US6380990B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for command and control of television receiver for video conferencing applications
Assignee: Sony Corp
•
Filing: 1997-10-06
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Granted: 2002-04-30
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Expires: 2017-10-06
Abstract
Abstract An alignment command is transmitted from a video conference application to a television receiver using an existing command path within the television receiver. The television receiver is then configured in accordance with the alignment command. Transmitting the alignment command may include formatting the command according to a protocol compatible with the existing command path within the television receiver. For example, a signal protocol compatible with a television remote control may be used. Further, the alignment command may be received at an input jack associated with the existing command path within said television receiver. Configuring the television receiver may be accomplished by decoding the alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter for the television receiver. This may include accessing a table (e.g., a look-up table stored in a memory) to obtain the alignment parameter. The alignment parameter may then be used to produce a display alignment command for the television receiver. The television may include means for receiving the alignment command from the video conference application and means for configuring the television according to the alignment command. The receiving means may include a command input path adapted to receive the alignment command. The television's means for configuring generally includes a programmable controller configured to provide a display alignment command to configure the television according to the alignment command.
Inventors
- 👤 David H. Bessel
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 14:36
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/14; H04N7/15; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/41; H04N21/422; H04N21/42204; H04N21/426; H04N21/42692; H04N21/43; H04N21/431; H04N21/4312; H04N21/47; H04N21/485; H04N21/60; H04N21/65; H04N21/654; H04N21/6543; H04N21/658; H04N21/6587; H04N5/00; H04N5/44; H04N21/478; H04N21/4788; H04N5/445; H04N5/45
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
132 words
A method of aligning a television receiver for use during a video conference, comprising: receiving, from a video conference source, one or more alignment commands for one or more television alignment parameters chosen from a list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video form at parameters, said receiving occurring through an existing command signal path within the television receiver originally provided for use other than by the video conference source and without requiring manual control inputs by an operator of the television receiver, decoding, at the television receiver, the one or more alignment commands to obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the television receiver; and configuring a display output of the television receiver in accordance with the corresponding alignment parameters decoded from the one or more alignment commands.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
132 words
A method of aligning a television receiver for use during a video conference, comprising: receiving, from a video conference source, one or more alignment commands for one or more television alignment parameters chosen from a list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video form at parameters, said receiving occurring through an existing command signal path within the television receiver originally provided for use other than by the video conference source and without requiring manual control inputs by an operator of the television receiver, decoding, at the television receiver, the one or more alignment commands to obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the television receiver; and configuring a display output of the television receiver in accordance with the corresponding alignment parameters decoded from the one or more alignment commands.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising formatting, at the video conference source and prior to receiving the alignment commands, the one or more alignment commands according to a signal protocol compatible for use with the command signal path within the television receiver.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 2 further comprising transmitting the formatted alignment commands to the television receiver.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein decoding the alignment commands comprises accessing a table to retrieve the corresponding alignment parameters.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 4 wherein the corresponding alignment parameters comprise pre-stored alignment parameter sets for optimizing the display of video conference image data.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting from the television receiver to the video conference source, one or more control inputs received through the existing command signal path.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the existing command signal path comprises a television remote control signal path.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the control inputs include address information which identifies the control inputs as being directed to the video conference source.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
135 words
A television receiver, comprising: a control port coupled to receive, from a video conference source and not from a manual input source, one or more alignment commands for one or more television alignment parameters chosen from a list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video format parameters, the control port further coupled to provide the received alignment commands to an existing command signal path within the television receiver originally provided for use other than by the video conference source; and a controller included within the command signal path and coupled to receive the alignment commands from the control port, the controller being configured to decode the alignment commands to obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the television receiver and to provide display alignment commands for the television receiver in response thereto.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
135 words
A television receiver, comprising: a control port coupled to receive, from a video conference source and not from a manual input source, one or more alignment commands for one or more television alignment parameters chosen from a list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video format parameters, the control port further coupled to provide the received alignment commands to an existing command signal path within the television receiver originally provided for use other than by the video conference source; and a controller included within the command signal path and coupled to receive the alignment commands from the control port, the controller being configured to decode the alignment commands to obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the television receiver and to provide display alignment commands for the television receiver in response thereto.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the command signal path comprises a television remote control signal path configured to receive television command inputs from a manually operated remote control.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The television receiver of claim 10 wherein the command signal path is further coupled to an output jack of the television receiver and is configured to pass video conference commands entered via the manually operated remote control to the video conference source.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the controller is coupled to a memory storing television alignment parameters and the controller is configured to retrieve one or more of the stored television alignment parameters when decoding the alignment commands.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The television of claim 12 wherein the television alignment parameters are stored in a look-up table.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
14 words
The television receiver of claim 12 wherein the memory comprises a read only memory.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the controller is further coupled to receive command inputs initiated by a manually operated remote control units through the command signal path and is configured to identify whether the commands are intended for the television receiver or the video conference source.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The television receiver of claim 15 wherein the controller is configured to identify whether the commands are intended for the television receiver or the video conference source on the basis of address information included in the commands.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
141 words
A video conference system, comprising: a video conference source including a television remote control simulator configured to provide one or more television alignment commands in a protocol recognizable by an existing command path within a television receiver that was originally provided for use other than by the video conference source, the alignment commands being for adjustment of one or more television alignment parameters chosen from the list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video format parameters, the alignment commands being provided automatically during a video conference application, without manual control input, and the television receiver coupled to the video conference source and configured to receive the alignment commands through a control port in which the alignment commands are buffered prior to decoding, the control port being coupled to the existing command path within the television receiver.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
141 words
A video conference system, comprising: a video conference source including a television remote control simulator configured to provide one or more television alignment commands in a protocol recognizable by an existing command path within a television receiver that was originally provided for use other than by the video conference source, the alignment commands being for adjustment of one or more television alignment parameters chosen from the list including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry parameters, or picture video format parameters, the alignment commands being provided automatically during a video conference application, without manual control input, and the television receiver coupled to the video conference source and configured to receive the alignment commands through a control port in which the alignment commands are buffered prior to decoding, the control port being coupled to the existing command path within the television receiver.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
41 words
The video conference system of claim 17 wherein the television receiver includes a controller coupled to receive the alignment commands from the control port and configured to produce one or more display alignment commands for the television receiver in response thereto.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
36 words
The video conference system of claim 18 wherein the controller is included within the existing command path of the television receiver and is further configured to receive commands entered via a manually operated remote control unit.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
60 words
The video conference system of claim 19 wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether or not the commands entered via the manually operated remote control unit are intended for the television receiver or the video conference source according to address information included in the commands and to produce television control commands or not in accordance with the decision.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-04-29 | 2005-10-29 | 2006-04-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-04-29 | 2009-10-29 | 2010-04-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-04-29 | 2013-10-29 | 2014-04-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |