Patent ID: 8922352

Claim:
A remote control device for controlling a plurality of controlled devices comprising: a plurality of function buttons, each of the plurality of function buttons corresponding to a control signal recognized by only one of the plurality of controlled devices; a signal transmission circuitry; and a microprocessor operatively connected to both the signal transmission circuitry and the plurality of function buttons, the microprocessor being configured to, in response to a function button of the plurality of function buttons being activated, generate the control signal corresponding to the function button of the plurality of function buttons being activated and cause the transmission circuitry to transmit the control signal, wherein the remote control device has a password mode and when the password mode is enabled, the microprocessor is configured to: receive a password entered using at least two function buttons of the plurality of function buttons, wherein one of two of the at least two function buttons of the plurality of function buttons is assigned to control a first controlled device of the plurality of controlled devices while the other of the two of the at least two function buttons of the plurality of function buttons is assigned to control a second, different controlled device of the plurality of controlled devices, verify that the entered password is correct, and cause the transmission circuitry to transmit the control signal in response to the function button of the plurality of function buttons being activated only after the entered password is verified successfully.