Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TALKING REMOTE CONTROL WITH DISPLAY
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The disclosure of provisional application no. 60/027,951 filed October 8, l996
is
incorporated fully herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
A number of televisions and television control systems (e.g., cable and
satellite set-top
boxes, VCRs) are capable of providing television program information in an on-
screen
display format, that is, as text directly on the television screen. In this
manner, the viewer is
provided with information about a currently displayed program without having
to resort to a
printed television schedule. Also available are various types of on-screen
electronic program
guides (EPGs) which provide several days' worth of program information for a
number of
different channels and times on the television display at the viewer's
request. The program
information may include channel (local channel and/or station name), title and
a brief
summary, as well as an EPG. Generally, the program information data is
embedded in the
television signal at a remote service provider site and telecast along with
the normally
telecast television signal. The data is then received at the viewer's end,
stripped from the
television signal and formatted for on-screen display.
In general, an on-screen display is a textual or graphic overlay which covers
at least a
portion of the displayed program. EPGs are usually in a grid format, arranged
by channel
and time, which may take up the television display. The on-screen display
format is also
used for television and VCR initial set-up operations and for set-up of VCR
timed recordings.
On-screen displays obscure the program currently being displayed to some
extent.
This can be especially inconvenient when several people are watching a
television program
and one person wishes to access program information, set up the VCR for
recording, or
otherwise invoke the on-screen display function.
It is therefor desirable to provide means for automatically informing the
viewer of
program or set-up information without obscuring the television display.
SUMMARY
According to one embodiment of the invention, a remote controller having a
display
screen receives and stores transmitted television program information.
Preferably the
program information includes an electronic program guide (EPG). In response to
a viewer
command input through a keypad on the remote controller, the remote controller
selectively
retrieves and displays at least a portion of the program information on the
display screen of
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the remote controller. The display changes as the viewer changes channels or
scrolls through
the EPG in order to provide program information about the currently selected
program on an
associated television or in the EPG.
The remote controller operates in a normal mode and a guide mode. In the
normal
mode, program information corresponds to the program displayed on the
associated
television system. In the guide mode, the viewer may scroll through program
information for
a number of currently telecast programs as well as programs to be telecast in
the future. Due
to the size limitations of the remote controller display screen, preferably
guide modes are
provided which include abbreviated program information in order to display
program
information for several programs to fit on the display screen at one time.
According to another embodiment, the program information is transmitted as
voice
data. Preferably the program information includes an EPG. In response to a
viewer
command, the microcontroller retrieves and processes a voice message for
announcement
through a speaker in the remote controller. The voice message corresponds to
the television
program currently displayed on the associated television system or a selected
program in the
EPG.
Preferably the program information is transmitted over a wireless paging
system at a
preferred frequency of about 900MHz. The microcontroller includes a digital
signal
processor for sorting and storing the retrieved program information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of a specific embodiment of the best mode contemplated of canying
out
the invention are illustrated in the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a remote controller according to a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic of the remote controller components;
FIG. 3 is a display screen on the remote controller displaying program
information for
a currently telecast television program;
FIG.4 is a display screen on the remote controller displaying an electronic
program
guide (EPG) including currently telecast programs on several different
channels (the NOW
guide format);
FIGS is a display screen on the remote controller displaying an EPG including
the
currently telecast program and programs to be telecast in the future on the
channel currently
tuned by the associated television system (the NEXT guide format);
FIG.6 is a schematic of the data transmission system for the remote
controller; and
FIG.7 is a display screen on the remote controller displaying the currently
selected
device for control by the remote controller.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a remote controller 10 according
to the
invention. The remote controller 10 includes a display screen 12 to provide
textual
information regarding telecast television programs. The display screen 12 is
capable of
providing program information such as time, channel (local channel and/or
station name),
title, and a brief summary of the program. A speaker 14 is capable of
outputting voice
messages corresponding to the textual information on the display screen 12.
The remote
controller 10 receives regularly updated program information and other data
from a remote
service provider 84 (See FIG. 6). The remote controller 10 also has universal
remote
control capabilities which are enhanced by the display and audio features and
data
reception capabilities of the device.
The remote controller includes a keypad with various buttons for viewer input.
A
first set of buttons are common to universal remote controllers and perform
the same
functions, unless otherwise indicated. This first set of buttons includes
POWER button 16,
SETUP group buttons 18, numeric group button 20, MUTE button 21, TV/VCR button
22,
CH UP/DOWN button 24, VOL UP/DOWN button 26, and RECORDER/PLAYER control
group buttons 28. A second set of buttons are specific to the preferred
embodiment and
include LIGHT button 30, DEVICE button 31, NOW button 32, NEXT button 33, DAY
button 34, PAGE button 35, CENTRAL CONTROL button 36, and GUIDE button 37.
The functions of the second set buttons are described in detail below.
FIG. 2 is a schematic of the remote controller 10 components. RF receiver 38
receives regularly updated text and voice data from the remote service
provider 84 (See
FIG. 6). Preferably the data is transmitted by a nation-wide paging carrier to
individual
remote controllers 10 on a 900MHz paging frequency. A digital signal processor
(DSP)
40 reorganizes and stores the text data in a guide memory 42 and the voice
data to a voice
memory 44. In response to a viewer command, a microcontroller 46 retrieves the
appropriate text data from the guide memory 42 and routes the data to display
screen 12.
The microcontroller 46 simultaneously retrieves corresponding voice data from
the voice
memory 44 and routes the voice data to voice processor 50 which processes the
data into a
voice message for announcement through speaker 14. The microcontroller 46 also
controls
a light 52 for illuminating the display screen 12 and an IR transmitter 54 for
controlling
other devices. An internal clock 48 is also provided.
Display screen 12 is preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) having a 4X16
character main display area 56 with a number of peripheral indicators -time
indicator 57,
DOWNLOAD indicator 58, MUTE indicator 59, RECORD indicator 60, GUIDE indicator
61, and DEVICE indicator 96. In a normal operating mode, the display screen
displays
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information regarding a program currently displayed on an associated
television screen or
monitor. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary display. The program information can
include
date, time, channel, title and a brief description of the program to fully
identify the
program. The program information changes as the viewer changes the channel,
thereby
providing information about the new program.
Although the complete description may not fit into the 4X 16 character window,
the
viewer can scroll to the "hidden" program information. To minimize data
retrieval time
during scrolling, guide memory buffer 43 contains program information for at
least the
currently displayed program.
A light 52 is provided to illuminate the display screen. Pressing LIGHT button
30
activates the tight, preferably illuminating the display screen 12 for about
15 seconds.
The remote controller 10 also has electric program guide (EPG) capabilities.
To
access an EPG, the viewer presses GUIDE button 37. In this guide mode, GUIDE
indicator 61 blinks. Preferably, EPG information is downloaded as text and
voice data
from the remote service provider on a daily basis and stored in guide memory
42 and
voice memory 44, respectively. During the downloading, DOWNLOAD indicator 58
blinks, notifying the viewer that downloading is occurring.
The EPG is arranged in grid format with program information contained in
individual cells arranged in rows according to channel and in columns
according to time.
The EPG is stored as a series of linked in individual "pages" of textual
information
arranged in the EPG grid format. According to one embodiment, only one cell or
a
portion thereof can be displayed on the display screen 12 at a time due to the
size
limitations.
Preferably, upon entering the guide mode, the cell of the EPG grid continuing
program information for the currently displayed program is displayed. Since
this cell
contains the same information as displayed in the normal mode, there is no
change in the
display on display screen 12. However, the viewer is notified that the remote
controller 10
is in the guide mode by the blinking of the GUIDE indicator 61. The viewer can
navigate
through the EPG grid using CENTRAL CONTROL button 68 in conjunction with DAY
button 70 and PAGE button 72. The CENTRAL CONTROL button 68 is a circular
button which includes a direction indicator arrows in each of four quadrants
of the circle.
By pressing the quadrant containing a particular indicator arrow, the viewer
can scroll
through the grid in the direction of the associated indicator arrow to display
hidden text in
an adj acent area of the guide. Pressing the DAY button 70 skips automatically
to the next
day in the guide, and pressing the PAGE button 72 skips automatically to the
next page of
the guide in a vertical orientation. Each cell includes at least program time,
date, channel,
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and title to orient the viewer while scrolling through the guide (see FIG. 4).
Preferably, a center 74 button of the CENTRAL CONTROL button 68 controls two
functions in the guide mode. Pressing the center button 74 once quickly
activates a
HOME function in which the microcontroller 46 automatically resets the display
screen to
the cell in the EPG correspond to the currently displayed program. Pressing
the center
button 74 for a longer period of time, e.g., two seconds, activates an "ENTER"
function.
The outcome of the ENTER function depends on the whether the selected cell,
that is, the
cell displayed on display screen 12, corresponds to a currently telecast
program or to a
program to be telecast in the future. If the cell corresponds to a currently
telecast program,
the microcontroller 46 automatically tunes the associated television (or
television control
system) to the channel carrying that program. Alternatively, if the cell
corresponds to a
program scheduled to be telecast in the future, the microcontroller
automatically sets the
VCR (if available) to record that program. Methods for automatically setting
the VCR for
timed recording are described in U. S. Patent No. 5,353,12I owned by
StarSight, Inc.,
herein incorporated by reference.
To maximize the information content of the limited LCD display, an alternate
embodiment of the invention provides for two additional guide modes,
designated "NOW"
and "NEXT." Corresponding indicator blocks 76, 78 are provided on the display
screen
12 and corresponding guide buttons 80, 82 are provided on the remote
controller 10. To
enter either the NOW or NEXT guide mode, the corresponding button 80, 82 is
pressed.
When the remote controller 10 is in the NOW or NEXT guide mode, the
corresponding
indicator block 76, 78 blinks.
The NOW and NEXT guide modes provide abbreviated program information, one
program per row of the (4X 16) display screen 12, so that information for four
programs can
be displayed simultaneously. Preferably, the currently displayed program is
the top listing
upon entering the NOW or NEXT guide mode. Preferably, the selected program is
highlighted by a cursor 92.
The NOW guide mode provides information for the currently telecast programs.
An
exemplary display for the NOW guide is shown in FIG. 4. Since a11 of the
programs are
currently being telecast, only the channel identification and program title
are needed to
adequately identify the programs; time and date are unnecessary.
The NEXT guide mode provides information for the currently displayed programs
and
for programs to be telecast in the future on the channel currently tuned by
the associated
television system. An exemplary display for the NEXT guide is shown in FIG. 5.
Since all
of the programs are to be telecast on the same channel, and the shows are
arranged in
chronological order, only the program start time and program title are needed
to adequately
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identify the programs; channel and date are unnecessary.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, microcontroller 46
controls speaker 14 to announce voice messages corresponding to the
information displayed
on display screen 12. Preferably, the voice message is announced upon changing
the
information on the display screen 12. For example, upon entering the screen
shown in FIG.
3, either in the normal operating mode or guide modes, speaker 14 will
announce a message
such as, "Channel two, KCBS, Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman."
The voice message feature may be deactivated. When deactivated, the MUTE
indicator 59 on the display screen 12 blinks. According to one embodiment,
pressing MUTE
button 21 deactivates the voice message feature. In an alternate embodiment, a
switch 88 is
provided on the side or back of the remote controller to (de)activate the
voice message
function. In this alternate embodiment, MUTE button 21 controls television
muting.
1 S FIG. 6 is a schematic of one embodiment of a data transmission system for
the remote
controller 10. A remote service provider 84 prepares the data to be sent to
the individual
remote controller units 10, including EPG and voice data. The remote service
provider 84
then modems this information to nationwide paging carriers 86 for transmission
to the
individual remote controller units 10 along with the transmission of other
paging information.
The remote service provider 84 receives program information data daily and
converts the
information to EPG data and to voice data using known voice processing
methods. Since
data downloading is from a networked paging carrier, the download schedules
can be fixed or
flexible, depending on the paging carrier's capacity and the needs of the
viewers. Preferably,
the data is stored by the paging carriers 86 until a low traffic period, such
as the middle of the
night, and then transmitted to the individual remote control units 10, because
immediate
communication of the data is not important. Thus, the spare capacity of the
paging system
can be used to distribute the data utilized by the invention. Paging systems
for downloading
EPG data to individual units are described in patent application no.
08/369,525 filed January
S, 199S (VideoGuide, Inc.), which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Preferably, the remote controller 10 is compatible with Gemstar's VCR Plus+
system so that VCR Plus+ codes may also be downloaded simultaneously with the
guide
information.
According to a further embodiment, the paging system is used to provide
additional
services to the individual viewers. Sports and stock information may be
downloaded to
individual viewers on a subscription basis as well as personalized billing
information.
Clock data may be sent on a regular basis to update the internal clock 48 (see
FIG. 2).
In a further embodiment, the remote controller 10 includes a high speed IrDA
transmitter 90 for transmitting EPG information to other devices. IrDA
transmitter is
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capable of sending guide information to a laser printer, for printing out the
guide, or a
personal computer, television or VCR for display of the EPG grid on the
associated
display screen. According to this embodiment, the EPG is displayed in the
preset on-
screen display format for that device. Preferably the EPG data contained in
guide memory
buffer 43 is transmitted to the other devices.
In yet another embodiment, the remote controller operates as a universal
remote for
controlling several devices. Preferably the remote controller is capable of
controlling six
other devices. Individual control of these devices is enabled by entering the
proper IR
codes for each device in the remote controller 10 which are stored by
microcontroller 46
in RAM 94 (FIG. 2). Also, at a user request, e.g., by telephone, the
appropriate IR
control codes for a particular device may be downloaded through the network
paging
system to that viewer's remote controller for automatic set-up of the remote
controller 10
(See Appendix A for preferred transmission standards).
DEVICE indicator 96 includes six number indicators 97. The number indicator
corresponding to the selected device will blink while that device is selected.
According to
one embodiment, upon pressing the DEVICE button 31 once within two seconds,
the
microcontroller 46 will control the display screen to display a description
for selected
device, in this example a Sharp brand VCR, and its device designation, "1," as
shown in
FIG. 7. According to this embodiment, upon pressing the DEVICE button 31 twice
within
2 seconds, the microcontroller 46 will select another device for control,
moving
sequentially through the number designations (1-6) for the available devices.
Alternatively, the viewer may select another device by pressing the DEVICE
button 31
and the number key ( 1-6) corresponding to the desired device designation.
The described embodiments of the invention are only considered to be preferred
and
illustrative of the inventive concept; the scope of the invention is not to be
restricted to
such embodiments. Various and numerous other arrangements may be devised by
one
skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this
invention.
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APPENDIX A
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Proposal of Adding a IR Mode Code Pre-Load Packet in
Guide Plus+ System
Allen Chang
9!25I95
Purpose:
The current Guide Plus+ System has a built-in IR transmission function. It
sends the preset iR
signal to control the Cable Box or VCR. Because of the limited space in Sanyo
microcontroller
ROM size, we only store the selected Cable box and VCR IR codes after
carefully reviewed.
However, to consider that many new cable boxes and VCRs will be sold in the
market every year,
the Guide Plus+ system should have the ability to learn or accept new IR codes
from Pre-Load
Packet in VBI line. The content of IR Mode Code Pre-Load Packet will be
discussed in details in
the following "Format" section.
General Concept:
In Guide Plus+ system, the external SRAM should reserve 200 bytes space for IR
codes storage.
Each of Cable Box IR code or VCR IR code occupies 100 bytes. Within the 100
bytes, the byte or
bit to tell either VCR or Cable box and the whole set of data for the new mode
should be
included. The format of IR codes inside of the SRAM wiii be designed by Guide
Plus+
developers.
The user who wants to received new IR codes for his/her VCR or Cabie box
should do the
following four steps:
( 1 ) During setup Guide Plus+, in stead of entering Cable Box or VCR brand
number, for example.
15-1, user has to enter the manufacturer's product serial number ( if using
Guide Plus+ slave
board*) or pin number ( if using Stand-alone box*). The Guide Plus+ system
will know that user
wants to received a new IR code for Cable Box or VCR. This number will be used
to match the
number from the IR Mode Code packet through VBI line.
(2) Call our customer service center to request a new IR code.
(3) Provide the 5-digit zip code.
(4) Provide the manufacturer's product serial number or pin number.
After confirming the needs for new IR codes, the insertion center should
generate the 1R code
packet and upload it to the insert (GES2) for that area. During downloading IR
Mode Code Packet
in the midnight, if both of zip code and serial/pin number arc matched, the
user's Guide Plus-
system will store the new IR code data into the SRAM. Tomorrow, the user will
start using the
new IR code.
Assuming that the manufacturer's product serial number or pin number has at
least 8 digit
number.
Format:
IR MODE CODE PRE-LOAD PACKET:
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Start Code : 1 byte, 07hex
Type : 1 byte, 7Chex
Country Code : 1 byte,
iR E3N : 2 bytes, each byte is a coded hcx ttutnbcr from 301~ex to 3Fhex. It
indicalcs the
current block number of this new IR code.
PL Ext Byte : 1 byte the first 3 bits (bit 0 to bit 2) will show Packet Token
for IR Mode
Code Packet. The following is the illustration:
Packet Token Corresponding Packet TypePreload ID Auxiliary
(000-FFFE) PL
ID Info Bit
110 IR Mode Code Packet Host ID Reserved
I
IR TBN : 2 bytes,each byle IS a coded hex number From 30hex
l0 3l~hex. It indicates the
total block number of this new IR code.
Signature : 3 bytes,
Content : 1 byte,
CS
PL Pkt : 1 byte,
Ver No.
Content : m bytes,the content of IR Mode Code Packet.
( The example given below uses zip code 91
106, serial number
4S562310) and device VCR. And the new 1R mode
data is in page 8.)
( I ) Device and User Zip Code : 3 bytes,
Byte 0: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 bl b0 VCR (O1) and the first digit is 9,
P I d 1 d0 z-3 z-2 z-1 z-0 (P 1 0 I 1 0 0 1 )
Byte 1: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b 1 60 The 2nd and 3rd digits are 11,
P z-6 z-5 z-4 z-3 z-2 z-1 z-0 (P 0 0 0 1 0 1 1)
Byte 2: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b I b0 The 4th and 5th digits are O6,
P z-6 z-5 z-4 z-3 z-2 z-I z-0 (P 0 0 0 0 1 1 0)
dI and d0 in Byte 0 indicate which device on this new IR code.
al
0 0 Cable Box
0 1 VCR
1 0 TV
1 1 Aux.
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The b0 to b3 of byte 0, and byte 1 and byte 2 are for user zip code. Each zip
code
represents 2 BCD digits of a zip code number. However, there is no offset
value for user
zip code.
(2) Serial or Pin Number : 4 bytes, total 8-digit number (45562310)
Byte 0: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b 1 b0 The I st and 2nd digits are 45
P sn6 sn5 sn4 sn3 sn2 sn 1 sn0 (P 0 I 0 1 1 0 1 )
Byte 1: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 bl b0 The 3rd and 4th digits are 56
P sn6 sn5 sn4 sn3 sn2 sn I sn0 (P 0 1 1 i 0 0 0)
Byte 2: b7 b6 b5 64 b3 b2 bl b0 The 5th and 6th digits are 23
P sn6 sn5 sn4 sn3 sn2 sn 1 sn0 (P 0 0 1 0 I 1 l )
Byte 3: b7 b6 b5 64 b3 b2 b 1 b0 The 7th and 8th digits are 10
P sn6 sn5 sn4 sn3 sn2 sn 1 sn0 (P 0 0 0 1 0 1 0)
Each byte represents 2 BCD digits of a serial number or pin number.
(3) Total Bytes : 1 byte,
Byte 0: b7 b6 65 b4 b3 b2 61 b0 Total bytes of IR code is 23 bytes
P tb6 tb5 tb4 tb3 tb2 tb 1 tb0 (P 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 )
To specify the total bytes used in the 1R Mode Code.
(4) Content of IR Code (CIC) : n bytes each byte is a coded hex number
from SOhex to SFhex. The bit0 to
bit3 of the even byte in the
following content of IR code (CIC)
is the higher nibble in each byte of
real IR mode data (the example of
real IR mode data is shown in page
8). The bit0 to bit3 of the odd byte
in the following content of IR code
(C1C) is the lower nibble of each
byte of real IR mode data.
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{CIC)
Byte 0: b7 b6 bS b4 b3 b2 bl b0 The first byte of
IR code is 0
P 1 0 1 irb7 irbGirbSirb4(P 1 0 I 0 0 0 0)
(higher nibble)
Byte 1: b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 bl b0 The first byte of
IR code is 0
P 1 0 1 irb3 irb2irblirb0 (P 1 0 f 0 0 0 0)
(lower nibble)
Byte 2: b7 b6 bS b4 b3 b2 bl b0 The byte of IR code
2nd is 137
P 1 0 1 irb7 irb6irb5 irb4(P 1 0 0 0) (higher
I nibble)
0
1
Byte 3: b7 b6 bS b4 b3 b2 bl b0 The 2nd byte of IR
code is l37
P 1 0 1 irb3 irb2 irblirb0(P 1 0 1 I 00 1)
(lower nibble)
Check Sum : 1 byte,
Stop code : i byte) OFhex;
XOR byte : 1 byte.
The next 4 pages is the detailed description of IR Mode Code.
and so on.
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