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US 2004/0176132 A1Published application
Appliance control system
OwnerSteven Thrasherinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides systems, devices and methods for muting appliances when an incoming call is detected.
Claims20
An appliance control system, comprising:
- a means for detecting an incoming call;
- a transmitter;
- a universal remote control logic (URCL) that is adapted to control a home appliance;
- and
- the URCL coupled between the means for detecting an incoming call and the transmitter.
2 more elements
A method of controlling an appliance in response to a telecommunications signal, comprising:
- detecting a phone call;
- processing a home appliance control function to generate a command;
- and
- transmitting the command to a home appliance.
1 more element
A method of automatically programming an appliance control system, comprising:
- transmitting an identify command;
- receiving a response from an appliance that identifies the appliance;
- identifying the appliance from which the signal was received;
- associating a predefined appliance command with the appliance;
- and
- storing in a memory the relationship between the appliance and the predefined appliance command.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.