User Action Remote Control

Abstract

The present invention supports the control of a plurality of controlled devices. With three dimensional accelerometer components, detection of a user action on a remote controller and the orientation of the remote controller are viable through small electronic devices. Aspects of the invention are based on the three dimensional accelerometer components to provide a remote controller that can detect the user action. Based on the user action, the remote controller transmits a signal to the controlled device which conveys the corresponding command. A selected controlled device may be matched to the remote controller. The remote controller and controlled device may also support a learning mode, in which the controlled device sends a list of supported commands to the remote controller. The remote controller then matches an associated action with each command in the command list.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method involving a remote control configured to wireless transmit a command and comprising a memory configured to store a plurality of mapping of motions, the method comprising:
 determining, by the remote control, a physical orientation of the remote control from among a plurality of predefined orientations;   selecting, by the remote control, a first mapping of motions from among the plurality of mappings of motions based on the physical orientation of the remote control, wherein the first mapping of motions comprises motions each corresponding to a command;   receiving, by the remote control, an indication of a motion of the remote control;   selecting, by the remote control, the command from the first mapping of motions based on the indication of the motion of the remote control; and   wirelessly transmitting, by the remote control, the command for receipt by a first controlled device, wherein the first mapping of motions corresponds to the first controlled device, and a second mapping of motions corresponds to a second controlled device, and wherein the first mapping of motions and the second mapping of motions are not identical.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting the command is further based on a direction of the motion, and wherein the physical orientation of the remote control is one of vertical and horizontal, and wherein a first physical orientation is where an X-axis of the remote control is facing upward relative to ground. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of the motion of the remote control is received from an accelerometer associated with the remote control. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wirelessly transmitting the command is performed via one or more of: infrared or radio frequency. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the command is associated with one or more of: a volume of the first controlled device, a channel displayed by the first controlled device, or a light level of the second controlled device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the remote control comprises one or more input keys, and wherein the selecting the command is further based on a first input key of the one or more input keys being pressed. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the motion comprises a rotation of the remote control. 
     
     
         8 . A method involving a hand-held device, a first device, and a second device, the method comprising:
 determining, by an accelerometer associated with the hand-held device, a physical orientation of the hand-held device from among a plurality of predefined orientations comprising a first orientation where an X-axis of the hand-held device is facing upward relative to ground;   selecting, by the hand-held device, a first mapping of motions from among the plurality of mappings of motions based on the physical orientation of the hand-held device, wherein the first mapping of motions comprises motions each corresponding to a command;   receiving, from the accelerometer associated with the hand-held device, an indication of a motion of the hand-held device, wherein the motion is in a direction;   selecting, by the hand-held device, the command from the first mapping of motions based on the indication of the motion of the hand-held device; and   wirelessly transmitting the command for receipt by the first device, wherein the first mapping of motions corresponds to the first device, and a second mapping of motions corresponds to the second device, and wherein the first mapping of motions and the second mapping of motions are not identical, and wherein the command is changed when the physical orientation of the remote control is changed.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the physical orientation of the hand-held device is one of vertical and horizontal. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the wirelessly transmitting the command is performed via one or more of: infrared or radio frequency. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the command is associated with one or more of: a volume of the second device, a channel displayed by the second device, or a light level of the second device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the hand-held device comprises one or more input keys, and wherein the selecting the command is further based on a first input key of the one or more input keys being pressed. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the motion comprises a rotation of the hand-held device, and wherein the selecting the command is further based on the rotation. 
     
     
         14 . A remote control comprising:
 one or more processors, and   memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the remote control to:
 determine a physical orientation of the remote control from among a plurality of predefined orientations; 
 selecting first mapping of motions from among a plurality of mappings of motions based on the physical orientation of the remote control, wherein the first mapping of motions comprises motions each corresponding to a command; 
 receiving an indication of a motion of the remote control; 
 selecting the command from the first mapping of motions based on the indication of the motion of the remote control; and 
 wirelessly transmitting the command for receipt by a first controlled device, wherein the first mapping of motions corresponds to the first controlled device, and a second mapping of motions corresponds to a second controlled device, and wherein the first mapping of motions and the second mapping of motions are not identical. 
   
     
     
         15 . The remote control of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of predefined orientations of the remote control comprises vertical and horizontal. 
     
     
         16 . The remote control of  claim 15 , wherein the command corresponding to the first controlled device is changed to a command corresponding to the second controlled device when the physical orientation of the remote control is changed. 
     
     
         17 . The remote control of  claim 14 , wherein wirelessly transmitting the command is performed via one or more of: infrared or radio frequency. 
     
     
         18 . The remote control of  claim 14 , wherein the command for the first controlled device is associated with one or more of: a volume of the first device, a channel displayed by the first device, or a light level of the first device. 
     
     
         19 . The remote control of  claim 14 , wherein the remote control comprises one or more input keys, and wherein selecting the command for the first device is further based on a first input key of the one or more input keys being pressed. 
     
     
         20 . The remote control of  claim 14 , wherein the motion comprises a rotation of the remote control, and wherein selecting the command for the first device is further based on its rotation.