# US 2017/0255437 A1 · User Interface Based on System-State Information > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2017/0255437 A1 - Document ID: US20170255437A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/593,296 - Filed: 2017-05-11 - Published: 2017-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2015-08-30 - Assignees: EVA Automation, Inc. - Applicants: EVA Automation, Inc. - Inventors: Gaylord Yu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170255437A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/14: Digital output to display device {; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units} - G06F 1/1643: {the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615)} - G06F 3/038: Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry - G06F 3/04886: by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus - G08C 17/02: using a radio link - H04M 1/72415: for remote control of appliances - H04M 1/72469: for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons - H04N 21/41265: {having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device (unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204)} - H04N 21/41407: {embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop (constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57)} - H04N 21/42204: {User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor (constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205)} - H04N 21/4312: {involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations} - H04N 21/43615: {Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals (home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805)} - H04N 21/43635: {HDMI} - H04N 21/43637: {involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth®, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] (arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114)} - H04N 21/47217: {for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks (specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312)} - H04N 21/482: End-user interface for programme selection - G06F 2203/0383: Remote input, i.e. interface arrangements in which the signals generated by a pointing device are transmitted to a PC at a remote location, e.g. to a PC in a LAN - G08C 2201/21: Programming remote control devices via third means - G08C 2201/30: User interface - G08C 2201/50: Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices - G08C 2201/93: Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop - G09G 2370/06: Consumer Electronics Control, i.e. control of another device by a display or vice versa - H04M 1/22: Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials - H04M 1/72454: according to context-related or environment-related conditions - H04M 2250/22: including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector - H04N 21/4222: {Remote control device emulator integrated into a non-television apparatus, e.g. a PDA, media center or smart toy (remote control device for a television receiver integrated into a mobile phone H04M1/72415)} - H04N 21/42224: {Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G08C: TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS (fluid pressure transmitting systems F15B; mechanical means for transferring the output of a sensing member into a different variable G01D5/00; mechanical control systems G05G) - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) ## Abstract A portable electronic device with a touch-sensitive display (such as a cellular telephone) provides a wireless remote control for an entertainment device (such as a consumer-electronic device). Based on device-state information that specifies a current state of the entertainment device (which is received from an audio/video (A/V) hub that communicates with the entertainment device) and one or more related states of the entertainment device, the portable electronic device may generate a user interface that includes one or more virtual command icons. Note that the one or more related states are related to the current state in a state diagram by corresponding operations that transition the entertainment device from the current state to the one or more related states. Then, the portable electronic displays the user interface on the touch-sensitive display. In this way, the portable electronic device dynamically adapts the user interface. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A portable electronic device, comprising: a touch-sensitive display; one or more light sources; one or more antennas; an interface circuit communicatively coupled to the one or more antennas; and a control circuit, coupled to the one or more light sources, the touch-sensitive display and the interface circuit, configured to: receive, via the interface circuit, system-state information, associated with an electronic device, that specifies current device states of a group of two or more entertainment devices, wherein the system-state information includes measured device-state information for at least one of the two or more entertainment devices; select, based on the system-state information, a predefined or predetermined user interface that includes one or more icons, one or more virtual command icons or both, which is associated with the current state and one or more related states of at least an entertainment device in the group of entertainment devices that are related to the current state in a state diagram by corresponding operations that transition the entertainment device from the current state to the one or more related states; and display the user interface by selectively illuminating the one or more icons using the one or more light sources, by presenting the one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display or both. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to receive, via the interface circuit, one of: classification information for the entertainment device that specifies a type of the entertainment device; a manufacturer of the entertainment device; and context information that specifies a context of content associated with the entertainment device; and wherein the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both are further based on one of: the type of the entertainment device, the manufacturer of the entertainment device, and the context. ### Claim 3 (depends on 21) The portable electronic device of claim 21, wherein the portable electronic device comprises a user-interface device, which is coupled to the control circuit; wherein the control circuit is configured to receive activation information specifying activation of a control feature in the user-interface device that is associated with an icon in the one or more icons; and wherein the activation of the control feature specifies a transition of the entertainment device from the current state to a new current state in the state diagram. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein the control circuit is configured to: modify the user interface to change the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both based on the new current state; and display the modified user interface by modifying the selective illumination by the one or more light sources and by presenting the modified one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to receive activation information specifying activation of a virtual command icon in the one or more virtual command icons; wherein the activation of the virtual command icon specifies a transition of the entertainment device from the current state to a new current state in the state diagram; and wherein activation of the virtual command icon involves the portable electronic device performing one of: detecting contact with the touch-sensitive display within a strike area of the virtual command icon and then release of the contact; and receiving information associated with a verbal command. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The portable electronic device of claim 5, wherein the control circuit is configured to: modify the user interface to change the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both based on the new current state; and display the modified user interface by modifying the selective illumination by the one or more light sources and by presenting the modified one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user interface excludes selective illumination of the one or more light sources associated with one or more additional icons, the presenting of one or more additional virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display or both, which are associated with one or more unrelated states of the entertainment device that are unrelated to the current state by direct transitions in the state diagram. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein a given operation directly transitions the entertainment device from the current state to one of the additional states without passing through an intermediate state in the state diagram. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises: memory configured to store a program module; and a processor, coupled to the one or more light sources, the interface circuit and the memory, wherein, when executed by the processor, the program module causes the portable electronic device to perform: the receiving, the selecting and the displaying. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the selecting and the displaying operations are dynamically performed as the current state changes. ### Claim 11 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with a portable electronic device, the computer-readable storage medium storing a program module that, when executed by the portable electronic device, causes the portable electronic device to display a user interface by performing one or more operations comprising: receiving, via an interface circuit in the portable electronic device, system-state information, associated with an electronic device, that specifies current device states of a group of two or more entertainment devices, wherein the system-state information includes measured device-state information for at least one of the two or more entertainment devices; selecting, based on the system-state information, a predefined or predetermined user interface that includes one or more icons, one or more virtual command icons or both, which is associated with the current state and one or more related states of at least an entertainment device in the group of entertainment devices that are related to the current state in a state diagram by corresponding operations that transition the entertainment device from the current state to the one or more related states; and displaying the user interface by selectively illuminating the one or more icons using one or more light sources in the portable electronic device, by presenting the one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display or both. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more operations comprise-receiving, via the interface circuit, one of: classification information for the entertainment device that specifies a type of the entertainment device; a manufacturer of the entertainment device; and context information that specifies a context of content associated with the entertainment device; and wherein the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both are further based on one of: the type of the entertainment device, the manufacturer of the entertainment device, and the context. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more operations comprise receiving activation information specifying activation of a control feature in a user-interface device in the portable electronic device that is associated with an icon in the one or more icons; and wherein the activation of the control feature specifies a transition of the entertainment device from the current state to a new current state in the state diagram. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more operations comprise: modify the user interface to change the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both based on the new current state; and display the modified user interface by modifying the selective illumination by the one or more light sources and by presenting the modified one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more operations comprise: receive activation information specifying activation of a virtual command icon in the one or more virtual command icons; wherein the activation of the virtual command icon specifies a transition of the entertainment device from the current state to a new current state in the state diagram; and wherein activation of the virtual command icon involves the portable electronic device performing one of: detecting contact with the touch-sensitive display within a strike area of the virtual command icon and then release of the contact; and receiving information associated with a verbal command. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more operations comprise: modify the user interface to change the one or more icons, the one or more virtual command icons or both based on the new current state; and display the modified user interface by modifying the selective illumination by the one or more light sources and by presenting the modified one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the user interface excludes selective illumination of the one or more light sources associated with one or more additional icons, the presenting of one or more additional virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display or both, which are associated with one or more unrelated states of the entertainment device that are unrelated to the current state by direct transitions in the state diagram. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein a given operation directly transitions the entertainment device from the current state to one of the additional states without passing through an intermediate state in the state diagram. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the selecting and the providing operations are dynamically performed as the current state changes. ### Claim 20 A method for displaying a user interface, wherein the method comprises: by a portable electronic device: receiving, via an interface circuit in the portable electronic device, system-state information, associated with an electronic device, that specifies current device states of a group of two or more entertainment devices, wherein the system-state information includes measured device-state information for at least one of the two or more entertainment devices; selecting, based on the system-state information, a predefined or predetermined user interface that includes one or more icons, one or more virtual command icons or both, which is associated with the current state and one or more related states of at least an entertainment device in the group of entertainment devices that are related to the current state in a state diagram by corresponding operations that transition the entertainment device from the current state to the one or more related states; and displaying the user interface by selectively illuminating the one or more icons using one or more light sources in the portable electronic device, by presenting the one or more virtual command icons on the touch-sensitive display or both.