IP Library › Granted Patent US 12677023

Granted Patent B2

US 12677023 · App. 17/862,273 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Automatic parental control using a remote control or mobile app

Inventors: Andrew Soh (Austin, TX); Jeffrey John Peters (Scotts Valley, CA)

Assignee: Roku, Inc.

H04N21/42222 H04N21/4415

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12677023
App. No.: 17/862,273
Granted: Jul 7, 2026
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

Embodiments described herein include a method that operates by receiving, at a media device, one or more signals from a remote control. The media device identifies a user currently using the remote control based on the signals. Then, the media device selects content to make available based on the identified user. In some embodiments, the media device identifies the user by using the signals to identify the remote control. Then, the media device determines that a user associated with the identified remote control is the user currently using the remote control.

Claims (53)

1 . A computer implemented method for controlling content, comprising:

receiving, at a media device, one or more signals from a first remote control comprising a microphone, wherein the one or more signals comprise a user speech signal collected via the microphone and a motion of the first remote control or a location of the first remote control, wherein the media device is part of a media system that includes at least the first remote control and a second remote control, wherein the first remote control is associated with an adult user group and the second remote control is associated with a child user group, wherein the respective associations are established when each of the first and second remote controls initially pair with the media device;

identifying, at the media device, a user currently using the first remote control based at least on the one or more signals, wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control based at least on the one or more signals comprises:

comparing a motion stored in a database and associated with the user currently using the first remote control to the motion of the first remote control represented by the one or more signals and performing voice identification of the user based on the user speech signal, or

identifying a mobile device that is located closest to the location of the first remote control represented by the one or more signals and accessing a database that associates users with corresponding mobile devices to identify the user currently using the first remote control based on an association between the user currently using the first remote control and the mobile device;

determining that the user currently using the first remote control is not in the adult user group associated with the first remote control;

limiting, at the media device, content to make available based on the user currently using the first remote control, wherein predefined content is associated with the user currently using the first remote control, based on an age of the identified user currently using the first remote control, the age being parentally established responsive to questions presented during a setup of the media device; and

selecting, at the media device, content based on the limited content.

2 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the second remote control has larger and fewer buttons than the first remote control.

3 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first remote control comprises a fingerprint scanner, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control further comprises:

identifying, at the media device, the user currently using the first remote control based also on fingerprint information of the user currently using the first remote control collected by the fingerprint scanner.

4 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first remote control comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control comprises:

determining the motion of the first remote control based on movement information collected by the accelerometer while the user currently using the first remote control is using the first remote control to communicate with the media device.

5 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the user currently using the first remote control is a child, and the selected content is age appropriate for the child.

6 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

restricting access to functions of the media device based on the determining that the user currently using the first remote control is not in the adult user group associated with the first remote control.

7 . A media device configured to communicate with a plurality of remote controls comprising a first remote control and a second remote control each associated with a user group and each comprising a microphone, the media device comprising:

at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more signals from the first remote control, wherein the one or more signals comprise a user speech signal collected via the microphone of the first remote control and a motion of the first remote control or a location of the first remote control, wherein the first remote control is associated with an adult user group and the second remote control is associated with a child user group, wherein the respective associations are established when each of the first and second remote controls initially pair with the media device;

identifying a user currently using the first remote control based at least on the one or more signals, wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control based at least on the one or more signals comprises:

control based on an association between the user currently using the first remote control and the mobile device;

determining that the user currently using the first remote control is not in the adult user group associated with the first remote control;

limiting content to make available based on the user currently using the first remote control, wherein predefined content is associated with the user currently using the first remote control, based on an age of the identified user currently using the first remote control, the age being parentally established responsive to questions presented during a setup of the media device; and

selecting content based on the limited content.

8 . The media device of claim 7 , wherein the second remote control has larger and fewer buttons than the first remote control.

9 . The media device of claim 7 , wherein the first remote control comprises a fingerprint scanner, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control further comprises:

identifying the user currently using the first remote control based also on fingerprint information of the user currently using the first remote control collected by the fingerprint scanner.

10 . The media device of claim 7 , wherein the first remote control comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control comprises:

11 . The media device of claim 7 , wherein the user currently using the first remote control is a child, and the selected content is age appropriate for the child.

12 . The media device of claim 7 , the operations further comprising:

13 . The media device of claim 8 , wherein the second remote control is of a different shape and size than the first remote control and has buttons designated specifically for children content channels.

14 . The media device of claim 7 , the operations further comprising:

based on the determining that the user currently using the first remote control is not in the adult user group associated with the first remote control, changing a user interface of the media device to a simpler, age-appropriate child user interface.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a media device, one or more signals from a first remote control comprising a microphone, wherein the one or more signals comprise a user speech signal collected via the microphone and a motion of the first remote control or a location of the first remote control, wherein the media device is part of a media system that includes at least the first remote control and a second remote control, wherein the first remote control is associated with an adult user group and the second remote control is associated with a child user group, wherein the respective associations are established when each of the first and second remote controls initially pair with the media device;

determining that the user currently using the first remote control is not in the adult user group associated with the first remote control;

selecting content based on the limited content.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the second remote control has larger and fewer buttons than the first remote control.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first remote control comprises a fingerprint scanner, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control further comprises:

identifying the user currently using the first remote control based also on fingerprint information of the user currently using the first remote control collected by the fingerprint scanner.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first remote control comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the identifying the user currently using the first remote control comprises:

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the user currently using the first remote control is a child, and the selected content is age appropriate for the child.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising: