DEVICE IDENTIFICATION VIA SERIAL COMMUNICATION LINK
First Claim
1. A method for operating an accessory device for identifying the accessory device to electronic devices, the method comprising:
- receiving at an accessory device an initiation pulse from an electronic device using a serial communication link, the initiation pulse indicating to the accessory device to respond with identification information using the serial communication link; and
generating at the accessory device an identification pulse using the serial communication link, wherein the electronic device identifies the accessory device based on the identification pulse.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided that enable identification of an accessory device or other peripheral device via a serial communication link. An electronic device (e.g., a media player or portable media device) may identify an accessory device using a serial communication link when the accessory device is attached or coupled to the electronic device. Based on serial communications, for example, the electronic device may discover and identify an accessory device to determine whether one or more preferences or functionalities should be set or enabled. The electronic device may also discover whether an accessory device or its manufacturer, distributor, or retailer is authorized or licensed to enable certain functionalities or set certain preferences when connect to the electronic device. Therefore, aspects of a serial communication link that may already exist in many electronic devices for data communication usage may be repurposed to provide identification or authorization of accessories or other peripheral devices.
52 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A method for operating an accessory device for identifying the accessory device to electronic devices, the method comprising:
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receiving at an accessory device an initiation pulse from an electronic device using a serial communication link, the initiation pulse indicating to the accessory device to respond with identification information using the serial communication link; and generating at the accessory device an identification pulse using the serial communication link, wherein the electronic device identifies the accessory device based on the identification pulse. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An accessory device for use with an electronic device, the accessory device comprising:
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an input port; an output port; and an identification circuit configured to; receive via the input port an initiation pulse from the electronic device using a serial communication link, the initiation pulse indicating to the identification circuit to respond with identification information using the serial communication link, and generate an identification pulse such that electronic device identifies the accessory device from the identification pulse using the serial communication link. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An integrated circuit for generating identification information, the integrated circuit comprising:
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pulse detection circuitry configured to detect an initiation pulse sent using a serial communication link; pulse generation circuitry configured to generate an identification pulse using the serial communication link; and control circuitry configured to send identification information via the pulse generation circuitry using the serial communication link in response to a detection by the pulse detection circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for operating a media player having a serial communications interface, the method comprising:
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determining whether an accessory device coupled to the media player supports identification using a serial communication link; generating an initiation pulse using the serial communication link, the initiation pulse indicating to the identification circuit to respond with identification information using the serial communication link; receiving from the accessory device an identification pulse using the serial communication; and identifying the accessory device based on the identification pulse. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A portable media device for use with an accessory, the portable media device comprising:
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an accessory port; a communications interface; a media playback subsystem; and a processor configured to; detect the presences of an accessory device when the accessory device is coupled to the accessory port; determine whether the accessory device supports identification using a serial communication link provide by the communications interface, generate an initiation pulse using the serial communication link where the initiation pulse indicates to the identification circuit to respond with identification information using the serial communication link, analyze an identification pulse received from the accessory device using the serial communication, identify the accessory device based on the identification pulse, and provide one or more functionalities of the media playback subsystem to the identified accessory device. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A computer-readable storage medium configured to store program code for a media playback device, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:
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code for detecting whether an accessory device is coupled to the media playback device; code for determining whether the accessory device supports identification using a serial communication link; code for generating an initiation pulse using the serial communication link, the initiation pulse indicating to the identification circuit to respond with identification information using the serial communication link; code for receiving from the accessory device an identification pulse using the serial communication; code for identifying the accessory device based on the identification pulse; and code for providing one or more functionalities of the media playback device to the identified accessory device.
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37. A method for operating an accessory device for identifying the accessory device to electronic devices, the method comprising:
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receiving at an accessory device a series of data transmission using a serial communication link from an electronic device, the series of data transmission forming a clock signal; and transmitting identification information from the accessory device using the serial communication link in response to the clock signal on the serial communication link, wherein the electronic device identifies the accessory device based on the identification information. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. An accessory device for use with an electronic device, the accessory device comprising:
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an input port; an output port; and an identification circuit configured to; receive via the input port a series of data transmission using a serial communication link from an electronic device, the series of data transmission forming a clock signal, and generate identification information in response to the clock signal such that the electronic device identifies the accessory device based on the identification information using the serial communication link. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. An integrated circuit for generating identification information, the integrated circuit comprising:
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a memory configured to store identification information; control circuitry configured to transmit the identification information stored in the memory using a serial communication link; and a clock input configured to receive a clock signal generated by data transmissions of an electronic device using the serial communication link to drive the control circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A method for operating a media player having a serial communications interface, the method comprising:
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determining whether an accessory device coupled to the media player supports identification using a serial communication link; generating using the serial communication link a series of data transmissions forming a clock signal; receiving from the accessory device identification information using the serial communication link transmitted in response to the clock signal sent using the serial communication link; and identifying the accessory device based on the identification information. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A portable media device for use with accessory devices, the portable media device comprising:
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an accessory port; a communications interface; a media playback subsystem; and a processor configured to; detect the presence of an accessory device when the accessory device is coupled to the accessory port; determine whether the accessory device supports identification using a serial communication link provide by the communications interface, generate using the serial communication link a series of data transmissions forming a clock signal, receive identification information transmitted from the accessory device using the serial communication link in response to the clock signal sent using the serial communication link, identify the accessory device based on the identification information, and provide one or more functionalities of the media playback subsystem to the identified accessory device. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. A computer-readable storage medium configured to store program code for a media playback device, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:
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code for detecting whether an accessory device is coupled to the media playback device; code for determining whether the accessory device supports identification using a serial communication link; code for generating a series of data transmissions using the serial communication link representing a clock signal; code for receiving from the accessory device a bit stream using the serial communication in response to the clock signal sent using the serial communication link; code for identifying the accessory device based on the bit stream; and code for providing one or more functionalities of the media playback device to the identified accessory device.
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Specification