GARDES, Laurent (AA Eindhoven, NL-5656, NL)
CLAIMS
1. A method for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product comprising : receiving, storing and time-day stamping (102) commands, which commands control features of the consumer electronics product; determining (106) one or more sessions; and determining (112) which of said commands to execute in each respective session; and wherein subsequently, during a determined session : executing (118) each command of the session according to its time-day stamp and the current time-day, thereby controlling features of the consumer electronics product according to a timed sequence.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of receiving, storing and time-day stamping commands is invoked independently of the user.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the step of determining one or more sessions is performed by analysing the time-day stamps of received commands.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the step of determining one or more sessions is based on pre-determined time-day stamps.
5. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the step of determining which of said commands is based on the time-day stamps of received commands in relation to the respective session.
6. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the step of determining which of said commands comprises determining one or more arbitrary commands each command having an arbitrary time-day stamp within the respective session.
7. A consumer electronics product (200) comprising a processor (202), clock-calendar (204), user interface (206), program memory (208) and data memory (210) and all interconnected by a data communications bus (212), the processor being operable to perform, under control of instructions contained in the program memory, the method as claimed in any preceding claim.
8. An adaptor (300) for operating a consumer electronics product (316), the adaptor comprising a processor (302), clock-calendar (304), user interface (306), program memory (308), data memory (310) and output emitter (312) all interconnected by a data communications bus (314), the processor being operable to perform, under control of instructions contained in the program memory, the method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the execution of commands causes the output emitter (312) to transmit commands (318) to the consumer electronics product (316).
9. A remote control handset comprising the adaptor as claimed in claim 8.
10. Software instructions for causing a processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.
11. A machine-readable data carrier storing the instructions of claim 10. |
DESCRIPTION
UNATTENDED OPERATION OF A PRODUCT
The present invention relates to security provisions for the home or office environment, in particular to a method for the unattended operation of a consumer product.
To simulate occupancy of a building adaptor devices are available to switch on/off controlled products (such as lights, curtains, TV, radio). Examples of devices include timer switches and home automation systems (such as those based on X10, as found at www.smarthome.corn on September 9 th 2005). These all require individual manual setting and in some cases further adaptations, such as motorisation of curtains.
US Patent 6,377,858 to Koeppe discloses a system and method in which an intelligent control system records and stores the on/off events of controlled devices in a dwelling and subsequently replays the learned on/off events which then appear more natural making the dwelling appear to be occupied. Therefore a solution to the setup issue in respect of when to switch on/off an appliance is provided by the learning function. However the patent does not disclose improvements to the occupancy simulation itself.
Philips Universal Remote Control model SBC RU 880 comprises a timer which, when suitably programmed by a user, can control a function of an IR controlled consumer electronics product by means of a single IR command or a macro of IR commands. The user manual discloses that the timer is used to switch a TV on/off or to control a VCR for recording a broadcasted show at a pre-determined time. A disadvantage of this remote control is the manual user programming of each timer.
It is an object to improve on the known art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product comprising : receiving, storing and time-day stamping commands, which commands control features of the consumer electronics product; determining one or more sessions; and determining which of said commands to execute in each respective session; and wherein subsequently, during a determined session : executing each command of the session according to its time-day stamp and the current time-day, thereby controlling features of the consumer electronics product according to a timed sequence.
Prior art solutions focus on the actuation of appliances, such as the timed switching on/off of the appliances. This is suited to appliances such as lamps and curtains (drapes). In some prior art systems on/off actuation of consumer electronics products is also disclosed. Advantageously, the invention recognises that simple on/off actuation does not always represent a realistic simulation of typical use of a home appliance. The invention therefore provides feature control of home appliances, such as TV and radio devices. Feature control means control of modes, parameters and other aspects of a product such as a TV, radio or set top box. Examples of feature control include channel change, volume adjustment/setting, menu navigation and option selection. In this way a more convincing simulation of apparent occupancy of a building/dwelling is provided by enabling suitable appliances to be controlled in realistic fashions that a user would normally operate them.
As an example, such features might be arbitrarily controlled, for example by use of randomising software in a suitable device such as a set top box. Preferably, the device receives and stores one or more sequences of actual user input commands, for example from a user remote control. Subsequently, the device replays the command sequence or sequences to emulate actual usage of the device and thereby providing a realistic simulation
of occupancy which can act as a more effective deterrent to a potential intruder of the dwelling or building, whilst also providing minimal effort from the user.
A further advantage is that the method can be readily incorporated within the device itself, for example in the form of an additional software feature, at very low cost. Preferred products include digital TV, radio and set top boxes. In the case of a set top box, this has the further advantage in that it is able to on/off actuate a TV to which it is connected by means of a Scart cable, by signalling using Pin 8 or ProjectδO commands via the Scart connection.
As an alternative, the method can be incorporated into an adaptor device suitable to control legacy products such as analogue and digital TV, radio or set top boxes already used in homes and businesses. Various technologies can be combined to implement such an adaptor as is known to the skilled person. For example a suitable adaptor might use IR blaster technology to control a legacy TV or set top box; the IR blaster providing control commands for the TV / set top box derived from a randomising algorithm or alternatively commands replayed by the adaptor, which commands were previously learnt (captured) from prior use by the user. An example of an adapter is a suitably modified remote control; advantageously, this could be supplied as original equipment with a new TV, radio, or STB, etc., or as an after market accessory for a legacy product. Furthermore, the adaptor could control a plurality of products where these need to cooperate (e.g. STB and TV; radio tuner and audio amplifier; etc.) or provide independent control of such products (e.g. one adapter to independently control a TV and a radio).
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a consumer electronics product comprising a processor, clock-calendar, user interface, program memory and data memory and all interconnected by a data communications bus, the processor being operable to perform, under control of instructions contained in the program memory, a method according to the invention. Advantageously, instructions to perform the invention can form part of the overall software contained in the product, facilitating a low cost implementation.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided an adaptor for operating a consumer electronics product, the adaptor comprising a processor, clock-calendar, user interface, program memory, data memory and output emitter all interconnected by a data communications bus, the processor being operable to perform, under control of instructions contained in the program memory, a method according to the invention, wherein the execution of commands causes the output emitter to transmit commands to the consumer electronics product. Preferably the adaptor is incorporated into a remote control handset. In this way both new and legacy products can benefit from the advantages of the present invention by the provision of respective new or aftermarket remote control handsets.
In summary the invention provides a realistic simulation of occupancy of a home or office by enabling the operation of features of a consumer electronics product such as a set top box. Furthermore, the invention can be implemented with minimal user involvement by latently storing user inputs representing past usage (including operation of features) of the consumer electronics product. Implementation can be achieved by incorporating features of the invention within the consumer electronics product itself, preferably by means of software to provide a low cost solution. Alternatively, implementation can be by means of an adaptor which also has the advantage of controlling several consumer electronics products individually or in combination.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a flowchart of a method for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product;
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a consumer electronics product providing for the unattended control of its features; and
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an adaptor for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product.
In the present description, the following terms are defined. The term 'consumer electronics product' means any entertainment product or system such as TV, radio, home cinema system, set top box, DVD, VCR, etc. The term 'time-day stamping' means recordal of the item (typically a command) in terms of the present time and day of the week (or date) as obtained by reference to a real-time clock-calendar.
Figure 1 shows a flowchart of a method for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product. The method starts at 100 and proceeds to receive store and time-day stamp commands at step 102. The received commands may be due to operator control of a local keypad or commands received via a remote connection, which may be wired or wireless; wireless remote control includes radio and infrared methods, as is known in the art. Examples of commands include standby, channel up/down, programme up/down, volume up/down, menu on/off; in fact any command associated with the feature and function control of a consumer electronics product, such as a TV, VCR, DVD, set top box and the like. The step 102 may be invoked by the user. Preferably the step is invoked without involvement of the user, such that commands are received, stored and time-day stamped automatically without involvement of the user; for example recording recent usage of the consumer electronics product by the user. As a practical example the last hundred or so commands might be automatically received, stored and time-day stamped.
The method then proceeds to determine one or more sessions at step 106. One means to determine the one or more sessions is to use predetermined times and days 108. These represent typical activity periods for the respective consumer electronics product. As an example, predetermined time-days might represent the prime time evening session of 1800-2300 for the weekdays Monday to Friday. Other predetermined time-day parameters can be readily identified by the skilled person. Although these predetermined time- day parameters can be used, preferably the one or more sessions are determined by analysis of the time-day stamps of received commands 104. Using such data, realistic sessions can be identified by representing actual
usage thereby creating the opportunity to produce a more realistic simulation. As an example, the start of a session could be deemed to be represented by a command whose time-day stamp is the first to occur after a prolonged period of time in which no commands were received; the corresponding end of session would be represented by the time-day stamp of a command after which no further commands were received for a further prolonged period. The skilled person would recognise that a prolonged period could be any suitable period of time, for example several hours. Other means of determining sessions from received commands can be realised by the skilled person.
The method then proceeds to determine at step 112 commands to execute in each respective session. In a preferred method the commands are determined in accordance with the time-day stamps of received commands in relation to the respective session. As an example, for a defined session 110 having a begin time-day stamp and an end time-day stamp, all commands 104 whose time-day stamps lie within the respective session (i.e. at or between the begin time-day and end time-day of the session) are determined to be included in that session. As an alternative, the step of determining commands comprises an arbitrary set of commands, each command being associated with an arbitrary time-day stamp lying within the respective session. Examples of arbitrary commands include channel up/down, programme up/down, volume up/down, and the like.
The method then proceeds to execute commands 118 during a determined session, where the execution of each command of the session 114 is in accordance with its time-day stamp according to the current time-day 116. In this way, features of the consumer electronics product are controlled according to a timed sequence of commands executed during the determined session. The method ends at step 120.
Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a consumer electronics product 200, configured for the unattended control of its features. The product comprises a CPU 202, a clock-calendar 204, a user interface 206, a program memory 208 and a data memory 210 all interconnected by a data communications bus 212 in known fashion. Under control of a program in
program memory 208 the CPU 202 receives user input commands via the user interface 206. The user interface may comprise a local user keypad (not shown), for example the front panel controls of the product. Alternatively, the user interface may comprise a remote control receiver and remote control transmitter (both not shown) the commands being received using infrared or radio from the remote control transmitter, in known fashion. The received commands are stored in data memory 210, along with their time-day stamp of receipt as obtained from the clock calendar 204.
Using the stored commands, one or more sessions are determined and commands for those sessions are also determined. Subsequently during a determined session each command of the session is executed according to its time-day stamp and the current time-day obtained from the clock-calendar 204. Examples of the consumer electronics product described include analogue and digital TV, analogue and digital radio including DAB, analogue and digital set top boxes, DVD and VCR players and similar products.
Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an adaptor 300 for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product. The adaptor comprises a processor 302, a clock calendar 304, a user interface 306, a programme memory 308, a data memory 310, and an output emitter 312, all interconnected by a data communications bus 314. In operation the adaptor functions in a similar fashion to that described for the consumer electronics product in relation to figure 2 above. The user interface 306 comprises a keypad for user command input in the case where the adaptor is a remote control handset. Other methods of entering user input commands are also possible, including voice command, touch sensitive screen and the like, as is known to the skilled person. The output emitter 312 is used to send executed commands 318 to the consumer electronics product 316. The output emitter may use wired or wireless connection to the consumer electronics product 316; preferably the connection is wireless and comprises infrared or radio, as is known in the art. Preferably the adaptor is a modified remote control handset, which includes the ability to receive, store and replay commands entered previously by the user.
The foregoing method and implementations are presented by way of examples only and represent a selection of a range of methods and implementations that can readily be identified by a person skilled in the art to exploit the advantages of the present invention.
In the description above and with reference to Figure 1 there is provided a method for the unattended control of features of a consumer electronics product, comprising the receiving, storing and time-day stamping 102 of commands, which commands control features of the consumer electronics product. The method then determines 106 one or more sessions, preferably based on the received commands, and in addition determines 112 commands to execute in each respective session. Subsequently, during a session, commands are executed 118 according to their time-day stamps and the current time-day, thereby controlling features of the consumer electronics product according to a timed sequence. In a preferred embodiment the method is incorporated within a stand alone consumer electronics product, such as a set top box or TV receiver, or in a remote control handset for operating such a product, or a legacy product.