Home

Method and apparatus for setting programmable features of an

1. tete ati taber 4 262 4498090 photoresponse FIG t 0 0uS 1 teQ 0uS t 0 0uS 0 02V 0 027 0 00 calibration sequence FIG 16 US 6 882 712 B1 1 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING PROGRAMMABLE FEATURES OF AN APPLIANCE RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation in part of application Ser No 09 415 299 filed Oct 8 1999 now U S Pat No 6 483 906 which is a continuation in part of application Ser No 09 351 270 filed Jul 12 1999 now U S Pat No 6 256 378 which is a continuation in part of application Ser No 09 235 709 filed Jan 22 1999 now U S Pat No 6 415 023 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the field of setting programmable features of an appliance More particularly the invention provides a method and apparatus for conve niently setting various programmable features of an appli ance using a graphical user interface accessed with a com puter via a global computer network 2 Prior Art The advent of microprocessors and other miniaturized electronics has facilitated the implementation of increas ingly complex functions in home and office appliances Typically a relatively complex operator interface is required in order to invoke the various functions that are available For example home electronic devices such as televisions VCRs stereo receivers and the like are typically provided with s
2. 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 satellite GPS receivers automobile heating ventilating and air conditioning HVAC systems automobile sound systems home security systems home HVAC systems home master control systems facsimile machines copiers cameras postage meters etc Programmable features refer to any appliance features that may be altered These include for example initialization or set up parameters stored data e g telephone speed dial numbers or GPS receiver database and the operating system or other internal soft ware Specific examples are given below to illustrate opera tion of the invention However it will be understood that the invention has general applicability to appliances of all types and to all types of programmable features within such appliances Appliances will be understood to include any device or system that has programmable features including those that not normally thought of as appliances For example an automobile has numerous on board systems that are pro grammable in one way or another Thus the automobile itself may be viewed as an appliance as may the indi vidual systems In a similar vein a residential dwelling contains a number of individual appliances The dwelling together with the individual appliances may be viewed collectively as a single appliance This is particularly true if the individual appliances are connected to a home net wo
3. The method of claim 3 wherein the interactive site is accessed via the World Wide Web 7 The method of claim 3 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to a serial port of the computer 8 The method of claim 7 wherein the input port of the transfer device is plugged into the serial port 9 The method of claim 7 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to the serial port by a cable 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 55 60 65 16 10 The method of claim 3 further comprising establishing a connection with the interactive site using the computer and uploading the user input settings to the interactive site 11 The method of claim 3 wherein the programmable features comprise internal software of the real appliance 12 The method of claim 11 wherein the internal software comprises operating system software 13 The method of claim 3 wherein the programmable features comprise a control having a user assigned function 14 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set program mable fea
4. 12 United States Patent Iggulden et al US006882712B1 US 6 882 712 1 Apr 19 2005 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 21 22 63 51 52 58 56 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING PROGRAMMABLE FEATURES OF AN APPLIANCE Inventors Jerry Iggulden Santa Monica CA US Kyle Fields El Dorado Hills CA US Assignee Pointset Corporation Los Angeles CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days This patent is subject to a terminal dis claimer Appl No 10 155 531 Filed May 24 2002 Related U S Application Data Continuation in part of application No 09 415 299 filed on Oct 8 1999 now Pat No 6 483 906 which is a continu ation in part of application No 09 351 270 filed on Jul 12 1999 now Pat No 6 256 378 which is a continuation in part of application No 09 235 709 filed on Jan 22 1999 now Pat No 6 415 023 Int H04M 11 00 379 102 03 379 102 01 379 93 17 379 90 01 Field of Search 379 102 03 102 01 379 102 02 110 01 90 01 93 17 93 25 345 329 970 339 336 709 220 221 222 217 218 359 163 142 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 10 1968 Kovanic 6 1973 Baer et al 11 1976 Baer 7 1977 Balanca et al 3 407 301 3 737 566 3 993 861 A 4 034 362 APPLIANC
5. 12 and or server 14 for use in subsequent pro gramming of the same appliance Warranty registration for the appliance may be conveniently performed during this same procedure An optional aspect of the invention is the ability of server 14 to provide valuable feedback to the appliance manufac turer During appliance set up operations server 14 collects information concerning consumer s use of product features that can be useful in product marketing and new product design The link between server 14 and the appliance manufacturer also facilitates new marketing opportunities manufacturer can readily target advertising to identified purchasers of its product Also the manufacturer can offer accessories and related products for appliance 10 Such offers may be integrated with the set up interface or may be directed to the appliance owner separately by email or conventional mail It should be appreciated that the inven tion can facilitate warranty registration Since the appliance owner is already communicating with server 14 to set programmable features of the appliance it is a simple matter to collect the additional information necessary to complete warranty registration and if desired to provide additional demographic data to the manufacturer FIG 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the inven tion This embodiment is similar to that of FIG 1 except that programming data is provided to appliance 10 by a transfer device 16
6. 1991 Monleatli et al Broughton vt al Manian Uemura ct al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 0803808 4 1997 wo WO 97 18030 51097 WO 07 30375 8 1997 Wo WO 98 38570 995 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Shear D GoingGlobal the Real Work Putting Fmbedded System EDN Electrical Design News US Cahners Publishing Co Newton Massachusetts vol 42 19 Sep 12 1997 37 46 Batista Method aud Apparatus for programming device WO 98 38570 Sep 1998 Steinberg et al Method and Apparatus Configuring Camera WO 97 30375 Aug 1997 NBX Corporation Product Solutions NBX NetSet Applica tion Notes NBX Administration Utility website printout Dec 14 1998 Microsolt Corporation Sening Up Your Microsoft Cordless Phone is Easy website printout Dec 15 1998 Primary Examiner Stella Woo 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Blakely Sokoloff Tavlor amp Zafman LIP 57 ABSTRACT An interactive interface facilitates the setting of preferences and other programmable parameters of an appliance The interface is hosted by a server on a global computer network The appliance owner initiates a connection to the server and is presented with a graphical user interface for setting the preferences aud features of the appliance Once the desired settings have been made they are downloaded to the appli ance either directly the server or the appliance owne
7. 214 comprising a display and or various controls such as func tion selection buttons and the like Receiving device 200 may also include a provision to allow for automatic cali bration of the analog to digital converter A peak detector 216 detects the peak white level in the received signal This level is used to establish the upper range of A D converter 206 This allows the full range of the A D converter to be used over the receiver s data detection range Receiving device 200 may be configured in any conve nient form As discussed above in connection with transfer device 16 receiving device 200 may have an elongated cylindrical shape similar to a pen or a wand In such case photodetector 202 may be conveniently located at one end of the device However it has been found that pen or wand shaped devices have disadvantages when used with LCD flat screen displays If the device is pressed against the display even with light pressure the display may be distorted thereby affecting the accuracy of the data transfer For flat panel displays a flat card shaped receiving device is pre ferred Such a device may be held against the display screen without distorting the display To ensure proper registration of the receiving device with the display screen a visual indication of the area of the display screen that will contain the data modulation is preferably provided As shown in FIG 14 a rectangular area of the display screen genera
8. Accurate detection using this method typically requires some form of calibration to match the photodetector response to the dis play color response c Dithering With reference to FIG 8 the currently preferred method displays a regular pattern of black and white pixels within a 05 6 882 712 1 11 region of the display to produce an average luminance level This dithering average level is created by dividing the entire detection region into a matrix of smaller discrete cells comprising one or more pixels Each cell is either driven full white or full black The ratio of black to white cells determines the overall average luminance for the detection area This method eliminates problems with unpredictable gray scale response in the display due to contrast or bright ness settings The dithering approach illustrated in FIG 8 uses a rect angular matrix to obtain an average luminance for a given area It is also possible to display other graphic patterns or characters which have a distinctive appearance while also presenting an average overall luminance Some examples are shown in FIG 9 Each of these have a unique luminance level when the black areas are averaged with the white background This allows the photodetector to discriminate between unique patterns or characters to convert to a cor responding data value d Multi color modulation Another method is to use two or more color channels to provide a means of data modula
9. Kikinis 5 600 711 A 2 1997 Yuen 6 281 820 8 2001 Fields 341 137 5 636 994 A 6 1997 Tong 6 415 023 7 2002 Iggulden 379 102 03 5 652 602 7 1997 Fishman et al 6 483 906 11 2002 Iggulden et al 379 102 03 5 726 645 3 1998 Kamon et al 6 505 243 1 2003 Lortz 709 220 5 734 363 3 1998 Blouin et al 6 704 401 3 2004 Piepho et al 379 102 03 5 745 068 4 1998 Takahashi et al 2002 0097851 A1 7 2002 Daum et al 379 102 03 5 746 602 5 1998 Kikinis 2002 0196158 A1 12 2002 Lee 379 102 01 5 748 895 A 5 1998 Shiff et al 5 752 880 A 5 1998 Gabai et al cited by examiner U S Patent Apr 19 2005 Sheet 1 of 7 US 6 882 712 B1 MANUFACTURER DATA FEEDBACK 10 APPLIANCE TRANSFER DEVICE FIG 2 LOCAL COMPUTER OPTICAL 6 _ CONTROL DETECTOR SEND WITEN ELECTRONICS m iG UH es a TRANSMITTER _ MEMORY POWER 114 110 108 116 FIG 3 U S Patent Apr 19 2005 Sheet 2 of 7 US 6 882 712 B1 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 124 126 V 122 130 NOON 6PM INTERACTIVE SITE SERVER LOCAL COMPUTER INTERACTIVE SITE SERVER LOCAL COMPUTER TRANSFER DEVICE 16 FIG 6 US 6 882 712 B1 Sheet 3 of 7 Apr 19 2005 U S Patent 31IHM 33V 1130 SL 40 170 6 SI 39VM
10. comprising issuing a repair order from the appliance support facility in accor dance with the fault diagnosis 32 The method of claim 30 further comprising down loading corrective data from the appliance support facility to the appliance user s computer 33 The method of claim 32 wherein the corrective data comprises corrective software 34 The method of claim 33 further comprising transfer ring the corrective data from the appliance user s computer to the appliance 35 The method of claim 32 wherein transferring the corrective data comprises transferring the corrective data from the appliance user s computer to a transfer device and then transferring the corrective data from the transfer device to the appliance 36 The method of claim 30 wherein transferring the diagnostic data comprises transferring the diagnostic data from the appliance to a transfer device and then transferring the diagnostic data from the transfer device to the appliance user s computer 37 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer with display screen said graphical user interface having virtual appliance that graphically depicts program mable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an optical sensor interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user inte
11. downloaded to the appli ance either directly from the server or the appliance owner s computer or indirectly using a portable transfer device 60 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets 14 INTERACTIVE SITE SERVER LOCAL COMPUTER US 6 882 712 B1 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 761 601 A 6 1998 Nemirofsky et al 5 767 896 A 6 1998 Nemirofsky 5 153 568 10 1992 Shaw 5 774 063 A 6 1998 Berry et al 5 228 077 7 1993 Darbee 5 781 125 7 998 Godau et al 5 231 488 A 7 993 Mohrbacher et al 5 801 664 9 1998 Seidensticker et al 345 2 3 5 268 995 12 1993 Diefendorff et al 5 805 443 A 9 1998 Raffray et al 5 309 509 5 1994 Cocklin et al 5 815 086 A 9 1998 Ivie et al 5 333 054 7 1994 Tanaka et al 5 819 294 10 1998 Chambers 5 347 110 A 9 1994 Audebert et al 5 850 304 A 12 1998 Elmers 5 410 326 4 1995 Goldstein 5 852 615 12 1998 Holo et al 5 414 756 A 5 1995 Levine 5 873 765 A 2 1999 Rifkin et al 5 488 571 A 1 1996 Jacobs et al 5 880 769 3 1999 Nemirofsky et al 5 521 966 A 5 1996 Friedes et al 5 905 486 5 1999 Brittenham et al 5 528 740 A 6 1996 Hill et al 5 907 350 A 5 1999 Nemirofsky 5 535 147 A 7 1996 Jacobs et al 5 953 047 9 1999 Nemirofsky 5 553 123 9 1996 Chan et al 6 049 778 4 2000 Walker et al 5 570 297 A 10 1996 Brzezinski et al 6 112 127 8 2000 Bennett 5 592 188 1 1997 Doherty et al 6 157 982 A 12 2000 Deo et al 5 594 493 1 1997 Nemirofsky 6 161 133 A 12 2000
12. from the user s computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 44 The method of claim 43 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts 45 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance setting programmable features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the transfer device to t
13. home HVAC system FIG 4 illustrates a graphical user interface for a thermostat as presented on a display of computer 12 Such interface is shown merely for purposes of illustration it being under stood that the particular features of the interface are largely a matter of design choice Along the top of the display shown in FIG 4 is a day strip 122 The user may select any one of the days with a cursor to program the thermostat settings for that day Below the day strip is a temperature selector 124 Pointing at the up or down arrow with a mouse or other cursor positioning device 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 the user selects the desired temperature To the right of temperature selector 124 there are a pair of time windows 126 and 128 Using the appropriate up and down arrows the user selects the starting and ending times for which the temperature selection applies When the desired settings have been made the user selects ENTER button 130 to store the selections and then proceeds to make the next set of selections For convenience the ending time last entered may be automatically inserted into the starting time window A graphical display 132 of the selected temperature profile may be provided for the user s convenience When all settings have been completed the data is loaded into transfer device 16 which is then taken to the physical location of the thermostat for transfer of the data
14. the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an optical sensor and an output port modulating at least a portion of a display coupled to the user s computer to optically transmit the set up data sensing the modulation with the optical sensor of the transfer device so as to receive the set up data inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and 5 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 20 transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 49 The method of claim 48 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts 50 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable fea tures of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer de
15. 3AV 39N333334 9 914 SNIQOON3 ONINSHLIG 8O J93130010Hd A YN N N P M N LEE 2 914 NOLLVINGOW 3ONVNINM SUSI Vivd 01 3ON3H3413 SI3 31 3ONVNINITI S3fYIVA 8 v L 8 2 t 6 0 viva U S Patent Apr 19 2005 Sheet 4 of 7 US 6 882 712 B1 GRAPHIC PATTERNS UNIQUE PICTURES UNIQUE CHARACTERS m FIG 9 RED CHANNEL GREEN CHANNEL PHASE RELATIONSHIP PHASE MODULATION FIG IO Eu Ssss PEN DETECTOR VIDEO BAR CODE FIG ORIGINAL DATA 3 5 1518 0 9 14 4 4 2 3 4 ENCODED DATA 3 5 gt 8 0 9 2 4 2 3 4 REPEAT REPEAT SELF CLOCKING DATA ENCODING FIG 12 US 6 882 712 B1 Sheet 5 of 7 Apr 19 2005 U S Patent 002 y 012 vic SNOLLNE AV dSIG 3OV3M31NI 38 1 39VJM3INI MI HO Q3MIM 43TIOMINOOOSOIW 8012313Q0010Hd 40123130 AMOW3N Wy U S Patent Apr 19 2005 Sheet 6 of 7 US 6 882 712 B1 FIG 14 0 5 Patent Apr 19 2005 Sheet 7 of 7 US 6 882 712 B1 0 0uS 0 0uS t 0 0uS 0 08V 0 08 0 00V dL RR REE Be MEER EL LEID P PU I CHEMIN V end ee 2 ie tate Ete Maman Sees ag e ce Ae tet reve euis c v s mossa d sos Qs a Deoa s 555525554562 NILUM MM ee eat
16. E TRANSFER DEVICE 4 329 684 A 4 807 031 4 962 522 4 999 617 A 5 1982 et al 2 1989 Broughton et al 10 1990 Marian 3 1991 Uemura et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP 0803808 WO 97 18636 WO 97 30375 WO 98 38570 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 4 1997 5 1997 8 1997 9 1998 Shear D GoingGlobal in the Real World Putting an Embedded System on the Internet EDN Electrical Design News US Cahners Publishing Co Newton Massachusetts vol 42 No 19 Sep 12 1997 pp 37 46 Batista Method and Apparatus for programming a device WO 98 38570 Sep 1998 Steinberg et al Method and Apparatus for Configuring a Camera WO 97 30375 Aug 1997 NBX Corporation Product Solutions NBX NetSet Applica tion Notes NBX NetSett Administration Utility website printout Dec 14 1998 Microsoft Corporation Setting Up Your Microsoft Cordless Phone is Easy website printout Dec 15 1998 Primary Examiner Stella Woo 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Blakely Sokoloff Taylor amp Zafman LLP 57 ABSTRACT An interactive interface facilitates the setting of preferences and other programmable parameters of an appliance The interface is hosted by a server on a global computer network appliance owner initiates a connection to the server and is presented with a graphical user interface for setting the preferences and features of the appliance Once the desired settings have been made they are
17. SS Pat No 5 488 571 issued to Jacobs et al discloses a system for transferring data from a video display monitor of a personal computer to a portable information device such as an appointment scheduling device The video display is modulated to transmit data to an opto electronic receiver in the portable information device Microsoft Corporation has introduced a cordless phone having programmable functions controlled by a personal computer The base station of the phone is coupled to the serial port of a computer and application software is installed on the computer to control operation of the phone SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides methods and apparatus for setting preferences and other parameters of an appliance In preferred embodiments of the invention a user initiates a connection to an interactive site on a global computer network The site hosts a graphical user interface with which preferences and other parameters of an appliance may be set by the user In some embodiments set up data for the appliance may be downloaded directly to the appliance from the user s computer or the interactive site In other embodiments set up data for the appliance is downloaded from the user s computer or the interactive site to a transfer 05 6 882 712 1 3 device where it is temporarily stored The transfer device is then used to program the appliance Since the appliance itself does not require a user interface
18. Since all of the settings have been entered into the computer 12 they may be conveniently saved locally and or by server 14 for subsequent use in revising these settings or for reloading the settings in the event of a power failure A printed record of the settings may also be made from computer 12 For some appliances a print out following a set up procedure may be used as a template for the appliance to indicate selected options and programmed features For example certain appliances may have unlabeled function buttons for which a template may be made once selected functions have been assigned to the buttons during a set up procedure It will be appreciated that a thermostat physically incor porating the interface shown in FIG 4 would be quite large and costly in comparison to conventional thermostats This is due primarily to the relative complexity of the interface since the actual componentry to provide such flexibility of thermostat settings is actually quite small and inexpensive Through use of the present invention virtually unlimited flexibility in thermostat programming may be accomplished with a thermostat that is no larger and no more costly than a conventional thermostat Indeed a thermostat as just described could easily be made the size of a postage stamp Another example of an appliance to which the present invention can be advantageously applied is the modern automobile The driver interface for automobiles has becom
19. States Patent Iggulden et al US 6 882 712 B1 Apr 19 2005 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 04 51 52 50 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SETTING PROGRAMMABLE FEATURES OF AN APPLIANCE liveulors Jerry Iggulden Santa Monica CA US Kyle Fields El Dorado Hills CA US Assignee Pointset Corporation bos Angeles CA US Nohiec Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C I84 b by 0 days This patent ts subject to terminal dis elaumer Appl No 10 155 531 Filed May 24 2002 Related U S Application Data Conlinuation in part of application No 09 4 15 299 filed on Oct S 1990 now No 6 48 3 906 which is continu alion in purt of application 00 35 1 270 filed on Jul 12 1990 now Pal No 6 256 378 which is continuation in part of application No 09 235 709 filed on Jan 22 1999 now Pat 6 415023 H04M 11 00 0 8 CI 379 102 03 379 102 01 379 93 17 379 90 01 Field of Search 379 102 03 102 01 379 102 02 1001 90 01 03 17 03 25 345 329 970 339 336 709 220 221 References Cited US PATENT DOCUMENTS 10 1068 Kovanie 4737500 06 1973 Baer cet al S993 801 A 11 1970 4 034 302 A 7 1977 Balanca ct al APPLIANCE TRANSFER DEVICE 4 329084 3 807413 4 962522 4 999617 A 5 1982 2
20. This transfer device receives the pro gramming data from local computer 12 by a wired connec tion to computer 12 or by an opto electronic or other wireless data link such as will be described more fully below Furthermore the transfer device may communicate with the appliance via a wired connection or via a wireless data link FIG 3 is a functional block diagram of a suitable transfer device 16 At the heart of device 16 is a control electronics module 102 Data modulated on the display screen of computer 12 is sensed by optical detector 104 upon activa tion of receive switch 106 The data is demodulated by electronics 102 and is stored in memory 108 Upon confir mation of error free transfer and storage of the data a suitable indication is provided to the user by means of indicator 110 which may be for example a light emitting diode LED With the data loaded in memory 108 transfer device 16 may be carried to appliance 10 which may include a docking port for transfer device 16 Thus transfer device 16 may be an integral component of appli ance 10 which is provided to the consumer by the appliance 05 6 882 712 1 7 manufacturer Alternatively transfer device 16 may be con nected to an input port of appliance 10 with an electrical cable or tether which may have a fixed or removable connection to the transfer device and or the appliance In still other embodiments appliance 10 may be provided with an infrared r
21. a for the programmable features from the interactive site to the computer removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 55 The method of claim 54 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port having cooperating electrical contacts 56 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer 22 t
22. aces between vertical lines The spacing relationship is translated into binary data bits Multiple bits are combined to form bytes of data Using a video image data can be represented using luminance levels or color This allows higher data density because each bar in the video bar code can represent an entire decimal digit instead of just a single binary bit This increases data density by 8 to 10 times compared to con ventional bar codes FIG 11 illustrates a video bar code using luminance levels Note that luminance levels can be generated using the same methods as previously described for spot modulation Each bar represents one of many luminance levels for example with 10 luminance levels each bar can represent a digit value of 0 to 9 3 COLOR MODULATION Chromatic luminance modulation was described above as a form of intensity modulation It is also possible to employ a true color modulation in which specific color hues are used 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 to represent corresponding numerical values Depending on the range of hues used an array of two or three separate detectors sensitive to different spectral components such as by using appropriate filters is required A beam splitter may be employed to direct light to the individual detectors of the array in the receiving device 4 SELF CLOCKING Regardless of the method of modulation employed it is desirable that the
23. an appliance the user initiates a telephone connection with a remote site The remote site than downloads a sequence of commands for initializing the settings in the appliance over the telephone connection A remote control device for the appliance receives the sequence of commands and stores them in an internal memory The remote control device is then aimed at the appliance and the user enters a command to transfer the stored sequence of commands to the appliance thereby initializing the settings USS Pat No 5 141 756 issued to Levine discloses a method of initializing a programmable control device such 10 15 20 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 as a remote controller for a video cassette recorder The device is programmed by connecting it to a telephone system dialing a remote initializing center preferably employing a computer and providing the computer with information as to the environment of the control device by using touch tone keys to respond to audio inquiries trans mitted by the computer The computer then transmits the initializing program for loading into the memory of the control device U S Pat No 5 774 063 issued to Barry et al discloses a method and apparatus for remote control of electronic devices from a computer A transducer such as an infrared transmitter is coupled to a computer and aimed at an electronic device to be controlled An application program running on the computer generates
24. appropriate signals for control of the electronic device U S Pat No 5 815 086 issued to Ivie et al discloses a method and apparatus for communicating commands to electrical appliances from remote locations Various appli ances within a structure such as a house are coupled to a signal conducting bus such as the AC power wiring bus of the structure Appliance commands are issued over the bus from a central transmitter Appliances may be directly coupled to the bus or may receive commands via an infrared signal from an infrared transmitting device coupled to the bus A handheld control device may be supplied for con trolling the various appliances in which case receivers for the handheld control device are coupled to the bus in various parts of the structure U S Pat No 5 819 294 issued to Chambers discloses a programmable universal remote controller A programming device is coupled to a computer and receives signals from conventional remote controllers The programming device correlates the received signals with a database of stored signals used by various appliance manufacturers The pro gramming device then sends a complete set of appropriate control signals to the programmable universal controller U S Pat No 5 228 077 issued to Darbee discloses a universal remote controller that may be programmed from a remote location The remote controller receives program ming data via a video or telephonic data transmission system U
25. aracteristic response times this approach is better suited to CRT dis plays than to LCD displays 6 RECEIVING DEVICE FIG 13 is a block diagram of a receiving device 200 suitable for use in connection with the present invention Light emitted by or reflected by a display panel falls on photodetector 202 The output of the photodetector is ampli US 6 882 712 B1 13 fied by amplifier 204 and asserted at the input of the analog to digital A D converter 206 The digitized output in this case comprising an 8 bit word is presented as an input to microcontroller 208 The operation of microcon troller 208 is controlled by program instructions stored in read only memory ROM 210 These instructions govern the conversion of the raw digitized input from A D converter 206 into a data digit The data digits are further processed in accordance with the particular functions to be accomplished by receiving device 200 When configured as a transfer device such as transfer device 16 discussed previously receiving device 200 will further communicate the data digits or information derived therefrom to a host device via a wired or wireless interface A random access memory RAM 212 is coupled to microcontroller 208 for use as a scratchpad memory the use of which may include temporary storage of the data digits received from A D converter 206 or information derived therefrom In many applications receiving device 200 will include a user interface
26. both input port and output port Alternatively transfer device 16 may include a sound trans ducer by which data may be transferred through a micro phone coupled to the computer Transfer device 16 may be configured in various forms Preferably device 16 is easily portable Device 16 may be in the form of a pen or wand with optical detector 104 and infrared transmitter 114 at one end Transfer device 16 may also be integrated with a conventional remote controller for those types of appliances that are commonly controlled remotely In another variation transfer device 16 may be a removable module that is docked into appliance 10 as described above In such case communication between the transfer device and the appliance may be accomplished with a direct electrical connection through a suitable arrangement of electrical contacts Transfer device 16 may in fact comprise the brains of appliance 10 in the form of a microprocessor or equivalent device Aside from the ease of programming features and functions of the appliance such an arrangement offers the added benefit of facilitating ser vice or replacement of the appliance s electronic compo nents in the event of malfunction The embodiment shown in FIGS 2 and 3 is particularly well suited to appliances that are relatively fixed in position and that require only limited amounts of data Examples of such appliances abound in the home and office One such example is a thermostat for a
27. cal computer 12 is coupled to a remote interactive site server 14 by a telecommunications link In a typical embodi ment of the invention interactive site server 14 would be accessible via the World Wide Web Other appropriate means for connecting computer 12 to server 14 could also be employed Server 14 contains programming for interactively setting the programmable features of appliance 10 Preferably server 14 presents to the owner of appliance 10 via computer 12 a graphical user interface that is tailored to appliance 10 and the programmable features thereof Such interface be thought of as a virtual appliance This can be better understood from the discussion of FIG 4 below In the embodiment illustrated in FIG 1 appliance 10 is coupled directly to local computer 12 This embodiment is best suited for portable appliances that may be conveniently carried to the computer for set up The coupling between appliance 10 and computer 12 may be one way from the computer or two way One way communication may be accomplished optically by providing appliance 10 with an optical sensor and modulating the display of computer 12 utilizing one or more of the techniques described below Other communication techniques can be employed using audio magnetic inductive infrared or radio frequency coupling Two way communications are most conveniently established by connection to a serial port of computer 12 The serial port may be configured
28. customized set of controls for operating features of interest to that driver One driver may wish to have certain radio selections readily available whereas 05 6 882 712 1 9 another driver may wish to have available a selection of destinations for the navigation system These preferences are communicated via the transfer device as described above Controls that are customized in this manner are not limited to touch screen selections By the same process driver defined functions may be assigned to buttons dials and other mechanical controls as well to create individual ized function keys Furthermore it will be appreciated that creating customized controls in this manner is not limited to the context of automobiles but may be applied to any type of appliance FIG 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the invention In this case data for appliance 10 is received directly from server 14 rather than local computer 12 From the appliance owner s perspective the appliance program ming interface is otherwise identical to the previously described embodiments Communication between server 14 and appliance 10 may be telephonic Appliance 10 may incorporate a conventional modem in which case commu nications may be two way or may simply have a data demodulator for one way communications Coupling of appliance 10 to the telecommunications network may be by a conventional RJ 11 connection Alternatively appliance 10 may inc
29. data transmission by self clocking This means that individual data characters are detected by the receiving device without precise time spacing between char acters This self clocking approach allows for pauses to occur during the transmission of data characters without creating transmission errors Pauses can occur in PCs if the operating system performs another task while the transmis sion is active For example multitasking operating systems will commonly write data between memory cache storage and disk drives This activity can preempt the operation of other software and cause short pauses in the operation of lower level applications For internet based data transfers varying delays are also common when moving data between servers and client PCs It is also important to accommodate different data rates depending on the type of display monitor being used Prior to starting the data transfer the user can make a selection to indicate the type of display being used If the display is a CRT a faster transfer rate may be used up to 75 digits per second If an active matrix display is being used the transfer rate will be slower 20 digits per second While the selec tion of transfer rate is easily accomplished on the PC side the receiving device will preferably be compatible with all available transfer rates Using self clocking data allows the receiving device to receive data at the transmission rate without the need for a data rate select
30. e more and more complicated as more and more electronic and computer driven features have become avail able Seat position and temperature mirror position audio entertainment settings HVAC settings and navigational set tings can all be set electronically Many of the available settings are changed only infrequently and thus may require reference to the owner s manual in order to change the settings manually Naturally different drivers have different preferences and this can result in a lengthy process of changing settings each time a different driver enters the vehicle The present invention provides a convenient way to communicate driver preferences to the various electronic systems of an automobile As explained above a driver can set many of the desired preferences using an interactive program with a graphical user interface A transfer device is then used to communicate the preferences to the automobile In this particular example the transfer device may also function as a key to enable operation of the automobile Certain preferences such as seat position and mirror posi tion that are established in the automobile itself can be stored in the transfer device along with the preference data down loaded from the driver s home computer Use of the present invention facilitates customized driver controls For example touch screen display panels are now used in many automobiles Using a graphical user interface a driver can design a
31. e real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance setting programmable features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer 33 The method of claim 32 further comprising inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance 34 The method of claim 33 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts 35 The method of claim 32 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to a serial port of the computer 36 The method of claim 35 wherein the input port of the transfer device is plugged into the serial port 37 The method of claim 35 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to the serial port by a cable CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page of 8 U S Pat No 6 882 712 38 The method of claim 32 wherein the programmable features comprise internal software of the real appliance 39 The method of claim 38 wherein the internal software comprises operating system software 40 The method of claim 32 wherein the programmable features comprise a control having a user assigned function 41 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s comput
32. eceiver coupled to its internal control electron ics In the case of an IR link transfer device 16 is equipped with an appropriate infrared transmitter 114 and is held in proximity to the infrared receiver of appliance 10 Upon actuation of transmit switch 112 the data stored in memory 108 is appropriately modulated by electronics 102 and applied to infrared transmitter 114 Indicator 110 may con firm to the user that the data has been transmitted Alternatively or in addition an indicator may be provided on appliance 10 to signal receipt of the data Power source 116 preferably in the form of common alkaline battery cells provides electrical power to the components of device 16 Transfer device 16 may be configured to transfer data from the appliance back to the computer as well This facilitates synchronization of the virtual and real appliances as explained above Data from the appliance may be loaded into the transfer device by means of an opto electronic link in the same manner by which data is loaded from the computer Preferably however the transfer device will have a direct electrical coupling to the appliance for applications involving two way communications Transfer of data into the computer may be accomplished in a number of ways For example transfer device 16 may couple directly to a serial or parallel input port of the computer as discussed previously in which case a single physical port on the transfer device may serve as
33. er said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an optical sensor and an output port modulating at least a portion of a display coupled to the user s computer to optically transmit the set up data sensing the modulation with the optical sensor of the transfer device so as to receive the set up data inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 42 The method of claim 41 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts 43 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 4 of 8 U S Pat No 6 882 712 B1 providing a portable transfer device separate
34. ettings to the interactive site 24 The method of claim 16 wherein the transfer device comprises a key to operate the real appliance 25 The method of claim 16 wherein the programmable features comprise internal software of the real appliance 26 The method of claim 25 wherein the internal software comprises operating system software 27 The method of claim 16 wherein the programmable features comprise a control having a user assigned function 28 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive computer program with a graphi cal user interface having a virtual appliance that graphi cally depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance setting programmable features of the virtual appliance at user s computer providing a portable transfer device having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the user s computer downloading set up data for the programmable features from the user s computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance wherein the transfer device comprises a key for the real appliance and wherein the transfer device provides access to a space containing the real appliance 29 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive computer program
35. ferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance wherein the transfer device comprises a key to operate the real appliance 59 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corre sponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 60 The method of claim 59 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 882 712 Page 1 of 1 APPLICATION NO 10 155531 DATED April 19 2005 INVENTOR S Jerry Iggulden and Kyle Fields It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent i
36. for set up procedures and programming the appliance can be smaller cheaper and lighter without sacrificing any functionality In addition the need for a printed user s manual is largely obviated since all of the information normally contained in such a manual can be obtained from the interactive site BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of the invention wherein an appliance receives data directly from a local computer FIG 2 is a functional block diagram of a second embodi ment of the invention wherein an appliance receives data from a local computer via a transfer device FIG 3 is a functional block diagram of a transfer device as shown in FIG 2 FIG 4 illustrates a graphical user interface suitable for setting programmable features of a thermostat FIG 5 is a functional block diagram of a third embodi ment of the invention wherein an appliance receives data directly from an interactive site server FIG 6 is a functional block diagram of a fourth embodi ment of the invention wherein an appliance receives data from an interactive site server via a transfer device FIG 7 illustrates luminance modulation for transferring decimal data digits FIG 8 illustrates luminance modulation with dithering encoding FIG 9 illustrates luminance modulation with irregular graphic patterns FIG 10 illustrates bi color phase modulation FIG 11 illustrates video bar code modula
37. he computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 5 of 8 1 8 Pat No 6 882 712 46 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance and wherein the transfer device comprises a key to operate the real appliance 47 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer network providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port establishing a connectio
38. ical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable fea tures of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data US 6 882 712 B1 21 providing a portable transfer device separate from the users computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance and wherein the transfer device comprises a key to operate the real appliance 54 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port establishing a connection with the interactive site using a computer interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface at the interactive site downloading set up dat
39. in accordance with any of the appropriate industry standards such as for example Universal Serial Bus 058 Fire Wire etc Naturally this type of connection is not ideal for all appliances but is particularly well suited to portable appliances that may require a large amount of data For example loading data into a pocket organizer or similar type of personal digital assistant can be most conveniently accomplished with a serial port connection in the configuration illustrated in FIG 1 A two way connection also allows synchronization of the real appliance with the virtual appliance Even though most of the feature configuration of an appliance will be done using the virtual appliance interface there may still be features and settings that can be controlled directly at the real appliance By periodically reestablishing two way connection with the computer the virtual appliance can be updated with any changes in the settings of the real appli ance Another advantage of two way communications is that it may be used to facilitate remote troubleshooting of appli ances Data from the appliance may be transmitted to computer 12 and from there to the appliance manufacturer or support facility via an Internet or email connection Analysis of the data can then be used to issue appropriate repair orders In some cases repairs may be effectuated by downloading connective software or firmware in the same manner that appliance set up i
40. ion on the receiving device itself An efficient self clocking method using a non binary data encoding is illustrated in FIG 12 If luminance modulation is used the receiving device can detect each discrete lumi nance level change as a new digit The length of time between successive digits is irrelevant If the same digit value is sent twice in succession a special repeat character can be used to indicate that the last digit value is repeating As shown in FIG 12 11 indicates a repeating digit value If the data stream contains three successive 475 the encoded data will be 4 11 4 With this approach a single digit value is never repeated twice is succession The detector can simply wait for each change in luminance level to indicate a new digit value has been sent Timing relationships between characters is not significant 5 TIME INTERVAL MODULATION In contrast to self clocking methods another modulation approach is based on the time spacing between changes in intensity level or color With this approach only a limited number of intensity levels or colors is required The number of discrete intensity levels or colors may be as few as two The time interval between changes in intensity level or color has a number of possible discrete values each of which corresponds to a numerical value A significant advantage of this approach is that it is not sensitive to variations in display intensity or color fidelity However due to the ch
41. isplay screen to transfer the set up data to the transfer device via the optical sensor returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set programmable features of the real appliance This certificate supersedes the Certificate of Correction issued November 23 2010 Signed and Sealed this Twenty first Day of December 2010 pt David 7 Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 2 of 8 U S Pat No 6 882 712 31 The method of claim 30 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts 32 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to th
42. le features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer 40 The method of claim 39 further comprising inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance 41 The method of claim 40 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port having cooperating electrical contacts 42 The method of claim 39 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to a serial port of the computer 43 The method of claim 42 wherein the input port of the transfer device is plugged into the serial port 44 The method of claim 42 wherein the input port of the transfer device 15 coupled to the serial port by a cable 45 The method of claim 39 wherein the programmable features comprise internal software of the real appliance 46 The method of claim 45 wherein the internal software comprises operating system software 47 The method of claim 39 wherein the programmable features comprise a control having a user assigned function 48 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable fea tures of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of
43. lly corresponding in size and shape to the card shaped receiving device may be config ured as a window and may be labeled with a legend such as place card here In the examples discussed above a single photodetector or paired detectors in the case of bi color modulation is used in combination with a single modulated region of the display screen It will be appreciated that the data transfer rate can be multiplied by employing a suitable array of photodetectors in combination with a corresponding array of data transmission regions Obviously the array of detectors must be properly registered with the array of modulated regions on the display This can present a challenge in the case of a handheld receiving device One solution to this challenge is illustrated in FIG 14 Here the display is divided into four quadrants that are independently modu lated The receiving device includes an array of four inde pendent photodetectors By providing simple registration marks on both the display screen and the receiving device the receiving device can be held against the display screen so that the photodetectors are in proper registration with the corresponding quadrants 10 15 20 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 7 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS A prototype system has been constructed The prototype receiving device is configured as a card having the same length and width as a standard credit card A 9 mm round photodetector eleme
44. n FIG 6 is a universal remote controller that may be coupled to a telecommunications network by means of an RJ 11 jack or equivalent in the manner disclosed by Darbee in U S Pat No 5 228 077 The remote controller could thus function as a data transfer device in addition to its more conventional remote control functions As discussed above the transfer device or appliance of the present invention preferably receives data by means of an opto electronic data link Any suitable source of light modu lation may be employed to transmit data to the transfer device or appliance These include LEDs incandescent bulbs LCDs and CRTs A convenient source of light modu lation is the display screen of a local computer At least a portion of the display of the local computer may be modu lated to transmit data to the transfer device Most current approaches to video modulation data trans fer use sequential pulsing of the video image to provide a 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 series of binary 175 and 075 These binary bits are used with framing bits start and stop bits to form complete data bytes Some of the current approaches rely on the scanning CRT image to serialize the data bits by providing a luminance pulse for each data bit This approach will fail when applied to flat panel LCD screens because these screens do not have a scanning luminance response like that found with the CRT Other methods p
45. n with the interactive site using a computer interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface at the interactive site downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the computer removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 48 The method of claim 47 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 6 of 8 U S Pat No 6 882 712 B1 49 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer network providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separa
46. nt is located in the center of one face of the card Electronic circuitry within the card amplifies the output signal of the photodetector which is then applied as an analog input to a conventional personal computer system where A D conversion is performed The photodetector element is designed to detect the average luminance over a 9 mm round area of the display screen The detector consists of a translucent glass window and a photo Darlington tran sistor photodetector mounted in a plastic enclosure The prototype system employs luminance modulation using the dithering approach discussed above A total of 12 luminance levels are used to represent ten decimal values plus two additional values to indicate formatting and repeat ing characters Using a CRT display the prototype system has achieved data transfer rates of 20 characters per second The photodetector in the receiver detects the luminance change as the electron beam in the CRT passes over the detector This screen phosphor glows with a brightness related to the average screen luminance For a CRT display the beam is constantly scanning the screen This creates a pulse as the beam passes over the detector Therefore the signal detected is a pulse which repeats at the frame rate of the display typically 13 to 17 msec per field FIG 15 is an actual capture of the signal received by the detector using a CRT based display Since the received signal is a pulse a software algorithm pr
47. ocesses the A D conversion readings in order to establish the luminance level represented by the peaks of the detected pulses The software algorithm is then capable of decoding these levels back into packets of data It is desirable for the system to automatically adapt to varying intensity levels on the display Different luminance levels will result due to variances in the brightness response of the display the sensitivity characteristics of the photode tector and also due to adjustment of the brightness and contrast settings of the monitor To automatically adjust for these differences the system provides a calibration sequence at the start of each data transmission As illustrated in FIG 16 the calibration pat tern consists of a staircase of each of the 12 luminance levels used A full white pulse level 12 is sent at the start of the sequence followed by values of 0 to 12 This signal is detected by the receiver and used to establish the actual 12 discrete levels obtained from the monitor In FIG 16 the bottom signal is the actual pulse waveform received by the photodetector The top signal is that obtained after process ing by a software algorithm It will be recognized that the above described invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the disclosure Thus it is understood that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details but ra
48. of 8 1 8 Pat No 6 882 712 coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance wherein the transfer device comprises a key to operate the real appliance 52 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 53 The method of claim 52 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port having cooperating electrical contacts CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued 12 United
49. ophisticated remote control devices Such remote control devices have a large number of individual buttons that are used to directly control features of an appliance and or that are used to navigate through on screen menus Because of the sophistication and complexity of the controls owner s manuals for appliances are becoming increasingly voluminous and difficult to comprehend Due to the growing complexity of modern appliances many of the available features are never utilized by consumers even as competition in the marketplace drives the proliferation of such features A number of solutions have been proposed for making appliances easier to control and generally more user friendly For example U S Pat No 5 553 123 issued to Chan et al discloses a method for downloading set up data via a telephone to an appliance controller A user first initiates a telephone call to a remote site having a computer The user communicates certain background information to the remote site and set up data is then downloaded via the telephone connection The ear piece of the telephone is held in proximity to a microphone built into the appliance controller in order to receive the downloaded data Upon receipt of the data the controller is configured to operate the appliance U S Pat No 5 600 711 issued to Yuen discloses apparatus and methods for providing initializing settings to an appliance When a user wishes to initialize the settings of
50. orporate a cordless telephone module for com municating with a separate base station Communications between server 14 and appliance 10 could also be imple mented with radio signals For example appliance 10 could incorporate a conventional paging receiver A particular example of the embodiment illustrated in FIG 5 is a programmable telephone Speed dial numbers and other programmable features of a telephone may be conveniently set using a graphical user interface hosted by server 14 Once the features have been programmed by the user server 14 simply places a call to the telephone Appro priate data demodulation circuitry is incorporated in the telephone in order to download the data from server 14 FIG 6 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention generally similar to that of FIG 5 but incorporating a transfer device as in the embodiment of FIG 2 Here however transfer device 16 receives data directly from server 14 As with the previously described embodiment communication between server 14 and transfer device 16 may be telephonic or by radio One example of a transfer device 16 is embodied as a removable module or card of a telephone Data for an appliance 10 is downloaded from server 14 to the telephone where it is demodulated and stored in the card The card may then be taken to appliance 10 to transfer the data to the appliance with an infrared or other data link Another embodiment of the invention as illustrated i
51. port and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device 05 6 882 712 1 17 coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance setting programmable features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the transfer device to the computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer 17 The method of claim 16 further comprising inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance 18 The method of claim 17 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts 19 The method of claim 16 wherein the interactive site is accessed via the World Wide Web 20 The method of claim 16 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to a serial port of the computer 21 The method of claim 20 wherein the input port of the transfer device is plugged into the serial port 22 The method of claim 20 wherein the input port of the transfer device is coupled to the serial port by a cable 23 The method of claim 16 further comprising establishing a connection with the interactive site using the computer and uploading the user input s
52. r s computer or indirectly using a portable transter device 53 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets INTERACTIVE SITE SERVER 14 LOCAL COMPUTER Page 8 of 8
53. ransferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 57 The method of claim 56 wherein the output port of the 0 transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec 15 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 trical contacts 58 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and trans
54. re detected by a photodetector in a receiving device Discrete luminance levels can be gener ated using several different methods a Gray scales This method drives a spot on the display to one of several discrete shades of gray The photodetector in the receiving device can detect the discrete levels and convert each level into a single digit value Reference levels can also be sent periodically in the data stream to establish the black and white highest lowest luminance levels This allows the photodetector output to be scaled to more accurately detect each discrete gray level One limitation to this method is that the gray scale response of the display may not be linear In fact gray scale levels are greatly affected by the monitor s contrast and brightness controls These controls can be changed by the user and are not predictable or known constants b Chromatic luminance It is possible to convey various luminance levels by selecting different color combinations Each color has a luminance component combined with a chroma component Selecting different colors also selects different luminance levels For example dark brown has a low luminance while cyan has a high luminance Note that what is being detected with this method is luminance not color Accurate lumi nance detection depends on the color response of the display the monitor contrast brightness and color settings and the color response characteristics of the photodetector
55. rface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance positioning the transfer device in proximity to the display screen modulating the display screen to transfer the set up data to the transfer device via the optical sensor returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and 05 6 882 712 1 19 using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 38 The method of claim 37 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts 39 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corre sponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance setting programmab
56. rk In this case a single user interface may be provided to program the various systems and appliances of the dwelling These may be communicated directly to a central controller on the home network or through a transfer device A transfer device may be advantageously combined with a key to open the dwelling so that appliance features are programmed upon entering the dwelling This is especially useful when there are multiple occupants in the dwelling Each key may then carry the individual preferences of the respective occupant Conflicts in preferences may be resolved through a priority hierarchy established when the preferences are programmed with the user interface Of course the invention is not limited to residential dwellings and may be employed as well with offices stores and other habitable spaces The invention also has applicability apart from setting programmable features of appliances For example the invention may be employed to purchase pay per view pro gramming at an interactive web site An authorization code may then be downloaded into the transfer device of the invention and transferred to a TV set top box so that the purchased program will be descrambled This approach eliminates the telephone connection required for most TV set top boxes with pay per view capability Another potential application for the invention is as a programmable token For example a consumer product manufacturer may offer discounts on ce
57. rovide a binary bit stream where each bit is produced at the video field rate For a typical CRT this provides one binary data bit each 16 msec 60 fields per second While this approach is viable for the CRT it will not work well for flat panel displays The slow response time of LCD panels mean that only a small number of data bits could be transferred per second For a passive display 3 bits would be possible assuming 300 msec response time For active panels 20 bits could be transferred Using conven tional start and stop bits a passive panel would then be capable of transmitting 0 3 bytes per second and active panels 2 bytes per second This is too low a data rate for many applications Various modulation schemes are proposed below that are suitable for use with both CRT and LCD displays 1 LUMINANCE MODULATION A first approach to data modulation of a display screen employs luminance modulation This method drives the display with varying levels of intensity Each intensity level can represent an entire data digit For example FIG 7 illustrates a method using 10 shades of gray to represent a decimal digit The luminance level for each successive decimal digit or luminance dwell is generated as fast as the display can accommodate For an active matrix LCD panel 20 dwells could be sent in one second This allows 20 digits of information per second which is substantially faster than sending binary data The luminance levels a
58. rtain of its products at its web site Authorization to receive the discount may be downloaded into the transfer device of the invention and the transfer device may then be taken to a retailer The transfer device is then used to transmit the discount authorization to a receiving terminal at the retailer Ideally the terminal would also have the ability to modify the stored contents of the transfer device so that the discount authorization could be cancelled once the discount is given This same token approach can also be applied to pre paid purchase transac tions reservations at restaurants hotels parks etc entry authorization to entertainment venues or other secured areas and similar situations in which a conveniently transported authorizing token serves as an extended communication link from a computer system A first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG 1 An appliance 10 receives set up data from a local com 05 6 882 712 1 5 12 In a typical application local computer 12 is general purpose personal computer of the type now widely found in homes and offices Details of computer 12 are not particularly relevant to the invention and are not shown Typically computer 12 will comprise at a minimum a processing unit a keyboard and a display Additional input devices such as a mouse or other pointing device and output devices such as a printer may also be included as part of computer 12 Lo
59. s accomplished Some types of appliances can be readily adapted to utilize existing components for establishing communications with computer 12 For example electronic cameras inherently possess optical sensors than can be used to sense modulation 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 of a computer display screen or other light source The primary imaging path of the camera may be used in the case of video cameras and digital still cameras This simply requires the addition of circuitry and or software to decode the modulation and store the appropriate set up parameters Alternatively the receiver of the camera s focusing range finder may be used as the optical sensor In order to provide the appropriate interface for program ming the features of appliance 10 server 14 preferably receives data from the appliance manufacturer Such data may be received periodically as new model appliances are released by the manufacturer or may be obtained by server 14 in real time with a dial up connection to the manufac turer The latter approach offers the advantage of insuring that the most recent product information is available to server 14 One method of insuring that the appropriate information for appliance 10 is obtained by server 14 is to prompt the appliance owner to input the serial number of the appliance at computer 12 This need only be performed once since the serial number can thereafter be stored in computer
60. s hereby corrected as shown below Col 18 claims 30 36 are cancelled Signed and Sealed this Twenty third Day of November 2010 David J Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 882 712 Page of 8 APPLICATION NO 10 155531 DATED April 19 2005 INVENTOR S Jerry Iggulden and Kyle Fields It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Delete the Title Page and substitute therefore the attached Title Page showing the corrected number of claims in patent Col 18 lines 13 48 claims 30 36 are cancelled Column 18 line 49 Column 22 line 65 claims 37 60 are renumbered as claims 30 53 as shown 30 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a computer with a display screen said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an optical sensor interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface to generate set up data removing the transfer device from the real appliance positioning the transfer device in proximity to the display screen modulating the d
61. s of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an input port establishing a connection with the interactive site using a computer interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface at the interactive site downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the computer removing the transfer device from the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device returning the transfer device to the real appliance using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance setting programmable features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer 4 The method of claim 3 further comprising inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance 5 The method of claim 4 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts 6
62. te from the user s computer having an input port and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 50 The method of claim 49 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating electrical contacts 51 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer network providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set programmable features of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 7
63. ther is to be defined by the appended claims What is claimed is 1 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance said real appliance including a removable transfer device having an optical sensor 05 6 882 712 1 15 establishing a connection with the interactive site using computer with a display screen interactively setting programmable features of the virtual appliance using the graphical user interface at the interactive site downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the computer removing the transfer device from the real appliance positioning the transfer device in proximity to the display screen modulating the display screen to transfer the set up data to the transfer device via the optical sensor returning the transfer device to the real appliance inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance and using the set up data to set the programmable features of the real appliance 2 The method of claim 1 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port having cooperating electrical contacts 3 A method for setting programmable feature
64. tion FIG 12 illustrates a self clocking data encoding scheme for use with the present invention FIG 13 is a functional block diagram of a receiving device suitable for use with the present invention FIG 14 illustrates a display screen having a portion thereof for data transfer FIG 15 is a plot of CRT photoresponse of a prototype system constructed in accordance with the present invention FIG 16 is a plot of a calibration sequence used in the prototype system DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description for purposes of explanation and not limitation specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention However it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details In other instances detailed descriptions of well known methods and devices are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail The present invention finds application with a wide vari ety of home and office appliances Some categories of appliances in which the invention may be utilized include clocks telephones televisions television set top decoders video recorders audio and video entertainment system components refrigerators conventional ovens microwave ovens dishwashers irrigation systems global positioning 10 15 20 25 30
65. tion For this method two or more photodetectors are used each responsive to different portions of the color spectrum For example separate red and green photodetectors could be used to detect varying shades of each color Using two channels allows data encoding using the luminance level of each color channel or the phase between two color signals Phase modulation works by modulating the color channels at a given rate but varying the phase relationship between the two channels as shown in FIG 10 To further increase the data density it is possible to combine modulation of color luminance with color phase Thus at any given sample interval three parameters are available red intensity green intensity and phase relation ship If eight discrete values of each parameter are used each sample point can represent 8 values or 1 of 512 discrete numerical values per sample A disadvantage to this method is the requirement for two color selective detectors Also color response can vary between displays so some type of color calibration may be required 2 VIDEO BAR CODE FIG 11 illustrates another method of data encoding using video bar code modulation This approach is similar to printed bar codes but uses a higher density data coding With this method a video bar code is displayed across the screen The user swipes a receiving device across the bar code to read data from the screen Conventional printed bar codes work by using different sp
66. tures of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an optical sensor and an output port downloading set up data for the programmable features from the interactive site to the user s computer modulating at least a portion of the display coupled to the user s computer sensing the modulation with the optical sensor of the transfer device so as to receive the set up data inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 15 The method of claim 14 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port having cooperating electrical contacts 16 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising providing an interactive site on a global computer net work providing a graphical user interface at the interactive site said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance establishing a connection between a user s computer and the interactive site entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance at the interactive site providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input
67. vice inserting the transfer device into a docking port in the real appliance coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance 51 The method of claim 50 wherein the output port of the transfer device and the docking port have cooperating elec trical contacts 52 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graphical user interface using a user s computer said graphical user interface having a virtual appliance that graphically depicts programmable fea tures of a corresponding real appliance entering data with the user s computer to set program mable features of the virtual appliance to generate set up data providing a portable transfer device separate from the user s computer having an input port and an output port coupling the input port of the transfer device to the computer transferring the set up data from the computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance setting programmable features of the real appliance by user input at the real appliance coupling the transfer device to the computer and transferring the user input settings to the computer 53 A method for setting programmable features of an appliance comprising operating a graph
68. with a graphi cal user interface having a virtual appliance that graphi cally depicts programmable features of a corresponding real appliance setting programmable features of the virtual appliance at user s computer providing a portable transfer device having an input port and an output port 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 65 18 coupling the input port of the transfer device to the user s computer downloading set up data for the programmable features from the user s computer to the transfer device coupling the output port of the transfer device to the appliance and transferring the set up data from the transfer device to the real appliance wherein the real appliance comprises an automobile and wherein the transfer device comprises a key for the automobile 30 A method for diagnosing a fault in an appliance comprising providing an appliance support facility establishing a communication connection between an appliance and an appliance user s computer sending diagnostic data from the appliance to the appli ance user s computer establishing a communication connection between the appliance user s computer and the appliance support facility sending the diagnostic data from the appliance user s computer to the appliance support facility and processing the diagnostic data at the appliance support facility to diagnose a fault in the appliance 31 The method of claim 30 further

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