Electronic apparatus having improved diagnostic interface
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Electronic apparatus, such as a personal computer, is described comprising main operative functionality and a power provisioning system for powering the apparatus from an external power source, the power provisioning system comprising:—a main power supply output for energising the main operative functionality of the apparatus when said power provisioning system is connected to said external power source, and a standby power source for energising a subset of the components of the apparatus when said main power supply output is not energised, the apparatus further comprising a self contained subsystem including a memory for storing at least one parameter reflecting an internal state of the apparatus, said self contained subsystem being powered by said standby power source and including an encoder for encoding the parameters in an output signal and a transducer for generating a wireless transmission from the output signal, which transmission can be detected in the vicinity of the apparatus, so as to enable the parameter to be received and decoded.
27 Citations
22 Claims
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1-12. -12. (canceled)
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13. An arrangement for providing remote support services to a user of an apparatus, the arrangement comprising:
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a telephone call handling system that provides at least one telephone number that the user can call to get advice from a human support agent;
a decoder within the call handling system for decoding sounds generated by the apparatus and transmitted within a telephone call made by the user so as to enable the apparatus to transmit the parameter to the call handling system for processing without requiring the user or any support agent to directly understand the parameter from the transmission, wherein the call handling system is arranged to automatically generate a database query from the output of the decoder for retrieving from a database diagnostic data for the apparatus for presentation to a support agent. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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14. (canceled)
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15. (canceled)
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22. Electronic apparatus comprising a subsystem powered by a standby power source and a memory for storing at least one parameter reflecting an internal state of the main operative functionality, said subsystem including an encoder for encoding the parameters in an output signal and a transducer for generating from the output signal a sound including in-band encoded signals, which sound can be detected in the vicinity of the apparatus, so as to enable the parameter to be received and decoded, wherein the subsystem is connected to a power button and includes a timer arranged to time actuation of the power button, the subsystem being responsive to actuation of the power button for a certain time to initiate the transmission.
Specification