Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6097441?dq=6,360,693
Timestamp: 2013-12-05 13:39:11
Document Index: 491517713

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 160', 'ART 160', 'ART 160', 'ART 160', 'ART 395', 'ART 395', 'ART 395']

Patent US6097441 - System for dual-display interaction with integrated television and internet ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Advanced Patent Search | Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsSystems and methods are disclosed for using two or more cooperating but physically independent displays for enhanced viewing of data streams, where the viewing on one display does not interfere with the viewing on the other displays. The type of data streams may be complex streams such as multiple television...http://www.google.com/patents/US6097441?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6097441 - System for dual-display interaction with integrated television and internet contentPublication numberUS6097441 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/001,841Publication dateAug 1, 2000Filing dateDec 31, 1997Priority dateDec 31, 1997Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2315619A1, CA2315619C, EP1044564A1, EP1044564A4, US6567984, WO1999034599A1, WO1999034599A8, WO1999034599A9Publication number001841, 09001841, US 6097441 A, US 6097441A, US-A-6097441, US6097441 A, US6097441AInventorsDavid E. AllportOriginal AssigneeEremote, Inc.Patent Citations (53), Non-Patent Citations (27), Referenced by (361), Classifications (54), Legal Events (9) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSystem for dual-display interaction with integrated television and internet contentUS 6097441 AAbstract Systems and methods are disclosed for using two or more cooperating but physically independent displays for enhanced viewing of data streams, where the viewing on one display does not interfere with the viewing on the other displays. The type of data streams may be complex streams such as multiple television (TV) broadcast signals or other video signals, internet data, or other local data such as information related to the state of a consumer's home appliances. The signals may include data embedded in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) for analog signals, or in dedicated slots in a digital signal according to protocols such as MPEG. The system includes a hand-held and portable remote control with a motion picture display, and hardware and/or software enabling interaction between a primary display (such as a TV) and the hand-held display. The hardware may include an integrated TV tuner, or a physically separate base station having a TV tuner, in which case the base station and the remote control would communicate via radio frequency (RF).
What is claimed is: 1. A method of viewing data associated with multiple channels of a TV broadcast signal substantially simultaneously comprising the steps of:receiving the TV broadcast signal into a base station having a tuner; sending the TV broadcast signal from the base station to a first device having a tuner and a display; tuning the first device to a first channel using the tuner of the first device; displaying first data associated with the first channel on the display of the first device; tuning the base station to a second channel using the tuner of the base station; sending second data associated with the second channel from the base station to a second device having a display; and displaying the second data on the display of the second device. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second device is a portable hand-held device.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second data is sent using radio frequency transmission.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of swapping the first and second data between the first and second displays.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of outputting an audio signal associated with the second data from a speaker associated with the second device.
6. The method of claim 2 wherein the second data is sent using radio frequency transmission.
7. The method of claim 2 wherein the first device is tuned to the first channel in response to a command from the second device.
8. A system for providing enhanced viewing of multiple data streams comprising:a first device having a display, the first device being capable of displaying full motion video; a second device having a display, the second device being capable of displaying full motion video, and having communications hardware for sending control infrared (IR) commands, and a radio frequency (RF) antenna for receiving RF transmissions; and a base station connected to the first device by a cable, and having communications hardware for receiving control IR commands and for sending RF transmissions. 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the second device is a hand-held remote control.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the remote control further comprises a USB port.
11. The system of claim 8 wherein the first device has communications hardware for receiving control IR commands.
12. The system of claim 8 wherein the base station further comprises a tuner.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein the remote control comprises a tuner.
14. The system of claim 8 wherein the second device further comprises a speaker.
15. The system of claim 9 wherein the base station further comprises a tuner.
16. The system of claim 10 wherein the base station further comprises a tuner.
17. The system of claim 11 wherein the base station further comprises a tuner.
18. The system of claim 12 wherein the first device comprises a tuner.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the tuner of the base station is tuned to a first channel and the tuner of the first device is tuned to a second channel, and wherein the second device contains a button programmed to: 1) send a first control IR command to the base station to cause the tuner of the base station to tune to the second channel; and 2) send a second control IR command to the first device to cause the tuner of the first device to tune to the first channel.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the base station further comprises a tuner.
21. The system of claim 9 wherein the remote control further comprises a Firewire 1394 port.
22. A method of swapping first data displayed on a first device, with second data displayed on a second device, wherein the first and second data are associated with first and second channels respectively and are both at least initially contained within a single data stream, and wherein the first device has communications hardware for transmitting infrared (IR) commands and the first device receives the first data via RF communications from a base station, and the second device has communications hardware for receiving IR commands, comprising the steps:actuating a button on the first device, said actuation causing an infrared (IR) command sequence to be sent from the first device to the second device commanding the second device to adjust a tuner therein to a predetermined channel, said actuation also causing another IR command sequence to be sent from the first device to the base station commanding the base station to adjust a tuner contained therein to a predetermined channel. 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the first device is a hand-held remote control, and the second device is a TV.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the remote control has a memory and wherein the remote control stores in the memory information related to the IR commands sent such that the remote control is capable of subsequently accessing the information to determine the channels tuned to by the tuners.
25. The method of claim 23 wherein the remote control sends information to the base station via RF communications.
26. The method of claim 22, wherein the remote control has a memory and wherein the remote control stores in the memory information related to the IR commands sent such that the remote control is capable of subsequently accessing the information to determine channels tuned to by the tuners.
27. The method of claim 22, wherein the data stream is a TV signal.
28. The method of claim 27 wherein the TV signal is received by the base station and by the second device.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein the TV signal contains embedded data.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein the embedded data is HTML data.
31. A method of viewing multiple data streams substantially simultaneously comprising the steps of:receiving a first data stream into a base station; receiving a second data stream into the base station; transmitting the first data stream from the base station to a first device, the first device having a display capable of displaying full motion video; displaying the first data stream on the display of the first device; transmitting the second data stream from the base station to a second device, the second device having a display capable of displaying full motion video; displaying the second data stream on the display of the second device; and discontinuing to display the first data stream on the display of the first device, discontinuing to display the second data stream on the display of the second device, displaying the second data stream on the display of the first device, and displaying the first data stream on the display of the second device, all substantially simultaneously in response to activation of a button on the second device. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the second device is a hand-held remote control.
33. A method of viewing different portions of data from a data stream on two physically separate displays substantially simultaneously comprising the steps of:receiving the data stream into a base station; processing the data stream within the base station to separate the data stream into a first portion and a second portion; transmitting the first portion from the base station to a first display; displaying the first portion on the first display; transmitting the second portion from the base station to a second display; displaying the second portion on the second display; and discontinuing to display the first portion on the first display, discontinuing to display the second portion on the second display, displaying the second portion on the first display, and displaying the first portion on the second display, all substantially simultaneously in response to activation of a button on a second device comprising the second display. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the second device is a hand-held remote control.
35. A method of viewing different portions of data from a data stream, on two physically separate displays substantially simultaneously, comprising the steps of:receiving the data stream into a base station; processing the data stream within the base station to separate the data stream into a first portion and a second portion; transmitting the first portion from the base station to the first display; displaying the first portion on the first display; transmitting the second portion from the base station to the second display via Firewire 1394 protocol wired communication; and displaying the second portion on the second display, the second display being on a hand-held remote control. 36. A method of viewing data associated with multiple data streams substantially simultaneously comprising the steps of:receiving a first data stream into a base station; receiving a second data stream into the base station; transmitting the first data stream from the base station to a television having a display capable of displaying full motion video; displaying first data associated with the first data stream on the display of the television; transmitting the second data stream from the base station to a hand-held remote control using Firewire 1394 protocol wired communication, wherein the hand-held remote control has a display capable of displaying full motion video; and displaying second data associated with the second data stream on the display of the hand-held remote control. Description
DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention will be described as a "dual display" system, but it is to be understood that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to a "multiple display" system having three or more cooperating displays. Of course, implementation of the latter system would require more hardware and software for managing the communications between the various displays.
The display area 15 is surrounded by various physical actuating buttons 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60. There may be, for example, up to twenty physical buttons, or less than twenty, and more preferably less than fifteen, and more preferably less than twelve, and still more preferably ten or less. The display area 15 preferably comprises an LCD and is preferably 320 pixels by 240 pixels (1/4 VGA). It may have higher resolution (i.e., greater than 320 pixels and/or greater than 240 pixels) or lower resolution, but preferably not lower. It may be monochrome or color, and is preferably touch sensitive. It must be capable of displaying full motion video, such as the images produced by broadcast TV signals.
The physical actuating buttons may include push buttons (e.g., 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50), switches (e.g., 25), sliders (e.g., 55 and 60 which slide in slots 65 and 70 respectively), or other mechanisms not shown such as touch-sensitive pads, levers, toggles, dials, knobs, pull buttons, track balls, a mouse, etc. The functions of the buttons may vary, and some may have fixed functions while others may be programmable. Common functions may include a power on/off, a help button, and a mode-switching button wherein the remote control 10 is switched from a viewing mode to a control mode. The display 15 may also have some programmable buttons (also known as "soft keys)" in certain modes of operation. A more detailed explanation of the possible operation and function of the buttons is set forth in previously-referenced co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/001,873. In addition, further uses may be made of the video capability of the remote control 10 here, such as by using video clips during configuration and/or during "help" mode.
For the situation where an internet-enabled TV display is cluttered with text-based and other navigational information, a further benefit of the present invention is that with suitable HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) parsing software 10, some parts of the actual internet content could also be displayed on the remote control's display 15. This frees up even more of the primary display for actual content. For example, many web sites employ "frames" with their own navigational aides in the form of graphical icons, indexes to sub-pages, etc. These could be displayed on the hand-held remote control, again leaving more room for the image created by the primary data stream to be shown on the TV screen. Some of the buttons on the remote control 10 in this context could be used for bookmarking web sites, context switching (e.g., from browsing the web to watching a TV program), internet navigation, etc.
During virtual world communications, such as in virtual world games (single or multiple user), the benefit of the present invention is that the interface to the virtual world may be presented in various formats on the two separate displays. The player is thus provided with more strategic information. Various perspectives could be a first person view, wherein the virtual camera takes the viewpoint of a character in the world that is being played by the user; a second person view, wherein the virtual camera takes the viewpoint of a character in the world that is being played by a different user; or a third person view, wherein the virtual camera takes the viewpoint of no particular character, but instead has a global view of the world, usually focussing on the character being played by the user. The two simultaneous views may be from different perspectives, or they may be from the same perspective, with one view displaying a close-up while the other displays a "bird's eye" view, or any other combination. Here too, the function of one of the buttons on the remote control 10 may be to swap the images shown on the displays. Or one function may be to enlarge or reduce a particular display, or to cycle through the available displays so that a player may perceive the world as one of his or her "enemies" or "allies" is perceiving the world. Other functions may be for other game controls, which may also be performed via an IR keyboard or other input means.
When using the present invention with internet-enabled TV, an additional perceived benefit is in the use of "semi-synchronous" interaction with TV ads. TV ads on internet-enabled TV typically provide addresses or links to web sites, where a viewer could obtain more detailed information and review the information at their own pace. With the present invention, a viewer could use the remote control 10 to bookmark web sites from advertisements as they occur or soon thereafter, and then later use the remote control 10 to contact the web sites for further information. The viewer could even do so during the time when regular programming (non-ads) returned to the TV, and browse the internet sites on the remote control's display 15 without affecting or interfering with the primary TV display. Furthermore, existing internet-enabled TV systems typically require the use of navigational input means (such as a mouse or IR keyboard) to access specified functions or to enable internet links appearing on the display. With the present invention, the same type of navigational aides could be used for accessing information on the remote control's display 15. However, it is possible, and desirable, for such access to be accomplished directly through the use of buttons, thus preventing the need for excess input and navigation.
An especially useful application of the present invention is in the context of family or group TV viewing is the ability to channel surf. This may also be useful for a single viewer. A viewer may channel surf for alternate programs of interest, without interfering with the program then playing on the TV. The advantages of being able to see alternative channel program listings on a hand-held display separate from the main viewing screen are described in the previously referenced co-pending application Ser. No. 09/001,873. The present invention also enables the user to actually select the channel, and view the alternate program on the remote control's display 15. Headphones may be used to receive the audio portion of the alternate channels being surfed. After finding a desired alternative, a user may execute a command (by the press of a button for example) to cause the primary viewing screen to display the desired program that was found while surfing. In addition, a button may allow the user to execute a "swap" such that not only does the primary display switch to show the desired program that was found while surfing, but the hand-held display 15 switches to show the program that was being played on the primary display as well.
The software is preferably programmable by the user and presents a unified system view of various devices being controlled. For example, there may be volume and channel controls on one screen which control the volume of a stereo speaker connected to a TV output and the channel on a cable box connected to the TV input respectively. The ease of this system contrasts with that of known universal remote controls where it is necessary to first select a "stereo" mode, then change volume, then select "cable" mode to change channel.
Turning now to the hardware, FIG. 2 shows a system diagram of how components of the present invention cooperate with existing technology to implement the concepts described herein. The hardware for the base station 75 will be described in more detail in conjunction with the description of FIG. 3, and the hardware for the remote control 10 will be described in more detail in conjunction with a description of FIG. 4.
Data streams pass from the base station 75 to the TV 80 by wired connections as indicated by arrow 105. There may be only one connection, or there may be many. A typical connection may include a standard TV cable which passes all or part of data streams 85 to the TV 80. Other connection means (such as RS232, USB, and/or modem ports or other digital I/O ports for DVD media, etc.) may exist in the TV 80 for passing all or part of data streams 95 to the TV. The latter connections would apply, for example, to ATVs with internet capability.
Data streams pass from the base station 75 to the remote control 10 by wired or wireless communications, indicated by arrow 110. Wired communications may employ either USB or Firewire 1394 protocols, both of which are capable of transmitting full motion video. However, wired communications are not preferred, as they detract from the overall viewing experience by inhibiting the user's mobility.
For wireless communications, the base station 75 may transmit data to the remote control 10 by way of fast IrDA or RF, but the preferred method is RF, in which case the frequency of transmission would be preferably at 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, or other FCC-approved home communications frequencies. The main reason RF is preferred is that an important aspect of the present invention is the ability to view video on the remote control's display 15. For the base station 75 to efficiently and accurately send video signals at an acceptable rate of speed, IR is not as well-suited as RF. IR transmissions have limited range capabilities, and are useful typically only for sending small amounts of data, not the large amounts of data in a video signal. Even "fast IrDA" technology, which is capable of transmitting video signals, can operate effectively only within about one meter at most. Furthermore, IR signals will not operate through walls, whereas RF signals will, thus with RF communications a user may operate the remote control 10 from a room physically separate from the room where the base station 75 is located.
An extremely useful feature is to have the data streams on the TV's display and on the remote control's display 15 swapped. In order for this to occur, the base station 75 that is providing a channel to the remote control 10 must tune to a new channel (the one the TV is tuned to just prior to the swap), and the TV must tune to a new channel (the one the base station is tuned to just prior to the swap). Therefore, there needs to be a way for the system (e.g., as seen in FIG. 2) to know what channel the TV 80 is tuned to just prior to the swap, and what channel the base station 75 is tuned to just prior to the swap. A preferred method, though by no means the only method, is for both the base station 75 and the TV 80 to get the required information from the remote control 10. This will usually be possible because the remote control 10 is aware (i.e., may store in its memory) of the channel the TV is tuned to based on the fact that the remote control 10 will have sent the "change channel" IR command to the TV 80 in the first place. Similarly, the remote control 10 will be aware of the channel the base station 75 is tuned to based on the fact that the remote control 10 will have sent the "change channel" IR command to the base station 75 in the first place too. Thus, the remote control 10 may be programmed to send IR control commands to both the TV 80 and to the base station 75 with the push of a single button.
So if the user wants to swap the programs being displayed on the TV 80 and the remote control's display 15, a single button on the remote control may be programmed to execute the swap. An example of the sequence of commands sent by actuating the swap button is as follows. First, a command is sent from the remote control 10 to the base station 75 to tune the base station's tuner to the channel at which the TV 80 is tuned. As previously stated, the remote control 10 already knows the channel. That would complete the first half of the swap, as the program then being displayed on the TV 80 would be displayed on the remote control's display 15 due to the base station 75 tuning to the proper channel. Note that the remote control 10 will have known the channel that the base station 75 was tuned to just prior to the swap as previously stated, and would have stored that information in its memory for subsequent use to complete the swap. That information is needed because next, a command is sent from the remote control 10 to the TV 80 to tune the TV tuner to that channel, i.e., the channel that the base station 75 was tuned to just prior to the swap. The swap is now completed, as the TV would then be tuned to the channel that the base station 75 was tuned to just prior to the swap, and would therefore be displaying the program that was being displayed on the remote control's display just prior to the swap. The remote control 10, of course, would retain in its memory the channels which it commanded both the base station 75 and the TV 80 to tune to, so that the process could be repeated.
The previous discussions have presumed for the most part that the base station 75 was physically separated from the TV 80 and from the remote control 10. It should be appreciated that in an embodiment where the base station 75 is physically integrated with the TV 80, the associated communication channel (indicated by arrow 105) would not be required. Similarly, if the base station 75 is physically integrated with the remote control 10, there is no need for the base station 75 to "send" video signals to the remote control 10, and the associated communication channels (indicated by arrows 110 and 115) would not be required. In the latter case, the RF communications hardware could then be eliminated, producing additional cost savings, size reduction, maintenance benefits, etc.
Signals 85 may be analog or digital. Analog signals will enter the base station's "tuner + analog to digital converter" 125, and "analog switching and MUX box" 265. Digital signals enter the base station 75 through USB port 130, or through other digital inputs capable of handling higher-bandwidth data. Other data 95 (including HTML data) may enter the base station 75 through various ports 130, 140, and 145, as is described herein, and even through IrDA port 135, though that is not preferred. The incoming data 85 and/or 95 may be transferred to the data bus 150, but that is not necessary, as data passing through the switching and MUX box 265, for example, may be passed directly to an analog TV input. Also, data 95 entering through ports 130, 135, 140, and/or 145 first passes through the UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter) 160 in the IO-ASIC (Input Output Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 165.
Analog data 85 to be sent to the remote control 10 passes through "tuner and analog to digital converter" 125, which converts the data to digital data and tunes to a particular channel for transmitting to the remote control 10 based on commands sent to the base station 75 from the remote control 10. The data 85 may then be processed by CPU 155, such as perhaps to strip out only embedded data to pass along to the remote control 10, or to create an alternate view of a virtual world for a video game application. Converted data 85 is sent to an MPEG A/V encoder 170, whether or not the CPU performed any processing upon it.
Data 85 and/or 95 or portions thereof, whether originating from analog or digital data streams, then pass through MUX 175, either directly or after passing through MPEG A/V encoder 170 as stated. All data entering MUX 175 at that point is digital data. MUX 175 combines MPEG A/V data streams with other data streams such as HTML data, then sends the combined data stream to an RF encoder 180 which passes the data through an antenna 185 so the data may be transmitted to the remote control 10. The HTML data sent to MUX 175 may be only part of the HTML data stream 85 and/or 95 originally entering the base station 75, as CPU 155 may first process data 85 and/or 95 and determine, based on requests from the remote control 10, that some of it should be passed to TV 80 instead.
Data 85 and/or 95 or portions thereof to be sent to a digital TV input are also treated differently. Digital data 85 and/or 95 enters through USB port 130 or other digital port, and may be processed by CPU 155 just as the other data streams. Analog data is processed if necessary, after passing through the "tuner + analog to digital converter" 125. The data and/or portions thereof are then transmitted to a digital TV input back through USB port 130 or other digital port.
The RTC 150 is preferably a crystal-based clock, and is used to synchronize IR commands with the proper TV broadcast, radio broadcast, satellite broadcast, or other signals to satisfy the consumer's requests. In addition, the RTC 150 may be used to determine when a particular title or titles from a CD have completed based on the play-time associated with the title or titles.
The IO-ASIC 165 comprises UART 160, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) 230, a 32-channel ICU (Interrupt Controller Unit) 235, a 2-bank DRAMC (DRAM controller) 240, an LCD controller 245, and its own 16-bit 4-channel timer 250. The UART 160 is used to receive data through control IR port 215, and to transmit and receive data through ports 135, 140, and 145. Control IR port 215 or its equivalent is essential because the data received through control IR port 215 are the IR commands from the remote control 10. The other ports (130, 135, 140, and 145) are optional, but at least one is required in order for the base station 75 to connect to an outside data source such as the internet. Port 135 is an IrDA (Infrared Data Association) port used for wireless communication. Port 140 is an RS232 port for connection to a standard serial port of a PC. Port 145 is a modem port for connection directly to telephone lines. Port 130 is a USB port which is an industry standard port for "plug and play" connection to PCs. The USB port 130 is connected directly to bus 150 and can transfer data at a rate of up to 4 megabytes per second, much faster than the UART 160 which can typically transfer data at a rate of only up to about 115 kilobytes per second. The ports other than the USB port 130 are connected to bus 150 only through the UART 160 in the IO-ASIC 165.
The hardware of a typical remote control 10 will now be described, as seen in FIG. 4. The remote control 10 is capable of receiving RF data 275 through an RF antenna 280. The data 275 is transmitted from the base station's antenna 185 (FIG. 3), and, may include audio, video, and or other data such as HTML data. The data 275 passes first through a "transport Demux and MPEG A/V decoder" (Demux) 285 where any audio data 290, video data 300, and HTML or other data 305 is separated.
The IO-ASIC 345 comprises a UART (Universal Asynchronous Transmitter and Receiver) 395, a 32-channel ICU (Interrupt Controller Unit) 400, a 2-bank DRAMC (DRAM controller) 405, an 8-channel CSC (Chip Select Controller) 410, an LCD controller 415, its own 16-bit 4-channel timer 420, and a PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) 425. The UART 395 is used to transmit data through port 355 which is a control IR port, and to transmit and receive data through ports 360, 365, and 370. Control IR port 355 or its equivalent is essential because the data sent through control IR port 355 are the IR commands to control devices. The other ports (320, 360, 365, and 370) are optional, but at least one is required in order for the remote control 10 to connect to an outside data source such as the internet. Port 360 is an IrDA port used for wireless communication. Port 365 is an RS232 port for connection to a standard serial port of a PC. Port 370 is a modem port for connection directly to telephone lines. Port 350 is a USB port which is an industry standard port for "plug and play" connection to PCs. The USB port 350 is connected directly to bus 310 and can transfer data at a rate of up to 4 megabytes per second, much faster than the UART 395 which can typically transfer data at a rate of only up to about 115 kilobytes per second. The ports other than the USB port 350 are connected to bus 310 only through the UART 395 in the IO-ASIC 345.
The ICU 400 coordinates and controls requests to the CPU 320 from various input and output devices either integrated with the remote control 10 or connected thereto. The DRAMC 405 controls access to the DRAM 330, and the CSC 410 processes the consumer's touch screen 375 requests, which first pass through a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter 430. The CSC 410 also interacts with the flash ROM 340, the modem port 370, and other components, and serves a fairly general control function in the IO subsystem. The LCD controller 415 controls what is displayed on the LCD display 380. The timer 420 is used for short timing (on the order of milliseconds) within the IO-ASIC 345 (such as refreshing the LCD display 380). The PWM 425 sends digital signals to a digital to analog amplifier 435 which passes the signal to speaker 385. The speaker 385 may be used to alert the consumer of errors on input when programming, or attempted unauthorized access to certain data, or a pending request, or any other event through the use of various beeping or buzzing sounds of various frequencies, volumes, and/or durations. Or the speaker 385 may be used for voice sound as previously described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the remote control of the present invention with a variety of physical actuating buttons, and a blank display.
TERMINOLOGY As used in this application, the term "data stream" refers generally to transmitted information, and a data stream may itself contain multiple data streams. A data stream may be HTML data transmitted from the internet, or it may be a "media stream" such as an analog or digital TV broadcast signal, satellite TV signal, cable TV signal, or other audio and/or video signal. Media streams such as TV broadcast signals may contain several channels, and each channel may further contain audio, video, or other embedded data streams, including HTML data. Furthermore, HTML data is used to refer to any internet-derived data, as opposed to solely data that is in the HTML protocol format, as the concepts described herein are equally applicable to other internet-derived data, especially data that is transmitted in a widely accepted protocol.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for using two or more cooperating but physically independent displays for enhanced viewing of data streams on each display, wherein the viewing of a data stream on one display does not interfere with the viewing of a data stream on the other displays. More particularly, the images may be derived from complex data streams such as multiple TV (television) broadcast signals (and/or cable TV or satellite transmissions or other video signals), internet data, and/or other local data such as information related to the state of a consumer's home appliances. In addition, the different displays may be available for viewing by more than one person.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As technology rapidly advances, there are more and more sources and types of information available to a consumer. For example, after TVs improved from simple black-and-white TVs to color TVs, cable and satellite TV became available. Most recently, internet-enabled TV became available to provide both TV and internet content. In a fast-paced society such as ours, consumers are looking for ways to enhance the overall viewing experience and to absorb more of the available information from various sources, in less time.
One of the simplest methods of obtaining more information is to use multiple independent displays, such as a having two TVs tuned to two separate channels, or two closed circuit cameras (e.g., security cameras) focussed on separate areas. The problem with this method is that the person viewing the information may have to use various non-cooperating controllers for controlling the different devices, and may even have to physically change locations after viewing one display in order to be able to view another display. Additionally, this type of method usually involves fixed displays, as opposed to at least one portable display. And though it is possible to use a single universal remote control to control both TVs, additional problems exist including the cost of multiple TVs or monitors, the physical space required for the TVs, and the availability of other electronics hardware such as cable receivers, closed circuit wiring, etc.
One method of enhancing the viewing experience involves using multiple displays to simultaneously display multiple duplicate data streams. This is common in electronics stores where many TVs are all tuned to the same channel, or in exercise classes where many TVs are all playing the same exercise video tape. Though perception of the data stream (i.e., TV program or video tape) might be enhanced in such a case, the viewer is only viewing multiple copies of the same data stream, and is not benefitted with access to data streams of differing content.
Other multiple-display systems display separate parts of a single image, and the displays taken as a whole are designed to represent the desired image. The displays are arranged in a predetermined pattern such as side-by-side, in a matrix, or even to form a cylindrical "circle vision" theater. Again, though the viewing experience is altered and perhaps enhanced, the viewer is only viewing what is designed to be a single image from multiple data streams. In fact, these systems may even detract from the desired image perception due to the gaps between the several display screens and/or the imperfect placement of the various parts of the overall image within the various display screens.
Another attempt to provide consumers with a method of viewing multiple data streams simultaneously to obtain more information, is through the use of windows-type operating systems used with PCs. The user may swap between multiple windows to view various data streams. However, these systems are designed under the assumption that the viewer concentrates on a single type of application at a time. Thus, the same physical display is used for the multiple windows that represent various applications. A particular window may be enlarged to cover the entire display, but then the benefit is lost of having the capability to view multiple data streams substantially simultaneously. Furthermore, the individual applications are typically independent of each other, and do not communicate with each other except for perhaps during data transfer. Even where multiple windows are viewed simultaneously, such as during video conferencing where a person may view multiple conference "attendees" in various windows, the images of the attendees all appear on the same physical display, and the more attendees there are, the less room there is for each to be displayed.
Various systems also exist that attempt to solve the problem of viewing multiple data streams substantially simultaneously with two or more cooperating displays. A common system is a PIP (picture-in-picture) system, which allows simultaneous viewing of two TV programs at once, for example. Though the viewer may "channel surf" a first data stream without affecting the overall image produced by the second data stream, both data streams are displayed on the same physical display, and therefore there is some degradation of the viewing experience of each. For example, a primary program may be playing on the entire physical TV display while a secondary program (the PIP) is playing in a small area in the corner of the display. The primary program is degraded due to the screen real estate used up by the secondary program, and the secondary program is degraded because it is not able to occupy the full size of the physical display.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based upon the recognition that there are many situations in which users wish to view or otherwise perceive more than one data stream substantially simultaneously, without having the experience of any data stream degraded by the others. A hand-held, portable remote control with an integrated video display capable of displaying full motion video is thus disclosed, in combination with hardware and/or software that enables interaction between the TV or other primary display screen and the hand-held display. The hardware may include an integrated TV tuner and/or various data communication ports, or a physically separate base station with a TV tuner and/or various data communication ports. In the latter case, the base station and the remote control would communicate preferably via RF (radio frequency).
Video games (both single user and multi-user) are another application where the users may realize a benefit from an additional display. Many computer games exist that allow multiple players in different locations to play with (or against) each other. These often take the form of interaction in on-line "virtual worlds." In order to play these games effectively, a user must be aware of the general topology of the virtual world, as well as where he or she is in the world in relation to others. The interface to the virtual world may be presented in various perspectives, and from various distances. In any case, the user's sense of where he or she is in the world can be greatly enhanced by the provision of an additional view.
Another application of the present invention finds use in working with internet-enabled TV. Several companies are working on (or are marketing) technology that integrates TV and internet content within the same signal. For analog signals such as TV broadcasts, internet data is embedded within the VBI (vertical blanking interval). Examples of this are Intel's "Intercast" standard (which some TV networks are already using), and Navio's HTML-TV standard. Likewise, Thomson Sun Interactive has been using an "Open TV" standard in Europe, in which the technology for both broadcasting and receiving signals with data embedded using the Open TV standard has been implemented. Another company, Starsight, markets hardware and software capable of receiving and decoding signals with embedded data, where the hardware and software is for use with third party units. Data may also be embedded in digital signals using the MPEG standard. The embedded data typically may be displayed as text and graphics independently of the image displayed from the normal video signal.
The present invention would allow both the regular signal, and the embedded data, to be viewed simultaneously on different displays--something that is not possible using the technology provided by the aforementioned systems. This not only provides clearer viewing of both data streams due to elimination of screen clutter, but also allows "semi-synchronous" interactions with the TV and internet data, as described herein.
Additional uses of the present invention may be for videoconferencing, wherein each of many displays may be used to show one attendee of the conference, or for controlling other various consumer devices and appliances such as those that respond to IR (infrared) commands, as disclosed in previously-referenced co-pending application Ser. No. 09/001,873. The full motion video capability of the remote control allows the user to view the output from security cameras, a video baby monitor, etc., or to use the remote control and its display to form part of a video phone system (with the addition of microphones), all without interrupting the primary display screen such as the TV display. And in an embodiment where the remote control has enough memory or access to an outside storage device, the remote control may also function as a convenient front-end to DVD (digital versatile disk) players and recorders, allowing the user to browse actual video, audio, and other recordings to select a desired title for playing.
RELATED APPLICATIONS This application contains subject matter related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/001,873, entitled "Portable Internet-Enabled Controller and Information Browser For Consumer Devices," filed Dec. 31, 1997, invented by the same inventor as the present invention, and to be assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The entire original disclosure of said co-pending application is herein expressly incorporated by reference.
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H04N5/44N, H04N5/44R, H04N7/14, H04N7/088, H04N5/445RLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionApr 10, 2013ASAssignmentOwner name: RAKUTEN, INC., JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:RESEARCH INVESTMENT NETWORK, INC.;REEL/FRAME:030184/0620Effective date: 20130409Feb 1, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12Feb 11, 2008REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedFeb 1, 2008FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Feb 18, 2004REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedFeb 2, 2004FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Dec 20, 2001ASAssignmentOwner name: RESEARCH INVESTMENT NETWORK, INC., CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:EREMOTE, INC.;REEL/FRAME:012391/0602Effective date: 20011121Owner name: RESEARCH INVESTMENT NETWORK, INC. SUITE 200 2355 MFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:EREMOTE, INC. /AR;REEL/FRAME:012391/0602Dec 28, 1999ASAssignmentOwner name: EREMOTE, INC., CALIFORNIAFree format text: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT ASSIGNOR AND ASSIGNEE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 9232, FRAME 0616;ASSIGNOR:VSIS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:010484/0746Effective date: 19991216Owner name: EREMOTE, INC. 1050 EAST ARQUEZ AVE. SUNNYVALE CALIFree format text: CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT ASSIGNOR AND ASSIGNEE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 9232, FRAME 0616.;ASSIGNOR:VSIS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:010484/0746Jun 3, 1998ASAssignmentOwner name: VSIS, INC., CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ALLPORT, DAVID E.;REEL/FRAME:009232/0616Effective date: 19980427RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google