US007126468B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Arling et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`Oct. 24, 2006
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING
`REMOTE CONTROL TRANSMISSIONS
`
`(75) IIIVBIIIOFSI P3111 D- Arling, Irvine, CA (Us);
`Wayne Scott, Newport Beach, CA
`(US); Christopher Chambers, Stanton,
`C4 (US);_J°sePh Lee Haughawmlts
`Al1so V1e]o, CA (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Universal Electronics Inc., Cypress,
`CA (Us)
`
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search ........... .. 340/539.1,
`340/825.72, 825.22, 825.69, 825.57, 825.56,
`340/825.27, 815.4; 370/394
`See application ?le for complete search history.
`_
`References Clted
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(56)
`
`9/1990 Darbee et a1. ............ .. 398/112
`4,959,810 A *
`7/1993 H?fOllIl et 31
`709/253
`5,787,259 A *
`6,725,281 B1* 4/2004 Zintel et a1. .............. .. 719/318
`
`6,747,568 B1
`
`6/2004 Teskey . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 340/825.72
`
`*
`
`~
`
`_
`
`) Nome‘
`
`(
`
`~
`
`~
`
`~
`
`sgtlggtctigoeiltlg?sglaginjéi32233131253212
`138C 1540)) by 374 dalys
`
`-
`
`6,956,496 B1 * 10/2005 HerZ . . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 340/825.22
`
`340/825.72
`2002/0140571 A1 10/2002 Hayes et a1.
`2003/0041335 Al* 2/2003 Patry et a1. ............... .. 725/132
`
`(21) Appl. N0.: 10/665,650
`
`_
`.
`(22) Flled'
`
`sep' 19’ 2003
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2004/0266419 A1
`Dec. 30, 2004
`_
`_
`Related U's' Appheatlon Data
`(63) continuation_in_pan of application NO_ 105033839,
`?led on Jun 25’ 2003’ now pat No_ 7,005,979'
`
`(51) Int_ CL
`(200601)
`G08B 1/08
`(52) US. Cl. ........................... .. 340/539.1; 340/825.22;
`340/815.4; 370/394
`
`* Cited by examiner
`
`Primary ExamineriPhung T. Nguyen
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or FirmiGary R. Jarosik
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A remote control transmission monitoring system. The sys
`tem monitors remote control transmissions for the purpose
`of updating state tables for one or more remotely control
`lable appliances. The 'state tables may then be queried for the
`purpose of deterrmmng the present state of an apphance
`whereby the transmission of a command that Would place an
`appliance in an unintended state may be avoided.
`
`64 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`12
`
`14
`
`Command(s)
`
`10
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000001
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 1 6f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`12
`
`14
`
`12
`
`12
`
`FIGURE 1
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000002
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 2 6f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`38
`
`\ Batteries
`
`m
`
`28
`
`Microcoprocessnr
`
`Typmal key detaii
`
`Crystai
`
`Ciock and
`time: 3091:;
`
`30
`
`FSGURE 2
`
`32
`
`Transmitter
`
`33
`
`Receiver
`
`Nonwolat?e
`memnry
`
`36
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000003
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 3 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`<HP
`
`/55
`
`Transmitter
`
`/ '
`
`Recelver
`
`Non-volatile
`memory
`
`54
`
`56
`
`Microcoprocessor
`
`64
`
`Input
`
`'
`
`ROM
`memory
`
`' ible
`LED
`BB
`
`52
`
`58
`
`Crystal I
`
`Clock and
`timer logic
`
`5/“ 50
`
`FIGURE 3
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000004
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 4 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`TV device
`(functiori
`power
`volume
`
`mute
`
`State
`
`1 (“on”)
`6 (“volume up
`activated 6Xs”)
`0 (“off”)
`
`VCR device
`(function)
`power
`play
`
`State
`
`0 (“oft”)
`1 (“on”)
`
`FF
`
`0 f‘not active”
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000005
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 5 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`RECEIVE
`COMMAND
`CODE(S)
`
`FOUND IN
`LIBRARY?
`
`N
`
`ISSUE
`' ALARM
`
`UPDATE STATE
`TABLE (if function
`tracked)
`
`FIGURE 5
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000006
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 6 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`RECEIVE
`MACRO
`
`MACRO IN
`LIBRARY?
`
`N
`
`ISSUE
`ALARM
`
`I '
`
`ALL
`COMMANDS
`RECEIVED?
`
`I
`
`NOTIFY
`——d—-> REMOTE OF
`MISSING
`COMMANDS
`
`ALL
`MISSING
`COMMANDS
`' ECEIVED
`
`FIGURE 6
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000007
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 7 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`After programming a macro,
`user registers it with the
`command receiver device
`
`E.g. "Setup", "Register",
`followed by macro button
`that is to be registered
`
`May include sequence
`number to be used to identify
`macro in future
`
`Enter button
`sequence to intiate
`registration
`
`Remote control
`transmits "enter
`learning"
`command
`
`Remote control
`transmits macro
`sequence
`
`Remote control
`transmits "exit
`learning"
`command
`
`(Optional)
`Command reciever
`device transmits
`con?rmation
`
`Macro registered
`
`FIGURE 7
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000008
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 8 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`TRANSMIT
`STATE QUERY
`MESSAGE TO
`COMMAND
`RECEIVER
`
`RECEIVE STATE
`DATA FROM
`COMMAND
`RECEIVER
`
`EXAMINE STATE
`DATE RELATIVE
`TO MACRO
`COMMANDS
`
`STATES REQUIRE
`SEQUENCE
`ALTERATION?
`
`TRANSMIT
`ALTERED
`MACRO
`COMMAND
`SEQUENCE
`
`TRANSMIT
`UNALTERED
`MACRO
`COMMAND
`SEQUENCE
`
`FIGURE 8
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000009
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`0a. 24, 2006
`
`Sheet 9 0f 9
`
`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`FIGURE 9
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000010
`
`

`

`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING
`REMOTE CONTROL TRANSMISSIONS
`
`RELATED APPLICATION
`
`This application is a continuation-in-part of commonly
`assigned, US. application Ser. No. 10/603,839, entitled
`“System and Method For Monitoring Remote Control
`Transmissions,” ?led on Jun. 25, 2003 now US. Pat. No.
`7,005,979, the disclosure of Which is hereby incorporated by
`reference in its entirety.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`2
`SUMMARY
`
`In accordance With this and other needs, a remote control
`transmission monitoring system is hereinafter described.
`Generally, the system monitors remote control transmissions
`for the purpose of updating state tables for one or more
`remotely controllable appliances. The state tables may then
`be queried for the purpose of determining the present state
`of an appliance Whereby the transmission of a command that
`Would place an appliance in an unintended state may be
`avoided.
`A better understanding of the objects, advantages, fea
`tures, properties and relationships of the subject system and
`method Will be obtained from the folloWing detailed descrip
`tion and accompanying draWings Which set forth illustrative
`embodiments Which are indicative of the various Ways in
`Which the principles of the system and method may be
`employed.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`For a better understanding of the system and method
`described hereinafter, reference may be had to preferred
`embodiments shoWn in the folloWing draWings in Which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system employing a
`method for monitoring remote control transmissions;
`FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of components of an
`exemplary remote control;
`FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of components of an
`exemplary command receiver;
`FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary set of state tables for
`controllable appliances;
`FIG. 5 illustrates a How chart diagram of exemplary steps
`for use in monitoring for the successful transmission of a
`remote control command code;
`FIG. 6 illustrates a How chart diagram of exemplary steps
`for use in monitoring for the successful transmission of a
`sequence of remote control command codes;
`FIG. 7 illustrates a How chart diagram of exemplary steps
`for registering a macro command code sequence With a
`command receiver;
`FIG. 8 illustrates a How chart diagram of exemplary steps
`for querying state information for use in transmitting a
`macro command sequence; and
`FIG. 9 illustrates a further exemplary system employing
`a method for monitoring remote control transmission.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`With reference to the Figures, a system and method is
`described for monitoring remote control transmissions. To
`this end, the system generally includes one or more remote
`controls 10 each of Which is adapted to transmit command
`codes to control the operation of one or more home appli
`ances 12 as is illustrated in FIG. 1. By Way of example only,
`the appliances 12 can include, but are not limited to,
`televisions, VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, cable converter
`boxes, ampli?ers, CD players, game consoles, home light
`ing, drapery, fans, HVAC systems, thermostats, personal
`computers, etc. While the remote control 10 is described
`hereinafter in the context of a universal remote control, i.e.,
`one that is modi?able to command appliances of different
`types of different manufactures, it is to be appreciated that
`the remote control 10 may also be a dedicated remote
`control, i.e., a remote control that is supplied by a manu
`facturer With an appliance that is preprogrammed to com
`mand that appliance. In certain other cases, the remote
`
`The following relates generally to remote control systems
`and, more particularly, relates to a system and method for
`monitoring remote control transmissions.
`Devices adapted to unobtrusively monitor the tuning of a
`home entertainment center are knoWn in the art. For
`example, US. Pat. No. 5,235,414 describes a device adapted
`to Work With the remote controls of the various appliances
`that comprise the home entertainment center. The device
`functions to receive a signal from the remote controls,
`determine Which appliance Was the intended target of the
`signal, send an infrared signal to the intended target appli
`ance, and store tuning information. In this manner, the stored
`information may be retrieved at a later time and used to
`determine program ratings.
`While the system described in US. Pat. No. 5,235,414
`performs adequately When it is only desired to simply
`monitor the transmission of command codes to a home
`entertainment center, What is needed is a system that func
`tions to monitor remote control transmissions for the pur
`pose of tracking the state of appliances. In this regard,
`remote controls commonly provide for the transmission of a
`sequence of command codes in response to activation of a
`macro key, such as described in US. Pat. No. 5,959,751. By
`Way of example, a macro can be used to transmit a sequence
`of command codes to poWer on all appliances of a home
`entertainment center, to access pay-per-vieW events via a
`set-top box, etc. HoWever, if a home appliance is already in
`a state that is intended to be controlled by a command in a
`macro command transmission (e.g., the macro is intended to
`turn on an appliance that is already in the “on” state), the
`receipt of such a command may place the appliance in an
`unintended state (e.g., the receipt of the “poWer” command
`may inadvertently cause the appliance to toggle to the “o?‘”
`state).
`It is also knoWn in the art to maintain Within the internal
`memory of a remote control a record of commands issued to
`appliances from that remote control for the purpose of
`attempting to predict the status of a controlled appliance. An
`example of such a remote control system is disclosed in US.
`Published Patent Application No. 2001/0045819 entitled
`“State-based Remote Control System.” While such a remote
`control system may Work in theory, it is seen that such a
`remote control system suffers the disadvantage that the
`potential use of multiple remote controls, etc. cannot be
`accounted for in making a status prediction that is derived
`from a record that is maintained Within the internal memory
`of a single remote control.
`From the foregoing, it Will be appreciated that a need
`exists for an improved system and method that functions to
`monitor remote control transmissions for the purpose of
`preventing an appliance from being commanded to enter an
`unintended state.
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000011
`
`

`

`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`3
`control 10 may also be a dedicated remote control (With
`respect to the type of appliance it Was supplied With) and a
`universal remote control With respect to other appliance
`types (e.g., a remote control that has its TV mode preset to
`the Sony brand television With Which it Was supplied While
`being universal With respect to other modes such as a VCR
`mode).
`For use in transmitting command codes to one or more of
`the appliances 12, the remote control 10 may include, as
`needed for a particular application, a processor 24 coupled
`to a ROM memory 26, a key matrix 28 (e.g., physical
`buttons, a touch screen display, or a combination thereof), an
`internal clock and timer 30, transmission circuit(s) 32,
`receiver circuit(s) 33 and/or transceiver circuit(s) (e.g., IR
`and/or RF), a non-volatile read/Write memory 34, a means
`36 to provide feedback to the user (e.g, LED, display,
`speaker, and/or the like), a poWer supply 38, and input
`means 39 (e.g., serial I/O port, Wireless receiver, bar code
`scanner, etc.) as generally illustrated in FIG. 2. As Will be
`understood by those of skill in the art, the ROM memory 26
`may include executable instructions that are intended to be
`executed by the processor 24 to control the operation of the
`remote control 10. In this manner, the processor 24 may be
`programmed to control the various electronic components
`Within the remote control 10, e.g., to monitor the poWer
`supply 38, to cause the transmission of signals, etc. The
`non-volatile read/Write memory 34, for example an
`EEPROM, battery-backed up RAM, Smart Card, memory
`stick, or the like, may be provided to store setup data and
`parameters as necessary. While the memory 26 is illustrated
`and described as a ROM memory, memory 26 can also be
`comprised of any type of readable media, such as ROM,
`RAM, SRAM, FLASH, EEPROM, or the like. Preferably,
`the memory 26 is non-volatile or battery-backed such that
`data is not required to be reloaded af‘ter battery changes. In
`addition, the memories 26 and 34 may take the form of a
`chip, a hard disk, a magnetic disk, and/or an optical disk.
`To identify home appliances by type and make (and
`sometimes model) such that the remote control device 10 is
`adapted to transmit recogniZable command codes in the
`format appropriate for such identi?ed appliances 12, data
`may be entered into the universal remote control device 10.
`Since methods for setting up a remote control to control the
`operation of speci?c home appliances are Well-knoWn, such
`methods need not be described in greater detail herein.
`Nevertheless, for additional information pertaining to
`remote control setup, the reader may turn to US. Pat. Nos.
`4,959,810, 5,614,906, and 6,225,938. It Will also be appre
`ciated that the remote control 10 may be set up to control an
`appliance 12 by being taught the command codes needed to
`control such appliance as described in US. Pat. No. 4,623,
`887.
`To cause the remote control 10 to perform an action, the
`remote control 10 is adapted to be responsive to events, such
`as a sensed user interaction With the key matrix 28, receipt
`of a transmission, etc. In response to an event appropriate
`instructions Within the memory 26 may be executed. For
`example, When a command key is activated on the remote
`control 10, the remote control 10 may retrieve a command
`code corresponding to the activated command key from
`memory 26 and transmit the command code to a device in
`a format recogniZable by the device. It Will be appreciated
`that the instructions Within the memory 26 can be used not
`only to cause the transmission of command codes and/or
`data to the appliances 12 but also to perform local opera
`tions. While not limiting, local operations that may be
`performed by the remote control 10 include displaying
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`4
`information/data, favorite channel setup, macro button
`setup, function key relocation, etc. Examples of local opera
`tions can be found in US. Pat. Nos. 5,481,256, 5,959,751,
`and 6,014,092. Additional examples of remote controls 10
`may be found in commonly oWned, US. Pat. No. 6,225,938
`and US. Application Ser. Nos. 60/264,767, 09/905,423,
`09/905,432, and 09/905,396.
`In keeping With the subject system and method, the
`remote control 10 preferably includes programming such
`that activation of a macro key causes the transmission of a
`sequence of command codes that have been assigned to the
`macro key. In the case Where macros are user programmable,
`the macro programming Will also alloW a user to assign one
`or more command codes to the macro key. By Way of
`example only, the assignment of command codes to the
`macro key may be made by the user interacting With the keys
`of the remote control 10 in the manner described in US. Pat.
`Nos. 5,959,751 or 6,587,067. Alternatively, the remote con
`trol can be preprogrammed to transmit one or more com
`mand codes in response to activation of the macro key. Still
`further, one or more command codes may be assigned to the
`macro key by means of being doWnloaded to the remote
`control, for example after an interactive session With a
`netWork site that maintains a database of command codes.
`For use in monitoring for the transmission of command
`codes from a remote control 10 to one or more of the
`appliances 12 the subject system and method includes a
`command receiver 14. The command receiver 14 may be a
`device separate and apart from the appliances 12 or may be
`integrated into one or more of the appliances 12 as is
`illustrated in FIG. 1. In either case, the command receiver 14
`may include, as needed for a particular application, a pro
`cessor 50 coupled to a ROM memory 52, an internal clock
`and timer 53, receiver circuit(s) 54, transmission circuit(s)
`55 and/or transceiver circuit(s) (e.g., IR and/or RF), a
`non-volatile read/Write memory 56, a means 58 to provide
`feedback to the user (e.g., LED, display, speaker, and/or the
`like), a poWer supply 62, and input means 64, (e. g., serial I/O
`port, Wireless receiver, bar code scanner, etc.), as is gener
`ally illustrated in FIG. 3. The ROM memory 52 includes
`executable instructions that are intended to be executed by
`the processor 50 to control the operation of the command
`receiver 14. In this manner, the processor 50 may be
`programmed to control the various electronic components
`Within the command receiver 14, e.g., to monitor the poWer
`supply 62, to cause the transmission of signals, to provide
`audio or visual prompts to a user, etc. The non-volatile
`read/Write memory 56, for example an EEPROM, battery
`backed up RAM, Smart Card, memory stick, or the like, is
`provided to store setup data and parameters as necessary.
`While the memory 52 is illustrated and described as a ROM
`memory, memory 52 can also be comprised of any type of
`readable media, such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, FLASH,
`EEPROM, or the like. Preferably, the memory 56 is non
`volatile or battery-backed such that data is not required to be
`reloaded af‘ter battery changes. In addition, the memories 52
`and 56 may take the form of a chip, a hard disk, a magnetic
`disk, and/or an optical disk. It Will also be appreciated that
`in cases Where command receiver capability is integrated
`into an appliance, some or all of the functional elements
`described above in conjunction With FIG. 3 may be com
`bined With similar elements already present in the appliance
`for other purposes.
`Further maintained Within the non-volatile read/Write
`memory 56 is a state table Which stores parameters repre
`sentative of one or more states of one or more appliances.
`More speci?cally, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the state table
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000012
`
`

`

`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`5
`attempts to re?ect the state of an appliance by storing
`parameters that are indicative of the transmission of com
`mands to an appliance. For example, if the appliance is
`responsive to a “power” toggle command, the “power” ?eld
`(PF) for that appliance may toggle between a “1,” being used
`to represent that the appliance power should be on, and “0,”
`being used to represent that the appliance power should be
`off. The state parameter may be simple Boolean value for
`states that are either “on” or “o?” or may be binary values,
`for example, representative of a number of times a command
`has been transmitted to an appliance. In the latter case, the
`command receiver 14 may also be programmed to recogniZe
`if an appliance is to change states once a predetermined
`number of command transmissions to command a state have
`been achieved, e.g., a VCR or PVR resumes a “playing”
`state after the receipt of a third “FF” command, the ?rst
`received “FF” command causing the appliance to fast for
`ward at 2x speed and the second received “FF” command
`causing the appliance to fast forward at 4x speed.
`It will be appreciated that the abovementioned state table
`may be maintained either in part or entirely at a location
`physically separate from the receiver 14 (such as, for
`example, a personal computer located elsewhere in the
`home) and need only be accessible to the receiver 14 for
`state data storage and retrieval operations, as will be
`described in more detail later.
`It will also be appreciated that, in a system that attempts
`to track state by means of remote control transmissions, a
`user would be instructed to avoid manually changing the
`state of an appliance. In such a case, however, the command
`receiver 14 may be provided with a means to set the
`parameters within the state table to a known value, i.e., a
`reset state, to thereby resynchroniZe the state table to the
`actual state of the appliance. For example, the user may be
`instructed fully reduce the volume, etc. (either manually or
`via a remote control transmission), place the appliance in an
`“o?” state, and then issue a reset command to the command
`receiver 14 (either manually or via a remote control trans
`mission) to cause the state table for that appliance to re?ect
`the known, “off,” no-volume condition.
`It is to be further appreciated that the state table need not
`be used to re?ect all possible states of an appliance. In some
`circumstances, it may only be desirable to track states that
`may change should the appliance receive a command to
`enter a state the appliance is already within, eg the trans
`mission of a “power” toggle command for the purpose of
`powering on an appliance that is already on, the transmission
`of a “PP” command to an appliance already in “FF” mode
`and having multiple “FF” speeds, etc. By way of further
`example, if an appliance is responsive to discrete power
`commands (as opposed to a “power toggle” command that
`causes the appliance to toggle between a “power on” state
`and a “power o?‘" state) it may not be necessary to track the
`power state for the appliance, i.e., the state of the appliance
`would not be inadvertently changed as a result of receiving
`a discrete “power on” command in the case where the
`appliance is already powered on.
`To create a state table entry for an appliance to be
`controlled, the appliance to be monitored is preferably
`identi?ed to the command receiver 14 using one or more of
`the methods described hereinafter. Once the appliance is
`identi?ed to the command receiver 14, the particular states
`to monitor may be precon?gured or user programmable
`without limitation. For example, once an appliance is iden
`ti?ed to the command receiver 14, the command receiver 14
`will be able to recogniZe command transmissions from a
`remote control 10 intended for that appliance and, as such,
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`6
`will be aware of the functional states of the appliance that
`are controllable by a remote control 10.
`When monitoring for the transmission of one or more
`commands to an appliance, especially in the case of IR
`transmissions, numerous activities may interrupt the trans
`mission of command codes from a remote control 10 to the
`appliances 12. For example, a user may move the remote
`control 10 such that an IR signal transmission is misdirected
`away from the appliances, another person may walk in front
`of the remote control 10 and inadvertently block an IR signal
`transmission, etc. Thus, as further illustrated in FIG. 5, the
`programming within the command receiver 14 preferably
`includes instructions for monitoring for the transmission of
`command codes by the remote control 10 and for determin
`ing, especially in the case of a macro where a plurality of
`commands are to be transmitted in sequence, if all of the
`command codes in the sequence were received by the
`command receiver 14.
`For determining if a command code was properly
`received at the command receiver 14, a command code
`received by the receiver circuit(s) 54 may be compared
`against a library of command codes stored in the memory 52
`or 56 of the command receiver 14. If command is properly
`received and recogniZed, the state table for the intended
`target appliance(s) may be updated to re?ect the received
`command transmission. If the command is not properly
`received and recogniZed, an audible or visual alarm may be
`issued.
`The library of command codes which are used in the step
`of comparing may be stored in the memory 52 or 56 at the
`time of manufacture and/or be downloaded into the com
`mand receiver which, for example, allows the library of
`command codes to be upgradeable. Downloading may be
`performed by means of wired or wireless connection and
`may include downloading the command codes via a network
`connection as described in Us. Pat. No. 4,959,810, down
`loading the command codes via learning circuitry as
`described in Us. Pat. No. 4,623,887, or the like.
`In the case where the command receiver 14 is to evaluate
`the reception of a macro, i.e., a series of the command codes
`where the sequence may (or may not) be important to the
`operation of the intended target appliances, the command
`receiver 14 may additionally be programmed to recogniZe
`the sequence of command codes. To this end, the sequence
`of command codes that comprise a macro may be taught to
`the command receiver 14 in same manner as described in
`Us. Pat. No. 4,623,887. More speci?cally, the command
`receiver 14 may be placed into a macro de?nition mode, the
`command codes that will comprise the macro may be
`transmitted to the command receiver 14 (for example, by the
`remote control 10), and the command receiver 14 may be
`caused to exit the macro de?nition mode as a means to
`inform the command receiver 14 that the entirety of the
`command sequence has been transmitted. It will be appre
`ciated that the sequence of command codes that will com
`prise a macro may also be programmed into the command
`receiver 14 by interacting with a keypad (not illustrated) of
`the command receiver 14 in the same manner that would be
`used to program the remote control 10 to transmit the macro.
`Still further, the sequence of command codes that will
`comprise a macro may be downloaded into the command
`receiver 14 via a network connection (for example if the
`remote control macro is set up via interaction with a Web
`siteithe same macro can be downloaded into the command
`receiver 14), by means of being read from a barcode, by
`being read from a smart card, etc.
`
`Universal Remote Control Exhibit: 1001 Page 000013
`
`

`

`US 7,126,468 B2
`
`7
`By Way of further example, the remote control 10 and
`command receiver 14 may be adapted to cooperate to
`facilitate the learning of command codes by the command
`receiver 14. To this end, With reference to FIG. 7, the remote
`control 10 may be adapted to respond to a user input that
`functions to signify a desire to request registration of a
`macro With the command receiver 14. In response to this
`user input, the remote control 10 may transmit a prede?ned
`“enter learning state” command to the command receiver 14
`(e.g., using a standard infrared format recognizable by the
`command receiver 14) folloWed by the macro command
`code sequence to be taught to the command receiver 14. The
`end of the macro command code sequence may be signi?ed
`by the remote control 10 transmitting an “exit learning state”
`command to the command receiver 14. It Will be appreciated
`that the command receiver 14 should respond to the “exit
`learning state” command so as to stop the recording of
`transmissions from the remote control 10.
`Once the command codes that are to be monitored by the
`command receiver 14 have been stored and made accessible
`to the command receiver 14, the command receiver 14 is
`capable of comparing received command codes to determine
`if one or more received command codes has a counterpart
`Within the library command codes accessible to the com
`mand receiver 14. The command receiver 14 may be pro
`grammed to alWays monitor the transmission of commands
`or may be programmed to commence the monitoring of
`command codes in response to a receipt of a “start moni
`toring” command code, for example, if selective monitoring
`is desired. The “start monitoring” command code may, for
`example, be transmitted from the remote control 10 as a
`pre?x to a command code sequence that is transmitted from
`the remote control 10 in response to activation of a macro
`key. In this manner, if a counterpart to the received com
`mand code is determined to be missing from the library of
`command codes, it may be assumed that the received
`command code Was corrupted during transmission. In such
`a case, the command receiver 14 may issue an alarm, visible
`or audible, to inform the user that they should attempt to
`resend the command code.
`In the case Where the command receiver 14 receives a
`series of commands transmitted as a macro transmission
`from the remote control 10, the sequence of command codes
`received by the receiver circuit(s) 54 of the command
`receiver 14 may also be compared against one or more
`stored sequences of command codes made accessible to the
`command receiver 14. In this manner, if a sequence of
`command codes received by the receiver circuit(s) 54 of the
`command receiver 14 fails to be found in the stored
`sequence(s) of command codes made accessible to the
`command receiver 14, e.g., one or more command codes are
`missing from the received transmission, the command
`receiver 14 may issue an alarm to inform the user that they
`should attempt to resend the macro command sequence.
`It may also be desirable to have the command receiver 14
`notify the remote control 10 as to Which command codes
`from a macro command code sequence Were not properly
`received by the command receiver 14 to thereby alloW for
`the retransmission of just those command codes. To this end,
`as illustrated in FIG. 6, the command receiver 14 may
`compare a received sequence of command codes against the
`macro command code sequences stored in memory, discern
`Which macro stored in its memory is most likely to be the
`one that Was intended to be transmitted by the remote control
`10 (if more than one macro has been programmed into the
`command receiver 14), discern Which command codes from
`that stored macro Were not received, and issue a transmis
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`8
`sion (e. g., an event) to the remote control 10 that noti?es the
`remote control 10 Which commands Were discerned to be
`missing from the intended macro transmission.
`The transmission from the command receiver 14 to the
`remote control 10 may include data indicative of the missing
`command codes, e.g., a pointer into the memory of the
`remote control 10, or the missing command codes them
`selves. When the transmission includes the missing com
`mand codes, the command codes may be temporarily stored
`in the memory of the remote control 10 for easy retrans
`mission back to the appliances 12. In either instance, it is
`preferred that the user be provided With an indication, such
`as a visible or audio alarm, that the remote control 10 has
`received a transmission from the command receiver 14 and
`is in a state for retransmitting command codes to the
`appliances 12, either using the received data or received
`command codes. The retransmission from the remote con
`trol 10 may be initiated by using a key that has been
`provided for that purpose, by activating the macro key again
`(in Which case the remote control 10 Would temporarily
`override the original programming of that macro key), etc.
`The command receiver 14 may additionally be programmed
`to look for the successful retransmission of those command
`codes that Were previously determined to be missing. An
`appropriate timeout may be utiliZed in such a case to prevent
`the command receiver from becoming locked in a state
`Where it is looking for the speci?c transmission of such
`command codes.
`The system may also be con?gured such that the com
`mand receiver 14 is programmed to monitor the transmis
`sion of each command code as a se