as stored in the memory of the hand-held, portable controlling device.

8. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 7, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a channel number tuning command transmission.

9. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 7, wherein the state data includes at least one of a state of volume, tint, brightness, contrast, ambient lighting, and temperature.

10. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 7, comprising using sensors resident on the hand-held, portable controlling device to obtain the state data.

11. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 7, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a genre based channel tuning command transmission.

12. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 7, wherein the macro command sequence comprises a ratings based channel tuning command transmission.