U.S. patent application number 13/122407 was filed with the patent office on 2011-07-28 for eui based remote database for dynamic device control.
Invention is credited to Leonard Tsai.
Application Number | 20110182278 13/122407 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42073756 |
Filed Date | 2011-07-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110182278 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai; Leonard |
July 28, 2011 |
EUI BASED REMOTE DATABASE FOR DYNAMIC DEVICE CONTROL
Abstract
Systems and methods for controlling one or more appliances are
provided. One or more appliances (150), each having one or more
unique identifiers and one or more first network adapters can be in
communication with one or more first networks (140). One or more
network adapter devices (120) capable of bi-directional
communication on the first network (140) and on one or more second
networks (160) can be disposed on the first network (140). One or
more appliance databases can be disposed in, on, or about the one
or more second networks (160). One or more handheld controllers
(110) can be in communication with the one or more network adapter
devices (120) and the one or more appliances (150).
Inventors: |
Tsai; Leonard; (Cupertino,
CA) |
Family ID: |
42073756 |
Appl. No.: |
13/122407 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
October 3, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US08/78668 |
371 Date: |
April 2, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/338 ;
370/328 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08C 19/28 20130101;
G08C 2201/92 20130101; G08C 2201/21 20130101; H04L 67/06
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/338 ;
370/328 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/00 20090101
H04W004/00; H04W 84/12 20090101 H04W084/12 |
Claims
1. A system for controlling one or more appliances, comprising: one
or more first networks (140); one or more appliances (150), each
having one or more unique identifiers and one or more first network
adapters disposed therein; one or more network access devices (120)
capable of bi-directional communication between the first network
(140) and a second network (160), wherein one or more databases are
disposed on the second network; and one or more handheld
controllers (110) having memory and one or ore first network
adapters disposed therein.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more unique
identifiers comprise an IEEE Extended Unique Identifier.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the Extended Unique Identifier
comprises a 48-bit Extended Unique Identifier (EUI-48), a 60-bit
Extended Unique Identifier (EUI-60), a 64-bit Extended Unique
identifier (EUI-64), or any combination thereof.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more first network
adapters comprise: an Ethernet adapter, a Bluetooth.RTM. adapter,
an 802.11(b) Wi-Fi adapter, an 802.11(g) Wi-Fi adapter, an
802.11(n) Wi-Fi adapter, an RF adapter, an IR adapter, or any
combination thereof.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second network (160)
comprises: the Internet, a corporate intranet, a local area
network, a wide area network, or any combination thereof.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more appliances (150)
comprise one or more devices, systems or combination of systems
and/or devices having one or more assigned IEEE Extended Unique
Identifiers ("EIUs").
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more appliances (150)
comprise one or more electrical devices, audio devices, video
devices, household appliances, computing devices, computer
peripherals, communication devices, or any combination thereof.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more appliance
databases comprise appliance control data indexed or accessed using
all or a portion of the appliance's Extended Unique Identifier.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein the Extended Unique Identifier
comprises an Internet Protocol version 6 IEEE compliant Extended
Unique Identifier.
10. A method for controlling one or more appliances, comprising:
connecting one or more appliances (150) having one or more unique
identifiers and one or more first network adapters disposed therein
to a first network (140); connecting one or more network access
devices (120) to the first network (140); connecting the one or
more network access devices (120) to a second network (160),
wherein one or more databases comprising appliance control data is
disposed in, on, or about the second network (160); connecting one
or more handheld controllers (110) having a memory disposed therein
to the first network (140); transferring the one or more unique
identifiers from the one or more appliances (150) to the one or
more network access devices (120) via the first network (140);
transferring the appliance control data from the appliance database
disposed in, on, or about the second network (160) to the one or
more network access devices (120); and transferring the appliance
control data from the one or more network access devices (120) to
the memory in the one or more handheld controllers (110).
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more appliances
(150) comprise one or more devices, systems or combination of
systems and/or devices having one or more assigned IEEE Extended
Unique Identifiers ("EUI").
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more unique
identifiers comprise: a 48-bit Extended Unique Identifier
("EUI-48"), a 60-bit Extended Unique Identifier ("EUI-60"), a
64-bit Extended Unique identifier ("EUI-64"), or any combination
thereof.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more first network
adapters comprise: an Ethernet adapter, a Bluetooth.RTM. adapter,
an 802.11(b) Wi-Fi adapter, an 802.11(g) Wi-Fi adapter, an
802.11(n) Wi-Fi adapter, an RF adapter, an IR adapter, or any
combination thereof.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the first network (140)
comprises: a corporate intranet, a wireless local area network, a
wired local area network, a wireless wide area network, a wired
wide area network, or any combination thereof.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein the second network (160)
comprises: the Internet, a corporate intranet, a local area
network, a wide area network, or any combination thereof.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Most electronic devices in the modern day home are equipped
with some form of wireless remote control device. Present day
wireless devices include televisions, stereo equipment, video
equipment such as DVD players, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), and
Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs), cable television adapters,
satellite television adapters, and the like. Given the prevalence
of relatively inexpensive network interfaces, the number of devices
equipped with wireless controls will only increase into the future.
The future may hold wireless controlled household furnishings and
appliances such as lamps, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ventilation
fans, and the like.
[0002] Since each remotely controlled appliance is usually supplied
with one or more remote controllers, even a small household can
accumulate a considerable number of remote controllers. The remote
controllers are often great in number and similar in appearance.
Frequently, the remote controllers are scattered about, hidden
between sofa cushions, buried in the pet's bed, or lodged in an
inaccessible location which is usually replete with a substantial
accumulation of lint. While multifunction remote controllers may
reduce the sheer number of controllers, most so called "universal"
wireless remote controllers can handle only a limited number of
devices, usually between 3 and 10. Given the potential growth in
remote controlled appliances, it seems only a matter of time until
a household will have a plethora of 10-in-1 controllers scattered
where individual TV, DVD, and cable box remote controllers once
roamed.
[0003] Universal remote control devices also have the drawback of
requiring the user to "program" the controller. Generally, this
"programming" occurs in one of two ways. The first way is to simply
take the universal remote, place it In "learn" mode and shoot the
dedicated remote controller at the universal remote while it is in
"learn" mode. Such programming is tedious, time-consuming, and
requires considerable interaction between the user, the universal
remote, and the dedicated remote controller. The second way is for
the user to enter a manufacturer's "code" into the universal remote
controller. Unfortunately, many off-brand appliances may not have
codes, some newly arrived appliance brands may not have had codes
at the time the universal remote database was flashed by the
manufacturer, or "manufacturer A" on the faceplate of the wireless
appliance actually tolled the production of the appliance through
"manufacturer B." Other than frustration on the part of the
consumer, the most frequently observed result in such instances is
a television where the up volume, down channel, and channel buttons
3, 5, and 8 operate as intended, while every other button either
does nothing or something totally unexpected.
[0004] There is a need, therefore, for a remote controller capable
of accommodating a large number of wireless appliances, yet having
a simple programming interface featuring an open architecture
independent of one or more static databases of appliance control
data flashed into the remote controller memory at the time of
manufacture.
SUMMARY
[0005] A system for controlling one or more appliances is provided.
One or more appliances, each having one or more unique identifiers
and one or more first network adapters can be in communication with
one or more first networks. One or more network adapter devices
capable of bi-directional communication on the first network and on
one or more second networks can be disposed on the first network.
One or more appliance databases can be disposed or otherwise
contained on the one or more second networks. One or more handheld
controllers can be in communication with the one or more network
adapter devices and the one or more appliances.
[0006] A method for controlling one or more appliances is also
provided. One or more appliances having one or more unique
identifiers and one or more first network adapters disposed therein
can be communicatively coupled to a first network. One or more
network access devices can also be communicatively coupled to the
first network. The one or more network access devices can be
communicatively coupled to a second network containing one or more
appliance databases containing appliance control data. One or more
handheld controllers having a memory disposed therein can also be
communicatively coupled to the first network. The one or more
unique identifiers can be transferred from the one or more
appliances to the one or more network access device. The network
access device can collect appliance control data from the second
network and transfer the appliance control data to the handheld
controller.
[0007] As used herein, the terms "appliance" and/or "appliances"
can include, but are not limited to, any device, system or
combination of systems and/or devices having one or more unique
identifiers such as an IEEE Extended Unique Identifier ("EIU").
Such identifiers can uniquely identify a particular piece of
equipment from a specific vendor, manufacturer, or other
organization. Such remotely controlled appliances can include
electrical devices, household appliances, computing devices,
communication devices, and the like.
[0008] As used herein, the terms "Extended Unique Identifier"
and/or "EUI" can include, but are not limited to, one or more
48-bit Extended Unique Identifiers ("EUI-48.TM."), one or more
60-bit Extended Unique Identifiers ("EUI-60.TM."), and/or one or
more 64-bit Extended Unique Identifiers ("EUI-64.TM."). In one or
more embodiments, the EUI can have an identification format in
accordance with an Internet Protocol Version 6 ("IPv6") addressing
system. In one or more specific embodiments, the EUI can be an
EUI-64.TM. ID format in accordance with the IPv6 addressing
system.
[0009] As used herein, "EUI-48.TM." refers to an identifier that is
formed by concatenating the 24-bit Organizationally Unique
Identifier ("OUI") with a 24-bit extension identifier that is
assigned by the organization that purchased the OUI--the resulting
identifier is generally represented as a set of octets separated by
dashes (hexadecimal notation) or colons (bit-reversed notation) as
in FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF or FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, as a string of 6 bytes
as in {FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF}, or as a base 16 number as in
FFFFFFFFFFFF.sub.16.
[0010] As used herein, "EUI-60.TM." refers to an identifier that is
formed by concatenating the 24-bit OUI with a 36-bit extension
identifier that is assigned by the organization that purchased the
OUI. The resulting identifier is generally represented by a string
of 15 nibbles, as a base 16 number as in FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.sub.16, or
as FF-FF-FF:F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F as an EUI-64 value.
[0011] As used herein, "EUI-64.TM." refers to an identifier that is
formed by concatenating the 24-bit OUI with a 40-bit extension
identifier that is assigned by the organization that purchased the
OUI--the resulting identifier is generally represented as a set of
octets separated by dashes (hexadecimal notation) or colons
(bit-reversed notation) as in FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF or
FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, as a string of 8 bytes as in
{FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF}, or as a base 16 number as in
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.sub.16. According to IEEE guidelines, the first
four digits of the organizationally assigned identifier (i.e., the
first four digits of the extension identifier) portion of an
EUI-64.TM."shall not be FFFE.sub.16 or FFFF.sub.16" (i.e.,
EUI-64.TM. identifiers of the form ccccccFFFEeeeeeeeeee and
ccccccFFFFeeeeeeeeee are not allowed)--this is to support the
encapsulation of MAC-48 and EUI-48.TM. values into EUI-64.TM.
values.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Advantages of one or more disclosed embodiments may become
apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon
reference to the drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative system
for programming a remote controller using one or more open
databases, according to one or more embodiments described;
[0014] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 48-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments described;
[0015] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 60-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments described;
[0016] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 64-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments described;
[0017] FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative system for programming a
television remote controller, according to one or more embodiments
described;
[0018] FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for
downloading control data to a network access device 120, according
to one or more embodiments described; and
[0019] FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for
downloading control data to a controller 110, according to one or
more embodiments described.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative system
for programming a remote controller, according to one or more
embodiments. In one or more embodiments, the illustrative system
can include one or more controllers 110, one or more network access
devices 120, one or more optional storage devices 130, one or more
first networks 140, a plurality of remote controlled appliances
150, and one or more second networks 160. In one or more
embodiments, the one or more remote controlled appliances 150 can
include, but are not limited to, televisions, stereo equipment,
video equipment, lamps, refrigerators, dish washers, washing
machines, dryers, garage door openers, or any other electrical
device found in the home, commerce or industry. In one or more
embodiments, the number of remote controlled appliances 150
communicatively coupled to the one or more remote controllers 110
can range from a minimum of about 2; about 5; about 10; or about
20, to a maximum of about 10; about 30; about 50; about 100; about
200; or about 500.
[0021] In one or more embodiments, the system 100 can include two
or more networks, two, 140 and 160, are depicted in FIG. 1. The one
or more first networks 140 can include one or more local area
networks, wide area networks, or any combination thereof to which
one or more appliances 150 can be communicatively coupled. One or
more network access devices 120 can be disposed on the first
network 140 in such a manner that the one or more appliances 150
can communicate with the one or more network access devices 120.
The one or more network access devices can be simultaneously or
sequentially coupled to one or more second networks 160. The one or
more second networks 160 can be a local area network, a wide area
network, the internet, or any combination thereof. In one or more
specific embodiments, the second network 160 can be the internet
having one or more appliance databases containing appliance control
data disposed thereupon.
[0022] It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art
that a comprehensive list of remote controlled appliances would be
virtually obsolete upon compilation due to the explosive growth
within the field. Given this background, one of ordinary skill in
the art would quickly realize the applicability of one or more
embodiments of the present invention to any remote controlled
appliance either presently in commerce or introduced to commerce at
some point in the future. Such future remote controlled appliances,
although not explicitly stated herein, are to be considered fully
within the scope of one or more embodiments of the present
invention.
[0023] The one or more controllers 110 can be used to control,
adjust or otherwise affect the operation of the one or more remote
controlled appliances 150 to which the controller is
communicatively coupled. One or more control signals can be
transmitted from the controller 110 to the one or more remote
controlled appliances 150 via one or more communication links 155.
The one or more communications links can be wired or wireless. In
one or more embodiments, the one or more communications links 155
can be wireless, for example radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR),
laser, or any combination thereof. The one or more controllers 110
can include, but are not limited to one or more handheld (i.e.
mobile) devices, one or more stationary devices, or any combination
thereof.
[0024] The one or more appliances 150 can include, but are not
limited to, any number of remote controlled appliances, each having
one or more unique identifiers. In one or more embodiments, the one
or more unique identifiers can include, but are not limited to, one
or more Extended Unique Identifiers (EUIs). The EUI can include one
or more 48-bit IEEE EUIs (EUI-48.TM.), one or more 60-bit IEEE EUIs
(EUI-60.TM.), one or more 64-bit IEEE EUIs (EUI-64.TM.), or any
combination thereof.
[0025] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 48-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 48-bit EUI can include
an initial 24-bit Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) followed
by a 24-bit unique appliance identifier as issued by the registrant
organization (OUI). A 48-bit EUI can permit the unique
identification of approximately 16.8 million distinct
appliances.
[0026] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 60-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 60-bit EUI can include
an initial 24-bit OUI followed by a 36-bit unique appliance
identifier as issued by the registrant organization. A 60-bit EUI
can permit the unique identification of approximately 68.7 billion
distinct appliances.
[0027] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary appliance address using a 64-bit
EUI according to one or more embodiments. A 64-bit EUI can include
an initial 24-bit OUI followed by a 40-bit unique appliance
identifier as issued by the registrant organization. A 64-bit EUI
can permit the unique identification of approximately 1 trillion
distinct appliances.
[0028] Referring back to FIG. 1, the one or more appliances 150 can
include, but are not limited to, one or more devices having a
unique EUI and one or more network adapters and/or interfaces
disposed therein. The unique EUI assigned to the appliance 150 can
identify the manufacturer of the appliance, the appliance type, and
a particular model or part number for the appliance. The network
adapter or interface disposed within the appliance 150 can include
one or more wired and/or wireless adapters or interfaces. In one or
more embodiments, the one or more network adapters can include one
or more wireless local area network (WLAN) adapters, one or more
wireless wide area network (WWAN) adapters or any combination
thereof. In one or more embodiments, the WLAN and/or WWAN networks
can communicate using an IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocol, including,
but not limited to, 802.11(b), 802.11(g), 802.11(n), or the like.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more network adapters can
include one or more wired local area network (LAN) adapters, one or
more wired wide area network (WAN) adapters or any combination
thereof. In one or more embodiments, a combination of wired
(LAN/WAN) and wireless (WLAN/WWAN) adapters can be disposed within
a single appliance 150.
[0029] The one or more network adapters disposed in, on, or about
the one or more appliances 150 can communicatively couple to one or
more first networks 140. In one or more embodiments, the one or
more appliances 150 can broadcast their unique EUI across the first
network either continuously or intermittently via the one or more
network adapters disposed in, on, or about each of the one or more
appliances 150.
[0030] The one or more network access devices 120 can be
communicatively coupled to the first network 140. Additionally, the
network access device 120 can be communicatively coupled to a
second network 160. In one or more specific embodiments, the one or
more network access devices 120 can be simultaneously
communicatively coupled to the first network 140 and the second
network 160. In one or more embodiments, the second network 160 can
be communicatively coupled to an appliance database containing,
inter alia, control data for one or more remotely controlled
appliances 150 cross indexed by EUI. In one or more embodiments,
the second network 160 can include, but is not limited to one or
more local area networks ("LANs"), wide area networks ("WANs"),
publicly accessible networks, private networks, world wide
web/internet, or any combination thereof. In one or more specific
embodiments, the second network 160 can be the internet and the
appliance database accessed by the network access device 120 can be
accessible via the world wide web/internet.
[0031] The appliance control data accessed by the second network
160 can be downloaded to the network access device 120 via one or
more communication links 165. The one or more communications links
can be wireless or wired. In one or more embodiments, the first
network 140 and the second network 160 can be the same network. In
one or more specific embodiments, the first network 140 and the
second network 160 can be a single wireless local area network
("WLAN") using an IEEE 802.11(b), (g), or (n) standard. In one or
more embodiments, after downloading the appliance control data, the
network access device can store the downloaded data on one or more
optional storage devices 130.
[0032] The one or more remote access devices 120 can monitor the
appliance EUIs broadcast onto the first network 140 by the one or
more remotely controlled appliances 150. Upon detecting a new EUI,
the one or more network access devices 120 can determine whether
the appliance control data associated with the detected EUI is
present on the storage device 130 and thus has been downloaded from
the second network 160. If the appliance control data has not been
previously downloaded, the network access device 120 can access and
download the appliance control data from one or more databases
disposed on the second network 160. The downloaded appliance
control data can be stored in the network access device 120 and/or
in one or more network storage devices 130.
[0033] The one or more controllers 110 can be communicatively
coupled to the network access device 120 via the first network 140
and one or more communications links 115. The communications link
115 can be wired or wireless. In one or more embodiments, the
communications link 115 can use an IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocol
such as 802.11(b), 802.11(g), 802.11(n); Bluetooth.RTM.; or the
like. The appliance control data stored in the network access
device 120 and/or network storage devices 130 can be transferred
from the network access device 120 to the one or more controllers
110 via the one or more communications links 115, 145.
[0034] After receiving the appliance control data from the one or
more network access devices 120, the controller 110 can be
communicatively coupled 155 to the one or more remotely controlled
appliances 150. The communicative coupling 155 between the
controller 110 and the one or more remotely controlled appliances
150 can be wired or wireless. In one or more embodiments, the
communicative coupling 155 can be via one or more radio frequency
(RF) signals, one or more laser signals, one or more infrared (IR
signals), combinations thereof, or the like.
[0035] Due to the large number of remotely controlled appliances,
an exhaustive discussion encompassing all remotely controlled
appliances is difficult. One of ordinary skill in the art would
readily recognize the broad applicability of one or more
embodiments of the present invention to an almost infinite number
of remotely controlled appliances. For brevity and readability, the
programming and operation of an illustrative, non-limiting,
television remote controller will be discussed with reference to
FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.
[0036] FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative system for programming a
television remote controller, according to one or more embodiments.
In one or more embodiments, a television 550 can be communicatively
coupled to a wireless local area network ("WLAN") 540 using an IEEE
802.11(b), (g), or (n) protocol. The network access device 120 can
be a personal computer having one or more storage devices 130
communicatively coupled thereto via one or more busses 125. The
personal computer 120 can be communicatively connected to the
internet 560 via one or more connections 565. A handheld controller
110 can be communicatively coupled to the wireless local area
network 540 via one or more connections 115.
[0037] In one or more embodiments, the television 550 can establish
communication via the 802.11(b/g/n) compatible WLAN 540 when the
television 550 is powered on. After establishing contact with the
WLAN 540, the television 550 can transmit its unique EUI across the
WLAN 540 to the personal computer 120. The television 550 can
transmit the EUI continuously while in operation, intermittently,
at regular intervals, at irregular intervals, or any pattern of
continuous or intermittent signals either continuously or for a
finite duration while in operation.
[0038] FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for
downloading control data to a network access device 120, according
to one or more embodiments. When the television 550 EUI is detected
by the network access device, for example the personal computer
120, logic flow similar to that depicted in FIG. 6, can be
followed. The personal computer 120 can continuously monitor the
WLAN for the presence of new EUIs as depicted in step 620. Upon
detecting a new EUI, the personal computer can determine whether
the EUI is present in the volatile storage in the personal computer
in step 630. The EUI may be present in volatile storage, for
example, if power to the television 550 has been on off cycled
while the personal computer 120 has been continuously powered.
[0039] If the EUI is not found in volatile storage, the personal
computer 120 can compare the new EUI to determine whether the EUI
is present in non-volatile storage, for example in the storage
device 130, in step 650. The EUI may be present in non-volatile
storage, for example, if the television 550 had previously
broadcast the manufacturer's EUI over the WLAN 540 and the personal
computer 120 had downloaded the television control data from the
Internet 560. The presence of the television control data in one or
more memory storage modules 130 can indicate that the television
control data has already been transferred to the controller 110,
and therefore does not require downloading from the internet
560.
[0040] If the EUI is not in non-volatile storage 130, the personal
computer can access the internet 560 in step 660. After accessing
the internet and locating one or more control data tables, the
personal computer 120 can download television control data in step
670 based upon the EUI supplied by the television 550. In one or
more embodiments, after downloading the television control data
from the Internet 560, the personal computer 120 can store the
control data and associated EUI in non-volatile storage 130.
[0041] The personal computer 120 can communicative couple to the
controller 110 and transfer all or a portion of the television
control data via the WLAN 540. The transfer can be contemporaneous
with the download of the television control data from the internet
560 or subsequent to the completion of the download of the
television control data from the internet 560. The personal
computer 120 can transfer all or a portion of the television
control data to the one or more controllers 110 via one or more
communications links 115. In one or more embodiments, the one or
more communications links 115 can include a WLAN connection as
depicted in FIG. 5.
[0042] FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative logic flow diagram for
downloading control data to a controller 110, according to one or
more embodiments. When the personal computer 120 transfers all or a
portion of the television control data to the one or more
controllers 110, logic flow similar to that depicted in FIG. 7, can
be followed. In one or more embodiments, the controller 110 can
continuously or intermittently monitor the WLAN 540 for the
presence of one or more incoming control data downloads originated
by the personal computer 120 in step 720.
[0043] Upon detecting the presence of a control data download via
one or more communications links 115 in step 730, the controller
110 can compare the control data download supplied by the personal
computer 120 to download data already stored in memory disposed
within the controller 110 in step 740. If, in step 750, the
controller 110 finds the control data already present in memory
then the controller 110, in step 760, can refuse the connection
from the personal computer 120 across the WLAN 540.
[0044] If, in step 770, the controller finds that the control data
supplied by the personal computer 120 across the WLAN 540 is not
present in controller 110 memory, then the connection with the
personal computer 120 can be accepted. After accepting the
connection from the personal computer, the control data can be
loaded into the controller 110 memory in step 780.
[0045] Referring back to FIG. 5, after the television control data
is loaded into controller 110 memory, the controller 110 can be
used to control the operation of the television 550. For example,
the controller 110 can be used to control the tuning, volume,
inputs and outputs on the television 550 via one or more
communications links 155. The one or more communications links 155
can include one or more laser, RF, or IR links.
[0046] Certain embodiments and features have been described using a
set of numerical upper limits and a set of numerical lower limits.
It should be appreciated that ranges from any lower limit to any
upper limit are contemplated unless otherwise indicated. Certain
lower limits, upper limits and ranges appear in one or more claims
below. All numerical values are "about" or "approximately" the
indicated value, and take into account experimental error and
variations that would be expected by a person having ordinary skill
in the art.
[0047] Various terms have been defined above. To the extent a term
used in a claim is not defined above, it should be given the
broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that
term as reflected in at least one printed publication or issued
patent. Furthermore, all patents, test procedures, and other
documents cited in this application are fully incorporated by
reference to the extent such disclosure is not inconsistent with
this application and for all jurisdictions in which such
incorporation is permitted.
[0048] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
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