Abstract:
Systems and methods for controlling one or more appliances are provided. One or more appliances ( 150 ), each having one or more unique identifiers and one or more first network adapters can be in communication with one or more first networks ( 140 ). One or more network adapter devices ( 120 ) capable of bi-directional communication on the first network ( 140 ) and on one or more second networks ( 160 ) can be disposed on the first network ( 140 ). One or more appliance databases can be disposed in, on, or about the one or more second networks ( 160 ). One or more handheld controllers ( 110 ) can be in communication with the one or more network adapter devices ( 120 ) and the one or more appliances ( 150 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/122,407 filed Apr. 2, 2011, U.S. Publication No. 2011/0182278, which is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/US2008/078668, filed Oct. 3, 2008, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Most electronic devices in the modern day home are equipped with some form of wireless remote control device. Present day wireless devices include televisions, stereo equipment, video equipment such as DVD players, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), and Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs), cable television adapters, satellite television adapters, and the like. Given the prevalence of relatively inexpensive network interfaces, the number of devices equipped with wireless controls will only increase into the future. The future may hold wireless controlled household furnishings and appliances such as lamps, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ventilation fans, and the like. 
     Since each remotely controlled appliance is usually supplied with one or more remote controllers, even a small household can accumulate a considerable number of remote controllers. The remote controllers are often great in number and similar in appearance. Frequently, the remote controllers are scattered about, hidden between sofa cushions, buried in the pet&#39;s bed, or lodged in an inaccessible location which is usually replete with a substantial accumulation of lint. While multifunction remote controllers may reduce the sheer number of controllers, most so called “universal” wireless remote controllers can handle only a limited number of devices, usually between 3 and 10. Given the potential growth in remote controlled appliances, it seems only a matter of time until a household will have a plethora of 10-in-1 controllers scattered where individual TV, DVD, and cable box remote controllers once roamed. 
     Universal remote control devices also have the drawback of requiring the user to “program” the controller. Generally, this “programming” occurs in one of two ways. The first way is to simply take the universal remote, place it in “learn” mode and shoot the dedicated remote controller at the universal remote while it is in “learn” mode. Such programming is tedious, time-consuming, and requires considerable interaction between the user, the universal remote, and the dedicated remote controller. The second way is for the user to enter a manufacturer&#39;s “code” into the universal remote controller. Unfortunately, many off-brand appliances may not have codes, some newly arrived appliance brands may not have had codes at the time the universal remote database was flashed by the manufacturer, or “manufacturer A” on the faceplate of the wireless appliance actually tolled the production of the appliance through “manufacturer B.” Other than frustration on the part of the consumer, the most frequently observed result in such instances is a television where the up volume, down channel, and channel buttons 3, 5, and 8 operate as intended, while every other button either does nothing or something totally unexpected. 
     There is a need, therefore, for a remote controller capable of accommodating a large number of wireless appliances, yet having a simple programming interface featuring an open architecture independent of one or more static databases of appliance control data flashed into the remote controller memory at the time of manufacture. 
     SUMMARY 
     A system for controlling one or more appliances is provided. One or more appliances, each having one or more unique identifiers and one or more first network adapters can be in communication with one or more first networks. One or more network adapter devices capable of bi-directional communication on the first network and on one or more second networks can be disposed on the first network. One or more appliance databases can be disposed or otherwise contained on the one or more second networks. One or more handheld controllers can be in communication with the one or more network adapter devices and the one or more appliances. 
     A method for controlling one or more appliances is also provided. One or more appliances having one or more unique identifiers and one or more first network adapters disposed therein can be communicatively coupled to a first network. One or more network access devices can also be communicatively coupled to the first network. The one or more network access devices can be communicatively coupled to a second network containing one or more appliance databases containing appliance control data. One or more handheld controllers having a memory disposed therein can also be communicatively coupled to the first network. The one or more unique identifiers can be transferred from the one or more appliances to the one or more network access device. The network access device can collect appliance control data from the second network and transfer the appliance control data to the handheld controller. 
     As used herein, the terms “appliance” and/or “appliances” can include, but are not limited to, any device, system or combination of systems and/or devices having one or more unique identifiers such as an IEEE Extended Unique Identifier (“EIU”). Such identifiers can uniquely identify a particular piece of equipment from a specific vendor, manufacturer, or other organization. Such remotely controlled appliances can include electrical devices, household appliances, computing devices, communication devices, and the like. 
     As used herein, the terms “Extended Unique Identifier” and/or “EUI” can include, but are not limited to, one or more 48-bit Extended Unique Identifiers (“EUI-48™”), one or more 60-bit Extended Unique Identifiers (“EUI-60™”), and/or one or more 64-bit Extended Unique Identifiers (“EUI-64™”). In one or more embodiments, the EUI can have an identification format in accordance with an Internet Protocol Version 6 (“IPv6”) addressing system. In one or more specific embodiments, the EUI can be an EUI-64™ ID format in accordance with the IPv6 addressing system. 
     As used herein, “EUI-48™” refers to an identifier that is formed by concatenating the 24-bit Organizationally Unique Identifier (“OUI”) with a 24-bit extension identifier that is assigned by the organization that purchased the OUI—the resulting identifier is generally represented as a set of octets separated by dashes (hexadecimal notation) or colons (bit-reversed notation) as in FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF or FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, as a string of 6 bytes as in {FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF}, or as a base 16 number as in FFFFFFFFFFFF 16 . 
     As used herein, “EUI-60™” refers to an identifier that is formed by concatenating the 24-bit OUI with a 36-bit extension identifier that is assigned by the organization that purchased the OUI. The resulting identifier is generally represented by a string of 15 nibbles, as a base 16 number as in FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF 16 , or as FF-FF-FF:F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F as an EUI-64 value. 
     As used herein, “EUI-64™” refers to an identifier that is formed by concatenating the 24-bit OUI with a 40-bit extension identifier that is assigned by the organization that purchased the OUI—the resulting identifier is generally represented as a set of octets separated by dashes (hexadecimal notation) or colons (bit-reversed notation) as in FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF or FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, as a string of 8 bytes as in {FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF}, or as a base 16 number as in FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF 16 . According to IEEE guidelines, the first four digits of the organizationally assigned identifier (i.e., the first four digits of the extension identifier) portion of an EUI-64™“shall not be FFFE 16  or FFFF 16 ” (i.e., EUI-64™ identifiers of the form ccccccFFFEeeeeeeeeee and ccccccFFFFeeeeeeeeee are not allowed)—this is to support the encapsulation of MAC-48 and EUI-48™ values into EUI-64™ values. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Advantages of one or more disclosed embodiments may become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative system for programming a remote controller using one or more open databases, according to one or more embodiments described; 
         FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 48-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments described; 
         FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 60-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments described; 
         FIG. 4  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 64-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments described; 
         FIG. 5  depicts an illustrative system for programming a television remote controller, according to one or more embodiments described; 
         FIG. 6  depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for downloading control data to a network access device  120 , according to one or more embodiments described; and 
         FIG. 7  depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for downloading control data to a controller  110 , according to one or more embodiments described. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative system for programming a remote controller, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, the illustrative system can include one or more controllers  110 , one or more network access devices  120 , one or more optional storage devices  130 , one or more first networks  140 , a plurality of remote controlled appliances  150 , and one or more second networks  160 . In one or more embodiments, the one or more remote controlled appliances  150  can include, but are not limited to, televisions, stereo equipment, video equipment, lamps, refrigerators, dish washers, washing machines, dryers, garage door openers, or any other electrical device found in the home, commerce or industry. In one or more embodiments, the number of remote controlled appliances  150  communicatively coupled to the one or more remote controllers  110  can range from a minimum of about 2; about 5; about 10; or about 20, to a maximum of about 10; about 30; about 50; about 100; about 200; or about 500. 
     In one or more embodiments, the system  100  can include two or more networks, two,  140  and  160 , are depicted in  FIG. 1 . The one or more first networks  140  can include one or more local area networks, wide area networks, or any combination thereof to which one or more appliances  150  can be communicatively coupled. One or more network access devices  120  can be disposed on the first network  140  in such a manner that the one or more appliances  150  can communicate with the one or more network access devices  120 . The one or more network access devices can be simultaneously or sequentially coupled to one or more second networks  160 . The one or more second networks  160  can be a local area network, a wide area network, the internet, or any combination thereof. In one or more specific embodiments, the second network  160  can be the internet having one or more appliance databases containing appliance control data disposed thereupon. 
     It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that a comprehensive list of remote controlled appliances would be virtually obsolete upon compilation due to the explosive growth within the field. Given this background, one of ordinary skill in the art would quickly realize the applicability of one or more embodiments of the present invention to any remote controlled appliance either presently in commerce or introduced to commerce at some point in the future. Such future remote controlled appliances, although not explicitly stated herein, are to be considered fully within the scope of one or more embodiments of the present invention. 
     The one or more controllers  110  can be used to control, adjust or otherwise affect the operation of the one or more remote controlled appliances  150  to which the controller is communicatively coupled. One or more control signals can be transmitted from the controller  110  to the one or more remote controlled appliances  150  via one or more communication links  155 . The one or more communications links can be wired or wireless. In one or more embodiments, the one or more communications links  155  can be wireless, for example radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), laser, or any combination thereof. The one or more controllers  110  can include, but are not limited to one or more handheld (i.e. mobile) devices, one or more stationary devices, or any combination thereof. 
     The one or more appliances  150  can include, but are not limited to, any number of remote controlled appliances, each having one or more unique identifiers. In one or more embodiments, the one or more unique identifiers can include, but are not limited to, one or more Extended Unique Identifiers (EUIs). The EUI can include one or more 48-bit IEEE EUIs (EUI-48™), one or more 60-bit IEEE EUIs (EUI-60™), one or more 64-bit IEEE EUIs (EUI-64™), or any combination thereof. 
       FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 48-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 48-bit EUI can include an initial 24-bit Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) followed by a 24-bit unique appliance identifier as issued by the registrant organization (OUI). A 48-bit EUI can permit the unique identification of approximately 16.8 million distinct appliances. 
       FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 60-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 60-bit EUI can include an initial 24-bit OUI followed by a 36-bit unique appliance identifier as issued by the registrant organization. A 60-bit EUI can permit the unique identification of approximately 68.7 billion distinct appliances. 
       FIG. 4  depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 64-bit EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 64-bit EUI can include an initial 24-bit OUI followed by a 40-bit unique appliance identifier as issued by the registrant organization. A 64-bit EUI can permit the unique identification of approximately 1 trillion distinct appliances. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the one or more appliances  150  can include, but are not limited to, one or more devices having a unique EUI and one or more network adapters and/or interfaces disposed therein. The unique EUI assigned to the appliance  150  can identify the manufacturer of the appliance, the appliance type, and a particular model or part number for the appliance. The network adapter or interface disposed within the appliance  150  can include one or more wired and/or wireless adapters or interfaces. In one or more embodiments, the one or more network adapters can include one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) adapters, one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) adapters or any combination thereof. In one or more embodiments, the WLAN and/or WWAN networks can communicate using an IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocol, including, but not limited to, 802.11(b), 802.11(g), 802.11(n), or the like. In one or more embodiments, the one or more network adapters can include one or more wired local area network (LAN) adapters, one or more wired wide area network (WAN) adapters or any combination thereof. In one or more embodiments, a combination of wired (LAN/WAN) and wireless (WLAN/WWAN) adapters can be disposed within a single appliance  150 . 
     The one or more network adapters disposed in, on, or about the one or more appliances  150  can communicatively couple to one or more first networks  140 . In one or more embodiments, the one or more appliances  150  can broadcast their unique EUI across the first network either continuously or intermittently via the one or more network adapters disposed in, on, or about each of the one or more appliances  150 . 
     The one or more network access devices  120  can be communicatively coupled to the first network  140 . Additionally, the network access device  120  can be communicatively coupled to a second network  160 . In one or more specific embodiments, the one or more network access devices  120  can be simultaneously communicatively coupled to the first network  140  and the second network  160 . In one or more embodiments, the second network  160  can be communicatively coupled to an appliance database containing, inter alia, control data for one or more remotely controlled appliances  150  cross indexed by EUI. In one or more embodiments, the second network  160  can include, but is not limited to one or more local area networks (“LANs”), wide area networks (“WANs”), publicly accessible networks, private networks, world wide web/internet, or any combination thereof. In one or more specific embodiments, the second network  160  can be the internet and the appliance database accessed by the network access device  120  can be accessible via the world wide web/internet. 
     The appliance control data accessed by the second network  160  can be downloaded to the network access device  120  via one or more communication links  165 . The one or more communications links can be wireless or wired. In one or more embodiments, the first network  140  and the second network  160  can be the same network. In one or more specific embodiments, the first network  140  and the second network  160  can be a single wireless local area network (“WLAN”) using an IEEE 802.11(b), (g), or (n) standard. In one or more embodiments, after downloading the appliance control data, the network access device can store the downloaded data on one or more optional storage devices  130 . 
     The one or more remote access devices  120  can monitor the appliance EUIs broadcast onto the first network  140  by the one or more remotely controlled appliances  150 . Upon detecting a new EUI, the one or more network access devices  120  can determine whether the appliance control data associated with the detected EUI is present on the storage device  130  and thus has been downloaded from the second network  160 . If the appliance control data has not been previously downloaded, the network access device  120  can access and download the appliance control data from one or more databases disposed on the second network  160 . The downloaded appliance control data can be stored in the network access device  120  and/or in one or more network storage devices  130 . 
     The one or more controllers  110  can be communicatively coupled to the network access device  120  via the first network  140  and one or more communications links  115 . The communications link  115  can be wired or wireless. In one or more embodiments, the communications link  115  can use an IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocol such as 802.11(b), 802.11(g), 802.11(n); Bluetooth®; or the like. The appliance control data stored in the network access device  120  and/or network storage devices  130  can be transferred from the network access device  120  to the one or more controllers  110  via the one or more communications links  115 ,  145 . 
     After receiving the appliance control data from the one or more network access devices  120 , the controller  110  can be communicatively coupled  155  to the one or more remotely controlled appliances  150 . The communicative coupling  155  between the controller  110  and the one or more remotely controlled appliances  150  can be wired or wireless. In one or more embodiments, the communicative coupling  155  can be via one or more radio frequency (RF) signals, one or more laser signals, one or more infrared (IR signals), combinations thereof, or the like. 
     Due to the large number of remotely controlled appliances, an exhaustive discussion encompassing all remotely controlled appliances is difficult. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize the broad applicability of one or more embodiments of the present invention to an almost infinite number of remotely controlled appliances. For brevity and readability, the programming and operation of an illustrative, non-limiting, television remote controller will be discussed with reference to  FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts an illustrative system for programming a television remote controller, according to one or more embodiments. In one or more embodiments, a television  550  can be communicatively coupled to a wireless local area network (“WLAN”)  540  using an IEEE 802.11(b), (g), or (n) protocol. The network access device  120  can be a personal computer having one or more storage devices  130  communicatively coupled thereto via one or more busses  125 . The personal computer  120  includes a processor and has a network interface that can be communicatively connected to the internet  560  via one or more connections  565 . A handheld controller  110  can be communicatively coupled to the wireless local area network  540  via one or more connections  115 . 
     In one or more embodiments, the television  550  can establish communication via the 802.11(b/g/n) compatible WLAN  540  when the television  550  is powered on. After establishing contact with the WLAN  540 , the television  550  can transmit its unique EUI across the WLAN  540  to the personal computer  120 . The television  550  can transmit the EUI continuously while in operation, intermittently, at regular intervals, at irregular intervals, or any pattern of continuous or intermittent signals either continuously or for a finite duration while in operation. 
       FIG. 6  depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for downloading control data to a network access device  120 , according to one or more embodiments. When the television  550  EUI is detected by the network access device, for example the personal computer  120 , logic flow similar to that depicted in  FIG. 6 , can be followed. The personal computer  120  can continuously monitor the WLAN for the presence of new EUIs as depicted in step  620 . Upon detecting a new EUI, the personal computer can determine whether the EUI is present in the volatile storage in the personal computer in step  630 . The EUI may be present in volatile storage, for example, if power to the television  550  has been on/off cycled while the personal computer  120  has been continuously powered. 
     If the EUI is not found in volatile storage, the personal computer  120  can compare the new EUI to determine whether the EUI is present in non-volatile storage, for example in the storage device  130 , in step  650 . The EUI may be present in non-volatile storage, for example, if the television  550  had previously broadcast the manufacturer&#39;s EUI over the WLAN  540  and the personal computer  120  had downloaded the television control data from the internet  560 . The presence of the television control data in one or more memory storage modules  130  can indicate that the television control data has already been transferred to the controller  110 , and therefore does not require downloading from the internet  560 . 
     If the EUI is not in non-volatile storage  130 , the personal computer can access the internet  560  in step  660 . After accessing the internet and locating one or more control data tables, the personal computer  120  can download television control data in step  670  based upon the EUI supplied by the television  550 . In one or more embodiments, after downloading the television control data from the internet  560 , the personal computer  120  can store the control data and associated EUI in non-volatile storage  130 . 
     The personal computer  120  can communicative couple to the controller  110  and transfer all or a portion of the television control data via the WLAN  540 . The transfer can be contemporaneous with the download of the television control data from the internet  560  or subsequent to the completion of the download of the television control data from the internet  560 . The personal computer  120  can transfer all or a portion of the television control data to the one or more controllers  110  via one or more communications links  115 . In one or more embodiments, the one or more communications links  115  can include a WLAN connection as depicted in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for downloading control data to a controller  110 , according to one or more embodiments. When the personal computer  120  transfers all or a portion of the television control data to the one or more controllers  110 , logic flow similar to that depicted in  FIG. 7 , can be followed. In one or more embodiments, the controller  110  can continuously or intermittently monitor the WLAN  540  for the presence of one or more incoming control data downloads originated by the personal computer  120  in step  720 . 
     Upon detecting the presence of a control data download via one or more communications links  115  in step  730 , the controller  110  can compare the control data download supplied by the personal computer  120  to download data already stored in memory disposed within the controller  110  in step  740 . If, in step  750 , the controller  110  finds the control data already present in memory then the controller  110 , in step  760 , can refuse the connection from the personal computer  120  across the WLAN  540 . 
     If, in step  770 , the controller finds that the control data supplied by the personal computer  120  across the WLAN  540  is not present in controller  110  memory, then the connection with the personal computer  120  can be accepted. After accepting the connection from the personal computer, the control data can be loaded into the controller  110  memory in step  780 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 5 , after the television control data is loaded into controller  110  memory, the controller  110  can be used to control the operation of the television  550 . For example, the controller  110  can be used to control the tuning, volume, inputs and outputs on the television  550  via one or more communications links  155 . The one or more communications links  155  can include one or more laser, RF, or IR links. 
     Certain embodiments and features have been described using a set of numerical upper limits and a set of numerical lower limits. It should be appreciated that ranges from any lower limit to any upper limit are contemplated unless otherwise indicated. Certain lower limits, upper limits and ranges appear in one or more claims below. All numerical values are “about” or “approximately” the indicated value, and take into account experimental error and variations that would be expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art. 
     Various terms have been defined above. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined above, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in at least one printed publication or issued patent. Furthermore, all patents, test procedures, and other documents cited in this application are fully incorporated by reference to the extent such disclosure is not inconsistent with this application and for all jurisdictions in which such incorporation is permitted. 
     While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.