SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING THE REMOVAL OF A CONTROLLING DEVICE

• US 20170155954A1
• Filed: 02/14/2017
• Published: 06/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Meijer, Gerben, Hayes, Patrick H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,154,307 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts

Abstract

A system and method for using a controllable appliance to report an inoperable state of a controlling device. The appliance is caused to repeatedly determine, at a first predetermined timed interval, if a wireless notification signal, repeatedly transmitted by the controlling device at a second predetermined timed interval, has been received from the controlling device. When the wireless notification signal has not been received from the controlling device within the first predetermined timed interval, the appliance is caused to issue a status notification that the controlling device is in an inoperable state.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a controllable appliance having a wireless receiver and a first timer, wherein the first timer is used to measure a first plurality of timed intervals each having a first predetermined duration; and

a controlling device having a wireless transmitter for transmitting wireless signals to the controllable appliance for reception by the wireless receiver of the controllable appliance;

wherein the controllable appliance further has a processing device and a memory in which is stored instructions executable by the processing device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the controllable appliance to determine if a wireless signal has been received by the wireless receiver with the wireless signal having originated from wireless transmitter of the controlling device and to cause a status notification to be provided to a further device in communication with the controllable appliance when it is determined that a wireless signal originating from the wireless transmitter of the controlling device has not been received by the wireless receiver during at least one of the first plurality of timed intervals.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless signal comprises a command issued from the controlling device to command a functional operation of the controllable appliance.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the controllable appliance comprises a set top box and wherein the further device comprises a headend server in communication with the set top box.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the controllable appliance to restart a measuring of the first plurality of predetermined timed intervals in response to the controllable appliance receiving any wireless signal from the wireless transmitter of the controlling device.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the controlling device comprises a second timer that is used to measure a second plurality of timed intervals each having a second predetermined duration, a processing device, and a memory having instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the controlling device to transmit a wireless signal by use of the wireless transmitter for reception by the wireless receiver of the controllable appliance at an expiration of each of the second plurality of predetermined timed intervals and wherein the first predetermined duration of each of the first plurality of timed intervals is longer in duration than the second predetermined duration of each of the second plurality of timed intervals.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the wireless signal that is caused to be transmitted at an expiration of each of the second plurality of predetermined timed intervals comprises data indicative of a battery state for the controlling device.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the controllable appliance comprises a set top box and wherein the instructions cause the set top box to issue a status notification that the controlling device is in a low battery state to a headend server in communication with the set top box when the data indicative of a battery state for the controlling device indicates that the battery state for the controlling device is a low battery power condition.

8. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the wireless signal that is caused to be transmitted at an expiration of each of the second plurality of predetermined timed intervals comprises data indicative of an error state for the controlling device.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein the controllable appliance comprises a set top box and wherein the instructions cause the set top box to issue a status notification that the controlling device is in an error state to a headend server in communication with the set top box when the data indicative of an error state for the controlling device indicates that the error state for the controlling device is an error condition.

10. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the instructions cause the controlling device to restart a measuring of the second plurality of timed intervals upon the controlling device entering into a quiescent state.

11. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter of the controlling device comprises an infrared transmitter and the wireless receiver of the controllable device comprises an infrared receiver.

12. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter of the controlling device comprises a radio frequency transmitter and the wireless receiver of the controllable device comprises a radio frequency transmitter.