TELEVISION CONTROLLER WITH INTERNET TELEPHONY CAPABILITIES Field of The Invention
The field of the invention is television controllers.
Background of The Invention Televisions are self-contained units that include a radio signal receiver to receive audio and image information, a screen in the form of a cathode ray tube, a speaker, and control buttons or knobs to select channels, control image characteristics, and control the audio output level. Many television sets are equipped to cooperate with hand-held remote controls that allow a viewer to operate the television from a distance of several feet.
Early personal computers frequently utilized a television screen as the computer display. The resolution was extremely poor, however, and such usage gave way to higher resolution dedicated computer monitors. When digital television became available, it once again became practical to utilize a television screen as the display for a computer. The much-publicized interactive television concept attempts to marry television and computing, usually with a "set top box" computer coupled to a digital television.
The name "set top box" is somewhat of a misnomer because the computer portion' . need not be physically located on top of the television set, and indeed is often positioned to the side of, below, or even within the housing of a television set. Moreover, set top boxes do not need to have a separate housing at all, and certainly do not need to have a boxy housing.
The more accurate term for a set-top box would be a "television controller". The key feature that distinguishes a television controller from a PC or other computer that can receive and display television images accessed via Internet is that a television controller cooperates with a television set rather than a dedicated computer monitor. The term Internet is used herein as a euphemism for any public package switched network.
One of the advantages of using a television controller is that the television screen can be used for both (a) viewing television programming and (b) operating standard computer applications. Thus, a user may choose to use the television controller and the television screen to "surf the Internet, operate a word processing or spreadsheet program, or place a phone call over a network. Internet telephony products are well known within the art (e.g. CoolTalk™ and NetMeeting™).
Among the disadvantages associated with use of a television controller is that additional peripheral devices may be needed to control the standard computer applications, and these additional devices cause clutter. While most applications may be handled sufficiently with just the addition of a keyboard and a mouse, Internet telephony applications generally also require a microphone and speaker, which causes further clutter.
To solve at least some of the problems associated with clutter caused by multiple peripheral devices, universal remotes have been utilized. A universal remote combines the functions of a television remote along with functions of a VCR and/or a DVD player. Universal remotes, however, are often difficult to program and may not be compatible with the many models of VCRs, DVDs, and televisions.
Another disadvantage of a television controller is the lack of access to the controller by additional computers. Typically, a television controller will be operating within a home that may have a home network. Even though the nodes of the home network may be able to communicate among themselves, a lack of access to the TV controller may limit TV usage and Internet access including Internet telephony applications.
Thus, there is a need for devices and methods that reduce clutter while allowing
Internet telephony and provide access for a plurality of network computers.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a television control system that has electronics and a network connection enabling telephone calls to be placed over a public packet switched network. Placing of telephone calls is facilitated by a wireless television remote that has a microphone and a speaker. A plurality of network connections provides access to the control system for a plurality of computers.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a controller for the television may further comprise an RJ11 jack that connects to the home phone jack, and is used for an HPNA (home phoneline network associates) network configuration.
Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.
Brief Description of The Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic of a control system having VDSL connection to the Internet.
Fig. 2. is a schematic of a control system having an HPNA network.
Detailed Description
Referring first to Fig. 1, a control system 100 generally comprises a television 110, a television controller 120, a handset 130.
A television 110 is preferably a "digital television" such as a high definition television (HDTV), but this is merely a preference, and just about any known television will suffice if it cooperates with a television controller to display television programming and computer applications including web pages. HDTV provides relatively high-resolution television images that are digitized and compressed (e.g. using MPEG-2) before they are transmitted and then decompressed when they reach the TV. A preferred television 110 is comprised of a radio signal receiver to receive audio and image information, a screen in the form of a cathode ray tube (4:3 or 16:9 format with HDTV), a speaker (surround sound with HDTV), and control buttons or knobs to select channels, control image characteristics, and control audio level. In addition to the aforementioned components, a television will preferably comprise RAM (random access memory). In a contemplated class of embodiments, the television 110 comprises at least 4 megabytes of RAM. At least 2 megabytes of RAM (either residing within the television or the television controller) may be used to hold an operating system and/or software for operating at least one of a plurality of network connections. Of course, RAM may include non- volatile (NVRAM) that will retain its contents if power is lost.
A controller 120 may be a "set top box", but as previously mentioned, the location and shape of the controller housing should not be construed as a limitation. As such, the controller 120 may even be located remotely from the television 110. It may also be located within the same housing as the television 110. Irrespective of its location, a controller 120 preferably contains at least protocol electronics 122, a plurality of network connections 126, and a first network connection 124 (i.e. to the Internet or other public or private network). One, two, or even all three of the controller components (protocol electronics 122, plurality of network connections 126, and the first network connection 124) may be collocated on a single board. It should be recognized that a controller 120 might additionally contain components (e.g. software, hardware, electronics, etc) necessary to receive and display digital and analog television programming as well as to receive, display, and interact with computer applications and peripherals. These additional components may also be located on the same board. Among the contemplated computer applications are online purchasing, e- mail management, and vide conferencing. Security applications and security related hardware (not shown) are also part of a preferable controller 120.
Protocol electronics 122 enable telephone calls to be placed over a public packet switched network (i.e. the Internet). At least one Internet telephony product (sometimes called "voice over the internet" or "voice over IP") may reside within the controller 120. It is contemplated that any of the known Internet telephony products will suffice including Microsoft® NetMeeting™ and Net2phone®. It is further contemplated that protocol electronics 122 may include electronics necessary to provide video conferencing including a camera (i.e. digital video camera) that may be mounted within the controller housing. A first network connection 124 provides access to a public packet switched network such as the Internet 150. A first network connection 124 is preferably an RJ11 jack that receives a twisted pair of copper wires. Alternatively, the connection may include a cable jack receiving coaxial cable or some other suitable connection that provides access to the public network. It is further contemplated that a suitable signal receiver may be employed in the case of a wireless connection. In any case, a first network connection 124 is typically part of a modem (not shown) (e.g. DSL modem, cable modem, dial-up modem, wireless modem) that is employed to modulate and demodulate the signals. Of course, the modem may be either external or internal, with speeds of between 300 baud to 55 mbps or higher.
Communication lines 140 leading to the first network connection 124, and providing access to a public network, preferably support broadband transmission, but the system and methods described herein will operate sufficiently with baseband transmission. Of course, broadband lines typically utilize twisted pair copper wire (i.e. phone lines), but other alternatives including specifically coaxial cable provide sufficient bandwidth. DSL (digital subscriber line) (e.g. ADSL, SDSL) technology is preferred because it allows for relatively fast transfer of data among other things. Tl technology is more preferred, and VDSL (very high speed DSL) is even more preferred typically because it allows for even faster transfer rates (currently up to 55 Mbps). POTS (plain old telephone service) lines may also be utilized with a dial up modem having a transfer rate of as little as 300 bps.
A plurality of other network connections 126 may also exist on the controller 120.
These other network connections 126 are typically to allow access to the controller by a plurality of computers (not shown) that may be part of a home network (not shown). A plurality of network connections 126 may exist as part of a hub (not shown), which is used as a common connection point for devices of a network. Advantageously, a plurality of network connections 126 will comprise an 8 port Ethernet (lObaseT) hub having RJ45 connections (e.g. DSH-8 from D-Link). Other embodiments may include more or less ports - another example is the 5 port EW5HUB from Linksys®. A handset 130 has a microphone 134 and a speaker 132 at least in part to facilitate Internet telephony applications. A preferable handset 130 will also include the usual controls of a television remote - that is, channel selector, volume control, and picture quality control. A handset 130 may also allow for control of at least one VCR, and/or at least one DVD, as well as provide selections used to program the television and view listings of television programs. A handset 130 communicates with the television or television controller through a wireless connection that supports wireless communication such as RF (e.g. VHF, UHF, and microwave frequencies) or IR. A preferable handset utilizes common cordless phone frequencies including 900 MHz and 2.7 GHz, although other lower frequencies may be utilized. Bluetooth is a method for data communication that uses short- range radiolinks to replace cables, and this technology may be utilized for communication between the handset 130 and the tv controller 120. It is further contemplated that the type and frequency of wireless communications may vary depending upon the function (i.e. channel selection, internet telephony, and so on). A preferable speaker 132 and preferable microphone 134 are substantially similar to those found in a common cordless phone.
With respect to videoconferencing, a remote 130 may also comprise a screen (not shown) and/or digital video camera (not shown) to enable relatively private videoconferencing. Inherent in such a configuration is the necessary components to capture, receive and displays digital signals. In an alterative configuration, a remote 130 may comprise the video camera, and the television screen may be used to display the other parties to the videoconference.
In Fig. 2. a control system 200 having an HPNA network is depicted, and generally includes a home 210 having a network 240 that connects network computers 222 and 232 to a television controller 254 via a network connection 255. The television controller is also connected to the Internet 270 via a broadband communications path 260.
A home (house) 210 has three rooms 220, 230 and 250. The first room 220 has a network computer 222, a USB adapter 224, a standard telephone 228, and an RJ11 wall jack 226. The second room 230 has a similar configuration to the first room. The third room 250 has a television 253 with a controller 254, a remote 258, and a wall jack 252 (RJ11) . The three rooms are networked together by using an HPNA (home phoneline networking alliance) standard that allows the components (e.g. computer, printer, scanner, fax, digital camera, modem, and so on) of the network to interact over the home's existing telephone wiring 240 without disturbing the existing voice service. Thus, HPNA enables communication among the network computers 222, 232 and the television controller 254.
Consider a user (not shown) working on his computer 222 in the first room 220. The user may engage in a voice over IP application using the telephone 228. This is preferably accomplished with the aid of software and hardware, including protocol electronics 256 and a network connection 257, which reside on the television controller 252. Any of the known VoIP protocols such as BLES, MGCP, SIP, and H.323 may be used. Regardless of whether a user is engaging in VoIP, or some other Internet application, a television controller 254 provides a connection 257 to the Internet 270 for any of the networked computers.
USB adapters 224 and 234 are preferred though not necessary to the operation of the system 200. USB adapters (e.g. aNetgear™ PA101) generally alleviate the need to install an internal NIC card, and therefore allow the network to be setup with relative ease. In the depicted embodiment, the USB adapter is connected to the telephone 228, RJ11 wall jack 226, and to the computer's USB port (not shown).
Not only are Internet applications available to users of a network computer, digital television is also available. Using the HPNA network technology depicted in Fig. 2, digital television may be received in every room, and may even be received simultaneously with Internet content.
Thus, specific embodiments and applications of a television controller with Internet telephony capabilities have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components', or steps that are not expressly referenced.