Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    (Not applicable) 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    (Not applicable) 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention is directed generally to a remote control device and, more specifically, to a remote control device with a directional mode indicator. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Background 
         [0006]    Virtually every consumer electronic (CE) device sold today comes with its own remote control. As a result, it is not uncommon for households to have as many as three different remote control devices to control separate CE devices on the living room coffee table, thus introducing clutter and confusion as to the remote control that controls each particular CE device. The home electronics industry has responded to consumer frustrations with the introduction of universal remote devices. A universal remote control can be “taught” to take the place of all of the individual remote controls, thus allowing reduction of the number of remote controls per household to one. 
         [0007]    Even though using a universal remote control has many advantages, it, at the same time, introduces new problems. For one, it is difficult to determine the current mode of operation of the universal remote control merely by visual inspection. In addition, once the mode of operation is determined, a sequence of buttons must be pressed to change the mode of operation of the remote control to that of another CE device. Thus, there is a need for a remote control in which the mode of operation may be more easily changed. 
         [0008]    Another significant problem with universal remote controls is that no feedback is given to the user to identify the source of transmittal problems between the remote control and the CE device such as a weak remote control signal, low battery power, an incorrect mode of operation, a malfunctioning set-top box, and other such problems. Thus, there exists a need for a feedback device that indicates the mode of operation of the remote control whenever the buttons of the remote control are pressed to assist in diagnosing the source of transmittal problems. Further, there exits a need for a remote control having a feedback device that indicates weak signal strength and/or low battery power. 
         [0009]    In addition, many remote control users also find it frustrating to have to press a button or tap an LCD screen on the remote control that cannot be seen in a dark room in order to light the remote control&#39;s buttons. Further, pressing a random button or randomly tapping the LCD screen in the dark may trigger a remote control function that the user did not intend. Thus, there exists a need for a remote control having illumination whenever the remote control is moved or picked up. 
         [0010]    Advanced technophile users demand the functionality of universal remote control devices to become increasingly more sophisticated. For example, an experienced technical user may wish to do as much as the user can with a single remote control device. In addition, a home electronics maven might wish to be visually or audibly alerted to incoming telephone calls, or to a favorite television show starting, from the mobile remote control independent of the typically immobile set-top box or other CE device, which may be off when such an event occurs, thereby causing the user to miss that event. In addition, some advanced consumers may appreciate having the means to save and retrieve individualized settings of each CE device and/or their user profile from their remote control instead of having to use the set-top box to access these individualized settings and user profiles. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention is directed to a remote control device including a processor and a motion detector in communication with the processor. The device also includes at least one input device in communication with the processor and a directional mode indicator in communication with the processor, the directional mode indicator for indicating the mode of operation of the device based on a signal generated by the motion detector. 
         [0012]    The present invention represents a substantial advance over prior remote control devices. The present invention has the advantage that the remote control device can indicate the mode of operation of the device based on tilting of the device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    For the present invention to be clearly understood and readily practiced, the present invention will be described in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a remote control device with motion-detected illumination according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a remote control device with an automatic positional mode of operation changer according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a remote control device with an automatic event notifier and a corresponding consumer electronic device that interacts with the remote control device according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a remote control device with a smart card reader/writer and a corresponding consumer electronic device that interacts with the remote control device according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a universal remote feedback device according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0019]    It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, many other elements found in a typical device. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable and/or required to implement a device incorporating the present invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a remote control device  10  with motion-detected illumination according to one embodiment of the present invention. The device  10  includes a housing  12  that contains the circuitry of device  10 . Within the housing  12  are a microprocessor  14 , an input device  16 , a light source  18 , a motion detector  20 , and a data storage area  22 . 
         [0021]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, the housing  12  may be constructed of a durable material such as, for example, a lightweight metal such as, for example, aluminum, titanium or a long-lasting alloy. According to another embodiment, the housing  12  may be constructed of a heavy duty plastic such as, for example, PVC, ABS, or Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP). According to still another embodiment, the housing  12  may be constructed of rubber or of any other material or any combination of materials than is capable of withstanding constant handling and use. 
         [0022]    The motion detector  20  can be any type of detector that senses when the device  10  is moved and can be of any type of mechanical switch such as, for example, a mercury switch or a gravity-based switch or of any type of electronic sensor. 
         [0023]    The microprocessor may be of any type of microprocessor appropriate such as, for example, AMD&#39;s K5, K6, or K7 series, Intel&#39;s Pentium series, Cyrix&#39;s 6×86 or Mxi series, IDT&#39;s WinChip series, or Rise&#39;s mP6 or any other suitable microprocessor. The data storage area  22  may be any data storage means that is utilized to store, retain and send computer readable instructions to the microprocessor such as; for example, the M-Systems flash memory chip; persistent data memory chips such as, for example, EEPROM, battery-backed SRAM or mask ROM; or temporary-data-storage memory chips, such as, for example, DRAM, SRAM or ferroelectric RAM (FRAM); or any combination of the above data-storage memory chips. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor and the data storage area may be combined onto a single chip such as, for example, Atmel&#39;s 16-Mbit ConcurrentFlash dual-bank device or STMicroelectronics and Waferscale Integration&#39;s NOR-based Flash+technology. 
         [0024]    The light source  18  may be, for example, an incandescent, fluorescent, electro-luminescent, or low-voltage light source, multicolored LEDs, or any lighting means that illuminates a portion or all of the input device  16 . The input device  16  may be an alphanumeric keyboard or buttons, arrowed buttons, plain buttons, an LCD screen, a touch screen, a joystick, a stylus, a mouse, a keypad, a modem jack or any means that can be utilized by the user to input information. 
         [0025]    When the motion detector  20  detects movement, the motion detector  20  transmits a signal to the microprocessor  14  indicating the movement. The motion detector  20  is connected to a microprocessor  14  and detects movement of the device  10 . The microprocessor  14 , in turn, after retrieving instructions from the data storage area  22 , sends a signal to the light source  18 . Upon receipt of the message, the light source  18  illuminates all or a portion of the input device  16  so that the input device  16  may be more readily seen in dark environments. According to one embodiment, a portion or all of the input device  16  may be backlit by the light source  18 . Alternatively, in another embodiment, the light source  18  may shine down upon the input device  16  from an extending projection or projections of the housing  12  to illuminate the input device  16 . The light sources  18  may thus be a single light that lights the input device  16  or may be, for example, a grid of lights, with each light corresponding to, for example, a button on the input device  16 . In another embodiment, a portion of the device  10  not used for input such as, for example, a border around the top side of the device  10 , may be backlit by the light source  18 , thus shedding light on the input device  16 . Optionally, after a preset period of time (e.g., five to ten seconds) without the remote control device  10  moving or without any input from the input device  16 , one embodiment of the present invention may have the microprocessor  14  send a signal to the light source  18  to cease the illumination of the input device  16 . In addition, according to another embodiment, the remote control device  10  may have a button or some other physical means of input that activates the illumination of the input device  16  so the user is not limited to moving the remote control device  10  to trigger illumination. Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, the automatic illumination due to movement feature of the remote control device  10  may be turned off with, for example, a user-controllable switch to save battery life. 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a remote control device  30  with an automatic positional mode of operation changer according to another embodiment of the present invention. The remote control device  30  is similar to the remote control device  10  described hereinbefore in conjunction with  FIG. 1  with the exception that the remote device  30  in  FIG. 2  also includes a motion detector  40  that detects a different type of motion than that of the motion detector  20  in  FIG. 1 . The remote control device  30  also includes a directional mode indicator  44 . The motion detector  40  may be a gravity switch or any gyroscope-type device that can detect changes from horizontal in at least two degrees of freedom. 
         [0027]    The motion detector  40  detects the tilting or absence of tilting of the apparatus  30  and sends a signal to the microprocessor  34  indicating the direction of the tilt or lack thereof. After receiving the tilt directional information, the microprocessor  34 , acting on informational instructions retrieved from data storage area  42 , changes the mode of operation of the apparatus  30  to correspond to the appropriate consumer electronic device. The appropriate consumer electronic device may be, for example, a television, a VCR, a DVD, a DVR, a satellite, a cable or HDTV controller, home theater system components, or stereo system components, indicated by the tilt of the apparatus  30 . A number of different orientations of the remote device  30  may correspond to a separate operational mode. Therefore, when a particular orientation of the remote control device  30  is detected, the microprocessor  34  may then assume the appropriate operational mode. 
         [0028]    The microprocessor  34  may be programmed to detect the orientation of the device  30  based on feedback from the motion detector  40  and thus determine the mode of operation of the device  30  by any of a number passive programming techniques, such as, for example, numeric code programming, automatic programming, learned method programming, downloading from a personal computer, button presses or any of the typical means used to program remote controls to accept the codes recognized by consumer electronic devices. In addition to changing the mode of operation, in another embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor  34  may transmit a message to the light source  38  to illuminate the corresponding directional mode indicator  44  so the user, at a glance, can determine the direction of the orientation of the device  30  and thus the mode of operation of the remote control device  30 . 
         [0029]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, the direction of the orientation and the corresponding mode of operation may be indicated by the directional mode indicator  44  which may consist of an arrangement of arrows corresponding to the different orientation directions. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the arrow corresponding to the direction of the orientation may light up when the remote control device  30  is tilted in that direction. The light source  38  may be any lighting means described hereinbefore in  FIG. 1  that fully illuminates the direction mode indicator  44 . According to another embodiment, the directional mode indicator  44  is not limited to visual signals. Any means that adequately relays the tilt and mode of operation information of, for example, a television, a VCR, a DVD, a satellite, cable or HDTV controller, home theater system components, or stereo system components, may be used. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a remote control device  60  with an automatic event notifier and a corresponding consumer electronic device  100  that interacts with the remote control device  60  according to another embodiment of the present invention. The remote control device  60  is similar to the remote control device  10  described hereinbefore in  FIG. 1  except that the remote control device  60  in this embodiment also incorporates a speaker  70  and a receiver  74  within the housing  62 . 
         [0031]    The consumer electronic device  100  has the capability to be programmed to keep track of scheduled events, such as television shows or sporting event starting times, through an electronic program guide  102 . The consumer electronic device  100  has a terminal connection  106  for receiving data via a telephone line. The consumer electronic device  100  may be, for example, a typical set-top box commonly used by HDTV, satellite or cable television companies or any consumer electronic device such as a television, a VCR, DVD, home theater system components, stereo system components, or a digital video recorder (DVR). Besides the electronic program guide  102  and the terminal connection  106  to a telephone line, the consumer electronic device  100  may additionally include a receiver  112  and at least one transmitter  110  to communicate with the remote control device  60 . The consumer electronic device  100  may also include a speakerphone  108  and/or a video conferencing system  104 . 
         [0032]    When a scheduled event occurs via the electronic program guide  102  or when a telephone call is received via the telephone terminal connection  106 , the consumer electronic device  100  may transmit a message via the consumer electronic device transmitter  110  to the receiver  74  of the remote control device  60 . Electromagnetic waves such as, for example, infrared (IR), radio frequency (RE), X-10, pulsed codes, sound waves, microwave, or any typical remote control signaling technique may be utilized to pass the message between the consumer electronic device transmitter  110  and the remote control device receiver  74 . 
         [0033]    When the receiver  74  receives the signal concerning an incoming event from the consumer electronic device  100 , the receiver  74  may transmit a signal to the microprocessor  64 . The microprocessor  64  may, in turn, retrieve informational instructions from the data storage area  72 , interpret the signal using the instructions, and provide an alert to a user that a scheduled event is about to occur or that there is an incoming telephone call by activating the speaker  70  and/or the light source  68 . The light source  68  may be any lighting means that can be fully customized to represent different scheduled events or incoming telephone calls. Additionally, the speaker  70  may emit brief “chirps” or “clicks” with varying pitches and tones programmed to represent different scheduled events or incoming telephone calls. However, the visual and audio alerts are not limited to these responses. According to other embodiments, other alerts may be used to allow the user to easily locate the remote control device  60  and recognize the event that is occurring. 
         [0034]    Both audio and visual responses may be customizable and programmed to be unique to the different incoming signals from the electronic program guide  102 , the video conferencing system  104  or the speakerphone  108  of the consumer electronic device  100 . For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention and in the case of an incoming telephone call, the input device  66  could have caller id function so the user can determine who was calling before activating the speakerphone. In another embodiment and in the case of a scheduled event, the input device  66  could display what event is about to occur. According to one embodiment of the present invention, activating the input device  66  may turn off the audio and visual alerts by the speaker  70  and tight source  68  and acknowledge the programmed event from the electronic program guide  102  or the incoming telephone or video conferencing call through the speakerphone  108  or video conferencing system  104  from the consumer electronic device  100 . 
         [0035]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, the consumer electronic device  100  does not need to be powered on when the event occurs or the telephone call is received. The remote control device  60  will still receive the notification from the consumer electronic device  100  and will alert the user to the event or call. Activating the input device  66  after an alert will power on the consumer electronic device  100  if selected by the user. 
         [0036]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram is a remote control device  80  with a smart card reader/writer and a corresponding consumer electronic device  140  that interacts with the remote control device  80  according to another embodiment of the present invention. The consumer electronic device  140  includes an electronic program guide  142 , a receiver  144  and at least one transmitter  146  to communication with the remote control device  80 . 
         [0037]    The remote control device  80  is similar to the remote control device  10  described herein before in conjunction with  FIG. 1 . However, the remote control device  80  also incorporates within the housing  82  at least one transmitter  86 , a receiver  94 , and a smart card reader/writer  92 . The smart card reader/writer  92  is of a suitable type such as, for example, a manual insertion, manual swipe, motorized insertion, hybrid, TTL, RS232, proximity or any other appropriate variety of smart card reader/writer. However, the smart card reader/writer in the remote control device  80  is not limited to any particular type of smart card reader/writer listed above. The removable smart card  92  can be of any type of smart card including a contact, contactless, combi or hybrid type with either an embedded microprocessor or memory chip. 
         [0038]    A removable smart card  92  may be inserted by the user into the smart card reader/writer  90  of the remote control device  80 . The removable smart card  92  may contain information concerning user profiles, user history, favorite shows, favorite channels, favorite themes, channel order, reminders for favorite shows, parental controls, audio and visual settings, pay-for-view purchases and spending limits or any information that a user may want individualize for use with the consumer electronic devices. 
         [0039]    The information stored on the removable smart card  92  could also contain user Internet profiles and information including access to email, Internet browser bookmarks, account names, address lists, hosts, security features, and display formats pertaining to Internet browsing on a television monitor. According to one embodiment, the removable smart card  92  does not need to be remote control specific. The user may be able to take the removable smart card  92  anywhere there is a compatible remote control  80  to access personal information on the removable smart card  92 . In addition, the removable smart card  92  could store promotional information allowing the user to take the removable smart card  92  to other locations to receive coupons, discounts or special merchandise. 
         [0040]    The information stored on the smart card  92  may be read by the smart card reader/writer  90  and sent to the microprocessor  84 . The microprocessor  84 , after retrieving informational instructions from the data storage area  88 , transmits the information to the transmitter  86 . The transmitter  86 , in turn, transmits the information read from the removable smart card  92  to the receiver  144  of the consumer electronic device  140 . The transmitter  86  may transmit information via electromagnetic waves such as, for example, infrared (IR), radio frequency (RF), X-10, pulsed codes, sound waves, microwave or any type of remote control signal that can be interpreted easily by the receiver  144 . The receiver  144  then relays the information to the electronic program guide  142 , which then acts upon the information received. 
         [0041]    When information such as, for example, sound and video settings, is updated on the consumer electronic device  140 , the information may be sent to the transmitter  146  and then sent out to the receiver  94  of the remote control device  80 . The receiver  94  in turn may transmit the new information to the microprocessor  84 , which retrieves informational instructions from the data storage area  88  and relays the information to the smart card reader/writer  90 . Upon receipt of the information from the microprocessor  84 , the smart card reader/writer  90  writes the new information on the removable smart card  92 . Having the smart card reader/writer  90  in the remote control device  80  allows multiple users to move between several different removable smart cards  92  easily and quickly since the user no longer needs to have to walk over to the consumer electronic device  140  to swap out different smart cards, thus increasing convenience and productivity. 
         [0042]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram for a universal remote feedback device  120  according to another embodiment of the present invention. The universal remote feedback device  120  is programmed to respond to the signals sent by a consumer electronic (CE) device and its corresponding remote control device as a means of feedback to input entered into the remote control device. The universal remote feedback device  120  is similar to the remote control device  10  described hereinbefore in conjunction with  FIG. 1 . The device  120  may also include a receiver  128 , a speaker  132 , and a display device  136 . 
         [0043]    The universal remote feedback device  120  may be programmed using any suitable programming techniques such as, for example, numeric code programming, automatic programming, learned method programming, downloading from a personal computer, and button presses or any of typical means being used to program universal remote controls to accept the codes needed to operate consumer electronic devices. According to one embodiment, the universal remote feedback device  120  may be attached to a CE device. In another embodiment, the universal remote feedback device  120  may be attached to the CE device&#39;s remote control. In yet another embodiment, the universal remote feedback device  120  may be attached to a commercially available universal remote control. In all embodiments, it is imperative that the device, either the CE device or the remote control device, to which the universal remote feedback device  120  is attached does not have its signal blocked and the universal remote feedback device  120  can receive the feedback signal the user wants. 
         [0044]    When the receiver  128  of the universal remote feedback device  120  receives a signal from a CE device or its remote control, the universal remote feedback device  120  transmits a message to the microprocessor  124 . The microprocessor  124  retrieves informational instructions from the data storage area  134  and activates the speaker  132  and light source  130 . The sound and light produced is customizable and can be unique to each device programmed into the universal remote feedback device  120 . The light source  130  may be, for example, multicolored LEDs or any lighting means that can be fully customized. The speaker  132  could emit brief “chirps” or “clicks” with varying pitches and tones programmed to represent different consumer electronic devices. 
         [0045]    According to one embodiment, the display device  136  may display multiple alphanumeric characters as an indication of what device sent the signal to the universal remote feedback device  120 . For example, if the universal remote control were in DVD mode, the display device  136  would show “DVD” each time input is received by the universal remote control device  120 . The user may select whether to have audio feedback, visual feedback, alphanumeric feedback, or any combination of feedback. However, other means of feedback are available to the user and should not be limited to those described. The display device  136 , speaker  132  and light source  130  as well as other means of feedback also may provide feedback when there is a weak signal, low battery power or other transmittal problems associated with either the remote control device and consumer electronic device. 
         [0046]    Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to certain embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.

Technology Category: 3