Device driver interface architecture

• US 20070076750A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fulmer, David, Niethammer, Michelle, Kleewin, Robert
• Application Number:
  US11/241,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20070076750A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

An IR device driver architecture is disclosed that may enable one or more different types of wireless transceiver devices to communicate with a media application. The IR device driver architecture also discloses one or more application program interfaces that may be exposed to enable the different types of wireless transceiver devices to interact with the media application.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first module having one or more hardware components for converting communication signals into a first communication protocol;

a second module that programmatically identifies one or more meanings of one or more code representations expressed by the communication signals in the first protocol; and

the second module converting the identified code meanings into a second protocol interpretable by one or more media components.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more hardware components comprise at least one of either an IR transmitter, an IR receiving device or any other communication transmitting or receiving device.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the second module instructs the first module to send one or more interpreted communication signals to the one or more media components.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the first module sends control instructions encoded in the one or more interpreted communication signals to the one or more media components via the hardware-based communication device.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the second module instructs the first module via at least one application program interface exposed by the hardware-based communication device.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the one or more media components comprise at least one of either a media receiving device, a media application software application, or any other media related component.

7. A system comprising:

a first module that programmatically identifies one or more meanings of one or more code representations desired to be transmitted as communication signals to one or more media related components;

a second module having one or more hardware components for converting the one or more meanings of the code representations into a communication signals in a first communication protocol;

the second module transmitting the communication signals in the first communication protocol to the one or more media related devices.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the one or more hardware components comprise at least one of either an IR transmitter, an IR receiving device or any other communication transmitting or receiving device.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the first module sends control instructions encoded in the one or more interpreted communication signals sent to the at least one other device via the hardware-based communication device.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the first module instructs the hardware-based communication device via at least one application program interface exposed by the hardware-based communication device.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the first module comprises one or more media application software applications.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the first module compares one or more components in communication signals received by the hardware components in the second module against one or more known components from one or more known communication protocols to identify one or more particular protocols used to encode data in the communication signals.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the first module extracts the encoded data from the communication signals in the one or more identified particular protocols and identifies one or more function command codes for one or more media related components using the extracted data.

14. At least one computer-readable medium having stored instructions which when executed by at least one processing systems, causes the at least one processing system to implement:

a first module that communicates with a hardware-based communication device; and

a second module that programmatically interprets communication signals from a first protocol interpretable by the hardware-based communication device to a second protocol interpretable by the first module.

15. The medium of claim 14 wherein the hardware-based communication device comprises at least one of either an IR transmitter, an IR receiving device or any other communication transmitting or receiving device.

16. The medium of claim 14 wherein the first module instructs the hardware-based communication device to send one or more interpreted communication signals to one or more media related components.

17. The medium of claim 14 wherein the first module sends control instructions encoded in the one or more interpreted communication signals sent to the at least one other device via the hardware-based communication device.

18. The medium of claim 14 wherein the first module instructs the hardware-based communication device via at least one application program interface exposed by the hardware-based communication device.

19. The medium of claim 14 wherein the first module communicates with the hardware-based communication device via:

at least one application program interface that exposes at least one of either one or more methods, properties, events or attributes relating to a communication between the first and second modules.

20. The medium of claim 14 wherein the first module comprises one or more media application software applications.