Instruction manual

US 6,642,852 B2
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FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method for setting up the
table of FIG. 4 to enable the remote control of the system of
FIG. 1 to receive poWer state information;
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method for executing an
update of the poWer state information table of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method for commanding
multiple appliances Within the system of FIG. 1 to be turned
to the on state;
FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary method for commanding
single appliances Within the system of FIG. 1 to be turned to
the on state;
FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram schematic of an exem
plary poWer monitoring unit of the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary poWer
monitoring module of the poWer monitoring unit of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method for setting up a
poWer monitoring unit of FIG. 9 and for providing poWer
state information to the remote control of the system of FIG.
1;
FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary transmission sequence
betWeen the poWer monitoring units and the remote control
of the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 13 illustrates a further poWer monitoring unit in the
form of a poWer strip; and
FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of the exemplary
poWer monitoring unit of FIG. 13.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Turning noW to the ?gures, Wherein like reference numer
als refer to like elements, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a
system for providing a remote control With appliance poWer
aWareness. Generally, the system includes a remote control
10 capable of commanding the operation of home appliances
12, such as television 12a and set-top box 12b. It Will be
appreciated that the home appliances 12 can be of different
types (such as, by Way of example only, televisions, VCRs,
DVD players, set-top boxes, ampli?ers, CD players, game
consoles, home lighting, drapery, etc.) manufactured by
different manufacturers. The home appliances 12 receive
poWer from an electrical outlet 16 using an intermediate
poWer monitor unit 14 having a socket for receiving the plug
of an appliance 12 and a plug for insertion into a socket of
the electrical outlet 16. As Will be described in greater detail,
the poWer monitor unit 14 bi-directionally communicates
With the remote control 10 to provide the remote control 10
With aWareness of the poWer state of a home appliance 12.
In this manner, the remote control 10 can consider the poWer
state of the home appliances When executing a macro or
other commands.
For communicating With the consumer appliances 12 as
Well as the poWer monitor units 14, the remote control 10
preferably includes a processor 24 coupled to a ROM
memory 26, a key matrix 28 (in the form of physical buttons,
a touch screen, or the like), an internal clock and timer 30,
an IR (or RF) transmission circuit 32 (for sending signals to
a home appliance 12), an RF (or IR) bi-directional commu
nications module 40 (for sending and receiving signals from
a poWer monitor unit 14), a non-volatile read/Write memory
34, a visible LED 36 (to provide visual feedback to the user
of the remote control 20), and a poWer supply 38 as
illustrated in FIG. 2. As Will be appreciated, the transmission
circuit 32 and communications module 40 perform opera
tions that could be performed by a single device.
Accordingly, the transmission circuit 32 and communica
tions module 40 need not be separate and distinct compo
nents.
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The ROM memory 26 includes 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 transmis
sion of signals, etc. MeanWhile, the non-volatile read/Write
memory 34, for example an EEPROM, battery-backed up
RAM, Smart Card, memory stick, or the like, is provided to
store user entered setup data and parameters as necessary.
While the memory 26 is illustrated and described as a ROM
memory, memory 26 can 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 after 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.
For commanding the operation of home appliances of
different makes, models, and types, the memory 26 also
includes a command code library. The command code
library is comprised of a plurality of command codes that
may be transmitted from the remote control 10 for the
purpose of controlling the operation of the home appliances
12. The memory 26 also includes instructions Which the
processor 24 uses in connection With the transmission circuit
32 to cause the command codes to be transmitted in a format
recogniZed by the target home appliance 12. Similarly, the
memory 26 also includes instructions Which the processor
24 uses in connection With the communications module 40
to cause communications to be transmitted in a format
recogniZed by the poWer monitor units 14.
To identify home appliances 12 by type and make (and
sometimes model) such that the remote control 10 is adapted
to transmit recogniZable command codes in the format
appropriate for such identi?ed home appliances 12, data
may be entered into the remote control 10. Since methods
for setting up a remote control to control the operation of
speci?c home appliances is Well-knoWn, it Will not be
described in greater detail herein. Nevertheless, for addi
tional information pertaining to remote control setup, the
reader may turn to US. Pat. Nos. 5,614,906 and 4,959,810
Which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
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 one or more keys on the key
matrix 28. More speci?cally, in response to an event appro
priate instructions Within the memory 26 are executed. For
example, When a command key is activated on the remote
control 10, the remote control 10 may read the command
code corresponding to the activated command key from
memory 26 and transmit the command code to a home
appliance 12 in a format recogniZable by the home appliance
12. It Will be appreciated that the instructions Within the
memory 26 can be used not only to cause the transmission
of command codes to home appliances 12 but also to
perform local operations. While not limiting, local opera
tions that may be performed by the remote control 10
include favorite channel setup, macro button setup, com
mand function key relocation, etc. Since examples of local
operations can be found in US. Pat. Nos. 5,481,256, 5,959,
751, 6,014,092, Which are incorporated herein by reference
in their entirety, they Will not be discussed in greater detail
herein.
By Way of further example, an exemplary remote control
10 is illustrated in FIG. 3. While illustrated as a conventional
hand-held remote control, the remote control can include