Remote television control method based on potential-field technology
By constructing a potential field on the TV screen, the operating range of controllable components is expanded. Combined with a touchpad and physical buttons, the problem of touchscreen operation in TV remote control technology is solved, achieving fast and accurate remote control effects and improving the interactivity and user experience of the TV.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2025/125174
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-10-09
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-29
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-16
AI Technical Summary
Existing TV remote control technology struggles to achieve fast and precise touchscreen operation, failing to meet the diverse interactive needs of home users, especially in scenarios such as convenient control of page navigation and video playback on a TV screen with a large amount of information.
By employing potential field technology to construct an independent potential field on the TV screen, the operating range of controllable components is expanded. Through mobile products such as TV remote controls, smartwatches, and mobile phones, simple click positioning, touch screen swipe positioning, and step button positioning are achieved. Combined with touchpads and physical buttons, multiple remote control functions are realized.
It improves the accuracy and efficiency of TV remote control, supports unified operation of touch screen, buttons, air mouse and air gestures, meets the needs of different user groups, and enhances the interactivity of TV and user experience.
Smart Images

Figure CN2025125174_16042026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
A TV remote control method based on potential field technology Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the application and improvement of televisions and their remote controls. It is a method for convenient, fast and accurate remote control of a television screen by using technologies such as digital communication, screen (panel) touch, electronic sensors and display, through mobile products such as dedicated television remote controls, smartwatches and mobile phones, or other touch screen (panel) devices. Background Technology
[0002] Today, with the widespread use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, home televisions are facing serious challenges. Televisions, with their large screens, high information capacity, and low eye strain, have long been popular with families. However, in recent years, televisions have gradually fallen out of favor, with many families treating them as mere decorations and rarely using them. The primary reason for this is the rigid nature of television interaction and the difficulty of human-computer interaction.
[0003] Since its inception, the television has existed as a purely broadcasting public good. Remote control technology, a crucial link in human-computer interaction, has also consistently employed a passive selection model, resulting in a simplistic and mechanical approach. Users can only watch, not participate.
[0004] Compared to mobile devices with touchscreen displays, home TVs are at a significant disadvantage in touchscreen applications due to their lack of a touchscreen. Many operations that can be performed on a mobile phone, such as "tap to go" and "drag and drop," are not possible on a TV. This makes it difficult for many apps that run on mobile devices to achieve the same good performance and user experience on a TV, hindering their transition to TV functionality.
[0005] Early remote control methods used a "flying mouse" technique, utilizing sensors built into the mobile device to control the rapid movement of the screen cursor or the focus point of a component by rotating or tilting it. More recently, domestically released absolute pointing remotes and star-flicker pointing remotes utilize a combined gyroscope (IMU). By improving the wireless communication technology between the remote and the television, they enhance precise positioning and anti-interference capabilities, enabling "point-and-click" absolute pointing interaction on the television, allowing for operations such as swiping, tapping, and dragging. When in operation, the user can shake the remote to move the screen cursor. Once the cursor points to a target, a button is used to confirm the selection.
[0006] This invention refers to the aforementioned method of controlling screen cursor movement via remote control as "air mouse technology." This method is well-suited for use in reports, presentations, and teaching, but for most home users, the need for cursor movement and positioning in an air mouse not only impacts the user experience but also places higher demands on hardware configurations such as communication speed. In practice, it is less convenient than the touchscreen mode of mobile devices like smartphones. Even when the number of targets is small, it is less efficient than traditional button mode. For example, when there are only two selection buttons on a page, using button mode will most likely require only one click.
[0007] In terms of air gesture remote control, with the help of artificial intelligence, some functions have been implemented on some high-end TVs. The main applications include air gesture mute, play / pause, confirm, and return. However, there has been no key breakthrough in major application areas such as TV navigation and video playback.
[0008] Comparing the four TV remote control modes—touchscreen, buttons, air mouse, and air gestures—touchscreen mode is more suitable for scenarios such as page navigation and video playback. Functions such as zooming, writing, drawing, and other single-finger, two-finger, and palm gesture operations can only be completed directly and quickly using touchscreen mode. However, in situations such as report presentations, roadshows, and teaching demonstrations, its on-site feel and effect are not as good as air mouse.
[0009] Using a touchscreen mode, a small touchpad is installed on the TV remote control. However, unlike a mobile phone screen, the touchscreen and display screen cannot be integrated seamlessly, and the touch point cannot perfectly match the controlled object. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve "point-and-click" functionality. This has been the biggest obstacle for non-touchscreen TVs to adopt touchscreen mode for many years.
[0010] Unlike mobile phones and computers, televisions have large screens, fixed locations, and audiences of all ages. With the development of information technology, televisions are gradually transitioning from simple playback products to interactive products, providing users with more suitable and refined personalized information services in addition to audio and video services. This is especially true in applications such as film and television resource distribution, education and training, talent shows, sports and health, games, and childcare, all of which have different user needs and even different remote control methods. The single-button remote control method that has been used for decades is no longer adequate. Therefore, transforming the remote control method and enhancing the interactivity of televisions is a necessity for the development of the times.
[0011] The next generation of remote control technology should not only meet the current needs of various groups of people using television, but also provide strong remote control support for the construction of a more prosperous television ecosystem in the future.
[0012] Therefore, developing an efficient touchscreen technology that is compatible with button, air mouse, and other modes, and expands the application of air gestures, to enable simple, fast, and accurate remote control of the TV screen, is very important and has significant practical implications. Summary of the Invention
[0013] The purpose of this invention is to propose a method for convenient, fast, and accurate remote control of a television screen using digital communication and screen (panel) touch and display technologies, via mobile products such as dedicated television remote controls, smartwatches, and mobile phones, or other touch screen (panel) devices.
[0014] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is: a television remote control method based on potential field technology. In the design of various television pages such as program navigation, video playback, education and training, sports and health, and game scenes, the non-controllable screen area other than the controllable component that needs to complete the remote control task is reasonably allocated to each controllable component, and an independent potential field is constructed for each of them. This maximizes the screen space occupied by each controllable component and provides convenience for screen remote control activities such as searching, moving, replacing, marking, and scaling of the controllable component.
[0015] A potential field possesses the following basic elements:
[0016] Reasonable: The combination and construction of controllable components and potential fields conform to users' common sense.
[0017] Independent: Each controllable component must have, and only has, one potential field, and has no intersection with other potential fields;
[0018] Full: The potential energy of all controllable components within the screen fills the entire television screen.
[0019] When performing remote control operation on a television, the potential field of the controllable components of the television is taken as the basic object of operation and control, and associated with the controllable components that possess the potential field, forming a unified management pattern of controllable components and their potential fields without gaps across the entire screen.
[0020] The potential field can be rectangular, or other shapes and styles that are easy to construct and use.
[0021] Potential moment is a potential field that exists in the form of a rectangle. It is the largest upright rectangle that can be generated by extending unobstructed in all directions from the smallest upright rectangle (original rectangle) surrounding the controllable component itself, with the perimeter of the TV screen area as the boundary.
[0022] Potential field technology maximizes the operability of each controllable component. Each click ensures a specific component is hit, significantly improving screen click accuracy.
[0023] Based on the potential field layout characteristics of different scenarios on the page, and utilizing the touch screen (panel) of the remote control device, as well as the potential field and operation gestures of the controllable components, a simple click positioning and touch screen swipe positioning strategy is adopted to realize multiple remote control functions for the controllable components of the TV screen.
[0024] The controllable components mentioned above are buttons, images, scenes, and other elements on the television screen that can respond to remote control commands such as clicking, moving, replacing, annotating, and zooming. All other screen areas outside of these controllable components are referred to as non-controllable areas.
[0025] The above remote control devices include mobile products such as TV remote controls, smartwatches and mobile phones, as well as other devices with electronic sensors such as touch screens and the ability to communicate wirelessly with the TV.
[0026] The above remote control functions include opening, dragging, zooming, full-screen panning, row and column panning, volume control, returning, voice control, power on / off, etc.
[0027] The television set mentioned in this manual can be a dedicated television unit or a TV box with an independent operating system. The TV box mentioned in this manual includes smart set-top boxes and other smart TV boxes. The touchscreen mentioned in this manual refers to both a touchpad and a touchscreen. The difference is that the latter has a display screen. The touchscreen area and touchscreen region mentioned in this manual refer to the effective touch area of the touchscreen or touchpad of the touchscreen remote control device. The television screen or television screen area mentioned in this manual is usually the screen area currently in an active state. When multiple application scenarios are displayed in a split-screen manner, it refers to the currently active screen display area.
[0028] In touchscreen mode, this invention proportionally converts the display dot matrix of the television screen into the horizontal and vertical dot matrix numbers of the touchscreen area. This allows touchscreens with fixed size ratios and densities to become standard analog projection areas for television screens with different length-width ratios and densities. When the television screen display dot matrix is X*Y (horizontal*vertical, unit of light dots) and the touchscreen area is x*y (horizontal*vertical, unit of touch dots), a potential distance rectangle with upper left corner positions x1 and y1 and side lengths m1 and n1 within the television screen display area can be mapped to a potential distance rectangle with upper left corner positions x2 and y2 and side lengths m2 and n2 within the touchscreen area. Here:
[0029] x2=[x1*(x / X)], y2=[y1*(y / Y)];
[0030] m2=[m1*(x / X)], n2=[n1*(y / Y)].
[0031] According to the above formula, when the number of controllable components is large and m1 and n1 are sufficiently small, if the values of x / X and y / Y are also very small, then the rounded values of m2 and n2 can be zero, and even several controllable components on the screen can share a single point within the touchscreen area. This screen mapping state is called asymmetric mapping. Conversely, it is called symmetric mapping.
[0032] When the television screen resolution is high, the XY matrix of the aforementioned television screen display can be simplified through calculation to ensure that the values of x / X and y / Y are within a suitable range. This satisfies the need for the potential distance processing system to perform unified and rapid processing on television products with various screen display resolutions without affecting the expression of all controllable components within the page. Subsequently, all calculations involving the position, size, and potential distance of controllable components are based on the simplified data, i.e., the simplified data. The simplified virtual mesh is called the simplified mesh.
[0033] Symmetric mapping is used in various application scenarios such as program navigation, recording and document display, video playback, and television teaching. Clicking any location on the touchscreen refines the contact area between the finger and the touchscreen into a single point, which is then transmitted to the television via the wireless communication link between the touchscreen remote control and the television. By analyzing the potential field layout characteristics of each target component in the simplified grid, the television remote control management system can capture the potential field at that location and its components.
[0034] The aforementioned simplified click positioning refers to directly clicking on the touchscreen's potential distance within the touchscreen area to achieve quick, one-click positioning of the potential distance component. Since the entire potential distance fills the entire TV screen, when the TV screen scene presents a simplified distribution, the simplified click method can quickly locate all or part of the controllable components, especially those located in the corners and perimeter of the TV screen. Because the corner areas are easier to identify than the center area, the hit rate is significantly improved. After clicking the touchscreen, the clicked potential distance component is focused and enters a defined state, i.e., undergoing changes in size, border, or color. If a single click does not achieve the desired result, multiple clicks can be selected. Each click can be considered an update of the defined state.
[0035] The aforementioned touchscreen gliding positioning refers to the process of gliding a finger across the touchscreen area, allowing the user to follow the trajectory of changing focus points on components on the screen, stopping only after reaching the desired controllable component. Since the touchscreen area is the standard analog projection area of the TV screen onto the remote control, each point stimulated by the finger on the touchscreen is associated with a controllable component on the screen. As the finger moves, the potential distance components involved change shape sequentially, thus accurately reaching the expected target.
[0036] The aforementioned step button positioning refers to using directional buttons to complete the agreed-upon update when a touchscreen remote control is equipped with a combination of directional buttons. This is typically used by users who are not accustomed to swiping operations, and when running applications using traditional button modes. In addition, in conjunction with the confirmation button, it can also be used as the primary navigation and operation button throughout traditional TV applications.
[0037] Every application running on a television set needs to plot a potential distance graph within each of its page layouts. This is a virtual layout, typically saved and transmitted as an array or list. The plotting of potential distance graphs follows four main principles:
[0038] 1) Association principle: Each potential distance must be associated with one and only one controllable component.
[0039] 2) Filling Principle: Each controllable component must have one and only one independent potential distance. The potential distances of all controllable components within the screen fill the entire television screen.
[0040] 3) Bisector principle: Based on the original rectangle of the controllable component, when expanding in all directions, if it is blocked by other components, it will bisect the space between them. However, when the potential distance of the other component cannot reach the bisecting line, the boundary that it can reach will be used as the standard.
[0041] 4) Priority principle: When two components are arranged diagonally, if the lateral distance between them is greater than or equal to the longitudinal distance, then they are arranged longitudinally. Otherwise, they are arranged laterally.
[0042] Potential moment maps can be drawn manually or automatically. Among them:
[0043] Manual drawing: After the page layout is complete, set the potential distance for each controllable component. These can exist as graphic entities of a controllable component or as a virtual grid. Ultimately, the system only needs a data sequence related to the names of all controllable components and the positions of their potential distance quadrilaterals.
[0044] Automatic drawing: Utilizing AI technology, a dedicated potential distance generation plugin is designed for the system. This plugin can run after the page layout design is completed. Based on the four principles of potential distance graph drawing, it draws the potential distance graph and abstracts it into a data sequence related to the names of all controllable components and the positions of the four potential distance lines. Automatic drawing can also be performed during live television broadcasts; when the system opens a specific page, it is automatically completed by executing the aforementioned operating system plugin.
[0045] In practical applications, when the touchscreen on the remote control is clicked, the remote control sends the coordinates of the touch point to the TV host. Based on the received location information, the TV management program searches and compares the potential field of the controllable component, thus quickly locating the current potential field and the controllable component.
[0046] The aforementioned potential field diagram was drawn using a full-page drawing method. However, a feasible alternative is to use a temporary, localized drawing method. After receiving the contact information from the remote control at the television end, a small-scale, temporary drawing is performed to locate the potential field in which the device is situated.
[0047] Once a controllable component is selected, the system enters the target agreement state. The system can cancel and re-agree, or perform other operations such as opening, running, dragging, and dropping to complete various other tasks.
[0048] When this invention is used in small touchscreen products such as TV remote controls, smartwatches, and mobile phones, although the touchscreen is small, the potential distance of the controllable components is greater than or much greater than the components themselves, and the corners of the touchscreen are very easy to capture. Therefore, even when the TV screen displays a simplified layout, the probability of the user hitting the target on the first try is still very high. If a simple click does not achieve the desired result, touchscreen swiping and step buttons can be used to conveniently and quickly select the target.
[0049] When an array of relatively small but concentrated controllable components appears on the screen, this array can be defined as a potential window. When this potential window becomes the focus of the screen, its potential field can be considered to fill the entire screen. At this time, all the listed components within the potential window will equally divide the potential field of the entire screen. Potential window bisectation is a strategy for rapidly identifying and executing controllable components in a concentrated arrangement.
[0050] The television-specific remote control described in this invention is a universal remote control designed for television sets and featuring three remote control modes: touchscreen, buttons, and air mouse. The remote control surface is equipped with a touchpad and physical buttons. The touchpad is used for various touchscreen gestures such as clicking, swiping, dragging, and zooming, while the physical buttons are used for operations such as power on / off, returning to home page, back, menu, direct access, multitasking, directional and confirmation control, and volume control.
[0051] To facilitate quick and easy operation, this invention combines the touchpad and the confirmation button into a single integrated unit. By applying pressure to the touchpad, button operations can be performed simultaneously with regular touchscreen interactions. This integrated unit is called the touchpad button. This functionality can be achieved using either a mechanical button or a finger pressure measurement technology.
[0052] Mechanical Buttons: Below the touchpad, a rubber sheet with conductive rubber blocks installed at multiple locations is adhered, with the contact surface facing down. Below the rubber sheet, a printed circuit board is mounted, containing contact pads corresponding to the conductive rubber blocks. Applying pressure to any location on the touchpad will always activate the corresponding contact pad.
[0053] Finger pressure measurement: Employs pressure-sensing touch technology. Pressure sensors, such as 3D-touch or ClearForce technology, are distributed beneath these touchpads. They detect the level of finger pressure while monitoring the finger's contact point. The system provides a threshold reference standard; when the finger pressure exceeds this threshold, the button is considered active. Users can also modify this threshold according to their own preferences.
[0054] The touchpad is the physical representation of the potential distance map on the remote control. The distribution of its physical contact points corresponds to the simplified grid dot matrix of the television screen. Touchscreen operations performed on the touchpad are extremely similar to operations performed directly on a television screen with a touchscreen.
[0055] In navigation applications, if the total number of rows of controllable components on a page exceeds the screen display area, the entire page will automatically rise one row when the finger slides down to the bottom of the touchpad. Similarly, if the finger slides up to the top of the touchpad, the entire page will automatically sink one row as long as the top of the page is not in the screen window.
[0056] To drag controllable components, you can perform a "drag and drop" gesture: after finding the target component by clicking or swiping, press the touchpad button, keep your finger on the touchpad, and continue swiping to drag the component to the target position on the page.
[0057] Similar to the zoom function on a mobile phone, you can zoom in or out on a specific image simply by using two fingers on the touchpad to increase or decrease the distance between your two fingers.
[0058] In addition to the various command-based operations such as clicking, moving, dragging, and zooming via simple touchscreen, the touchpad can also be used to perform various text and graphic input and drawing tasks, and can implement several command functions through specific graphic input. This invention defines the former as Class A operations and the latter as Class B operations.
[0059] Type B operations primarily involve drawing text and graphics, and can be used for both information transmission and command execution. When used for information transmission, writing text on the touchpad will be displayed on the TV screen and transmitted as text information through a character recognition system. When used for command execution, drawing a circle on the touchpad, after being recognized by the system, can become a command (such as "power off") and be executed.
[0060] The TV remote control system offers four methods: touchscreen, button, air mouse, and air gestures. Potential field technology is used uniformly in applications such as navigation and video playback. Through unified management of the remote control methods, data interaction, and communication signals, a single remote control can simultaneously perform touchscreen, button, and air mouse operations with deep compatibility. Furthermore, air gesture control can be integrated and operated concurrently with the remote control.
[0061] Thanks to the use of touchpad button technology, touchscreen applications become simple and smooth. Both tap and swipe positioning can be completed within one finger "drop -> lift" cycle. Therefore, after the cycle ends, the focus and agreed-upon state of the target component do not need to be retained. However, when running button and air gesture modes, or when using a mobile phone, smartwatch, or other device that does not yet have touchpad button functionality as a TV remote control, the focus of the target component cannot be revoked as long as it remains in the agreed-upon state. This invention calls this the focus retention strategy. For compatibility with remote control modes and tools, the focus retention strategy can also be used in touchscreen mode. However, if it may conflict with other touchscreen gestures, priority can be specified, or the agreement can be revoked.
[0062] For users accustomed to using buttons, when opening the navigation page, if a focus-holding strategy is not employed, a combination of buttons can be pressed to allow the system to set an initial focus. Except for the initial press, the system will define the initial focus based on the user's previous usage history. Then, button operations can continue. Otherwise, the system will automatically set an initial focus. If the user switches to touchscreen while using button operations, the same applies; after tapping or swiping, touchscreen mode is entered, and a new focus is generated. If within the focus-holding framework, the focus remains (the duration can also be set). Otherwise, the focus disappears immediately once the finger leaves the touchscreen.
[0063] For users accustomed to touchscreens, tapping or swiping on the screen immediately creates screen focus. If a focus-holding strategy is employed, pressing a combination of keys immediately enters key mode, resulting in focus movement or command execution. Otherwise, a new initial focus needs to be defined.
[0064] In button or touchscreen mode, you can switch to air mouse mode using buttons, gestures, or other methods.
[0065] In this invention, the air mouse method achieves remote control functionality based on the light spots (display dot matrix elements) on the television screen or the coordinate points of a simplified grid. The former has a high density and requires a high wireless transmission rate; the latter is more flexible and, by employing potential field technology, can achieve an effect similar to that of a touchscreen method.
[0066] For remote controls without a gyroscope or IMU (joint gyroscope), manual mode is used. When a finger slides across the touchscreen, the cursor moves in the direction of the slide. For remote controls with a gyroscope or IMU, automatic mode is used. When the remote control tilts, moves left or right (or rotates), the system accurately positions the cursor based on the gyroscope's motion and commands it to move up, down, left, or right.
[0067] Typically, the air mouse method is used in the following scenarios:
[0068] 1) Navigation scenarios related to controllable components. In these scenarios, first point the cursor at the target component or its potential field, and then press the button to confirm.
[0069] 2) Demonstration scenarios related to text pages. In these scenarios, cursor guidance, annotations, etc., are used for on-site demonstration and interaction.
[0070] 3) Game scenarios involving stationary or moving parts. Some game scenarios require quick reactions to controllable moving parts. Using an air mouse allows for rapid aiming at targets by moving the cursor.
[0071] Similar to the air mouse mode, air gestures use a camera installed on the TV to directly capture and recognize the user's gestures in real time, enabling a "point-and-shoot" TV remote control method. After setup, it can be plugged in and run at any time.
[0072] Clearly, potential field technology can effectively improve the accuracy and efficiency of large-screen pointing applications such as air mice and air gestures. Because the potential field area is larger than, and even far larger than, the controllable component, pointing does not require reaching the specific target component; it only requires reaching the component's potential field. At any given moment, whether using a remote control or air gestures, once the cursor points at the screen, it is already pointing at a specific target component. As the pointing direction moves, there will be continuous movement of the component's focus. For example, when the cursor enters a page with three buttons arranged in a row, as long as the cursor lands on one of the vertical thirds of the screen, the corresponding button will become the focus.
[0073] This invention does not exclude the use of a single system such as touchscreen, air mouse, or air gestures, or other hybrid solutions. In these remote control systems, the TV remote control can eliminate the arrangement of physical buttons, or retain only a very few buttons such as power, home, and back, with virtually no button operation throughout; it can also omit the installation of a gyroscope or combined gyroscope, or the installation of a touchpad.
[0074] The above description applies not only to TV remotes with touchpads but also to smartwatches and mobile phones. Since mobile phone screens offer more usable touchscreen space compared to smartwatches, to maintain operational consistency with TV remotes, this invention adds a button function area similar to that of a TV remote, in addition to the touchscreen area similar to a smartwatch touchscreen. This area contains remote control command buttons such as power, home, back, menu, direct access, air mouse, directional and confirmation controls, and volume. Users can perform gesture control operations using the touchscreen or use the buttons in the function area to complete other related operations.
[0075] When this invention is used in a mobile phone, a remote control touch screen area is created on the mobile phone's touch screen. Its size can be automatically adjusted according to the horizontal and vertical dot matrix data of the screen provided by the TV when the phone is turned on, as well as the horizontal and vertical dot matrix data of its own screen, to become a standard analog projection area of the TV screen.
[0076] In practical applications, for mobile phones, smartwatches, and other remote control devices that lack touchpad button functionality via finger pressure, this invention proposes an alternative to the touchpad button. With the target component already identified, confirmation is directly completed using the "Confirm" button on the remote control panel. In the touchpad button alternative:
[0077] 1) Focus Settings: After the screen enters a new page, the system automatically sets the initial focus. When the target component is selected, the focus remains unchanged and does not disappear.
[0078] 2) Open: Press the "OK" button to open the component definition page or application. For smartwatches, use a double-tap gesture instead of the "OK" button.
[0079] 3) Drag and drop: After agreeing, long press the touch screen and move your finger to drag the component to the target position on the page.
[0080] The TV screen management system and the touchscreen remote control are connected via a wireless communication channel, typically using technologies such as Wi-Fi, NearLink, and Bluetooth. When using NearLink or Bluetooth, both the TV and the touchscreen remote control need to have the corresponding communication module installed. After pairing and connecting, data exchange can begin. When using Wi-Fi, both devices must be in the same Wi-Fi environment. Once connected, they can transmit not only remote control-related commands but also text, voice, and image data.
[0081] This invention has significant social and economic benefits, mainly reflected in the following aspects:
[0082] I. Solving the Human-Computer Interaction Problem. Interaction between television and users has always been a difficult problem, and remote control technology is the most challenging. The solution provided by this invention enables ordinary televisions to achieve touchscreen-like functions, overcoming the clumsy and slow drawbacks of previous human-computer interaction methods.
[0083] Second, the potential field technology proposed in this invention can maximize the hit rate of each controllable component, with no false positives, and eliminates the need for cursor guidance. This not only greatly improves remote control efficiency but also places much lower demands on hardware processing speed compared to absolute cursor pointing technology, making it easier to popularize and promote.
[0084] Third, the touchscreen mode of a TV remote control simulates the touchscreen operation of a mobile phone. Compared with other remote control methods, because the fingers rely on the remote control and have a smaller range of motion, it is less tiring and more stable. In addition, it has unique advantages in application scenarios such as swiping, zooming, and text and graphic input, and is more in line with user habits.
[0085] IV. The television remote control method proposed in this invention integrates four methods—touchscreen, button, air mouse, and air gesture—into a unified whole. It fully leverages the advantages of each method, meeting the needs of various scenarios and user requirements under diverse application conditions. Furthermore, the adoption of potential field technology can significantly advance the development of directional remote control technologies such as air mouse and air gesture.
[0086] V. Support for personalized remote control and TV sharing. The remote control technology of this invention can be fully implemented on ordinary mobile products such as mobile phones and smartwatches. In the future, whether at home, in a hotel, or in an office, as long as you use a mobile phone or smartwatch to remotely turn on the TV, without logging in, registering, or paying extra, the TV can directly identify the user's identity, obtain the user's relevant usage records and data such as social media, shopping, and files, and directly access the user's history, applications, or favorite channels. Attached Figure Description
[0087] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and an example.
[0088] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a potential distance generation example in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0089] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of several examples of the potential distance distribution of the page controllable components in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0090] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the controllable component for dragging the TV screen in an example of the present invention.
[0091] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of row translation operation used in an example of the present invention.
[0092] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of column translation operation in an example of the present invention.
[0093] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the application of potential window in an example of the present invention.
[0094] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a TV remote control in an example of the present invention.
[0095] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a mobile phone simulated remote control in an example of the present invention.
[0096] In the diagram: 1. TV screen display area, 2. Controllable component, 3. Power supply, 4. Home, 5. Touchpad, 6. Menu, 7. Direction combination, 8. Multitasking, 9. Back, 10. Direct access, 11. Confirm, 12. Volume control, 13. Air mouse, 14. Upper component, 15. Remote control touch area, 16. Lower component. Detailed Implementation
[0097] The invention will be further illustrated below with an example of using a dedicated TV remote control to control a TV.
[0098] In this example, the television is a smart TV, hereinafter referred to as the TV host. The TV host has an Android operating system installed, along with other management and application programs, collectively referred to as the standby applications. The TV remote control has a touchpad on its control panel, as well as several physical buttons such as power, back, menu, and directional buttons. It also has a remote control application installed that is compatible with the TV host. Both the remote control and the TV host can wirelessly connect via the same Wi-Fi network and their respective built-in Bluetooth communication components.
[0099] This example uses potential distance as the method for constructing the screen potential field. The TV host screen has a resolution of 1920*1080 light-point units, and the effective touch screen area is 480*270 touch-point units. Typically, a 4*3 (three rows, four controllable components per row) format is used in TV screen navigation pages. When 4*3 squares are evenly arranged on the screen, each square is 480*360 light-point units. According to the aforementioned calculation formulas m2=[m1*(x / X)], n2=[n1*(y / Y)], corresponding to the touchpad, each square is 120*90 touch-point units. This configuration meets the user's needs for easy screen viewing and reliable TV remote control. This screen mapping state is called symmetrical mapping. Even in applications like Go, where the number of horizontal and vertical squares is 18 each, the vertical side length of each square can still reach 60 light-point units. On the touchpad, each square's vertical side length can reach 15 touch-point units, still satisfying the conditions for symmetrical mapping. However, when the number of square grid components evenly distributed on the screen exceeds 480*270, or when they are of varying sizes and may map to a minimum rectangle with a side length less than one touch point unit on the touchpad, they will share a touch point with other controllable components. This screen mapping state is called asymmetric mapping.
[0100] When using a remote control touchpad to locate controllable components on a TV screen, unlike a mobile phone where you can directly tap the component, you can only tap one or more points within the touchpad's mapped area. Therefore, maximizing the mapped area effectively improves accuracy and ensures that every tap is successful, preventing situations where the component is missed.
[0101] The potential distance of a controllable component is the largest upright rectangle that can be generated by extending the smallest upright rectangle surrounding it (the original rectangle) unobstructed in all directions from the perimeter of the television screen display area. Potential distance maps can be drawn manually or automatically by a potential distance generation system. Potential distance drawing follows four principles: correlation, filling, bisection, and priority.
[0102] As shown in Figure 1, in the case of potential distance generation, there are a total of 5 controllable components (2) within the entire TV screen display area (1). Each rounded rectangle can be regarded as a combination of the controllable component and the original rectangle. Starting from the upper left corner, the entire screen is scanned. In the expansion of component 1, because it intersects with component 4, it cannot expand to the left to the position of the vertical bisector of component 2, but can only reach the position of the vertical bisector to the right of component 4. Similarly, component 5 cannot expand upward to the position of the horizontal bisector of component 3. The final result of potential distance generation is shown in Figure 1_b.
[0103] In the potential distance graph, each controllable component has its own potential distance name. The two are closely related. In this example, the potential distance graph of each page is constructed in a virtual layout manner and saved and transmitted in array data format. For example, in the case shown in Figure 1-b, the controllable components named A1, A2, ... A5 exist in the one-dimensional array imagId_ar, and the potential distance after construction exists in the two-dimensional array itemArray. Furthermore, when i remains unchanged, the potential distance of imagId_ar[i] is itemArray[i].
[0104] imagId_ar={A1,A2,A3,A4,A5};
[0105] itemArray={{a0,a1,a2,a3},{b0,b1,b2,b3},{c0,c1,c2,c3},{d0,d1,d2,d3},{e0,e1,e2,e3}};
[0106] The sub-elements {a0,a1,a2,a3}, {b0,b1,b2,b3}, ..., {e0,e1,e2,e3} in itemArray are used to describe the positions of the four sides of the potential distance. When the TV remote control management program is running, based on this data, it can quickly search and compare any remote control information related to this page or any action related to potential distance, directly driving the relevant processing programs.
[0107] Controllable components are named with component attributes, including "Normal", "Potential Window", etc. Potential Window components require "_x" to be added to the end of their name string.
[0108] Figure 2 illustrates several examples of the potential distance distribution of controllable components. Within each television screen display area, different distributions of controllable components exist. These scenarios are extremely common in television navigation and various television applications, all exhibiting a simplified distribution pattern. Among them:
[0109] In Figure 2_a, there is only one controllable component, whose potential distance extends to the entire screen. Therefore, clicking anywhere on the touchpad will hit the target.
[0110] In Figure 2_b, the potential distance of component A is located in the upper half of the screen, while the potential distances of components B1 and B2 are located in the lower left and right halves, respectively. Clicking on these three components will hit them respectively.
[0111] In Figure 2_c, A1, A2, and A3 are arranged in a row, dividing the screen vertically into three parts. Clicking on these three parts will hit them respectively.
[0112] In Figure 2_d, there are 6 component potential distances. Among them, the first hit rate of components A, B1, B3, C1, and C2 is significantly higher than that of component B2.
[0113] In Figure 2_e, the potential distances of components A, B, and C are arranged in a row, dividing the screen into three parts. Clicking anywhere on each part will hit it.
[0114] In Figure 2_f, the nine components are arranged in a 3x3 format. The controllable components located at the four corners and perimeter have a higher first-hit probability than component B2 located in the center. Overall, the first-hit probability is higher than in the irregularly arranged scenario.
[0115] As can be seen from the six examples above, the potential distance is usually not symmetrical to the size of the controllable component itself. A small component on a screen can also have a large potential distance. In addition, the potential distance located at the perimeter and corners of the screen has a higher accuracy rate than other locations.
[0116] This example employs a three-pronged remote control technology: simple click positioning, touchscreen swipe positioning, and step button positioning. For screen scenarios with a simple layout, simple click positioning achieves a higher first-hit rate. This is especially true for screen scenarios that primarily feature contextual playback while also providing soft buttons for likes, ratings, and wish lists; the first-hit rate is even higher in these scenarios.
[0117] When using simplified click positioning, the user directly clicks the location on the remote control touchpad that corresponds to the screen scene. When the contact area is large, the system refines the location and sends this refined point to the TV. Upon receiving the data, the TV remote control management system uses the potential field layout characteristics of each target component in the simplified grid to capture the potential field at that location and its components. Simultaneously, the system focuses on that component, such as by magnifying it, adding a frame, or changing its color, to indicate selection. When the finger is lifted, the focus is removed, and the system returns to its original state.
[0118] If the selected component is not the intended one, you can continue using the simple click positioning to re-defined location, or you can use the touchscreen swipe positioning technology to reach the accurately selected target. Swipe positioning involves sliding your finger across the touchpad. During this process, the remote control continuously sends coordinates to the TV. After receiving the coordinates, the TV compares them with the current focus distance. If the component is not in the current focus range, the current focus is canceled, and a new focus is set.
[0119] In touchscreen swipe positioning, there are no restrictions on the direction of finger movement. However, to avoid gesture conflicts, remote controls without a button mode typically do not support quick swipes from the bottom left to the top right corner.
[0120] In this example, the TV remote control uses mechanical buttons to link the touchscreen and physical buttons. A rubber sheet of the same size as the touchpad is adhered to the bottom of the touchpad. Circular conductive rubber pieces are installed at the four corners, the center of each side, and the center of the rubber sheet. The conductive rubber faces downwards and corresponds one-to-one with the contact pads connected in parallel on the printed circuit board below. When a certain pressure is applied to the touchpad, the corresponding contact pad is activated. Using this technology, finger pressure can be applied simultaneously for click or swipe positioning to complete the "confirm" button operation without moving or changing fingers.
[0121] For smartphones, smartwatches, and other remote control devices without pressure-sensitive touch controls or touchpad buttons, this example uses the "confirm" button or touchscreen gestures on the remote control as a substitute. After implementing the alternative, a focus retention strategy is necessary. Once agreed upon, the focus is retained.
[0122] After the controllable components have completed the agreed-upon steps, operations such as opening and dragging can be performed via touchscreen gestures. Various gestures on the touchpad, including single click, double click, triple click, long press, move, and two-finger swipe, can be used to perform actions such as agreeing, zooming, panning the entire screen, row / column panning, multitasking, air mouse control, volume control, back, returning to home, and power on / off. Since the TV remote control in this example has physical buttons for power, volume control, back, direct access, multitasking, returning to home, and air mouse, the operations performed using the touchpad only include agreeing, opening, dragging, zooming, panning the entire screen, and row / column panning.
[0123] Convention – Set the focus component by simple click positioning or touch screen swipe positioning.
[0124] Open – In the agreed state, without lifting your finger, press the touchpad button to open the page defined by the agreed component, or the application.
[0125] Drag and Drop – Tap or swipe to the target component, press the touchpad button, and simultaneously slide your finger to enter drag mode. If the component is draggable, a copy of the currently selected component will appear on the TV screen at the corresponding position of your fingertip. Moving your finger will move the component copy synchronously to the target location. Once the target is reached, lift your finger, and the component copy will move to the new position. The original component disappears.
[0126] Figure 3 illustrates the operation of dragging the controllable component B1 on the TV screen to position A3 in this example. After the finger slides to B1, pressing the touchpad button, if B1 can be dragged, the current position is converted to the actual starting position on the screen. Simultaneously, the original B1 component is faded out, and a copy of the component is displayed at the starting position on the screen. Then, the finger slides towards A3, and the copy of B1 moves along with it on the screen. When the finger reaches the target A3 and is lifted, the copy of B1 on the screen is positioned at A3. The faded B1 component disappears from its original position. Within the focus-maintaining strategy framework, after agreement, confirmation is completed using a button or gesture. Afterward, touching the screen again converts the new fingertip position to the actual starting position on the screen, and the copy of B1 is displayed.
[0127] Zoom – Used for zooming in and out of images, as well as dynamic scenes such as video playback, shooting, and map navigation. Once inside a scene, swipe two fingers across the touchscreen surface, either facing away or towards each other, to zoom in or out. Here, "shooting" refers to adjusting the lens focus using touchscreen gestures when using a TV camera.
[0128] Full-screen panning—TV screens allow for subsequent pages to appear. Moving a single finger vertically up or down, or horizontally left or right, on the touchscreen surface will pan the entire screen accordingly. Full-screen panning is frequently used in short videos. Video playback scenarios typically include the following three main components:
[0129] 1) Playback Management: Includes a "Pause / Play" button and a playback progress bar. This section can be activated by clicking the center of the screen (with the interaction bar at the bottom) or the center left (with the interaction bar on the right). Click again to deactivate.
[0130] 2) Full-screen image update: Use a single finger to swipe up or down.
[0131] 3) Interactive section: This section includes multiple controllable components such as likes, comments, and shares. It is typically arranged horizontally at the bottom of the screen or vertically on the right side, appearing as a window.
[0132] When "Playback Management" is active, the other two activities are paused. This avoids interference between the three.
[0133] Row and column translation—The row translation method is only used when a subsequent component prompt appears at the left or right end of a row or several rows on the screen. Figure 4_a shows a "Tangram puzzle" example using row translation in this example. It requires assembling seven different shaped pieces (B1, ..., B7, etc.) into shapes like A1 and A2.
[0134] Because there are many controllable components within a row, a component arrangement array is created for the tangram arrangement in the lower row. It consists of seven components arranged sequentially, B1, ..., B7, etc. The user can drag the entire row to the left using a single finger swipe to introduce one or more subsequent components. Components that overflow the page at the left end of the array arrangement will become the subsequent components in the reverse row. Figure 4_b shows the state after shifting one component to the left in the lower row, where the original first component at the left end of the lower row overflows the page. At this time, the TV application displays a prompt "->" indicating the existence of subsequent components on the left side of the lower row of the initial page P0.
[0135] In the example above, there are two objects that can be panned horizontally. Their potential distance roughly occupies the top and bottom halves of the TV screen. Therefore, when selecting an object to pan, simply slide your finger across the top and bottom halves of the touchpad; the selection success rate is extremely high.
[0136] Figure 5 illustrates the operation of column panning. Column panning vertically divides the large screen of a television into two or more vertical screen spaces. These vertical screen spaces can be in an equal or hierarchical relationship, but they are all independent sections. Figure 5_a shows an example of a hierarchical relationship. The left half of the screen displays the arrangement of chat objects in a social chat application. Swiping a finger up or down on the left half of the touchscreen surface activates that section. After selecting object A2, the right half of the screen displays all recent chat records related to that object. Several controllable components are arranged at the bottom, including full-screen display, text, and voice chat tools. Figure 5_b shows an example of an equal relationship. These belong to three applications, such as three online shopping platforms. After selecting a product, details about that product can be viewed on each of the three platforms. Similarly, swiping a finger up or down on one-third of the touchscreen surface activates the corresponding section, enabling browsing, full-screen display, ordering, payment, and other operations. In multi-screen column panning, the focus of the original screen can be retained after switching sub-screens.
[0137] Air Mouse – This is a remote control function that mimics the movement of a cursor on a screen using a laser air mouse, typically employed in teaching or conference presentations. It's used to guide or prompt a specific image or text on a television screen. Pressing the "Air Mouse" button on the remote control activates air mouse mode. A cursor icon will then appear in the center of the television screen. This can be a circle, arrow, or other design.
[0138] The air mouse operates in two modes: high and low, depending on the configuration of the TV and remote control. In high mode, the cursor moves based on the actual pixel grid on the screen. Otherwise, the cursor moves based on the simplified grid on the screen.
[0139] The air mouse employs both manual and automatic operating modes, designed for remote controls that do not (or have) a gyroscope or IMU (joint gyroscope). In manual mode, the cursor moves in the direction of the swipe when a finger slides across the touchscreen. To annotate a drawing or document, move the cursor to the designated annotation starting point and press the touchpad button to enter annotation mode. Then, with the touchpad button active, a single finger swipe moves the cursor along its path, drawing lines, boxes, etc. Annotation ends when the touchpad button is deactivated.
[0140] In automatic mode, the cursor moves up and down or left and right when the remote control is tilted, moved left and right (or rotated). To annotate a drawing or document, press the touchpad button to enter annotation mode. In this example, the remote control has an IMU installed, so automatic mode is used. Automatic air mouse mode also provides a good user experience in page widget dragging and related game applications.
[0141] Momentum windows—In TV applications such as movies, short videos, online classes, and social networking, there are usually buttons that allow users to comment, like, share, or choose dialogue methods. Using a momentum window splitting strategy allows these components to evenly divide the touchscreen area, increasing the hit rate and facilitating blind clicks. In frequently used and targeted navigation scenarios, such as history, momentum window technology can also be used to quickly launch the target application without opening the application page. Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of a momentum window application in this example.
[0142] Figure 6_a shows a navigation scene with a 3x3 component arrangement. A2 is labeled "History". Below the title are four record images: X1, X2, X3, and X4. The upper left corner of the entire history component has a colored marker indicating that this target component is a window. When a finger is tapped or swipes over this component, three results can occur:
[0143] 1) Once it passes by, it does not stay: Like ordinary controllable components, it flashes briefly in a focused pattern without producing any other reactions.
[0144] 2) Pause for more than a specified time (e.g., more than one second): The potential window is magnified, filling the entire horizontal (or vertical) screen, as shown in Figure 6_b. All controls evenly divide the potential space of the entire large screen, as shown in Figure 6_c. At this time, sliding your finger horizontally on the touchpad will cause X1, X2, X3, and X4 to flash sequentially. Moreover, as long as the finger is not lifted, it is not restricted by the A2 boundary. When a component is selected, pressing the touchpad button will open the corresponding program. Throughout the pause, slide, and positioning process, the finger cannot leave the touchpad. Once removed, the potential window returns to its original state.
[0145] 3) Without pausing, press the touchpad button directly: Open the "History" application and start a new page.
[0146] In this way, whether the layout is simple or dense, it can be easily and accurately positioned, improving remote control efficiency. In short, it can be described as: "One arbitrary point, two points on half a side, multiple rows and columns." This means:
[0147] An arbitrary point: If there is only one controllable component, then tapping anywhere on the touchscreen will select that component.
[0148] Two half-points: When there are two controllable parts, clicking anywhere on the top, bottom, left, or right half of the screen will select one of the two parts.
[0149] Multiple rows and columns: When there are multiple components, you can slide within the rows and columns and click on them.
[0150] In this example, the dedicated remote control adopts a combined touchscreen and physical button design, as shown in Figure 7. In addition to the touchpad (5), the dedicated TV remote control also has other physical buttons:
[0151] Power supply (3): Turn on / off.
[0152] Homepage (4): Return to homepage.
[0153] Menu (6): Basic function quick settings.
[0154] Directional combination (7): Up, down, left, right step movement control.
[0155] Multitasking (8): Browse the list of multitasking tasks running in the foreground and background.
[0156] Return (9): Return to the previous application.
[0157] Direct Access (10): Customize your favorite programs or applications and access them directly upon startup.
[0158] Confirm (11): Confirm button.
[0159] Volume control (12): Controls the volume of the TV.
[0160] Air Mouse (13): Air Mouse Key.
[0161] This example supports voice operation. Voice operation is divided into two categories: voice commands and voice expressions. Typically, the former requires the TV to receive the command and then execute it. The latter only requires information transmission.
[0162] Voice commands interpret user speech into command format and send it from the remote control to the TV. The TV then executes the corresponding task. These voice commands are usually short phrases and are frequently used for screen navigation, such as "Power on," "Power off," "Open my space," "Go to history," "Search for XXXX cartoon," "Drag the XXXXX component to XXX position," etc. To use voice commands, press and hold a single finger on the touchscreen of the remote control (avoiding the notification area) while inputting your voice; release your finger to finish.
[0163] Voice interaction is commonly used in applications such as screen interaction. Once these applications are launched, their respective systems offer interactive modes including voice, emoticons, and text, which then generate corresponding responses on the remote control screen. When the interactive environment permits, users can use voice to ask questions during online classes, chat online, and provide real-time feedback.
[0164] When this invention is used in products with touchscreens, such as smartwatches and mobile phones, a TV analog remote control application can be installed in these products. Once the application is launched, the screen will display an interface simulating a remote control or TV power button, providing users with various TV control operations. All gesture applications involving the touchpad in this example can be perfectly implemented through the touchscreen of watches and mobile phones.
[0165] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the appearance of a mobile phone simulated remote control. The mobile phone screen is relatively large, and a remote control touch area (15) is created on the touchscreen, with an upper component (14) above it and a lower component (16) below it. The lower component (16) houses the layout of all soft buttons. Horizontally, the mobile phone simulated remote control has no boundaries, utilizing the full-screen horizontal touchscreen resources. The position of the lower component (16) can be automatically adjusted according to the aspect ratio of the TV screen. Thus, based on the aspect ratio of the TV screen sent to the remote control at startup, the horizontal and vertical touch point data of the mobile phone touchscreen, and the position data of the upper and lower components, the accurate position and size of the remote control touch area (15) on the mobile phone touchscreen can be calculated, becoming the standard simulated projection area of the TV screen. When the density of the remote control touch area (15) is high, a simplification algorithm can be used to achieve the desired density.
[0166] In addition to the remote control touch area (15), the surface of the mobile phone remote control also has several soft buttons. Their names and functions are basically the same as the physical buttons on the aforementioned TV remote control.
[0167] This example involves touchpad gestures, which can also be used on smartwatches. Smartwatch touchscreens are typically small and lack space for soft buttons; therefore, both types of gestures (A and B) described above are implemented using the touchscreen. The gestures such as agreeing, opening, dragging, zooming, overall screen panning, row / column panning, and air mouse operations are essentially the same as those on a dedicated TV remote. Additionally, the following operations are added:
[0168] 1) Power On / Off: After entering the TV remote control application, a power button will appear on the screen. Click this button to enter the power-on process. The TV will then transition from standby mode to operating mode. To power off, draw a circle on the touchscreen area or tap the touchscreen with your palm.
[0169] 2) Return to homepage: triple tap the screen.
[0170] 3) Back: Quickly swipe a single finger from the bottom left corner of the touchscreen to the top right corner and then lift it to return to the state before the current operation.
[0171] 4) Volume control: You can use the watch's own volume control button, or you can use two fingers to move vertically up and down on the touch screen area to increase or decrease the TV volume.
[0172] 5) Voice control: Press and hold the touch screen with one finger until the speaker icon appears, then voice control is available.
[0173] 6) Multitasking: Double-press the touchscreen to display the multitasking page.
[0174] 7) Floating Window: Swipe right on the touchscreen with two fingers to gradually pull out the <More Actions> floating window from the left edge of the TV screen. This floating window contains the following soft buttons:
[0175] a) Direct Access: Directly access the custom application page upon startup.
[0176] b) Directional Combinations: Similar to the directional combination buttons and confirmation button on a dedicated TV remote, as well as an "Exit" button to return to the remote's main page.
[0177] c) Menu - Basic Function Quick Settings.
[0178] The TV remote control method and the design of the TV-specific remote control and mobile product analog remote control adopted in this invention can be used not only for traditional TVs, but also for smart TVs, various set-top boxes, and other TV boxes. Furthermore, it is backward compatible, working with both TV applications that use potential field technology and those that do not. Users accustomed to button mode can directly operate the TV using the physical buttons on the remote control or the soft buttons on their mobile phones without any further explanation. Users who need to use the air mouse remote control mode can activate it by completing the explanation using the <Air Mouse> button on the remote control. Smartwatch users accustomed to button mode can use the "Direction Combinations" page in the <More Operations> floating window and its soft buttons to complete the operation. Any user can switch to touchscreen mode from button and air mouse modes to enjoy a simple, convenient, and accurate remote control experience.
[0179] While operating in compatible modes including touchscreen, buttons, and air mouse remote control, users can insert air gestures at any time to fully enjoy the perfect experience brought by convenient body language after adopting potential field technology.
Claims
1. A TV remote control method based on potential field technology, which, in the design of various TV pages such as program navigation, video playback, education and training, sports and health, and game scenes, rationally allocates the non-controllable area other than the controllable components to each controllable component, constructs their own independent potential fields, maximizes the screen space occupied by each controllable component, and provides convenience for screen remote control activities such as searching, moving, replacing, marking, and scaling of controllable components. A potential field possesses the following basic elements: Reasonable: The combination and construction of controllable components and potential fields conform to users' common sense. Independent: Each controllable component must have, and only has, one potential field, and has no intersection with other potential fields; Fill: The potential energy of all controllable components within the screen fills the entire television screen; When performing remote control operation on a television, the potential field of the controllable components of the television is taken as the basic object of operation and control, and associated with the controllable components that possess the potential field, forming a unified management pattern of controllable components and their potential fields without gaps across the entire screen. The potential field can be rectangular, or other shapes and styles that are easy to construct and use; Potential distance is a potential field that exists in the form of a rectangle; it is the largest upright rectangle that can be generated after the smallest upright rectangle surrounding the controllable component itself is extended unobstructed in all directions, with the perimeter of the TV screen area as the boundary.
2. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touchpad (screen) installed on the remote control device is a physical representation of the potential field spectrum at the remote control end; the display dot matrix of the TV screen is proportionally converted into the horizontal and vertical dot matrix number of the touch screen area to meet the requirement that a touch screen with a fixed size ratio and density becomes a standard analog projection area of a TV screen with different length and width ratios and densities; all calculations involving the position, size, and potential field of controllable components are based on simplified data and simplified grids; When you tap any point on the touchscreen, the system refines the contact area between your finger and the touchscreen into a single point. This point is then transmitted to the TV via the wireless communication link between the touchscreen remote control and the TV. By analyzing the potential field layout characteristics of each target component in the simplified grid, the TV remote control management system can capture the potential field at that location and its components.
3. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plotting of potential distance diagrams follows four main principles: 1) Association principle: Each potential distance must be associated with one and only one controllable component; 2) Filling principle: Each controllable component must have one and only one independent potential distance; the potential distances of all controllable components within the screen fill the entire television screen. 3) Bisector principle: Based on the original rectangle of the controllable component, when expanding in all directions, if it is blocked by other components, it will bisect the space between them. However, when the potential distance of the other component cannot reach the bisecting line, the boundary that it can reach will be used as the standard. 4) Priority principle: When two components are arranged diagonally, if the lateral distance between them is greater than or equal to the longitudinal distance, they are arranged longitudinally; otherwise, they are arranged laterally. Potential distance maps were drawn using both manual and automatic methods.
4. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic drawing plugin for potential distance diagrams can run after the page layout design is completed. Based on the four principles of potential distance diagram drawing, it abstracts the potential distance diagram into a data sequence related to the names of all controllable components and the positions of the four potential distance lines. Automatic drawing can also be performed during the live TV broadcast. When the system opens a certain page, it will automatically complete the drawing by executing the operating system plugin.
5. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: An array of relatively concentrated controllable components can be defined as a potential window; when the potential window becomes the focus of the screen, its potential field can be regarded as filling the entire screen; all the listed components within the potential window divide the potential field of the entire screen.
6. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The TV remote control features three remote control modes: touchscreen, buttons, and air mouse. It has a touchpad and physical buttons on its surface. The touchpad is used for various touchscreen gestures such as clicking, swiping, dragging, and zooming. The physical buttons are used for power on / off, returning to home page, back, menu, air mouse, direct access, multitasking, directional and confirmation control, volume control, and other operations.
7. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: Based on the potential field layout characteristics of different scenarios on the page, and utilizing the touch screen (panel) of the remote control device, as well as the potential field and operation gestures of the controllable components, a simple click positioning, touch screen swipe positioning, and step button positioning strategy is adopted to realize multiple remote control functions for the controllable components of the TV screen; in touch screen mode, a focus holding strategy can be selected to improve compatibility with different remote control modes and remote control tool environments.
8. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touchpad and confirmation button are combined into a single unit, allowing button operations to be performed simultaneously with regular touchscreen operations by varying the pressure applied to the touchpad. This functionality can be achieved using either mechanical buttons or finger pressure measurement technology. When using finger pressure measurement technology, pressure-sensing touch control technology is employed. The touchpad button becomes active when the finger pressure exceeds a specified threshold.
9. The television remote control method based on potential field technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In large-screen pointing applications such as air mice and air gestures, potential field technology is used so that pointing to a target only requires reaching the potential field of the component, without needing to reach the specific target component; once pointing to the screen, it is already pointing to a specific target component; when the pointing direction moves, continuous component focus movement can occur.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein: The TV remote control system offers four remote control methods: touchscreen, button, air mouse, and air gesture. Potential field technology is used uniformly in applications such as navigation and video playback. The TV remote control system implements unified management of remote control methods, data interaction, and communication signals. A single remote control can simultaneously achieve compatible remote control operation using touchscreen, button, and air mouse methods. Air gesture remote control can also be inserted and operated while using the remote control.
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