Patent Publication Number: US-2006007014-A1

Title: Video remote control

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      Not applicable.  
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of Invention  
      This invention relates to a video display integrated on an appliance remote control, such as a TV, VCR or DVD remote control. This invention will specifically improve viewing of each remote control button function by previewing a button function on the remote control video display prior to actually determining if the button is to be selected.  
      2. Description of Prior Art  
      A remote control is a wireless device that remotely controls an appliance such as a TV, VCR or DVD. Remote controls are so popular that they are now standard on most purchased appliances. One of the best examples for the remote control use is to turn a TV on or off, change the volume up or down, and most common, to change channels.  
      The problem is that most all remote controls have buttons that are very small and hard to read. It is very hard for people with poor eye sight to see the small remote control button text. Even if buttons are a larger size, it is at times hard to see in low light conditions such as at night. Sometimes the remote control itself will get dirty from handling and the text on the buttons or remote control body are hard to read.  
      The prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,496,122 to Jeffrey B. Sampsell, Dec. 17, 2002 is an example of an image display shown on a remote control. The problem is that the image display does not visually display the function of a control button before the user actually selects it.  
      Another video remote control of prior art is of U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,800 to Walter J. Dudek, Jun. 4, 1996. Although this does have a video display, and it does add functionality of pre-programmed buttons, it does not address the preview of a button prior to selecting it.  
      The issue with current inventions and prior art is that the visual need to see the button selection prior to selecting it is not addressed. People with poor eyesight or people in low light conditions can not see the buttons on standard remote controls currently manufactured.  
     SUMMARY  
      Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide easy viewing of each remote control button function on a video display prior to deciding if the button is to be selected. This eliminates the uncertainty of selecting the proper remote control button under poor visible conditions.  
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES  
      Several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
          (a) To provide a remote control video display for easy viewing of button functions.     (b) To provide an individual preview of each remote control button function on a video display prior to fully depressing the button.     (c) To provide an individual preview of each remote control button function on the remote controlled appliance prior to selecting the button.     (d) To provide each remote control button staged switching where the first stage is the preview of the function and the second stage is the passing of the control function to the remote controlled appliance.        

      Further objects and advantages are to provide a better means of viewing hard to read button text on a remote control for the many appliances such as a TVs, VCRs or Stereos. 
    
    
     DRAWING FIGURES  
       FIG. 1  shows the front view of the video remote control with the video display.  
       FIG. 2  shows the side view of the video remote control with a function button depressed slightly or touched depicting activation of the first stage for the function button preview.  
       FIG. 3  shows the side view of the video remote control with a function button depressed fully depicting activation of the second stage passing the function control to the remote controlled appliance. 
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS  
     
         
           10  Video remote control  
           12  Video display  
           14  Control button  
           16  Control button slightly depressed to activate the first stage  
           18  Control button fully depressed to activate the second stage  
       
    
     DESCRIPTION—FIG.  1   
      A video remote control of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1  (front view). The video remote control  10  is shown with video display  12  and a control button  14 . The video remote control  10  has many control buttons that provide many select functions. Each control button has a staged switch that allow multiple operations.  
     DESCRIPTION—FIG.  2   
      The video remote control of the present invention is also illustrated in  FIG. 2  (side view). The components shown is the control button  16  that is slightly depressed to indicate that the first stage of the switch is activated.  
     DESCRIPTION—FIG.  3   
      The video remote control of the present invention is also illustrated in  FIG. 3  (side view). The components shown is the control button  18  that is fully depressed to indicate that the second stage of the switch is activated.  
     OPERATION  
      The video remote control  10  can be used in an identical fashion to that of other remote controls with standard buttons and with no video display. When a control button  14  is fully depressed to activate the second stage  18 , the remote control function is passed to the device as in a standard remote control. There is no difference in operation when used as a standard remote control that is shipped with an appliance such as a TV, VCR or DVD. Simply use the proper control button to turn the remotely controlled appliance on or off, change the volume, or change the channel. The difference comes into play on how the control button  14  is used differently. When a control button  14  is touched or slightly depressed, the first stage  16  of the switch is activated. During this first stage a preview of the switch function is displayed on the video display  12 . This simple difference in the way the control button  14  is used will display the function of the button on the video display  12  in a greatly enlarged size without passing the function to the remote controlled device. Thus, a person who can not legibly see the button text imprinted on the control button  14  or the video remote control  10  body may legibly preview the buttons function on the video display  12  prior to deciding if it is the proper selection. If a decision is made that this is a proper selection, the control button  14  is fully depressed to activate the second stage  16 , or other buttons may be previewed until a proper selection is determined. The larger size of the video display  12  is needed for people with poor eyesight. A lighted or backlit video display  12  will provide enhanced readability for people in low light conditions. Many different types and sizes of displays may be integrated in the video remote control  10 . Many different control button technologies may be used to activate switching of different stages such as depression, touch sensor, light, heat etc.. Internal semiconductor circuitry will accomplish the task of processing the different stages of the button switch.  
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE  
      Thus the reader will see that the video remote control has some very unique advantages over the standard remote control. The operator now has the flexibility to view each remote control button function on the video display clearly under poor visible conditions, and decide if the function of the button is to be selected or not. The scope of this invention is to eliminate the uncertainty of selecting the proper remote control button. All it takes is to touch or slightly depress the button and look at the video display rather than guessing if the correct button is being selected.