Abstract:
An arrangement for configuring a device of a system by transferring control information from a removable controller thereto. The controller includes an input apparatus for receiving control information for configuring the device, a memory circuitry arranged to store and retrieve control information for configuring the device, and an output apparatus for transferring to the system retrieved control information for the device. The system includes apparatus for coupling with the output apparatus of the removable controller to transfer retrieved control information therefrom, and a controller arranged to configure the device in dependence upon the transferred control information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the configuration of systems, such as vehicle management systems. In particular, the invention relates to a portable controller for configuring a system comprising one or more devices. 
   Electronically controlled devices are very common, and are becoming even more so. 
   Currently, the onus lies with the user of both electronically and manually controlled devices to adapt each device as he uses it. For example, when a driver gets into a vehicle, he generally adjusts at least the mirror and seat positions, and often also temperature/ventilation settings. 
   It would be desirable to reduce the burden placed on a user to adapt each device within a system when he employs that system. It would be desirable to adjust the devices of a system automatically when a user wishes to use that system, according to the user&#39;s predetermined preferences. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arrangement for configuring a device of a system by transferring control information from a controller thereto, wherein the controller comprises:input means for receiving control information for configuring the device; memory circuitry arranged to store and retrieve control information for configuring the device; and output means for transferring to the system retrieved control information for the device; and wherein the system comprises: means for coupling with the output means of the controller to transfer retrieved control information to the system; and control. 
   The user can carry his controller, so that he can readily alter the configuration of devices of a system as desired. 
   The system may comprise a plurality of devices. In this event, the system may only comprises a single control means arranged to configure the device in dependence upon the control information transferred from the controller, thus eliminating the need for a plurality of different user interfaces. In one embodiment, each device is configured in dependence upon control information transferred by the controller. Advantageously, all the devices are reconfigured in a single step, thus simplifying the operation by the user. Alternatively, if desired, the user can manually select which of the devices are to be reconfigured. 
   The memory circuitry may store and retrieve control information corresponding to the controller user&#39; personal preferences. In this manner, the user can carry his preferences between different systems, thus improving the ease with which systems can be configured for him. 
   Optionally, the memory circuitry may store and retrieve information identifying a particular system so that the control information only configures the device or devices of that particular system. This enables the controller to be used to provide system security. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the system is a vehicle control system, and comprises devices such as an alarm, an immobiliser, and door/boot locks. Other devices which may be provided as part of a vehicle management system include a temperature/ventilation controller, an engine management device, and servicing interface device. 
   The removable controller may be removable from the environment of the system, and may automatically reconfigure system devices when it enters the environment of the system. Optionally, the removable controller is a handportable radio device. 
   According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controller removable from a system for storing control information for a system and for configuring the device of a system by transferring control information to the system, comprising: input means for receiving control information for configuring the device; memory circuitry arranged to store control information for configuring the device and to retrieve control information associated with a device; and output means for transferring to the system, retrieved control information associated with the device. It may also have the optional features mentioned above. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
       FIG. 1  schematically illustrates the components one type of device in the prior art; 
       FIG. 2  schematically illustrates the components of a system and a controller, according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a scheme for organising the storage of control information in the memory of the portable controller; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a vehicle control system and various portable controllers; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a low power RF (LPRF) interface unit for the system and portable controller; and 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a portable controller in the form of a handportable phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   In the following like references refer to like elements. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a vehicle management system  101  according to the prior art. The system comprises a plurality of devices  102 , each having an associated user interface  106 , together with a processor  114  and a memory  116 . Generally, the user interfaces have an input interface for receiving input to the device  102  and/or an output interface for producing an output from the device. The processor is in communication with the interface  106  through an interconnect  112  and with the memory  116  through an interconnect  118 . The memory  116  stores software which controls the interface  106  through the processor  114 . The functionality of the device  102  and the interface  106  is controlled by the software. One device  102  may be any device which requires user interaction that is that requires an input from a user or provides an output to a user. A device may for example be a climate controller for controlling a vehicle heating/ventilation system. Such a controller may comprise a temperature controller for setting the temperature of the air passing through the interior of the vehicle, a fan controller for setting the fan speed to provide the desired air flow, and mode controller for controlling the direction of air flow. The output interface  110  may include vents at various positions within the vehicle, such as at the centre and edges of the dash, bottom of the windscreen and near the floor. Another device  102  may be a car audio system. In this case, the input interface may comprise a controller for selecting the radio channel, volume, tone, balance and for turning the device on and off. The output may include a pair of loudspeakers. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates an adapted vehicle management system  101  and a portable controller  2  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The adapted device is similar to the device  102  illustrated in  FIG. 1  but has an additional memory  120  and a port  104 . The port  104  is connected via interconnect  128  to the processor  114 . The processor receives control information  100  from the portable controller  2  and supplies control information  100  to the portable controller  2  via the port  104  and interconnect  128 . The additional memory  120  may in practice be a portion of the memory  116  that is attached to the processor  114  through interconnect  126 . The additional memory  120  has a first portion  122  which stores an ID code which identifies the system  101 , a second portion  123  which stores an ID code which identifies the device  102 , and a third portion  124  which stores software. This software controls how the processor responds to control information received from the portable controller  2  and controls the control information provided by the processor  114  to the portable controller  2 . 
   The portable controller  2  according to this embodiment has a processor  10 , a memory  6  for storing control information, a switching element  20  for controlling the transfer of control information between the portable controller  2  and the device  102 , a port  4  for supplying control information to and receiving control from the device  102 , an output  22  for giving information to a user, an input  12  for receiving an input from a user, functional circuitry  18  and a power supply unit  16 . The processor receives an input from the switching element, writes to and reads from the memory  6  via an interconnect  8 , controls the input  12  and receives signals therefrom via interconnect  14  and controls the output  22  by signal  24 . The functional circuitry  18  represents the circuitry necessary for the portable controller  2  to be able to perform other functions ancillary to the present invention. For example, the functional circuitry  18  may allow the portable device to be additionally used as a mobile phone or car phone handset. The power supply device  16  is a battery cell which supplies power to the other elements in the portable controller  2 . The memory  6  is preferably some form of non-volatile memory which can be written to and read from. Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM or ‘flash memory’) is suitable. 
   The communication of control information between the device  102  and the portable controller  2  may be achieved by any suitable means. An electrical connection could be made between the port  104  and port  4 . Alternatively, the ports could be radio transceivers with the control information being transmitted as radio waves between them. Such transmission would preferably be point to point as described in UK Patent Application No 9820860.6 filed 24 th  Sep. 1998, which describes a low power radio frequency communication scheme that could be used to effect communication between the controller  2  and a device  102  and the contents of this application are herewith included by reference. Another alternative would be to use Infra-Red (IR) transceivers as the ports  104  and  4  with the control information being transmitted as IR radiation between them. 
   Activation of the switching element  20  to a first position causes the processor  10  to enter a ‘receiving mode’ and activation of the element  20  to a second position causes the processor to enter a ‘transmitting mode’. In the ‘receiving mode’ the processor  10  receives control information  100  from the device  102  and stores the control information in the memory  6 . Typically the device will have been configured by a user to reflect their preferences before entering the receiving mode and the control information transferred identifies these preferences. In the ‘transmitting mode’ the processor sends the control information from the memory  6  of the portable controller  2  to the system  101 . The control information identifies the user&#39;s preferences and the system  101  automatically re-configures its associated devices  102  to reflect these preferences. 
   On entering the receiving mode, the processor  10  sends a request to the system  101  for control information  100 . This request is sent from port  4  to port  104 . The processor  114  in the system  101  receives the request and enters a ‘set-up’ mode. The processor  114  under the control of the software in the memory  116  identifies the settings of the devices  102  which are user alterable and then identifies which of those settings differ from the default or factory pre-set settings that is those settings which have been altered by the user. These settings represent a set of altered or preferred settings. The processor  114  under the control of the software  116  may allow the user to identify preferences such as settings, software, applications or data which they wish to be available when the same or similar device is configured by the portable controller. These preferences represent a set of chosen settings. The control information  100  comprises information defining the user&#39;s preferences including the preferred settings and any chosen settings. 
   The user&#39;s preferences include the information for configuring the functionality or operation of one or more devices of the system. 
   The control information is transmitted with the ID code of the system and device(s). The ID codes identify the system and associated device(s) as a particular type. For example the first n significant bits (System ID) of the system ID code may identify the type of system e.g. vehicle management system. The next few significant bits (Model ID) may identify the manufacturer and model of vehicle, and the following bits may indicate the actual vehicle. Likewise, the first n significant bits (Device ID) may identify the type of device, (e.g. climate controller, car audio system, seat positioner, immobiliser etc), and the next few significant bits (Model ID) may identify the model employed. The control information and ID codes are sent from the device  102  to the portable controller  2 . The processor  10  of the portable controller  2  identifies the ID codes and stores the control information in the memory  6 . One way of storing the control information will now be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The processor reserves a portion of the memory  6  as a look-up table. In this embodiment a portion has been reserved for a given system code  122 . Similar portions would be provided for different systems. The processor translates the device ID code  123  into a starting address a in the memory  6  to which the control information including the preferred and any chosen settings will be written. The control information is written into the memory in an ordered fashion with the last bit occupying an address b. An entry is made in the look-up table comprising the device ID code  123 , the starting address a, and the end address b. The control information is stored in two logical layers. The upper layer identifies the preference types A, B, C . . . and gives a pointer to the portion of the lower layer which stores the actual settings, applications, software or data which effect the preferences on a device  102 . On successfully storing the control information, the processor returns an acknowledgement to the system  101  and provides a signal to the user via the output  22 . A failure in the transfer process may also be indicated via the output  22 . 
   It is preferable for the processor  114  in the system  101  to flag those preferences, which are common to devices of different systems with the same Device ID of the device ID code  123 , in the control information before transmission to the portable controller  2 . In this instance the processor will create two separate entries in the look-up table. One entry under the full ID code which identifies the memory area storing all the preferences and one entry under the Device ID which identifies the memory area storing only the flagged preferences. As the flagged preferences are a subset of the preferences it is not necessary to store the flagged preferences twice. Instead the two upper layers associated with the two different look-up table entries can point to the same part of the memory storing the flagged preferred settings. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3  the portions of the memory c–d, e–f, g–h each represent the portion of memory which stores the control information for different devices. The portion i–j is available memory. 
   On entering the ‘transmitting mode’ the portable controller  2  sends a transmission request to the system  101 . In this embodiment, the processor  114  of the system  101  responds by reading the system ID code  123  and an ID code  123  corresponding to one of the devices  102  from memory  120  and transmitting it via port  104  to the portable controller  2 . It also loads and executes the software for that device  102  in the portion  124  of memory  120 . The processor  10  in the portable controller decodes the received ID codes  122 ,  123  identifying the system  101  and one of its associated devices  102 . It then accesses the portion of the memory  6  storing the control information associated with that device identity and transmits the control information to the system  101  via port  4 . The particular method of accessing the control information will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The processor  10  accesses the memory  6  and searches for the portion reserved, a, for the identified system, and reads the corresponding look-up table from the memory. The processor searches the look-up table for an entry having the same device ID code as the device ID code  123  received from the device  102 . If an entry is found, the control information in the memory portion identified in the look-up table is read and transmitted to the device  102 . If an entry is not found, the processor searches the look-up table for an entry having the same Device ID as that found in the first portion of the device ID code received from the system  101 . If the second entry is found, the control information in the memory portion identified in the look-up table is read and transmitted to the system  101 . If the second entry is not found, a null signal is sent to the system  101  instructing it to use the present settings or, alternatively, the default settings of the device and the user is informed via output  22 . 
   The processor  114  under the control of the software in the memory  120  receives the control information or null signal from the portable device  2 . It identifies what if any preferences need to be implemented. This may require identifying which settings need to be adjusted and determining how much they should be adjusted by. The processor  114  then controls the adjustment. It may also require storing any software, application or data received as a preference in memory  116  and allowing access thereto. On completion of implementing the preferences, the processor sends a signal back to the portable controller  2  indicating that the adjustment has been successfully completed. The portable controller  2  informs the user via the output  22 . 
   Thus the device  102  is configured and any of the appearance, format, or functionality of any of the devices  102  are changed. 
   The transmission request need not be one corresponding to a particular device associated with a system. Instead, it may only request the system ID  122 , in which case control information for all the associated devices  102  is transferred. Alternatively, it may only be a request for a device ID  123 . 
   In the foregoing description of the receiving mode, the control information was described as being received from a device  102 . However, as an alternative the preferred settings could be input directly into the portable controller via the input  12 . Alternatively, a computer or other device could provide the control information to the port  4 . 
   In the foregoing embodiment, the switching element is described as part of the portable controller  2 . It could however be part of the device  102  instead. 
   It is desirable but not essential to have the output  22  keep the user informed of progress. The input  12  is optional. The PSU  16  is optional as power could be supplied from the system  101  via port  4 . The functional circuitry  18  is optional. 
   For some applications it would be desirable for the device to be aware of when a user no longer requires it to be configured to his or her preferences for example when the user leaves the device. The device is able to check whether the portable controller is within a specified range of the device. This range could vary from device to device. When the user and portable device move outside the range the device could automatically reconfigure to the default settings or switch off. Alternatively the user could be provided with the option of manually informing the device so that it can reconfigure or switch off. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates the implementation of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a vehicle control system comprising an interface module  401  for interfacing with a portable controller, and a vehicle management system block  402 . The interface module  401  is a low power RF module in this embodiment, but may alternatively be a mechanical connector. The vehicle management system block  402  comprises a plurality of devices which may be adjusted according to the portable controller user&#39;s preferences, and a vehicle bus  420  which may, for example, electrically or optically connect these devices to the interface module  401 . The devices include a climate controller  421 , car audio system  422  and seat positioner  423 . They also include security control features such as an immobiliser  424 , door locking controller  425  and alarm system  426 . Finally, this vehicle management system block  402  comprises an engine controller  427  and man machine interface  428  for providing information and diagnostics for vehicle servicing. 
   The portable controller is implemented in a radiotelephone. In one embodiment a car phone has been modified so that a wireless handset  403  provides the functionality of the controller and a handset holder provides the LPRF interface  401  between the wireless handset and vehicle management system  402 . 
   In another embodiment a handportable radiotelephone  404 , such as a conventional GSM phone is provided with an LPRF interface for coupling to the interface module  401 . Such a phone is described below with reference to  FIG. 6 . The LPRF interface may be part of a car phone or a dedicated interface for connection to the vehicle bus  420 . 
   The mobile phone may act as a security device. For example the handportable  404  may ensure that entry or operation of the vehicle or alarm disablement is only possible if the legitimate user enters the LPRF range of the unit  401  with the controller having an entry in its memory corresponding to the exact system ID of the vehicle. In this event, control information is forwarded to the devices  424 – 426  via the LPRF link and vehicle bus  420  to unlock the doors/boot or disable the immobiliser or alarm. Otherwise, for example, the immobiliser is enabled, doors and/or boot are locked and alarm is enabled. 
   Alternatively, if the vehicle comprises a car phone and the control is provided by a handportable, the IDs of the phones may be compared. If they match, the appropriate control information is transferred from the controller memory to the vehicle devices. 
   Turning now to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , these illustrate the LPRF interface module  401  and mobile phone  404  respectively in more detail. 
   The LPRF interface module  401  comprises a process  51 , program memory  52 , customer data memory  56 , RF parts  54 , optional internal power source  53  and an interface to host systems (such as vehicle devices including the battery for power). The functions of the processor  51 , and program memory  52  broadly correspond to those of the processor  114  and  116  of the  FIG. 2  embodiment and the interface couples the processor to devices such as those referenced  102  in that embodiment. The device preferably comprises the internal power source  53 , so as to prevent drain on the vehicle&#39;s battery when the ignition is off. The RF parts  54  comprises a transceiver for communicating with a portable controller by radio. The customer data memory  56  is also preferably provided, to update the memory of an associated mobile phone (e.g. updating the phonebook of the handportable phone  404  when coupled to the RF unit  401 ). 
   The handportable phone  404  may be provided with a battery  601  comprising an LPRF battery unit  601 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . In this embodiment, battery contacts of the phone  604  comprise an EC1 bus for connection to the LPRF battery unit  601  of the battery  603  and communication between the portable controller (phone  604 ) and the vehicle devices is effected by the EC1 bus  602 , LPRF link between the LPRF battery unit and interface unit  401 , and the vehicle bus  420 . 
   The present invention includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalisation thereof irrespective of whether or not it relates to the claimed invention or mitigates any or all of the problems addressed. 
   In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.