Patent Description:
With the improvement of people's living standard, TVs, set-top boxes, air conditioners and other household equipment (home devices) have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives. In order to enable users to easily control home devices, usually each home device is equipped with one remote control, and one home device is controlled through one remote control.

Taking the TV as an example, the process of controlling the TV through the remote control of the TV may be as follows: there are a turn-on key, a turn-off key, a program selection key and other keys on the remote control of the TV, when the turn-on key of the remote control is pressed, the remote control will launch an infrared signal indicating the turn-on of the TV, and after receiving the infrared signal, the TV performs the turn-on operation. <CIT> discloses a method for controlling a smart household appliance comprising a terminal, e.g. a mobile phone, and a home device, e.g. a smart TV, a refrigerator or an air conditioner. Instructions can be sent from the terminal to the home device via a router and a wireless console. For controlling the household appliance, in a first step a current operation instruction is obtained, e.g. inputted via buttons of the mobile phone. For this purpose a virtual interface of visual buttons can be displayed on the mobile phone and a user can input different preset combined instructions in advance according to needs. In a second step it is judged whether there is a preset combined instruction corresponding to the current operation instruction. In a third step the at least two operation instructions are sent to the smart household appliance, e.g. the TV. <CIT> discloses a method of operating a home automation installation comprising a portable remote control, a relay and home automation appliances, and in which at least some home automation appliances can receive, by wireless channel, control commands sent by the portable remote control. Control commands can be sent selectively according to a scenario to the home automation appliances over the same communication bearer by the relay when the latter receives a specific command sent by the portable remote control to the relay.

In order to overcome the problems in the related art, the present disclosure provides a device control method and apparatus, and the technical solutions are as follows.

The invention is set out in the independent claims <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. Preferred embodiments of the invention are outlined in the dependent claims <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

By associating one key with at least two control instructions of at least one home device, the home device can perform a plurality of operations by only operating one key by the user; and when at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices respectively, a joint control to multiple home devices is achieved through one key, which simplifies the operation steps.

To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more clear, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described in details with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise stated. The implementations set forth in the following description of exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the invention. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the invention as recited in the appended claims.

<FIG> is a flow chart of a device control method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, the method is applied in a terminal, and includes the following steps.

In step <NUM>, a control key interface is displayed, the control key interface including at least a custom key, the custom key being used for triggering a custom control message, the custom control message being used for indicating at least two control instructions associated with the custom key, and at least two control instructions corresponding to at least one home device.

In step <NUM>, when a trigger operation to the custom key is detected, the custom control message is sent to a remote control device so that the remote control device transmits at least two control signals according to the custom control message to control the at least one home device.

Through the method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, one key is associated with at least two control instructions of at least one home device, in this way, the home device can perform a plurality of operations by only operating one key by the user; and when at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices respectively, a joint control to multiple home devices is achieved through one key, which simplifies the operation steps.

In one possible implementation, before the trigger operation to the custom key is detected, the method further includes:.

In one possible implementation, the custom control message contains the at least two control instructions.

In one possible implementation, the custom control message contains the instruction set identifier, and the sending the custom control message to the remote control device includes:
sending the instruction set identifier to the remote control device such that the remote control device obtains the at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from a stored preset instruction list to control the at least one home device, the preset instruction list being used for storing an instruction set identifier and a corresponding control instruction.

In one possible implementation, after associating the instruction set identifier with the custom key, the method includes:.

In one possible implementation, there is a preset order among the at least two control instructions.

In one possible implementation, before determining the at least two control instructions according to the at least two control options selected by the user from the displayed control options, the method further includes:
obtaining a control instruction library for each of the at least one home device from a server, the control instruction library being used for storing a plurality of control instructions of the home device, and each of the plurality of control instructions being corresponding to one control option of the home device.

All the alternative embodiments described above may be combined in any way to form alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, which will not be described one by one herein.

<FIG> is a flow chart of a device control method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, the method is applied in a remote control device, and includes the following steps.

In step <NUM>, at least two control instructions are acquired according to a received custom control message, the at least two control instructions corresponding to at least one home device.

In step <NUM>, at least two control signals are transmitted in accordance with the at least two control instructions so that each of the at least one home device performs a corresponding control operation based on the received control signal.

In one possible implementation manner, the step of obtaining at least two control instructions based on the received custom control message includes:
obtaining the at least two control instructions from the custom control message.

In one possible implementation, the step of obtaining at least two control instructions based on the received custom control message includes:.

In one possible implementation, before obtaining at least two control instructions according to the received custom control message, the method further includes:.

In one possible implementation, the at least two control instructions have a preset order.

<FIG> is a system architecture diagram for device control according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, the system includes a terminal, a server, a remote control device, and a home device. The home device may be a TV, a set-top box, an air conditioner, an electric fan, a humidifier or other equipment.

An indirect connection may be established between the terminal and remote control device. That is, a connection may be established between the terminal and the server, and between the server and remote control device respectively through WiFi (Wireless Fidelity). In addition, the terminal may also establish a direct connection with the remote control device, such as the establishment of a Bluetooth connection.

The server stores control instruction libraries of one or more home devices, and identifiers of the home devices and the control instruction libraries may be stored correspondingly by the server. The identifier of the home device may be represented by a model of the home device, or may be represented by a brand and a model of the home device, and the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

After establishing the connection with the remote control device, the terminal may add an operation according to the device of the user, add the identifier of the home device selected by the user in a device control list, obtain the control instruction library corresponding to the identifier of the home device from the server, and store the control instruction library and the identifier of the home device correspondingly. The control instruction library contains a plurality of control instructions for controlling the home device. The terminal may control the home device according to the acquired control instruction library. The device control list may include one or more identifiers of the home device, and corresponding to each identifier of the home device, the terminal may obtain a corresponding control instruction library from the server to control one or more home devices.

The terminal controls the home device through the remote control device. For example, the terminal may display a control key interface of the home device. The control key interface includes a plurality of control keys for controlling the home device. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, one control key may be associated with one or more control instructions. When the control key is associated with a plurality of control instructions, the plurality of control instructions may correspond to one or more home devices. When one control key is associated with a plurality of control instructions of one home device, it is possible to perform a plurality of control operations on the home device by one key. When a trigger operation to any control key in the control key interface is detected, the terminal sends at least one control instruction associated with the control key to the remote control device. The remote control device transmits at least one control signal according to the received at least one control instruction, to make the at least one home device perform the control operation based on the received control signal. The specific process of controlling at least one home device by associating one control key with a plurality of control instructions may be found in the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG> described below.

It is to be noted that contents of the control instruction may be determined in accordance with a control mode of the home device in practice. For example, when the home device is a device having an infrared function, the control instruction may be an infrared control instruction, and the infrared control instruction may include an infrared code, a carrier frequency of the infrared code, header information of the infrared code and the like. In the case where the infrared code is expressed by binary, the content of the infrared code may be "<NUM>" or the like. Correspondingly, the remote control device has an infrared signal transmission function, and may transmit an infrared signal according to the infrared code. Moreover, the remote control device may transmit the infrared signal in a plurality of directions so that irrespective of which direction the home device is with respect to the remote control device, the home device can receive the infrared signal and perform the control operation in accordance with the received infrared signal.

It should be noted that, in order to improve the security of the device control, the terminal may also be bound (paired) with the remote control device. In one possible implementation, the terminal may log into a user account, and bind the user account to a device identifier of the remote control device so that the remote control device responds only to the control instructions sent by the terminal which the user account corresponds to or is associated with. That is, only when the control instruction of the terminal in which the user account is located is received, the corresponding control signal is transmitted, and thus the home device may be controlled. The binding relationship may be established during the connection between the terminal and the remote control device, or after the user purchases the remote control device by using the user account, the server binds the user account to the device identifier of the remote control device. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

In practice, the associating one control key with multiple control instructions of at least one home device may involve the following two scenarios. In the first application scenario, the user has a fixed usage habit of the home device. For example, the user is accustomed to watching a certain TV program, and at this time, a plurality of control instructions associated with one control key may be used to control multiple operations of one home device. In the second application scenario, some home devices need to be used cooperatively in order to achieve the purpose of use. For example, the TV is used along with the set-top box, so as to watch the television programs. Alternatively, sometimes the user is used to turning on a number of home devices successively, for example, the user is used to turning on the TV, the air conditioner, and etc. after going home. At this point, multiple control instructions associated with one control key may be used for controlling multiple home devices. The detailed procedure is shown in the embodiment shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a flow chart of a device control method shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, interaction subjects are a terminal, a remote control device and at least two home devices, and the method includes the following steps.

In step <NUM>, when the terminal detects a custom operation of a custom key, the terminal displays control options available for the custom operation of the at least one home device, and determines at least two control instructions according to at least two control options obtained from the control options available for the custom operation.

The custom operation of the custom key refers to a trigger operation for the definition of the custom key. The custom key may be an original control key of at least one home device or a newly generated control key, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The terminal may obtain a control instruction library of the home device from the server in the procedure of adding the home device or after the home device is added. The control instruction library is used for storing a plurality of control instructions for the home device. For any home device, the terminal, after acquiring the control instruction library of the home device, generates one control option for each control instruction in the control instruction library, that is, each control instruction in the control instruction library corresponds to one control option of the home device.

In order to provide a flexible way of key setting to meet the actual needs of the user, a custom function of the key may be provided for the user. For example, when the terminal detects a custom operation to a custom key, it is possible to display control options adapted for the custom operation of at least one home device. The user may select a plurality of control options from the displayed control options, and the terminal obtains at least two control options according to a plurality of control options selected by the user to determine at least two control instructions corresponding to the at least two control options. The terminal may display the control options through the custom interface of the key. The control options of all the home devices to be added by the terminal may be displayed in the custom interface at the same time. Alternatively, it is also possible to display all the identifiers of the home devices in the custom interface of the key at first, and when the terminal detects a selection operation to any identifier of the home device, the control options corresponding to the selected home device are displayed. The display mode of the control options of the home device is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The control options adapted for the custom operation of at least one home device may be control options corresponding to all control instructions of at least one home device. To display the control options in a more targeted way, the control options adapted for the custom operation of at least one home device may also be control options corresponding to partial control instructions of at least one home device. The control options corresponding to the partial control instructions may be the control options commonly used by the user, which may be screened by the terminal according to a preset algorithm, or may be pre-set by the user. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.

It is to be noted that the user may select at least two control options from the presented control options. The terminal may determine at least two control instructions according to at least two control options selected by the user so that the custom key may correspond to a plurality of control instructions. If the at least two control options selected by the user are control options for the same home device, then the corresponding at least two control instructions also correspond to the same home device. If the at least two control options selected by the user are control options for different home devices, then the corresponding at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices.

In step <NUM>, the terminal associates the at least two control instructions with the custom key.

The terminal may store the key identifier of the custom key corresponding to the at least two control instructions. The key identifier of the custom key may be automatically generated by the terminal, or may be set or modified by the user, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, when the at least two control instructions correspond to one home device, a plurality of operations of one home device may be controlled by the custom key. For example, if both a turn-on control instruction of the TV and a resource list opening control instruction of the TV are associated with the custom key, it is possible to control the TV to be turned on and open the resource list by using the custom key.

In another embodiment, when the at least two control instructions correspond to a plurality of home devices, the plurality of home devices may be jointly controlled by the custom key. For example, both a turn-on control instruction of the TV and a turn-on control instruction of the set-top box are associated with the custom key, then it is possible to use the custom key to jointly control the TV and set-top box.

In step <NUM>, the terminal displays a control key interface, which includes at least the custom key.

When the custom key is the original control key of a certain home device, the custom key may be displayed in the control key interface of this home device. When the custom key is a newly generated control key, it is possible to add the custom key to a control key interface of any associated home device, or add the custom key to a control key interface different from the control key interface key of any home device. When the user needs to use the custom key to control one or more home devices, he/she may open the control key interface at any time through the terminal.

In order to distinguish the custom key associated with a plurality of control instructions from other control keys each of which is associated with only one control instruction, a custom mark may be set for an icon of the custom key so that the control key with the custom mark is the custom key that is associated with multiple control instructions. The custom mark may be a color mark, a shape mark (for example, the original key is square, and the custom key is circular), and etc., which is not particularly limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In step <NUM>, when the terminal detects a trigger operation to the custom key, a custom control message is sent to the remote control device, the custom control message containing the at least two control instructions.

When the terminal detects a trigger operation to the custom key, a custom control message is generated and the custom control message is sent to the remote control device via a connection established with the remote control device. That is, at least two control instructions contained in the custom control message are sent to the remote control device. In this step, the terminal may include the at least two control instructions in the custom control message and send them to the remote control device; or in another embodiment, the terminal may include the at least two control instructions in different custom control messages so as to be sent to the remote control device, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In another embodiment, in order to more clearly indicate the remote control device how to transmit a control signal in accordance with the at least two control instructions, the terminal may further set a sequence of the at least two control instructions in advance so that the at least two control instructions have a preset order. The terminal may carry an instruction sequence number of each control instruction in the custom control message to indicate the preset sequence so that the remote control device transmits the control signal in accordance with the instruction sequence number of each control instruction. The terminal may set the selection order of the control options of the at least two home devices by the user in the step <NUM> to be the preset order, or the terminal sets the preset order by other algorithms, which is not particularly limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In step <NUM>, the remote control device acquires at least two control instructions based on the received custom control message and transmits at least two control signals according to the at least two control instructions.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the remote control device has a control signal transmitting function. In order to ensure that at least two home devices are able to receive the control signals, the remote control device may transmit the control signals in multiple directions so that irrespective of which direction the home device is with respect to the remote control device, the infrared signal can be received and the control operation can be performed according to the received infrared signal. In a specific implementation, when at least two home devices are the devices having the infrared function, it is possible to provide one infrared emission head along each of multiple directions within the remote control device, or an infrared transmitter which may transmit in multiple directions is provided, such that the remote control device may transmit the control signal in multiple directions.

After obtaining the at least two control instructions from the custom control message, the remote control device generates one control signal for the content of each control instruction, and transmits each control signal. For example, when the control instruction is an infrared control instruction, it is possible to acquire the infrared code, the carrier frequency of the infrared code, and the like included in the infrared control instruction, and the remote control device may generate and transmit the infrared control signal by modulating the infrared code to the carrier frequency of the infrared code.

If the at least two control instructions have a preset order, the process of transmitting the control signal by the remote control device may be as follows: generating a control signal for each control instruction in accordance with the preset order of control instructions, and transmitting the control signal of each control instruction. For example, when the custom control message carries the instruction sequence number of each control instruction, the remote control device may determine the preset order of each control instruction according to the instruction sequence number. The remote control device may transmit each control signal in sequence according to the preset order after generating at least two control signals according to the preset order; or the remote control device transmits one control signal after generating one control signal in accordance with the preset order, and then transmit a next control signal immediately after generating the next control signal, and so on, to complete the transmission procedure of at least two control signals.

In step <NUM>, each home device in the at least one home device performs a corresponding control operation based on the received control signal.

The above-mentioned at least one home device has a control signal receiving function. For any of the home devices, after receiving the control signal matching with itself, the home device executes the control operation indicated by the control signal. For example, when receiving the turn-on control signal of the TV, the TV performs a power-on operation.

In another embodiment, the remote control device may also obtain from the server a control instruction library of the home device added by the terminal. In addition to storage of the control instructions of the home device, the control instruction library also stores instruction identifiers corresponding to individual control instructions. The process of controlling the home device in each of the steps shown in <FIG> may also be as follows.

The control instruction library of the home device acquired by the terminal from the server in step <NUM> may also include an instruction identifier of each control instruction. In step <NUM>, the terminal may store the key identifier of the custom key corresponding to the instruction identifiers of the at least two control instructions to implement the association of the at least two control instructions with the custom key. In step <NUM>, the custom control message contains the instruction identifier of each control instruction in the at least two control instructions. In step <NUM>, the remote control device acquires at least two instruction identifiers according to the received custom control message, and obtains at least two control instructions corresponding to the at least two instruction identifiers from the locally stored control instruction library according to the at least two instruction identifiers. Thereafter, the remote control device transmits at least two control signals in accordance with the at least two control instructions, thereby achieving control of the home device.

Hereinafter, illustrations will be given by using the condition in which the terminal performs a combination control (joint control) on a plurality of home devices by using one key in <FIG>. For example, the explanations will be given by taking the condition in which the terminal performs a combination control on the TV and the set-top box using one key as an example.

For example, in the case that the custom key is associated with the power-on control instruction of the TV and the power-on control instruction of the set-top box, when the user clicks or taps the custom key, the terminal sends the power-on control instruction of the TV and the power-on control instruction of the set-top box to the remote control device. The remote control device transmits a power-on control signal of the TV and a power-on control signal of the set-top box respectively corresponding to the two control instructions, such that the TV performs the power-on operation after receiving the power-on control signal of the TV, and the set-top box performs the power-on operation after receiving the power-on control signal of the set-top box, thereby achieving the purpose of turning on the TV and the set-top box by one key, and simplifying the operation steps of controlling multiple home devices.

The method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure associates one key with at least two control instructions of the home device so that the user can perform a plurality of operations on the home device by operating only one key, and when the at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices respectively, the joint control to multiple home devices by one key is achieved, and the operation steps are simplified.

The embodiment shown in <FIG> is a process in which the terminal directly sends at least two control instructions associated with the custom key to the remote control device according to the user's trigger operation to the custom key to control the home device. In order to improve the flexibility of control of multiple home devices, the terminal may also pre-configure the association relationship between the custom key and at least two control instructions to the remote control device, so that the control of a plurality of home devices may be achieved without sending the specific contents of the control instructions by the terminal each time. The detailed procedure may be referred to the embodiment shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a flow chart of a device control method shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. As shown in <FIG>, the interaction subjects are a terminal, a remote control device and at least two home appliances, and the method includes the following steps.

In step <NUM>, when the terminal detects a custom operation of a custom key, custom options available for the custom operation of at least one home device are displayed, and based on at least two control options obtained from the control options available for the custom operation, at least two control instructions are determined.

This step is the same as the above-mentioned step <NUM>, and will not be described here further.

In step <NUM>, the terminal generates an instruction set identifier for the at least two control instructions.

In order to uniformly identify the at least two control instructions, the terminal may treat the at least two control instructions as one instruction set and generate an instruction set identifier for the at least two control instructions so that each control instruction in the instruction set corresponds to the same instruction set identifier. The instruction set identifier may be automatically generated by the terminal according to a preset algorithm, or may be set or modified by the user, and the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

In step <NUM>, the terminal associates the instruction set identifier with the custom key.

In the process of generating the custom key, the terminal may associate the key identifier of the custom key with the instruction set identifier so that the custom key is indirectly associated with the at least two control instructions. In one possible implementation, the terminal may store the key identifier of the custom key corresponding to the instruction set identifier to indicate the association relationship between the custom key and the instruction set identifier. The key identifier of the custom key may be automatically generated by the terminal, or may be set or modified by the user. The present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

In step <NUM>, the terminal generates a setting instruction for the control instruction, the setting instruction at least including the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier.

The terminal may configure the association relationship between the custom key and the at least two control instructions in the remote control device. For example, for each control instruction, the terminal may include the control instruction and its corresponding instruction set identifier in one setting instruction and send it to the remote control device; or the terminal may include the at least two control instructions together with the instruction set identifier in one setting instruction, the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto. In addition, the setting instruction may also carry a setting instruction identifier so that the remote control device may recognize the setting process of executing the control instruction according to the setting instruction identifier.

For example, when the control instruction is an infrared control instruction, the setting instruction for each control instruction may be expressed in the following manner:
{ "method" : "set_ir_seq" , "params" :{ "seq_id" : "<NUM>" , "freq" : "xxx" , "head" : "xxx" , "code" : "xxxx" }}.

wherein "set_ir_seq" indicates the setting instruction identifier, "seq_id" indicates the instruction set identifier, "freq" indicates the carrier frequency of the infrared code, "head" indicates header information of the infrared code, and "code" indicates the infrared code. "xxx" and "xxxx" represent specific contents, which is determined by specific contents of the infrared code. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the format of the setting instruction is described by only using "x" to represent any contents, and the specific contents thereof are not limited.

In step <NUM>, the terminal sends the setting instruction to the remote control device.

The terminal sends a setting instruction to the remote control device via a connection established with the remote control device. In step <NUM>, the terminal may generate one setting instruction for each control instruction, that is, generate at least two setting instructions; or the terminal may uniformly generate one setting instruction for at least two control instructions. Therefore, the corresponding terminal may sequentially send the at least two setting instructions to the remote control device, or may directly transmit one unified setting instruction. The present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

In another embodiment, in order to more clearly indicate the remote control device how to transmit a control signal based on the at least two control instructions, the terminal may also configure the order of the at least two control instructions during the configuration of the remote control device, such that the at least two control instructions have a preset order. For example, the terminal may transmit the preset order to the remote control device by carrying it in the setting instruction. In one possible implementation, the terminal may add an instruction sequence number for each control instruction in the setting instruction, and the instruction sequence number is used to indicate the order of the control instruction arranged in the at least two control instructions.

In the case of using an infrared control instruction as the control instruction, the setting instruction for each control instruction may be expressed in the following manner to reflect the ordering of each control instruction. The following illustrates the case of two control instructions:.

wherein "current" indicates the ordering of this piece of control instruction, "current": <NUM> means the ordering is <NUM>, and "current": <NUM> means the ordering is <NUM>.

Further, in order to make the remote control device explicitly know the total number of the at least two control instructions, so as to determine whether or not the setting of the control instruction is successful, the terminal may also carry the total number of the at least two control instructions in the setting instruction so that when the number of the received control instructions is equal to the total number, the remote control device determines that the setting is successful. In the case where the control instruction is an infrared control instruction, the setting instruction of each control instruction may be expressed in the following manner to reflect the total number of the control instructions:.

It should be noted that the setting instruction may contain both the instruction sequence numbers of the control instructions and the total number of at least two control instructions.

In step <NUM>, the remote control device stores the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier in a preset instruction list according to the received setting instruction.

After receiving the setting instruction, the remote control device parses the control instructions and the instruction set identifier from the setting instruction, and stores the parsed control instructions and instruction set identifier in the preset instruction list correspondingly. In the preset instruction list, the remote control device may use the instruction set identifier as an index to store the control instructions locally.

In another embodiment, if the setting instruction also includes a preset order of the at least two control instructions, the remote control device may, after receiving the setting instruction of the control instruction from the terminal, store the at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier in the preset instruction list according to the preset order. In one implementation, when storing the control instructions in the preset order, a corresponding instruction sequence number may be stored for each control instruction.

Further, if the setting instruction also includes the total number of at least two control instructions, the remote control device may store the total number corresponding to the instruction set identifier in the preset instruction list. The remote control device may determine whether the setting procedure of the control instruction is successful according to the received total number of the control instructions, and the process may be as follows:
if the remote control device does not receive a next setting instruction within a preset time after receiving one setting instruction, it is determined whether or not the number of the received control instructions has reached the total number. If the number has reached the total number, it is determined that the setting is successful and a setting success result is fed back to the terminal; and if not reached, it is determined that the setting fails and a setting failure result is fed back to the terminal so that the terminal re-executes the setting procedure after receiving the setting failure result, that is, resends the setting instruction to the remote control device. The process of re-executing the setting may be performed automatically by the terminal or may be performed by the terminal according to a trigger operation of the user. The present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

It should be noted that, in the process of sending the setting instruction to the remote control device by the terminal, it is likely that the setting instruction is lost due to the unstable network or other factors, and in such case, the remote control device cannot receive all the setting instructions. When the remote control device determines that the setting fails, if the setting instruction contains both the instruction sequence numbers of the control instructions and the total number of the at least two control instructions, the remote control device may also determine the instruction sequence number of the control instruction that has not been successfully received, and send the instruction sequence number of the control instruction that has not been successfully received back to the terminal, so that the terminal only needs to re-send the setting instruction containing the control instruction which has not been successful received to the remote control device, thereby improving the setting efficiency of the control instruction and reducing the power consumption of the terminal. The process of re-sending the setting instruction may be executed automatically by the terminal or may be performed by the terminal according to the triggering operation of the user. The present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

The above steps <NUM> to <NUM> are a process in which the terminal configures a binding relationship between a custom key and a plurality of control instructions of at least one home device in a remote control device. After the configuration is successful, the terminal may control one home device to perform multiple operations based on the trigger operation to the custom key, or jointly control multiple home devices. The specific procedure may be referred to steps <NUM> to <NUM>.

This step is the same as the above step <NUM> and will not be repeated here.

In step <NUM>, when a trigger operation to the custom key is detected, the terminal sends a custom control message to the remote control device, the custom control message containing the instruction set identifier.

When the terminal detects the trigger operation to the custom key, the terminal obtains the instruction set identifier stored corresponding to the key identifier of the custom key, that is, obtains the instruction set identifier associated with the custom key, and then determines at least two control instructions associated with the custom key.

The terminal generates a custom control message containing the instruction set identifier, and sends the custom control message to the remote control device via the connection established with the remote control device, that is, sends the instruction set identifier contained in the custom control message to the remote control device. Since the terminal sends the custom control message for the purpose of causing the remote control device to transmit multiple control signals to control one or more home devices, in order to be distinguished from the setting instruction of the terminal, the custom message may also carry a playback identifier of the control instruction, and the playback identifier is used for instructing the remote control device to transmit the control signal based on the received instruction set identifier.

For example, the custom control message may have the following format:.

It should be noted that, in practical applications, the playback identifier and the instruction set identifier may be expressed in other ways, and the present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.

In step <NUM>, the remote control device acquires the instruction set identifier from the custom control message, and acquires at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from the stored preset instruction list.

After obtaining the instruction set identifier, the remote control device may obtain at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from the preset instruction list by using the instruction set identifier as the index.

In step <NUM>, the remote control device transmits at least two control signals according to the at least two control instructions.

This step is the same as step <NUM> described above and will not be repeated here.

When the at least two control instructions have a preset order, the process of transmitting at least two control signals by the remote control device may be as follows:
generating a control signal for each control instruction in accordance with a preset order of each control instruction; and transmitting the control signal for each control instruction.

For example, when the instruction sequence number is stored in the preset instruction list corresponding to each control instruction, the remote control device may determine the preset order of the at least two control instructions according to the instruction sequence number corresponding to each control instruction in the preset instruction list. The remote control device may transmit each control signal in sequence according to the preset order after generating at least two control signals in the preset order; or the remote control device transmits one control signal after generating one control signal in accordance with the preset order, and then immediately after generating a next control signal, transmits the next control signal, and so on, to complete the transmission process of the at least two control signals.

This step is the same as the above step <NUM>, and will not be described again.

The following example shows how to jointly control a plurality of home devices by the terminal via one key in <FIG>. For example, explanations are given by taking jointly controlling the TV and set-top box by the terminal via one key as an example.

For example, if the custom key is associated with the turn-on control instruction of the TV and the turn-on control instruction of the set-top box, when the user clicks or taps the custom key, the terminal sends an instruction set identifier "<NUM>" of the turn-on control instruction of the TV and the turn-on control instruction of the set-top box to the remote control device. Since the remote control device stores the control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier "<NUM>" through the configuration by the terminal, the remote control device may locally obtain the turn-on control instruction of the TV and the turn-on control instruction of the set-top box according to the instruction set identifier "<NUM>", and then transmit the turn-on control signal of the TV and the turn-on control signal of the set-top box respectively, such that the TV performs the turn-on operation after receiving the turn-on control signal of the TV, and the set-top box performs the turn-on operation after receiving the turn-on control signal of the set-top box, thereby achieving the purpose of turning on the TV and the set-top box by one key, and simplifying the operation steps of controlling multiple home devices.

Through the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, one key is associated with at least two control instructions of at least one home device, and in this way, the home device can perform a plurality of operations by only operating one key by the user; and when at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices respectively, a joint control to multiple home devices is achieved through one key, which simplifies the operation steps.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a device control apparatus shown in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Referring to <FIG>, the apparatus includes a display module <NUM> and a sending module <NUM>.

The display module <NUM>, connected to the sending module <NUM>, is configured to display a control key interface. The control key interface includes at least a custom key. The custom key is used for triggering a custom control message. The custom control message is used for indicating at least two control instructions associated with the custom key. The at least two control instructions correspond to at least one home device. The sending module <NUM> is configured to send a custom control message to the remote control device when a trigger operation to a custom key is detected so that the remote control device transmits at least two control signals according to the custom control message to control at least one home device.

In one possible implementation, the display module <NUM> is also configured to display control options available for a custom operation of at least one home device when the custom operation to the custom key is detected.

Referring to <FIG>, the apparatus further includes: a determination module <NUM>, and an association module <NUM>.

The determination module <NUM> is configured to determine at least two control instructions according to at least two control options obtained from the control options available for the custom operation.

The association module <NUM> is configured to associate the at least two control instructions with the custom key.

In one possible implementation, the display module <NUM> is also configured to, when a custom operation to the custom key is detected, display control options available for the custom operation of the at least one home device for the user; and the determination module <NUM> is configured to determine at least two control instructions based on at least two control options obtained from control options available for the custom operation.

Referring to <FIG>, the apparatus further includes: a generation module <NUM> and an association module <NUM>.

The generation module <NUM> is configured to generate an instruction set identifier for at least two control instructions.

The association module <NUM> is configured to associate the instruction set identifier with the custom key.

In one possible implementation, the custom control message contains an instruction set identifier. The sending module <NUM> is configured to send the instruction set identifier to the remote control device so that the remote control device acquires at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from the stored preset instruction list to control at least one home device. The preset instruction list is used for storing an instruction set identifier and a corresponding control instruction.

In one possible implementation, the generation module <NUM> is further configured to generate a setting instruction for the control instruction. The setting instruction at least includes the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier; and the sending module is further configured to send the setting instruction to the remote control device such that the remote control device stores the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifiers in the preset instruction list correspondingly.

In one possible implementation, referring to <FIG>, the apparatus further includes: an obtaining module <NUM>.

The obtaining module <NUM> is configured to obtain a control instruction library for each home device in at least one home device from a server. The control instruction library is used for storing a plurality of control instructions of the home device, and each of the plurality of control instructions corresponds to one control option of the home device.

Through the apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, one key is associated with at least two control instructions of at least one home device, and in this way, the home device can perform a plurality of operations by only operating one key by the user; and when at least two control instructions correspond to different home devices respectively, a joint control to multiple home devices is achieved through one key, which simplifies the operation steps.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a device control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to <FIG>, the apparatus includes an obtaining module <NUM> and a transmission module <NUM>.

The obtaining module <NUM>, connected to the transmission module <NUM>, is configured to obtain at least two control instructions based on the received custom control message. The at least two control instructions correspond to at least one home device. The transmission module <NUM> is configured to transmit at least two control signals according to the at least two control instructions so that each home device in the at least one home device performs a corresponding control operation in accordance with the received control signal.

In one possible implementation, the obtaining module <NUM> is configured to obtain the at least two control instructions from the custom control message.

In one possible implementation, the obtaining module <NUM> is configured to obtain an instruction set identifier from the custom control message; and obtain at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from a stored preset instruction list, the preset instruction list being used to store an instruction identifier and a corresponding control instruction.

In one possible implementation, referring to <FIG>, the apparatus further includes: a receiving module <NUM> and a storage module <NUM>.

The receiving module <NUM> is configured to receive a setting instruction of the control instruction from a terminal, the setting instruction including the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier.

The storage module <NUM> is configured to store the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier in the preset instruction list correspondingly.

With respect to the apparatus in the above embodiment, the specific mode in which each module performs the operation has been described in detail in the embodiment relating to the method, and the description thereof will not be described in detail herein.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a device control apparatus provided by an exemplary embodiment. For example, the apparatus <NUM> may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a gaming console, a tablet, a medical device, exercise equipment, a personal digital assistant, and the like.

The memory <NUM> is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the apparatus <NUM>. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the apparatus <NUM>, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory <NUM> may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen providing an output interface between the apparatus <NUM> and the user. The front camera and/or the rear camera may receive an external multimedia datum while the apparatus <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode.

The audio component <NUM> is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component <NUM> includes a microphone ("MIC") configured to receive an external audio signal when the apparatus <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory <NUM> or transmitted via the communication component <NUM>. In some embodiments, the audio component <NUM> further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

The sensor component <NUM> includes one or more sensors to provide status assessments of various aspects of the apparatus <NUM>. For instance, the sensor component <NUM> may detect an open/closed status of the apparatus <NUM>, relative positioning of components, e.g., the display and the keypad, of the apparatus <NUM>, a change in position of the apparatus <NUM> or a component of the apparatus <NUM>, a presence or absence of user contact with the apparatus <NUM>, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus <NUM>, and a change in temperature of the apparatus <NUM>.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate communication, wired or wirelessly, between the apparatus <NUM> and other devices. The apparatus <NUM> can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, <NUM>, or <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In exemplary embodiments, the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, for performing the above described resource transfer methods.

In exemplary embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory <NUM> including instructions, the above instructions are executable by the processor <NUM> in the device <NUM>, for performing the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device, and the like.

In exemplary embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When instructions in the storage medium are executed by the processor of the terminal, the terminal may perform the above device control method.

Claim 1:
A device control method, comprising:
obtaining (<NUM>) by means of a remote control device at least two control instructions according to a custom control message received from a terminal, the at least two control instructions being associated with at least one home device;
wherein the obtaining (<NUM>) by means of the remote control device of the at least two control instructions according to the custom control message received from the terminal comprises obtaining an instruction set identifier from the custom control message; and obtaining the at least two control instructions corresponding to the instruction set identifier from a stored preset instruction list, the preset instruction list being used for storing the instruction set identifier and the at least two corresponding control instructions (<NUM>); and
transmitting (<NUM>, <NUM>) by means of the remote control device at least two control signals according to the at least two control instructions so that each of the at least one home device performs (<NUM>, <NUM>) a corresponding control operation according to the received at least two control signals (<NUM>),
wherein before obtaining (<NUM>) at least two control instructions according to the received custom control message, the method further comprises:
receiving by means of the remote control a setting instruction from the terminal, the setting instruction at least comprising the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier; and
storing the at least two control instructions and the instruction set identifier in the preset instruction list correspondingly (<NUM>).