US 9,866,899 B2Granted

Two way control of a set top box

AssigneeGoogle Inc.

InventorsVincent Dureau, Nathan Leslie Sandland

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Features of various implementations are used to control operation of a second electronic device from a first electronic device using indirect control methods and optical character recognition. In some implementations, communication between a primary set-top box and a supplemental set-top box is configured in order to avoid the need for one or more provider-specific APIs. For example, one aspect of the disclosure is a method of identifying commands that can be used to control one or more features of a primary set-top box (e.g., DVR or VOD features) by a supplemental set-top box issuing commands to the primary set-top box via a wireless (e.g., IR) transmitter, and then using optical character recognition to identify the outcomes of those commands as displayed on a primary TV display or secondary display.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:

at a first electronic device coupled to a display and a first output connection of a second electronic device, the first electronic device including one or more processors and memory:
sending a first command sequence to the second electronic device via a wireless connection different from the first output connection, wherein the first command sequence is not known to be correct;
in response to the sending, capturing display data provided by the second electronic device via the first output connection;
generating a fingerprint of displayed user interface elements from the captured display data;
obtaining, based on the generated fingerprint, a determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device;
in accordance with a determination that the first command sequence was not performed correctly, sending a second command sequence to the second electronic device via the wireless connection, wherein the second command sequence is not known to be correct;
in accordance with a determination that the second command sequence was performed correctly, updating a first database to identify the second command sequence as a correct command sequence for the second electronic device;
generating a user interface including selectable user options for interacting with a plurality of features provided by the second electronic device;
providing the user interface for display on the display;
receiving a user selection, via the provided user interface, of an option associated with a second feature, the second feature comprising a digital video recorder or video on demand feature;
determining that the second command sequence corresponds to the second feature;
and
responsive to the user selection of the option associated with the second feature:
obtaining the second command sequence from the first database;
and
issuing the second command sequence to the second electronic device.

13 more elements

A computer-implemented method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:

at a first electronic device coupled to a display and a first output connection of a second electronic device, the first electronic device including one or more processors and memory:
sending a first command sequence to the second electronic device via a wireless connection different from the first output connection, wherein the first command sequence is selected to determine a first state of the second electronic device;
in response to the sending, capturing display data provided by the second electronic device via the first output connection;
generating a fingerprint of displayed user interface elements from the captured display data;
obtaining, based on the generated fingerprint, a determination as to the first state of the second electronic device;
and
based on the first state and a device type of the second electronic device, sending a second command sequence to the second electronic device so as to control a feature provided by the second electronic device;
in accordance with a determination that the second command sequence was performed correctly, updating a first database to identify the second command sequence as a correct command sequence for the second electronic device;
generating a user interface including selectable user options for interacting with a plurality of features provided by the second electronic device;
providing the user interface for display on the display;
receiving a user selection, via the provided user interface, of an option associated with a second feature, the second feature comprising a digital video recorder or video on demand feature;
determining that the second command sequence corresponds to the second feature;
and
responsive to the user selection of the option associated with the second feature:
obtaining the second command sequence from the first database;
and
issuing the second command sequence to the second electronic device.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/194,551Filed 28 Feb 2014 · continuation in part
Priority: 19 Sep 2012
Published: US 2014/0082646 A126 Jun 2014
Granted: 9 Jan 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

H04N 21/44008
Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing a video clip retrieved from local storage with an incoming video stream or rendering…
H04N 5/50
Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards: tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
H04N 21/41407
Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance: embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile…
H04N 21/4227
Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]: providing Remote…

Family

Application13/623,043Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 19 Sep 2012
Application14/089,709Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 25 Nov 2013
US 2014/0181853 A1Pre-grant publication · published 26 Jun 2014
US 10,735,792 B2Related patent
US 2014/0082646 A1Published application
US 2014/0085541 A1Published application
US 9,832,413 B2Related patent
US 9,866,899 B2This patent

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