DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Detailed reference will now be made to the drawings in which examples embodying the present invention are shown. Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention.

[0038] The drawings and the following detailed description provide a full and detailed written description of the invention and the manner and process of making and using it, so as to enable one skilled in the pertinent art to make and use it. The drawings and detailed description also provide the best mode of carrying out the invention. However, the examples set forth herein are provided by way of explanation of the invention and are not meant as limitations of the invention. The present invention thus includes modifications and variations of the following examples as come within the scope of the amended claims and their equivalents.

[0039] Fig, 1 shows a remote control device according to an embodiment of the invention, the remote control device comprising a remote control unit 10 , which also will be referred to as the remote control in the following, and a number of remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n . As will also appear from the following, one single remote-controlled unit may be involved, just as any number of remote-controlled units may be involved.

[0040] If a number of remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n is involved, these may be immediately and simultaneously accessible for operation by the remote control unit as illustrated or they may be individually operated. However, the remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n will often be divided into groups where all units in a group may be operated simultaneously.

[0041] Thus, the remote control unit 10 will comprise remote control buttons, operating keys or the like for selection of one or more units 20 a - 20 n to be controlled. Likewise, the remote control unit 10 will select and/or program the parameters to be controlled.

[0042] FIG. 2 shows how an initial configuration of the system takes place and includes installation of a code in connection with the installation of a remote control device according to an embodiment of the invention. When manufactured, the remote control 10 is provided with a secret code stored in a storage means 11 in the remote control 10 . This code is unique for this remote control unit 10 and no other finished remote control has the same code.

[0043] By activation of an initiation procedure, the remote control 10 will transmit an initiation command by a signal 30 to all remote-controlled units 20 that are in proximity of the remote control 10 communication-wise, i.e., able to communicate with the remote control 10 . If the remote-controlled units 20 , (only one is illustrated in FIG. 2 for practical reasons) receiving the signal 30 have not previously been provided with a code, they will transmit a response signal 40 to the remote control unit 10 . This response signal 40 is a confirmation to the remote control unit 10 and contains information in the form of an address which the remote-controlled unit 20 in question has stored in a storage means 22 . This address has been assigned to the remote-controlled unit 20 during manufacture of the unit 20 and is unique to the unit 20 in question which means that two or more units 20 a - 20 n will not have the same address.

[0044] The address is received by the remote control unit 10 and stored in an address storage means 12 together with the addresses of other remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n in the remote control device, which comprises the system of the remote control and the remote-controlled units controlled by the remote control. In addition to the address, the signal 40 may contain information of, e.g., the type of the remote-controlled unit 20 , e.g. a door, a window, an awning, blinds etc., controlled by the remote-controlled unit 20 . This information may also be stored in the address storage means 12 in the remote control 10 or in another storage device but in such a manner that the information may be coupled with the address in question.

[0045] Upon receipt and storage of an address and possibly other information of the remote-controlled unit(s) 20 a - 20 n in question, the remote control unit 10 will transmit its secret code by a signal 31 to the respective unit(s) of the remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n , which have now been identified by the remote control 10 through their respective addresses. These units 20 a - 20 n will each receive and store the code in question in a storage means 21 and potentially, as illustrated, each remote-controlled unit 20 may transmit a confirmation signal 41 back to the remote control unit 10 .

[0046] To avoid accidentally and/or unintentionally permitting the secret code to be received and read by other that the intended receiver(s) during the initial configuration, the secret code may be coded by a special master key. This master key is contained in and is identical and unique for equipment of a certain type, e.g., VELUX® remote control equipment, certain remote control equipment intended for special purposes, etc. This master key is used only under special circumstances, e.g. for the initial configuration. By using this master key during initial configuration, the security of the operation of the system according to the invention is enhanced.

[0047] If, as previously mentioned, a code has already been stored in the storage means 21 of a remote-controlled unit 20 , this unit will not respond to the transmitted signal 30 and the address of such a remote-controlled unit 20 will thus not be transferred to the 10 remote control unit 10 .

[0048] In practice, the exchange of addresses and of the code may take place by the exchange of an address and of the code being completed between one remote-controlled unit 20 and the remote control unit 10 before carrying out the exchange between the following remote-controlled units 20 and the remote control unit 10 . This initiation process may continue sequentially until the last of the remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n having received the initiation command 30 has transmitted its address and received the code. The sequence of configuration of the respective units 20 a - 20 n may be determined in various ways and may, e.g., be determined by the units being susceptible to the initiation signal 30 at different time intervals, which may be mutually independent and potentially randomly divided between the units 20 a - 20 n . The unit 20 with which the susceptible time interval and the initiation signal 30 first coincide will thus be configured first, etc.

[0049] The remote-controlled units 20 which have now stored the code will thus be remotely controlled only by the remote control 10 containing the same code as explained in greater detail below. The operation of the individual remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n by the remote control 10 can now principally be carried out, as will also be explained later.

[0050] As discussed above, a code from another remote control 10 cannot be transferred to a remote-controlled unit 20 which already has a code stored in its storage means 21 via the initiation procedure. This means that a code in a storage means 21 cannot be overwritten. Meanwhile, there may be cases where it must be possible to enter a new code, e.g., when using remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n which have been used by other remote control devices in connection with a new or other system group. By carrying out a special procedure, it is possible to reset or erase the storage means 21 , e.g., by activating an operation button 23 that is not ordinarily accessible. An example of this may be removal of a top cover (not shown) or another action requiring intervention with the system, or by the operation button 23 being manipulated in a certain manner.

[0051] The method of operation of the remote-controlled unit 20 will now be explained with reference to FIG. 3 , which shows a remote control 10 and a remote-controlled unit 20 as in FIG. 2 . It is to be understood that there may, of course, be more remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n to be controlled by the remote control 10 .

[0052] On the remote control 10 , a remote-controlled unit 20 or a group of remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n must be selected, explained below. A command, such as an action, a programming or the like, must also be carried out. A command signal 50 containing information of the address(es) of the chosen remote-controlled unit(s) and information of the command in question are transmitted from the remote control 10 to the remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n . They receive the command signal 50 and the remote-controlled unit(s) 20 a - 20 n with the right address(es) will initiate further steps before the command can be completed. First and foremost, the remote-controlled unit(s) 20 a - 20 n in question will decide upon previously determined criteria if the command in question is a command requiring authorization. If not, the command is carried out but if the command is a so-called critical command requiring authorization, the remote-controlled unit 20 will transmit a challenge signal in the form of an authorization request signal 60 to the remote control 10 . A critical command may include a command which is of importance to security, e.g. the command may be one of opening doors, gates, or windows located in a so-called face wall of a building or the like.

[0053] This challenge signal 60 contains a sequence of digits comprising one or more random digits produced by a random generator 24 . The challenge signal 60 is received by the remote control 10 in which a coding of at least part of the information of the challenge signal 60 by the code stored in the code storage means 11 of the remote control 10 will take place. The result will be returned to the remote-controlled unit 20 in the form of an authorization response 70 . This is received by the remote-controlled unit 20 , and the received authorization response 70 , or at least a part thereof, is compared in a verification unit 25 to a signal produced by coding of the sequence of digits produced in the remote controlled unit 20 by the code stored in the storage means 21 . If the two signals or rather corresponding parts of the two signals, for example the coded parts, are identical or concordant, the remote-controlled unit 20 will know for sure that the command is coming from the right remote control 10 , or in other words, from the remote control 10 containing the same code as the remote-controlled unit 20 .

[0054] As mentioned, the generated sequence of digits may be made by a random generator 24 , but may also be made in other ways which will be obvious to a person skilled within the art. In any case, it should involve a sequence of digits which changes each time, The number of digits in the signal may be determined with respect to the desired security level and with respect to the equipment, available resources in the remote control, and/or the remote-controlled unit(s) 20 a 20 n etc. The method of coding of the sequence of digits and/or signals comprising such a sequence by a code may be chosen from a variety of solutions which will be obvious to a person skilled within the art.

[0055] Also, as previously mentioned, the remote-controlled units 20 configured by a remote control unit 10 may be divided into groups to be controlled, i.e., operated simultaneously. This will be explained in the following with reference to FIG. 4 , which shows an example of an embodiment of the remote control 10 , in particular in relation to the operative embodiment.

[0056] As previously mentioned, the remote control 10 has a storage means 11 in which the code is stored, and a storage means 12 in which addresses and possibly the type of remote-controlled unit 20 a - 20 n , which at the initiation procedure has received the code from the remote control 10 , and is operated by this, have been stored.

[0057] Furthermore, the remote control 10 comprises the possibility of showing the remote-controlled unit(s) 20 a - 20 n which may be controlled by the remote control 10 . This is illustrated by a display 41 in FIG. 4 . On the display 41 , the identification 42 of a particular, chosen remote-controlled unit 20 has been shown as unit M 5 in this example. Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows that the same display 41 may show the identification 43 of a particular chosen group, shown as unit G 3 in this example. It will be obvious to a person skilled within the art that several other ways of indicating a chosen group and/or a selected remote-controlled unit than those illustrated may be chosen in practice.

[0058] In addition to the two identifications in 42 and 43 , additional signalling means have been included, 44 and 45 respectively, which may, e.g., be visual indications such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other forms of signalling lamps. These signalling means 44 , 45 may also be designed in such a manner that they may be used to select between group 43 and unit 42 , e.g., in the form of push buttons or touch-sensitive keys.

[0059] Furthermore, the remote control 10 has been provided with a keyboard 46 , 47 , and 48 25 to be used when selecting groups and/or remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n , the keyboard further being used when controlling the remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n . This keyboard comprises a key 46 for increasing a displayed value, a key 48 for reducing a displayed value, and a key 47 , a stop button, for selection of a shown value and potentially stopping an initiated increase or reduction of a parameter or another initiated command such as, e.g., initiated movement, e.g. opening of a window.

[0060] Finally, the remote control 10 has been provided with an operation button 49 to be used when initiating configurations of the remote control device. This operation button 49 may also be used to initiate the initiation procedure, which constitutes the initial configuration, since the button 49 , when used for this purpose, may be operated in a special way or in a special combination with other keys for initiation of this rare, occurring procedure.

[0061] By configuration of the remote control device in groups, the remote control 10 must first be brought into a group configuration state. This may be done, for example, by activating the operation button 49 , in a special manner, e.g., in combination with one or more other keys, in which unintended activation will be avoided. Hereafter, the group configuration may be carried out just as the composition of a group or more groups may be studied and potentially changed.

[0062] Firstly, activation of a selection of remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n is carried out, which may be done, for example, by the indicator/key 44 . Once the selection of units has been activated, the indicator 44 will indicate this, e.g., by blinking. Hereafter, a selection of the various remote-controlled units may be made, e.g., Ml-Mn corresponding to the units 20 a - 20 n , by scrolling up and down by the buttons 46 and 48 , respectively. Once a desired unit is displayed, e.g., a motor for opening/closing of a window, such as motor M 5 as shown by 42 , it may be selected by pressing the stop button 47 . The indicator 44 can now indicate that a unit has been selected, e.g. by constant light. Furthermore, the remote control device will now indicate to the user which remote-controlled unit 20 has just been selected on the display 41 by activating the remote-controlled unit 20 in question for a brief period, or in another manner, indicate selection of the item. For example, a remote-controlled unit 20 which has been selected and relates to the operation of blinds or a window may briefly operate the blinds or open/close the window, respectively. In this manner, the user may determine where the selected units are actually located.

[0063] Hereafter, one or more groups G 1 -Gn may be chosen, in which it is desirable to include the selected unit. Selection and indication may, e.g., be made by the indicator 45 , which will now be active, either by constant light or by blinking. As was the case above with the selection of unit, it is possible to scroll up and down by using the keys 46 and 48 . If a group shown on the display 41 already includes the unit in question, the indicator 45 will indicate this by, e.g., blinking. If the remote-controlled unit shown on display 41 is not part of the group, the indicator will also indicate this by e.g. constant light.

[0064] If the previously selected unit, e.g., the unit with identification M 5 as shown by 42 , should be included in the now selected group, e.g. group G 3 as shown by 43 , this may e.g. be done by activating the stop button 47 , after which the indicator 45 will blink and indicate that the previously selected unit has now been transferred to the selected group. If a selected unit already included in the group in question should be removed from the group, this may also be done by activating the stop button 47 , after which the indicator 45 will indicate that the unit is removed from the group by constant light.

[0065] Correspondingly, other groups may be examined for the unit in question when configuring the group relations, and a new remote-controlled unit 20 may subsequently be chosen as described above, after which a corresponding process may be carried out.

[0066] It is of course possible to create groups according to specific requirements, and it will also be possible to include the same remote-controlled unit 20 a - 20 n in more than one group, if necessary. As an example, a group creation consisting of 4 groups, G 1 -G 4 may be imagined from FIG. 1 in which, G 1 comprises the remote-controlled units 20 b , 20 c , and 20 e , group G 2 comprises the units 20 a , 20 c , 20 d , 20 g and 20 h , group G 3 comprises the units 20 f , 20 i , 20 j , 20 m , and 20 n , and group G 4 comprises the units 20 k and 20 l.

[0067] The procedure for group creation may be determined in other ways than described above. For instance, it is possible to select one of the remote-controlled units, and its relations to one or more groups may be created, shown and/or changed. Furthermore, the remote control 10 may be designed in several different ways and by use of a many different options, which will be obvious to a man skilled within the art, For example, the display 41 may be designed to show additional information concerning units 42 and/or groups 43 , e.g. user-entered information concerning nature and/or location of a unit etc. Furthermore, the remote control 10 may be designed with additional keyboards, e.g. an alpha-numerical keyboard to be used for inputting and so forth.

[0068] As previously mentioned, the codes included in the individual remote controls 10 are unique in which one and only one remote control 10 may be used to control a system. This is the remote control 10 which has been used at the initiation procedure. Since it may be practical to have more than one remote control 10 for a remote control system, e.g., a remote control system of a large building or in a place where more persons need to carry out operations independently of each other, and since it may be practical and/or necessary to have remote controls 10 in reserve at hand if the original one has been misplaced, destroyed or in another manner deactivated, it will be possible to copy the first code, that is the original code, from the original remote control to any other remote control 10 . This takes place by bringing the two remote controls into contact with each other communication-wise and by carrying out a special command, e.g. a key combination or by pressing one key of one of the remote controls (the original remote control or the master remote control) and potentially also include the new remote control (the slave remote control), whereby the code is transferred to the storage means 11 of the new remote control. At the same time, addresses and groups stored in the address storage means 12 are also transmitted to and stored by the new remote control. The initial code of the new remote control may be maintained therein but will be inactive.

[0069] In order to avoid that the transferred data, e.g., in particular the secret code is accidentally and/or unintentionally received and read by other than the intended receiver, e.g. the new remote control, the data may be coded during this data transmission by the previously mentioned master key, which is unique for the type of equipment used, e.g. VELUX® remote control equipment, certain remote control equipment intended for special purposes, etc. As mentioned above this master key is used only under special circumstances, e.g. for the initial configuration. By using this master key during this copy-process the security of the operation of the system according to the invention is enhanced.

[0070] If one of the remote controls 10 has disappeared in a manner which causes concern in 10 relation to security, the original code must be removed from all remote-controlled units. As explained above, this is done by manipulation of the command key 23 ( FIG. 3 ). Subsequently, one of the original slave remote controls in which the original code is maintained as described above may be used to initiate the initiation procedure whereby its code, which is new in relation to the system, will be transferred to all remote-controlled units 20 a - 20 n with no code. This slave remote control, which is now the master control will, however, still comprise its original group configuration which may be transferred to the other slave remote controls together with the new master code as described above.

[0071] In the above, communication between the included units has not been described in detail and it should be understood that communication may take place in any form suitable, i.e. by infrared communication, ultrasound communication, electromagnetic communication and the like. Furthermore, the remote control 10 is illustrated in relation to doors, gates, windows and various kinds of light opening covers but it should be understood that numerous other fields of application where there is a need for operation of one or more elements that do not necessarily have any movable parts, at a distance, selectively and/or in any other manner, are also possible. Finally, it should be noted that the included remote control units 10 do not necessarily have to be designed as hand-held transmitters but may also be designed as stationary units or mobile units that may even be designed in such a manner that they may be placed stationary, or in any other manner known or obvious to a person skilled within the art.

[0072] Thus, while exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will recognize that other changes and modifications may be made to the foregoing examples without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For instance, specific shapes of various elements of the illustrated embodiments may be altered to suit particular applications. It is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.