US 4,623,887 AGranted

Reconfigurable remote control

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorKenneth B. Welles, II

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Abstract

A reconfigurable remote control transmitter is disclosed that has the ability to learn, store and repeat the remote control codes from any other infrared transmitter. The reconfigurable remote control transmitter includes an infrared receiver, a microprocessor, nonvolatile and scratch pad random access memories, and an infrared transmitter. The microprocessor application is divided into four main categories: learning, storing, retransmitting, and user interface. In the learning process, the reconfigurable remote control transmitter receives and decodes the transmissions from another remote control transmitter. The process is repeated at least twice for each key to make sure that it has been properly received and decoded. Once the data has been received and decoded, it is stored for later use. In order to do this, the received and decoded data is compressed so that it can fit into the nonvolatile memory. This process is repeated for each of the several remote control transmitters that are to be replaced by the reconfigurable remote control transmitter. When the learning and storing operations have been completed, the reconfigurable remote control transmitter is ready to use.

Claims10

Dependent claims

For use with a plurality of remotely controlled products or appliances each of which is controllable with one or more signals transmitted from an associated remote control transmitter, a reconfigurable remote control transmitter for emulating the remote control transmitters of said plurality of remotely controlled products or appliances comprising:

receiver means for receiving signals transmitted from a remote control transmitter to be emulated during a learning mode, said signals being comprised of bursts of pulses separated by pauses;
prompting means;
microprocessor means connected to receive the output of said receiver means and coupled to said prompting means for prompting a user to initiate transmission of a signal from the remote control transmitter to be emulated and counting the numbr of pulses in each burst of pulses and timing the duration of each pause of a transmission, said microprocessor means being programmed to categorize the pulse bursts and pauses and generate a compressed code for each signal provided by the remote control transmitter to be emulated;
memory means addressed by said microprocessor means for storing said compressed codes;
and
transmitter means controlled by said microprocessor means in an emulation mode for transmitting a coded signal or controlling a selected remotely controlled product or appliance, said microprocessor means being further programmed to recall from said memory means a desired compressed code, expand said code and cause said transmitter means to transmit the coded signal.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.