Patent Publication Number: US-2012032776-A1

Title: Electronic system and method of controlling the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of China application serial no. 201010247376.4, filed Aug. 5, 2010. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an electronic system and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly to an electronic system and a control method thereof having an anti-theft function. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     An anti-theft mechanism of a typical electronic device is achieved through establishing a user password. Before the user operates the electronic device, the user is requested to enter a password. Only when the entered password is correct, the user is permitted to operate the electronic device normally. When the entered password is incorrect, then the electronic device cannot be successfully powered on for use. 
     However, the password input method described above may lead to an issue of stolen passwords. For example, while entering the password, someone is up to no good may peep at the password user entered. Hence, this method is limited in preventing the electronic device from being misused or stolen. Moreover, after a user applies to use a conference room, the user gains access to the passwords to the electronic devices (e.g., a projector) in the conference room. If the passwords are not changed, then the user can still operate the password-protected electronic equipments without re-applying for the conference room, and thus the electronic devices therein may be misused. Additionally, even if the passwords of the electronic devices are changed after each use of the conference room, such frequent password changes lead to inconvenience in management. 
     Taiwan Patent No. M319464 discloses an electronic device having an electronic device body, a remote control unit, an identification unit, and a tag. The remote control unit has a first switch. The identification unit is disposed to the electronic device body, and the tag is disposed to the remote control unit. When the remote control unit approaches the electronic device body, and the first switch is turned on, the identification unit performs an identifying process on the tag to power on the electronic device body. The electronic device body is permitted to power on only after the identification unit identifies the tag. The tag and the identification unit may be a radio frequency (RF) tag and a RF unit, respectively. 
     Taiwan Patent Publication No. 200846966 discloses an anti-theft device and a method of preventing an electronic device from usage by an unauthorized user. The anti-theft device has an anti-theft module and an identification device. The anti-theft module and the identification device can communicate with each other by wireless communication, and the anti-theft module is disposed inside the electronic device while the identification device is disposed outside of the electronic device. The anti-theft module sends an identification startup signal to the identification device when the power switch of the electronic device is turned on. The identification device is turned on when the identification startup signal is received, and a coded signal generated by encoding an identification code stored in the identification device is transmitted to the anti-theft module. The anti-theft module decodes the coded signal and examines whether the decoded signal is the accurate identification code. When the decode signal is the identification code, the anti-theft module actuates the operation of the electronic device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed that an electronic system determines whether a user is using the correct remote controller to power on the electronic device according to the password in the power on signal of the remote controller, thereby achieving an anti-theft function. 
     The invention is directed to a method of controlling an electronic system, in which the password in the power on signal of the remote controller used to control the electronic device is compared with the password of the electronic device. Only when the two passwords are the same, the remote controller is permitted to remotely control the electronic device. 
     Other objects and advantages of the invention could be further illustrated by the technical features broadly embodied and described as follows. 
     In summary, the embodiment or embodiments of the invention may have at least one of the following advantages. An embodiment of the invention provides an electronic system. The electronic system includes an electronic device and a remote controller. The electronic device has a first storage unit for storing a first password. The remote controller is used to control the operations of the electronic device. The remote controller has a switch module and a transmission module. The switch module is used to generate a power on signal. The power on signal has a power on command and a second password. The transmission module is used to transmit the power on signal to the electronic device. The electronic device decodes the power on command and the second password of the power on signal, and compares the first password stored in the first storage unit with the second password decoded by the electronic device. When the first password and the second password are the same, the electronic device is permitted to complete a power on operation according to the power on command. 
     An embodiment of the invention further provides a method of controlling an electronic system. The electronic system has an electronic device and a remote controller. The electronic device has a first storage unit for storing a first password. The method of controlling the electronic system comprises the following steps. A switch module of the remote controller is pressed to generate a power on signal having a power on command and a second password. Through a transmission module of the remote controller, the power on signal is wirelessly transmitted to the electronic device. The electronic device decodes the power on command and the second password of the power on signal. Moreover, the electronic device compares the first password stored in the first storage unit with the second password decoded by the electronic device. When the first password and the second password are the same, the electronic device is permitted to complete a power on operation according to the power on command. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, when the electronic device receives the power on signal, the electronic device checks whether the first password is stored in the first storage unit. If the first password is not stored in the first storage unit, then the electronic device makes the second password of the power on signal be stored in the first storage unit to serve as the first password. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, when the electronic device consecutively compares the first password with the second password and results in a frequency of consecutive incorrect password entries over a predetermined frequency, the electronic device is maintained in a standby mode. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the first storage unit further stores a third password. When the electronic device receives a fourth password from outside, and when the fourth password and the third password are the same, the electronic device is permitted to reset the first password by storing a fifth password in the first storage unit to serve as the first password according to a power on signal sent from another remote controller, and the power on signal has a power on command and the fifth password. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the remote controller has a second storage unit for storing the second password. 
     In summary, according to the embodiments of the invention described above, the password in the power on signal of the remote controller used to control the electronic device is compared with the password of the electronic device. Only when the two passwords are the same, the remote controller is permitted to remotely control the electronic device. Moreover, by determining whether the user is using the correct remote controller to power on the electronic device according to the password in the power on signal of the remote controller, the anti-theft function is achieved. 
     Other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of an electronic system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a method of controlling the electronic system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an initialization process of the electronic device of the electronic system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a process of resetting the first password according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     It is to be understood that other embodiment may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of an electronic system  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic system  100  has an electronic device  110  and a remote controller  170 . The remote controller  170  is used to control the operations of the electronic device  110 . The electronic device  110  has a first storage unit  114  for storing a first password  116 . The remote controller  170  has a switch module  172  and a transmission module  174 . In the embodiment, the switch module  172  is a key, and the transmission module  174  is an infrared (IR) transmitter. Nevertheless, the invention should not be construed as limited thereto. For example, the switch module  172  may be a touch panel, a two step switching switch, a transistor, and so on, while the transmission module  174  may be a RF device, a laser emitter, and so on. 
     The switch module  172  is used to generate a power on signal  140 . The power on signal  140  has a power on command  142  and a second password  178 . The transmission module  174  is used to transmit the power on signal  140  to the electronic device  110 . In the present embodiment, the electronic device  110  further has a microprocessor  112 . Through the microprocessor  112 , the electronic device  110  decodes the power on command  142  and the second password  178  in the power on signal  140 , and compares the first password  116  stored in the first storage unit  114  with the second password  178  decoded by the electronic device  110 . When the first password  116  and the second password  178  are the same, the electronic device  110  is permitted to complete a power on operation according to the power on command  142 . In the embodiment, the remote controller  170  further has a second storage unit  176  for storing the second password  178 . Moreover, in the present embodiment, the first storage unit  114  may be a non-volatile memory such as an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) and a flash memory. 
     Referring to both  FIGS. 1 and 2 ,  FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a method of controlling the electronic system  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. Before the electronic device  110  is powered on, the electronic device  110  is in a standby mode (Step S 202 ). When the electronic device  110  is in the standby mode, although the electronic device  110  is connected to a power source, most of the components in the electronic device  110  are in an inactive, non power consuming state, besides a small portion of the components (e.g., an input port  122 ). Thereafter, the user presses the switch module  172  of the remote controller  170  for generating the power on signal  140  (Step S 204 ). The power on signal  140  is wirelessly transmitted by the transmission module  174  of the remote controller  170  to the electronic device  110  (Step S 206 ). The electronic device  110  receives the power on signal  140  through a wireless receiver module  124  of the input port  122 , and through the microprocessor  112 , the electronic device  110  decodes the power on command  142  and the second password  178  in the power on signal  140  (Step S 208 ). Thereafter, through the microprocessor  112 , the electronic device  110  compares the first password  116  stored in the first storage unit  114  with the second password  178  decoded by the electronic device  110  (Step S 210 ). In a Step S 212 , the electronic device  110  determines whether the first password  116  and the second password  178  are the same through the microprocessor  112 . When the first password  116  and the second password  178  are the same, the electronic device  110  is permitted to complete a power on operation according to the power on command  142  (Step S 214 ). It should be noted that, the remote controller  170  may also generate other signals other than the power on signal  140 , and these other signals may include commands other than the power on command  142 , for example, commands such as up, down, left, right, and so on. Before the electronic device  110  completes the power on operation according to the power on command  142 , even if the electronic device  110  receives signals other than the power on signal  140 , the electronic device  110  does not execute the corresponding operations. The commands in the signals other than the power on signal  140  are only operable after the electronic device  110  completes the power on operation according to the power on command  142 . After the electronic device  110  completes the power on operation according to the power on command  142 , the electronic device  110  is operating in a normal mode (Step S 216 ). The normal mode refers to most of the components in the electronic device  110  coming off the originally inactive, non power consuming state. 
     Moreover, in the Step S 212 , when the first password  116  and the second password  178  are not the same, the electronic device  110  further determines whether a frequency of consecutive incorrect password entries has surpassed a predetermined frequency (Step S 218 ). In the present embodiment, the predetermined frequency is 5 times, although the invention is not limited thereto, and the predetermined frequency may be other frequencies. When the frequency of consecutive incorrect password entries has not surpassed the predetermined frequency, the electronic device  110  notifies the user on a display frame to retry using the correct remote controller (Step S 220 ), and the process from Steps S 204 -S 212  is executed again. In the embodiment of the invention, the electronic device  110  is a projector, and the display frame is an image projected by the projector. In the embodiment of the invention, the electronic device  110  further has a display device, and the display frame is the image displayed by the display device. Moreover, in the embodiment of the invention, the electronic device  110  connects to an external display device, and the display frame is the image displayed by the external display device. Conversely, when it is determined in Step S 218  that the frequency of consecutive incorrect password entries has surpassed the predetermined frequency, then the display frame notifies the user of the incorrect password (Step S 222 ), and the electronic device  110  is returned to the standby mode. 
     As illustrated in the above process, when the first password  116  and the second password  178  are not the same, the electronic device  110  could not complete the power on operation according to the power on command  142 . Therefore, the electronic device  110  is permitted to complete the power on operation only when the user remotely controls the electronic device  110  through the remote controller  170  having the second password  178  the same as the first password  116 . Accordingly, the electronic system  100  has an anti-theft mechanism. 
     Moreover, in order to preclude the possibility of unable-starting of the electronic device  110  due to damage of the remote controller  170 , the control method in the embodiment of the invention further has a mechanism for resetting the first password  116 . In order to achieve the mechanism of resetting the first password  116 , in the embodiment of the invention, the first storage unit  114  further stores a third password  118 . The third password  118  is stored in the first storage unit  114  through an initialization process when the electronic device  110  is first being used. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 ,  FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an initialization process of the electronic device  110  of the electronic system  100  according to an embodiment of the invention, illustrating the setting of the first password  116  and the third password  118  when the electronic device  110  is used for the first time. Before setting the electronic device  110 , the electronic device  110  is in the standby mode (Step S 302 ). Thereafter, through a switch  120  of the electronic device  110 , the electronic device  110  is powered on (Step S 304 ). The user presses the switch module  172  of the remote controller  170  for generating the power on signal  140  (Step S 306 ). Next, the power on signal  140  is wirelessly transmitted by the transmission module  174  of the remote controller  170  to the electronic device  110  (Step S 308 ). The electronic device  110  receives the power on signal  140  through the wireless receiver module  124  of the input port  122 , and through the microprocessor  112 , the electronic device  110  decodes the second password  178  in the power on signal  140  (Step S 310 ). When the electronic device  110  receives the power on signal  140 , the electronic device  110  checks whether the first password  116  is stored in the first storage unit  114 . If the first password  116  is not stored in the first storage unit  114 , then the electronic device  110  stores the second password  178  of the power on signal  140  in the first storage unit  114  to serve as the first password  116  (Step S 312 ). Thereafter, the user enters the third password  118  through the remote controller  170  (Step S 314 ), such that the electronic device  110  stores the third password  118  in the first storage unit  114  (Step S 316 ). 
     Referring to both  FIGS. 1 and 4 ,  FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a process of resetting the first password  116  according to an embodiment of the invention. When the user wants to reset the first password  116 , the electronic device  110  is in the standby mode (Step S 402 ). Thereafter, the user connects a Hyper terminal  192  of a personal computer  190  to a RS232C interface  126  of the input port  122  of the electronic device  110  (Step S 404 ), and enters a fourth password  194  (Step S 406 ). When the electronic device  110  receives the fourth password  194  from the personal computer  190  outside, and when the fourth password  194  and the third password  118  are the same, the electronic device  110  is permitted to reset the first password  116  stored in the first storage unit  114  according to a power on signal  150  sent from another remote controller  180  (Step S 408 ). The hardware structure of the remote controller  180  is the same as that of the remote controller  170 , and a difference therebetween is that the second storage unit  176  of the remote controller  180  stores a fifth password  188  but not the second password  178 . Moreover, the fifth password  188  may be different or the same as the second password  178 . In the Step S 408 , when the first password  116  in the first storage unit  114  is reset, the electronic device  110  replaces the first password  116  originally stored in the first storage unit  114  with the fifth password  188  in the power on signal  150 . After the above-described process of resetting the first password  116 , the user could startup the electronic device  110  and remotely control the operation of the electronic device  110  through the remote controller  180 . 
     In view of the foregoing, in the embodiments of the invention described above, the password in the power on signal of the remote controller used to control the electronic device is compared with the password of the electronic device. Only when the two passwords are the same, the remote controller is permitted to remotely control the electronic device. Moreover, by determining whether the user is using the correct remote controller to power on the electronic device according to the password in the power on signal of the remote controller, an anti-theft function is achieved. Additionally, the first password could be reset so that the original remote controller may be replaced by a new remote controller. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like does not necessarily limit the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims. 
     Each of the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” is only a nomenclature used to modify its corresponding element. These terms are not used to set up the upper limit or lower limit of the number of elements, wherein the element is, for example, a storage unit.