USOO7894.474B1
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Bell
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,894.474 B1
`Feb. 22, 2011
`
`(54) REMOTE CONTROL OF AN ELECTRONIC
`DEVICE THROUGH DOWNLOADING OFA
`CONTROL INTERFACE OF THE
`ELECTRONIC DEVICE IN A MOBILE
`STATION
`
`(75) Inventor: John Bell, Fremont, CA (US)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`(73) Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.,
`Eindhoven (NL)
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/393,942
`(22) Filed:
`Sep.10, 1999
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04.3/16
`(2006.01)
`H04B 7/00
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................... 370/466:455/412; 709/203
`(58) Field of Classification Search ................. 370/338,
`370/465,467,352,401, 466; 709/203, 217,
`709/222; 455/419, 420, 421, 41.2: 348/1405;
`340/825.72, 825.37, 825.24
`See application file for complete search history.
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4, 1993 Tsakiris et al. ......... 340,825.72
`5,204,768 A
`5,614,906 A * 3/1997 Hayes et al. ........... 340/825.37
`5,636,211 A
`6, 1997 Newlin et al. ............... 370/465
`5,909, 183 A
`6/1999 Borgstahl et al. ...... 340/825.22
`5,949,351 A
`9, 1999 Hahm ................... 340,825.22
`6,088,340 A * 7/2000 Buchholz et al. ............ 455,517
`6,104,334 A * 8/2000 Allport ...........
`340,825.24
`6,223,029 B1 * 4/2001 Stenman et al. ............. 455,420
`6,356,529 B1
`3/2002 Zarom ........................ 370/466
`6,490,291 B1
`12/2002 Lee et al. .................... 370/401
`6,490,626 B1* 12/2002 Edwards et al. ............. 709,229
`
`1/2003 Martin et al. ............... 455,566
`6,509,913 B2 *
`6,587,684 B1* 7/2003 Hsu et al.
`... 370, 401
`6,661,784 B1* 12/2003 Nykanen .................... 370,338
`
`EP
`WO
`WO
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`O838768 A2
`4f1998
`WO98498.18
`11, 1998
`9859282 A2 12/1998
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Todd D. Hodes et al. Composable Ad-hoc Mobile Services for Uni
`versal Interaction, Aug. 2, 1997, MOBICOM 97.*
`Japanese Abstract of Japan A09153952, Date of Publication Jun. 10,
`1997.
`Microsoft Handbook “MSCE: TCP/IP Study Guide”, SYBEX, 1997,
`pp. 3, 16-24, 421.
`Bluetooth Spec. V. 1. OA, July 26, 1999, pp. 41-45, 191, 249, 325
`336,342-347, 387, 504-513.
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner Andrew Lee
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`A wireless communication system includes a number of con
`trollable electronic devices and a mobile station for commu
`nication with one of the controllable electronic devices
`through a short-range wireless communication link, when
`in-range with the one controllable electronic device. The
`mobile station includes a display Screen and a browser. The
`mobile station and the one controllable electronic device form
`a client-server pair. Through the short-range wireless com
`munication link, the client requests the server to download a
`control interface stored at the server. Upon downloading, a
`browser is used to navigate through control menu pages
`included in the control interface, and to post control param
`eter settings to the server. In the server, a program runs to
`interpret received control parameter settings, to invoke a con
`trol action in accordance with the received control parameter
`settings, and to instruct the client what to do next.
`
`22 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`WIRELESS
`NETWORK
`
`PUBLIC
`SWITCHED
`TELEPHONY
`NETWORK
`
`
`
`1
`
`5
`
`MOBILE
`, STATION
`LOCAL
`y
`
`CONTROLLABLE
`ELECTRONIC
`3
`DEVICES
`:
`|
`f
`
`4
`
`APPL-1029 / Page 1 of 13
`Apple v. Uniloc
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 22, 2011
`
`Sheet 1 of 4
`
`US 7,894.474 B1
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`WIRELESS
`NETWORK
`
`PUBLIC
`SWITCHED
`TELEPHONY
`NETWORK
`
`1
`-
`
`CONTROLLABLE
`ELECTRONIC
`3
`DEVICES
`:
`|
`f
`
`?
`
`4
`
`?
`
`1
`
`5
`
`MOBILE
`STATION
`y LOCAL
`v. NETWORK
`9
`
`WAP
`
`CELLULAR RADIO
`TRANSCEIVER
`
`MOBILE
`STATION
`
`PROCESSING
`MEANS
`
`USER INPUT
`INTERFACE
`
`
`
`
`
`BTNFRA-RED
`TRANSCEIVER
`
`MEASUREMENT MEANS
`
`FIG.2
`
`APPL-1029 / Page 2 of 13
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 22, 2011
`
`Sheet 2 of 4
`
`US 7,894.474 B1
`
`MOBILE
`STATION
`
`CONTROL
`ARROWS
`
`DEDICATED
`FUNCTION KEYS
`
`
`
`SOFT-KEYS
`
`as a
`
`FIG. 3
`
`52
`
`TV
`ANTENNA
`
`2
`
`F G 4
`
`RADIO
`ANTENNA
`
`3 FIG.5
`
`NON-VOLATLE
`RAM
`
`
`
`BT-ANTENNA
`
`
`
`
`
`TUNER
`&
`AMPLFER
`&
`CD
`
`PROCESSING
`MEANS
`
`APPL-1029 / Page 3 of 13
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 22, 2011
`
`Sheet 3 of 4
`
`US 7,894.474 B1
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`
`
`WAP
`CLIENT
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`70
`
`WAPSERVER
`TWINDEXWML
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`FUNCTION SELECT:
`(VOLUME
`CHANNEL
`SETTINGS
`
`OK
`
`83
`
`D BRIGHTNESS
`(CONTRAST
`
`
`
`
`
`BRIGHTNESS
`
`MENU
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`82
`
`CHANNEL
`CABLE INDEX
`1
`FOX2
`2
`3 D MSWBC
`4
`CNN
`5
`ABC
`6
`PBC
`7
`ESPN
`SET
`
`
`
`
`
`85
`
`BRIGHTNESSLEVEL
`
`MEDIUM
`
`
`
`
`
`VOLUMELEVEL
`
`MEDIUM
`
`CONTRAST LEVEL
`LOW
`
`2
`3
`MEDUM
`4
`5 D
`6
`7
`SET
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`APPL-1029 / Page 4 of 13
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 22, 2011
`
`Sheet 4 of 4
`
`US 7,894.474 B1
`
`90
`
`FILE
`INDEX - Wml
`
`FIG. 8
`
`FILE
`REMOTE
`ACTION-Cg
`
`1OO
`
`
`
`POSTING TO
`SERVER
`
`120
`
`FIG. 11
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`APPL-1029 / Page 5 of 13
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`

`

`US 7,894,474 B1
`
`1.
`REMOTE CONTROL OF ANELECTRONIC
`DEVICE THROUGH DOWNLOADING OFA
`CONTROL INTERFACE OF THE
`ELECTRONIC DEVICE IN A MOBILE
`STATION
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`multimedia applications specified by the AS-module. The
`MM-device further comprises a processing unit in commu
`nication with the transceiver and the AS-module. The proces
`sor identifies the AS-module interfaced to the MM-device and
`determines the predetermined MM-application associated
`with the AS-module. The processing unit then commands the
`transceiver to communicate with the MM-network in a mode
`associated with the MM-application. The AS-module
`includes a corresponding AS-transceiver for communicating
`multimedia information with an application device coupled
`thereto. This multimedia information can include video sig
`nals, data signals, voice signals, and control signals. In an
`embodiment, the AS-module enables the universal MM-de
`Vice to communicate analog or digital control signals
`between the MM-network and an application device such as
`a home control device or an energy control device. A Suitable
`connector is included in the AS-module to facilitate connec
`tion with a control application device. The universal MM
`access apparatuses are thus built as a common architectural
`implementation based on a multimedia access engine provid
`ing a MM-application programming interface to diverse
`applications, while employing an access method to gain
`access to/from the network. Each AS-module has an interface
`for removable “plug-and-play' installation in the universal
`MM-access apparatus, and a further interface for connecting
`and disconnecting appropriate application devices. The pro
`cessing unit is comprised of a microprocessor that is operative
`to provide a programmable platform for the apparatus. The
`transceiver is tunable over a range of frequencies within a
`predetermined frequency spectrum of which portions are
`assignable to a variety of multimedia applications. Upon
`powering up, the processing unit identifies the application
`from an identification signal received from the AS-module.
`Next, the processing unit commands the transceiver into a
`predefined mode required by the previously identified appli
`cation. A control AS-module interfaced to a MM-device may
`include a variety of control transceivers. A variety of wireless
`platforms may be utilized in the transceiver of the MM
`device. The wireless transceivers can utilize frequency reuse.
`Both in the PCT Application WO98/498.18 and in the U.S.
`Pat. No. 5,636.211, specific plugable interface modules need
`to be provided to interface a particular controllable electronic
`device to a device for controlling the electronic device, the
`controllable electronic devices having specific control inter
`face with specific control commands. Once provided with a
`specific controllable interface module, the controllable elec
`tronic device can be controlled by configuring the controlling
`device accordingly, or by selecting a suitable set of control
`commands in the controlling device. Providing specific inter
`face modules renders a system with many different control
`lable electronic devices complicated, inflexible, and expen
`sive. In addition thereto, a universal control device becomes
`complicated and will require a large storage capacity to store
`a large number of different sets of control commands.
`In the Japanese Abstract 09 153952, a mobile terminal is
`disclosed to remotely control an electric appliance by using a
`mobile terminal call number. The user dials a control code to
`remotely control a Switch of a lighting fixture, or the like. In
`a radio message, the control code is transmitted to a controller
`controlling electric appliances. The dialed controller checks
`whether the received control code is present in a lookup table.
`If so, the lighting fixture is Switched on.
`In the Microsoft(R) handbook, “MCSE: TCP/IP Study
`Guide', Sybex, 1997, pages 3, 16-24, and 421, basic prin
`ciples are disclosed as to TCP/IP Protocols, and browsing
`through the Internet. As defined on page 3, a TCP/IP protocol
`suite is a Transmission Control/Internet Protocol set that an
`
`10
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`15
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`25
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`30
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`35
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to a wireless communication
`system with a number of controllable electronic devices and
`a mobile station for remotely controlling Such electronic
`devices through a short-range wireless communication link
`Such a radio link, an infra-red link, or any other Suitable
`wireless link. The mobile station can be dedicated to such
`remote control functionality or can be multifunctional device
`combining remote control functionality and other function
`ality such as cellular or cordless functionality, or the like.
`The present invention further relates to a method of
`remotely controlling a controllable electronic device, to a
`mobile station and to a controllable electronic device in such
`a system.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`In the PCT Application WO98/498.18 a mobile station is
`disclosed with combined mobile telephony and remote con
`trol terminal functionalities. The mobile station can act as a
`remote control unit for a variety of peripheral devices acces
`sible through some type of local area communication system
`or related communication system. The peripheral devices are
`remotely actuatable in response to a set of predetermined
`control commands. A control command module within the
`mobile station generates the variety of control commands to
`which the peripheral devices are responsive. The control
`commands are transmitted to the peripheral device via a wire
`less communication link that is set up between the peripheral
`device and the control command module. Local interfaces
`that apply a single communication protocol are included in
`electronic communication devices otherwise connected to an
`external communication network. Through the single com
`munication protocol each of the local interfaces is capable of
`40
`effecting wireless communication with the other local inter
`face modules. In FIG. 4 of WO 98/498.18, a local area com
`munication system is shown with local communication links
`between a mobile radio station, and, through local interface
`modules, a variety of peripheral devices such as hands-free
`headsets, television sets, radio sets, VCRs, etceteras. Through
`the local interface modules the peripheral devices can also
`communicate with each other. A user of the mobile radio
`station enters control commands through a user interface of
`the mobile station. A command control module comprised in
`the mobile station processes the control commands. A variety
`of command formats may be used to control the peripheral
`device through some types of command module. Either stan
`dard wireless communication protocols or a propriety proto
`col, on a single local communication medium may be used.
`The local interface modules may be integrated in the housing
`of the mobile station or may be disposed in a separate housing
`Such that it forms a plugable unit.
`In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,636.211 a universal multimedia
`access device is disclosed. The universal multimedia device
`accesses a predetermined one of a number of multimedia
`applications using an appropriate Application Specific (AS)-
`module interfaced thereto. A multimedia network delivers
`diverse multimedia applications such as high-speed data
`access (Internet), phone service, energy management, home
`security, and video. A transceiver operates to transmit and
`receive RF signals associated with a predetermined one of the
`
`50
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`60
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`APPL-1029 / Page 6 of 13
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`US 7,894,474 B1
`
`3
`application can use to package its information for sending
`across a link. On pages 16-17, a physical data flow and a
`logical data flow are shown on a physical channel between
`system entities, basically in terms of the well-known OSI
`(Open System Interconnection) Reference model of layers, 5
`the OSI reference model distinguishing seven layers, a physi
`cal layer, a data link layer, a network layer, a transport layer,
`a session layer, a presentation layer, and an application layer.
`Depending on a particular application several layers may be
`combined to a single layer. In accordance with the OSI ref- 10
`erence model, the physical data flow between system entities
`occurs through all layers between the entities, whereas the
`logical data flow is defined as a peer to peer communication
`between corresponding layers of the entities. As defined on
`page 421, a Uniform Resource Locator, a URL, is the stan- 15
`dard naming convention on the Internet, a browser is tool for
`navigating and accessing information on the Internet, usually
`in the form of Web pages hosted by a server, an HTTP,
`HyperText Transport Protocol, is a protocol specification
`used by the browser to send requests and by the server to 20
`respond to the requests, and HTML, Hyper Text Markup
`Language, is the document standard for Internet Web pages.
`In the Bluetooth Specification, “Specification of the Blue
`tooth System Core, v1.0A, Jul. 26, 1999, pp. 41-45, 191,
`249, 325, 328-330, 335-336, 342-347, 387, and 504-513, 25
`WAP Wireless Access Protocol, in the Bluetooth Piconet is
`disclosed, and a general description of the Bluetooth system
`as related to WAP. In WAP communications, a client device
`communicates with a server device using the WAP protocols.
`A communication can be initiated by a client or by a server 30
`device. Upon initiation, a so-called Bluetooth Service Dis
`covery Protocol is started to find the other one of the client/
`server pair. Client addressing is mainly done through Uni
`form Resource Locators, URLs, as used with Internet
`browsers. URLs are text strings that describe the document 35
`that is accessed. On page 508, a WAP Protocol Stack is
`shown, entities of the protocol stack further being defined on
`said pages 41-45, 191,249,325, 328-330,335-336,342-347,
`387. On page 41, a general description of BT, Bluetooth, a
`short-range radio link, is given. On page 42, a BT piconet with 40
`masters and slaves is shown. On pages 43-45, the BT physical
`channel, with time slots, is shown. Page 45 describes types of
`links between masters and slaves, a master being a link ini
`tiator, and a slave being the device accessed by the master.
`Pages 191; 249; 325, 328-330, 335-336, 342-347; and 387 45
`describe LMP messages; the L2CAP; the Service Discovery
`Protocol; and the RFCOMM protocol; respectively.
`
`4
`access protocol, a method of remotely controlling said one
`controllable electronic device, said method comprising:
`through said short-range wireless communication link,
`said mobile station requesting said controllable electronic
`device to download data representative of a control interface
`associated with said one controllable electronic device;
`downloading of said data in a data format interpretable by
`said access protocol browser, and
`displaying on said display screen of said data as control
`interface menu pages representative of said control interface,
`said access protocol browser navigating through said control
`interface menu pages.
`Preferably, the mobile station checks whether the one con
`trollable electronic device has access control capability
`before requesting the controllable electronic device to down
`load its control interface. Herewith, it is prevented that the
`mobile station unnecessarily accesses electronic devices not
`Supporting downloading of a control interface.
`Preferably, a mobile station reuses a downloaded control
`interface if, after having come out of range of a particular
`controllable electronic device comes in-range of the same
`controllable electronic device thereafter.
`Preferably, the access protocol is a markup language read
`ing and interpretation protocol and the data represent a
`markup language, such a WAP Protocol, and a WAP markup
`language as defined in said Bluetooth Standard. Such a
`browser is simple and easy to operate and requires a reduced
`storage capacity and a small display unit. This is of particular
`interest when incorporating the browser in a mobile station
`also incorporating telephony functionality Such as cordless or
`cellular telephony functionality. Simple and low storage
`requiring methods do not unnecessarily exhaust a battery
`comprised in the mobile station. When implementing the
`remote control functionality in a device such as a laptop with
`a larger display unit, a more complex browser could be used,
`together with a more complex markup language such as
`HTML.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system with a
`number of controllable electronic devices and a mobile sta
`tion.
`FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of a mobile sta
`tion in accordance with the present invention.
`FIG. 3 shows a front view of a mobile station.
`FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of a first control
`lable electronic device according to the invention.
`FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of a second con
`trollable electronic device according to the invention.
`FIG. 6 shows basic operation of the mobile station as a
`remote control device.
`FIG. 7 shows six menu pages that are downloaded from a
`SeVe.
`FIG. 8 shows a file referred to by the URL tv/index.wml.
`FIG.9 shows a file run on the server.
`FIG. 10 shows a first request of the client, and a response
`from the server, in HTTP-format.
`FIG. 11 shows posting by the client 70 to the server 71, in
`HTTP-format.
`Throughout the figures the same reference numerals are
`used for the same features.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system 1 with a
`number of controllable electronic devices 2, 3, and 4, and a
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`It is an object of the invention to provide a simple and
`flexible remote control device for controlling many different
`types of controllable electronic devices.
`It is another object of the invention to provide a simple,
`intuitive user interface in Such a remote control device.
`It is still another object of the invention to provide a learn
`ing mechanism for Such a remote control device Such that a
`remote control device coming out of range of a particular
`controllable electronic device and in-range thereofthereafter
`still recognizes such a controllable electronic device.
`In accordance with the invention, a wireless communica
`tion system is provided comprising a plurality of controllable
`electronic devices and a mobile station for communicating
`with one of said controllable electronic devices through a
`short-range wireless communication link, said mobile station 65
`comprising a display Screen, a user input interface, and an
`access protocol browser operating in accordance with an
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`APPL-1029 / Page 7 of 13
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`US 7,894,474 B1
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`10
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`25
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`
`5
`mobile station 5. Shown is the mobile station 5 communicat
`ing with the controllable electronic device 2 through a short
`range wireless communication link 6. In addition to commu
`nication with the controllable electronic device 2, the mobile
`station can be configured to communicate with a wireless
`network 7 such as a cellular or cordless telephony and/or data
`network. The mobile station 5 can also be configured to only
`communicate with the devices 2, 3, and 4. Then, the mobile
`station's 5 main functionality is a universal remote control
`terminal in accordance with the present invention. The wire
`less network 7 may be coupled to a public switched telephony
`network 8. The mobile radio station 5 in its capacity to com
`municate with the devices 2, 3, and 4, forms a local network
`9 with the devices 2, 3, and 4. Preferably, the local network 9
`is a network in accordance with said Bluetooth Specification.
`The short-range wireless communication link 6 can be a radio
`link, an infrared link, or any other suitable wireless link. The
`mobile station 5 may be configured to support both a short
`range radio and a short-range infra-red link so as to commu
`nicate with controllable electronic devices capable of trans
`mitting through only a radio link or only an infra-red link.
`FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the mobile
`station 5 inaccordance with the present invention. The mobile
`station 5 comprises a cellular radio transceiver 20, a Blue
`tooth (BT) radio transceiver 21, and a BT infrared transceiver
`22 with a Light Emitting Diode (LED) 23 for transmitting and
`receiving modulated infrared signals. The transceivers 20, 21.
`and 22 comprise receive and transmit circuitry, including
`mixers, modulators, demodulators, analog-to-digital convert
`ers, and digital-to-analog converters so that the transceivers
`transmit digital signals generated by processing means 24 and
`provide digital signals to the processing means 24. Such
`transceiver circuitry is well known and is not shown in detail
`here. The BT transceivers 21 and 22 are configured to operate
`in accordance with said Bluetooth Specification. The mobile
`station 5 further comprises a random access memory (RAM)
`25 for storing volatile data with a memory part 25A for
`storing non-volatile data, a ROM-memory 26 comprising a
`wireless access protocol browser 27, a display 28, and a user
`input interface 29, the RAM 25, the ROM 26, the display 28,
`and the user input interface 29 being coupled to the process
`ing means 24. The transceivers 20, 21, and 22 respectively
`comprise received signal strength measurement means 20A,
`21A, and 22A.
`FIG. 3 shows a front view of the mobile station 5. Shown
`45
`are the display 28, and the user input interface 29 comprising
`a keypad 30, a cursor control means 31 including up, down,
`left, and right control arrows 32,33, 34, and 35, a left soft-key
`36, a right soft-key 37, and dedicated function keys 38, 39.
`and 40. The dedicated function key 38 can be used to invoke
`the remote control functionality of the mobile station 5. The
`dedicated function keys 39 and 40 can be assigned to invoke
`control of often used devices, such as a TV set or a Stereo
`apparatus. Alternatively, the remote control functionality can
`be invoked by simultaneously actuating two ordinary keys of
`the keypad 30, such as the “*” and “if” keys. When the mobile
`station 5 is a dedicated remote control device, the remote
`control functionality can be invoked automatically through
`Bluetooth mechanisms when the station 5 is in-range of a
`controllable electronic device.
`FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the control
`lable electronic device 2 according to the present invention.
`The controllable electronic device 2 is a television set with
`TV circuitry 50 coupled to a TV screen 51, and with a TV
`antenna 52 and processing means 53. The TV set 2 further
`65
`comprises an infra-red transceiver 54 with a LED 55, a ROM
`56, and a RAM 57 including a non-volatile RAM 58, the
`
`55
`
`6
`IR-transceiver 54, the ROM 56, and the RAM 57 being
`coupled to the processing means 53. As far as implementing
`the features according to the present invention, the IR-trans
`ceiver 55 and the processing means 53 operate in accordance
`with said Bluetooth Specification modified to use infrared.
`The non-volatile RAM58 is intended to store control settings
`of the television set 2 Such as selected channel, Volume,
`brightness, contrast, and color. To this end the non-volatile
`RAM 58 has storage locations for storing these control set
`tings, the TV set being controlled in accordance with current
`Settings.
`FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of the control
`lable electronic device 3 according to the present invention.
`The controllable electronic device 3 is a tuner, amplifier, and
`compact disk player combination comprising tuner and
`amplifier and CD circuitry 60 coupled to a radio antenna 61.
`The circuitry 60 is coupled to processing means 62. The
`combination 3 further includes a BT-transceiver 63 coupled
`to a BT-antenna 64, a ROM 65, and a RAM 66 including a
`non-volatile RAM 67, the BT-transceiver 63, the ROM 65,
`and the RAM 66 being coupled to the processing means 62.
`As far as implementing the features according to the present
`invention, the BT-transceiver 63 and the processing means 62
`operate in accordance with said Bluetooth Specification. The
`non-volatile RAM 67 is intended to store control settings of
`the combination 3 Such as selected channel, Volume, bass,
`treble, play, stop, pause, fast forward, etceteras. To this end
`the non-volatile RAM 67 has storage locations for storing
`these control settings, the combination being controlled in
`accordance with current settings.
`The controllable electronic devices according to the
`present invention include all kinds of devices such as the
`shown TV set 2 and the shown combination 3, and also, but
`not limitative, a domestic appliances such as a microwave
`oven, or any other controllable device implementing the fea
`tures according to the present invention.
`FIG. 6 shows basic operation of the mobile station 5 as a
`remote control device. Block 70 shows the mobile station 5 as
`Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) client and block 71 shows
`the controllable electronic device 3, that is a TV set, as a WAP
`server. In terms of WAP, the TV set 3 and the mobile station 5
`form a server/client relationship. In terms of Bluetooth,
`depending on the device initiating a Bluetooth link, either the
`server or the client is a master, the other one of the server/
`client then being a slave. In the server/client relationship, the
`client sends requests to the server, and the server responds to
`such requests. WAP is used by the mobile station 5 to control
`the controllable electronic devices 2, 3, and 4. During Blue
`tooth link setup between the mobile station 5 and a control
`lable electronic device, a Bluetooth Service Discovery Pro
`tocol is started as defined on pages 328-330, 335-336, 342
`347 of said Bluetooth Core. First it is checked whether the
`controllable electronic device has WAP capability. If so, the
`server is requested to provide details of the WAP service in the
`form of service attributes as defined on page 330 of said
`Bluetooth Core, an essential attribute being a homepage URL
`72 referring to a file with remote control menu pages, the URL
`tv/index.wml. As defined on page 330 of said Bluetooth Core,
`a service record in the server 71 containing the attributes is
`unique to this particular server through a so-called service
`record handle, a 32-bit identification number that uniquely
`identifies a service record within the server 71. Each handle is
`unique only within each SDP server. The handle used to
`reference the service on the server 71 will be meaningless if
`presented to another server. Upon link setup and service dis
`covery, the mobile station 5 automatically opens the browser
`27, and, using the URL text string tv/index.wml, requests the
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`7
`server 71 to download the file to whichtv/index.wml refers in
`the server 71. The WAP browser 27 is used to navigate the
`downloaded menu pages. When more menu pages or other
`information are/is needed, the mobile station 5 requests the
`server 71 to provide such pages or information. The down
`loaded file contains a first Small screen display card that
`contains an initialization message such as "Philips TV
`REMOTE CONTROL, and current settings of the TV set 2.
`This card is only displayed on the mobile station for a short
`period of time, e.g., 1 second. Then, the WAP browser 27
`moves to the next card, the next card being displayed on the
`display 28. Commands selected on the menu pages, such as a
`desired volume control setting are sent to the server 71 in the
`form of requests. The server 71 interprets such requests and
`acts accordingly, in the example given by updating a Volume
`control memory location in the memory 58 setting the volume
`of the TV set 2, and responds to Such requests by confirming
`the action taken. In case, after link setup and downloading of
`the file referred to by tv/index.wml, the mobile station 5 gets
`out-of-range of the controllable electronic device it controls,
`and thereafter gets in-range of the same controllable elec
`tronic device, downloading of the file referred to by tv/index
`.wml can be dispensed with. In that case, the mobile station 5
`can retrieve this file from the memory 25A where this file is
`stored at downloading. In terms of OSI layers, after starting
`up of the browser 27, peer to peer communications occur
`between Application layers of the mobile station 5 and the TV
`set 2. Other communications occur in lower layers, the
`described Service Discovery Protocol occurring in the OSI
`Session layer. Physically, all data between the mobile station
`5 and the TV set 2 are exchanged through a bearer service.
`Information is exchanged through packets, e.g., using a serial
`port profile or a more complex object exchange profile as
`defined in the Bluetooth Specification.
`When the Service Discovery Protocol discovers more than
`35
`one device, e.g., in a situation where two WAP capable BT
`devices are placed in close proximity with each other, Such a
`device conflict can be solved in several ways. In a semi
`automatic method to select a desired controllable electronic
`device, after the Service Discovery Protocol found, e.g., two
`devices such as the devices 2 and 3, the user of the mobile
`station 5 is offered a choice to manually select one of the
`devices 2 and 3 that should be controlled. After such a manual
`selection, the index-file of the selected device is downloaded.
`Another method to select one of the devices makes use of the
`BT-capability that a device can remember BT-links. In a
`situation that, when in-range, the mobile station 5 finds two
`controllable electronic devices, it stores the BT-links of these
`two devices in the memory 58. When coming into range of
`these two devices again, after first having been out-of-range
`of these two devices, the user configures the mobile station 5
`of which stored BT-link the index file should be downloaded,
`and thus which controllable electronic device should be con
`trolled. Also, after the Service Discovery Protocol discovered
`multiple in-range controllable electronic devices, multiple
`sets of cards for the discovered controllable electronic
`devices may be downloaded. In this embodiment, the identi
`fication numbers and URLs of the discovered electronic
`devices are stored into the memory 25A. Then, browser 27
`can open multiple windows for such controllable electronic
`devices so that the user can select to control any one of the
`discovered controllable electronic devices.
`FIG. 7 shows 6 menu pages 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, and 85 that
`are downloaded from the server 71 and that are displayed on
`the display 28 of the mobile station 5. The menu pages 80-85
`is an example of the client application using WML (WAP
`Markup Language) interpreted by the WAP browser 27. The
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`US 7,894,474 B1
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`8
`six menu pages or cards 80-85 allow a user of the mobile
`station 5 to navigate six screens. The screens 80-85 are
`defined as follows:
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`Screen 80:
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`Screen 81:
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`Screen 82:
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`Screen 8.3:
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`Screen 84:
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`Screen 85:
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`Menu
`
`“Function Select:
`Volume
`Channel
`Settings
`OK
`“Volume Level
`1
`Mute
`2
`3
`4 Medium
`5
`6
`7
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`Menu
`
`Menu
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`“Contrast Level
`LOW
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`Menu
`Set
`“Brightness Level
`Low
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`Medium
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`H
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`e t
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`Menu
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`The screen 80 is the first browser screen after the initial
`display of the controllable electronic device identificat