US 5,410,326 · Granted 1995-04-25

The 1995 Universal Remote That Dreamed of Shopping from Your Couch

Imagine one remote that could control your TV, cable box, and any other gadget in your house — and also let you buy stuff directly from ads shown on your TV screen. This 1995 patent describes exactly that idea: a smart remote with a touchscreen that receives commands wirelessly and connects back to cable companies to enable home shopping.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a programmable remote control device that uses a touchscreen to display selectable icons, receives infrared codes from external sources (like a cable box or phone line), and transmits infrared commands to multiple appliances. What's protected here is the specific combination of bidirectional communication (receiving data from a cable or phone connection), the touchscreen icon interface, and the ability to update the remote's command library wirelessly without physical reprogramming.

Why it matters

This patent sits at the intersection of three trends that were just emerging in 1992: universal remotes, interactive cable television, and home shopping networks. By connecting the remote to a two-way data link and adding a touchscreen, the inventor anticipated the idea that remotes could be smart, updateable devices rather than fixed hardware. Though the full vision (buying stuff via remote) never became mainstream, the underlying concept of connected, programmable remotes with graphical interfaces foreshadowed streaming device controllers like the Apple Remote and Roku remote.

Real-world use

Today, when you use a touchscreen remote on a streaming device or smart TV box, you're using technology that traces back to this patent's core idea of combining visual icons, wireless control, and bidirectional communication.

Original USPTO abstract

A universal remote control device which is programmed to operate a variety of consumer products is disclosed. The device is connected over a bidirectional link to either a cable converter or a telephone interface for receiving programming information. A touch screen display is employed on the programmable remote control device for displaying icons of functions to be selected. By selecting a particular displayed icon, a command can be decoded and sent via an infrared link to one or more appliances. Infrared codes for operating a virtually unlimited number of devices can be supplied to the device over the bidirectional communications link. Further, a provision is provided to permit a telephone connection to be set up between the user's home and a facility advertising products or services over a cable television broadcast. The touch screen display will permit the actual display of these advertisements as messages received from the cable head end system. Orders may be placed from the universal remote control device based on these displayed advertisements.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,410,326
Filing date: 1992-12-04
Grant date: 1995-04-25
Assignee: Goldstein; Steven W.
Inventor(s): GOLDSTEIN; STEVEN W.
CPC class: H04N21/42204

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