US 9,317,020 B2 · System and method for upgrading the remote control functionality of a device

Abstract

A system and method for upgrading remote control application resident on a device. To this end, a markup language file is created. The markup language file has a representation of information used to setup the remote control application to communicate with an appliance. The markup language file may be executed, on the device or an intermediate client with which the device is synchronized, to upload the representation of the information to a remote server. At the remote server, the uploaded information is used to automatically display user-selectable, downloadable data files relevant to the control of the appliance. Downloaded data files, which may include command codes and/or graphical user interface elements, may be used within the device to upgrade the ability of the remote control application to communicate with the appliance. The information uploaded to the server may also be used to generate demographic data regarding consumer preferences.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method of defining a future release of a command library, comprising:

receiving at a Web site requests to download an upgrade to a previously installed command library containing instructions for controlling the operation of one or more functions of an appliance to thereby provide a controlling device with a capability to command at least one function of the appliance which function of the appliance was incapable of being commanded by the controlling device using the previously installed command library;
and
using statistics derived from information associated with the requests received at the Web site to determine if the future release of a command library containing instructions for controlling the operation of one or more functions of the appliance is to include the capability to command the at least one function of the appliance which was incapable of being commanded by the controlling device using the previously installed command library.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

12/882,842Filed 15 Sep 2010 · division

Priority

29 Jan 2001

Published

US 2011/0093562 A121 Apr 2011

Granted

19 Apr 2016

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G05B 13/02
Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned…:…
G06F 8/65
Software deployment: updates
G06F 15/177
Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous…:…
H04L 67/10
Protocols: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network

Family

Application60/264,767Us provisional application · filed 29 Jan 2001

Application09/905,423Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 13 Jul 2001

Application10/151,501Parent of this continuation · filed 20 May 2002

Application11/406,721Parent of this division · filed 19 Apr 2006

US 7,093,003 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 15 Aug 2006

US 2011/0093562 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Apr 2011

US 8,909,739 B2Parent of this division

Application11/406,721Parent of this continuation

Application10/151,501Parent of this continuation-in-part

US 2002/0140571 A1Published application

US 2006/0031400 A1Published application

US 2006/0200538 A1Published application

US 9,317,020 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

System and method for upgrading the remote control functionality of a device

Life of this patent

System and method for upgrading the remote control functionality of a device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11