Abstract:
There is described a device for controlling a primary remote control, the apparatus comprising: a receiver adapted to receive a control signal for remotely operating an apparatus from a secondary remote control; and control circuitry coupled to the receiver, configured to be operatively connected to the primary remote control and adapted to communicate the control signal to the primary remote control, thereby activating the primary remote control for operation of the apparatus.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application bearing Ser. No. 60/840,703, filed on Aug. 29, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This invention pertains to the field of telecommunications, and more specifically, the field of remote control devices. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Until recently, vehicles sold by car manufacturers, such as GM or Chrysler, did not include a remote car starter. Those who were interested in having a remote car starter had to bring their vehicle to a specialized merchant to have the equipment installed in the vehicle post-purchase. 
         [0004]    Eventually, car manufacturers began integrating these devices into all manufactured vehicles directly. If a buyer selected a remote car starter as an option, then the device would be activated. If the buyer did not select (i.e. pay for) the option of having a remote car starter, the device was simply left non-activated, even though it was already present. 
         [0005]    The technology used to make effective and robust remote car starters is complex and costly. Car manufacturers are reluctant to invest in developing and exploiting such technology, especially since their practice includes integrating the device in all manufactured vehicles regardless of whether the option will be paid for or not. 
         [0006]    Therefore, the remote control devices integrated into newly-purchased vehicles use less advanced technology than those bought from specialized merchants. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In accordance with a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for controlling a primary remote control device, the system comprising: a secondary remote control device having a transmitter and configured to transmit a control signal for remotely operating an apparatus; a receiver adapted to receive the control signal; an antenna for coupling the transmitter and the receiver; and control circuitry coupled to the receiver and configured to be operatively connected to the primary remote control device, the control circuitry adapted to communicate the control signal to the primary remote control device, thereby activating the primary remote control device for operation of the apparatus. 
         [0008]    In accordance with a second broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for controlling a primary remote control device, the apparatus comprising: a receiver adapted to receive a control signal for remotely operating an apparatus from a secondary remote control device; and control circuitry coupled to the receiver, configured to be operatively connected to the primary remote control device and adapted to communicate the control signal to the primary remote control device, thereby activating the primary remote control device for operation of the apparatus. 
         [0009]    In accordance with a third broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a primary remote control device, the method comprising: receiving a control signal for the remote operation of an apparatus from a secondary remote control device; processing the control signal by translating it into a trigger signal that may be recognized by the primary remote control device; and activating the primary remote control device using the trigger signal to thereby operate the apparatus. 
         [0010]    The term “remote control” is understood to mean the device including all of its components, such as a transmitter, an antenna (for a wireless transmission), and the circuitry used to identify commands initiated by pressing a switch on the device. 
         [0011]    It should be understood that the term “primary remote control” refers to an existing remote control, while the term “secondary remote control” refers to another device used to control the existing device. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1   a  illustrates an embodiment for the device of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 1   b  illustrates an embodiment for an antenna to be used with the device of  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0015]      FIG. 1   c  illustrates an embodiment for a wire harness to connect the device of  FIG. 1   a  and the antenna of  FIG. 1   b;    
           [0016]      FIG. 1   d  illustrates an embodiment for an antenna to be used with the device of  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of the system used to control a primary remote control; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method to control a primary remote control using a secondary remote control. 
       
    
    
       [0019]    It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    Now referring to  FIG. 1   a , there is shown an embodiment for a device  10  for controlling a primary remote control. The primary remote control may be any wireless remote control. For instance, it may be an infrared-based remote control, an RF-based remote control or the like. Alternatively, the primary remote control  20  is a wire-based remote control. 
         [0021]    A housing unit  11  hosts control circuitry (not shown in  FIG. 1   a ). The control circuitry is configured to be operatively connected to the primary remote control. The control circuitry has an interface such that it can be connected to the primary remote control. The interface may be a template specifically configured to interact with a given model of the primary remote control. 
         [0022]    In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1   a , the interface is a printed circuit board  14  having contacts  16  that activate the switches on the copper layer of a printed circuit board (PCB) of the primary remote control. The template has its contacts  16  positioned such that they are aligned with the switches of the primary remote control. In this embodiment, the housing of the primary remote control is opened and the PCB therein is removed. This PCB is placed inside the housing  11  of the device  10 . A recess  12  is provided to receive the PCB and a connection is made between the PCB (which is essentially the primary remote control) and the control circuitry of the device  10 . In this embodiment, no modifications are made to the primary remote control in order to have the secondary remote control be able to control it. 
         [0023]    In an alternative embodiment, the housing of the primary remote control is not opened and the connection is made with the primary remote control intact. For example, if the primary remote control is infrared-based, then the connection to the control circuitry may be made using infrared signals. Any type of wired or wireless connection may be made to interface the primary remote control with the control circuitry of the device  10 . 
         [0024]    In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1   a , a power source  20  is provided in the housing unit  11  for powering the primary remote control. The battery  20  resides on a surface  18  that may be inserted into the primary remote control in replacement of its original battery. Alternatively, the original primary remote control battery may be kept and used as is. 
         [0025]    In one embodiment, the device has a pair of terminals  22  such that it may be connected to an antenna device  26 . An embodiment for the antenna device  26  is illustrated in  FIG. 1   b . A terminal  28  is provided to physically link the housing unit  11  to the antenna device  26 . An embodiment for a connecting wire  30  to link the antenna  26  to the housing unit is illustrated in  FIG. 1   c . Alternatively, the antenna  26  may be mounted to the housing unit  11  and integrated with the device  10 . A receiver coupled between the antenna and the control circuitry may be provided internally to the device  10 , internally to the antenna device  26 , or externally to the system. When provided externally, the wire harness used for the antenna may instead be used for the receiver, the antenna and receiver being connected together. 
         [0026]    Also illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 1   a  is a terminal  24  for powering the device  10  using an external battery source, such as a car battery or any other type of battery. Alternatively, the device  10  may be powered with an internal power source. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1   d  illustrates an embodiment for a secondary remote control. Any commercially available remote control is suitable. The secondary remote control  36 , which may be a remote car starter, a television remote control, a garage door remote control, or other similar type of device, has an antenna  34  for sending a control signal wirelessly. The control signal is indicative of at least one key  36  pressed on the secondary remote control  32  by a user. A transmitter is provided inside the secondary remote control  32  to transmit the signal via the antenna  34 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the system of the present invention. The secondary remote control  32  is activated via one of its switches  36  and a control signal  35  is transmitted wirelessly by the antenna  34 . Another antenna  26  receives the control signal  35 , which in this embodiment is an RF signal, and a receiver  37  communicates it to the control circuitry  38  of the device  10 . The control circuitry  38  translates the control signal  35  into a trigger signal that can be recognized by the primary remote control  40  and is used to activate the switches of the primary remote control  40  to thereby control an apparatus remotely. 
         [0029]    It will be appreciated that the receiver  37  may operate according to various frequencies. In one embodiment, the receiver operates at a frequency of 339.41 MHz. The trigger signal may be provided to the primary remote control  40  according to various embodiments. In one embodiment, the trigger signal is provided to the primary remote control  40  using a wired connection. In another embodiment, the trigger signal is provided wirelessly. The wireless communication may be infrared, RF, or other known transmission types. 
         [0030]    In one embodiment, the control circuitry  38  comprises a parallel port for performing a wire connection to the primary remote control  40 . Alternatively, the interface is a PCB, which may be clear and flexible, as illustrated in  FIG. 1   a . In one embodiment, the control circuitry  38  is selected from a group consisting of FPGA, PIC, DSP or the like. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the control circuitry  38  includes a Micro Controller Unit (MCU). 
         [0031]    In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the receiver  37  is a long range receiver and the secondary remote control comprises a long range transmitter. The range of operation of the primary remote control is thereby extended. 
         [0032]    Now referring to  FIG. 3 , there is shown how the primary remote control may be controlled according to one embodiment of the method. A control signal is received for the remote operation of an apparatus from a secondary remote control. The control signal is then processed by translating it into a trigger signal that may be recognized by the primary remote control. The primary remote control is activated using the trigger signal and the apparatus is operated as if the primary remote control were being controlled by a user. 
         [0033]    In one embodiment of the method, a printed circuit board of the primary remote control is interfaced with in order to activate the primary remote control. This interfacing may be done using a second printed circuit board aligned with the printed circuit board of the primary remote control to activate switches via a copper layer. Alternatively, other interfacing means may be used to activate the primary remote control. 
         [0034]    In accordance with one embodiment of the method, identification codes to be received by the secondary remote control may be taught to the device via a “learning mode”. When in learning mode, the control circuitry records codes and identifies actions associated with each code. When in a signal receiving mode, the control circuitry receives a control signal, processes it, and generates a trigger signal to activate the primary remote control. 
         [0035]    The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.