[54] TOUCH SENSITIVE USER INTERFACE FOR TELEVISION CONTROL
[76] Inventor: David J. Asher, P.O. Box 8748, Albany, N.Y. 12208
[21] Appl. No.: 978,148
[22] Filed: Not. 16,1992
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 698,498, May 9, 1991, abandoned.
[51] Int. C1.5 G09G 3/02
[52] U.S. CI 345/156; 345/173;
348/553
[58] Field of Search 340/706, 709, 712, 825.69,
340/825.72, 753, 722; 341/23; 455/603, 612; 358/194.1, 22, 192.1; 345/156, 157, 173, 140
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FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 0139762 11/1984 United Kingdom 340/712
13n 14
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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Primary Examiner—Alvin E. Oberley
Assistant Examiner—Chanh Nguyen
[57] ABSTRACT
A remote control system for control of an external device from a' remote location is disclosed that comprises a remote controller 11 and a receive and display unit 16. The remote controller employs a touch fader 10, which the user touches to activate a visual feedback system 14, such as menus and bargraphs, in the receive and display unit. Changing the position of the touchpoint will change the selection, allowing the user to easily scroll through many selections or a hierarchy of menus. Releasing the touch fader will signal the user's acceptance of a selection. Commands are sent to control the external device according to the user selections which follow from a predefined command structure.
2 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
15^ 16
