Remote Control System

Abstract

A control hub and method of operating the control hub are presented. The hub/method receives instructions remotely, and for each instruction, identifies one of a plurality of appliances as an intended recipient of the instruction, translates the instruction into a format readable to the one of the plurality of appliances, and sends the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction via one of one or more communication mechanisms of the control hub.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A control hub comprising:
 one or more communication mechanisms configured to transmit instructions to a plurality of appliances in a plurality of modalities; and   a processor operatively coupled with the one or more communication mechanisms, wherein the processor is programmed to, for each instruction:
 identify one of the plurality of appliances as an intended recipient of the instruction; 
 translate the instruction into a format readable to the one of the plurality of appliances; and 
 send the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction via one of the one or more communication mechanisms. 
   
     
     
         2 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein for each instruction, the one of the one or more communication mechanisms sends the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction using a modality that is appropriate for the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction. 
     
     
         3 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the cellular interface converts the translated instructions into machine accessible code (MAC) before transmitting the instructions via the one or more communication mechanisms. 
     
     
         4 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein for at least one of the instructions, a verification from the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction is received at the central hub. 
     
     
         5 . The control hub of  claim 4 , wherein the verification is an acknowledgement to the central hub that the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction has executed the instruction. 
     
     
         6 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more communication mechanisms include a wireless modality. 
     
     
         7 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more communication mechanisms include a Wi-Fi modality. 
     
     
         8 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more communication mechanisms include an infrared modality. 
     
     
         9 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more communication mechanisms include a Bluetooth® modality. 
     
     
         10 . The control hub of  claim 1 , further configured to:
 receive the instructions from a PDA located remotely from the central hub.   
     
     
         11 . The control hub of  claim 1 , wherein the central hub is embedded into one of the plurality of appliances. 
     
     
         12 . The control hub of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a memory which stores a list of instructions associated with each of the plurality of appliances.   
     
     
         13 . The control hub of  claim 1 , further configured to:
 receive communication link verifications from the plurality of appliances.   
     
     
         14 . The control hub system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of appliances comprise one or more of a group consisting of: a furnace, a thermostat, a wall air conditioner, a central air conditioner, a ceiling fan, a humidifier, a dehumidifier, an oscillating fan, a fireplace, a VCR, a DVD, a TV, a CD player, a Jacuzzi, a personal computer, a pool, a sauna, a camcorder, an iPod, a video camera, an alarm clock, a clock radio, a sound system, a stereo, a business computer, a fax, an answering machine, a copier, a scanner, a printer, a laminator, an alarm system, a side door, a garage door, a front door, a back door, an inside light, an outside light, a video camera, a coffeemaker, a dishwasher, a microwave, and an oven. 
     
     
         15 . The control hub system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of appliances are TVs. 
     
     
         16 . A control hub comprising:
 a Wi-Fi communication mechanism configured to wirelessly transmit instructions to a plurality of appliances; and   a processor operatively coupled with the Wi-Fi communication mechanism, wherein the processor is programmed to for each instruction:   identify one of the plurality of appliances as an intended recipient of the instruction;   translate each of the instruction into a machine accessible code (MAC) format readable to at least one of the plurality of appliances; and   wirelessly send the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction via the Wi-Fi communication mechanism.   
     
     
         17 . A control hub comprising:
 an interface;   one or more communication mechanisms configured to wirelessly transmit instructions to a plurality of appliances in a plurality of modalities; and   a processor operatively coupled with the interface and one or more communication mechanisms, wherein the processor is programmed to receive instructions through the interface from a PDA located remotely from the central hub and for each instruction:
 identify one of the plurality of appliances as an intended recipient of the instruction; 
 translate each of the instruction into a machine accessible code (MAC) format readable to at least one of the plurality of appliances; and 
 send the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction via one of the one or more communication mechanisms. 
   
     
     
         18 . The control hub of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more communication mechanisms include a Wi-Fi modality. 
     
     
         19 . A method of operating a control hub comprising:
 receiving instructions remotely; and   for each instruction of the instructions received remotely:
 identifying, using a processor, one of a plurality of appliances as an intended recipient of the instruction; 
 translating, by the processor, the instruction into a format readable to the one of the plurality of appliances; and 
 wirelessly sending the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction via one of one or more communication mechanisms of the control hub. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein for each instruction, wirelessly sending the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction comprises sending the translated instruction to the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction using a wireless modality that is appropriate for the one of the plurality of appliances identified as the intended recipient of the instruction.