CONTROL OF ACCESSORY COMPONENTS BY PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE
First Claim
1. An accessory comprising:
- an interface configured to communicate with a portable computing device;
a power-consuming component;
a second component configurable to interact with the power-consuming component; and
a controller coupled to the interface and the power-consuming component, the controller being configured to;
determine whether the second component is currently configured to interact with the power-consuming component and report a configuration status to the portable computing device based on the determination;
receive a state-control command from the portable computing device, the state-control command specifying a desired state for the power-consuming component; and
set the power-consuming component to the desired state in response to the state-control command.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable computing device (PCD) can control the operating state of a component within an accessory. For example, an accessory can have some components (e.g., a video processor) that are used for some operations but not for others. A PCD can determine whether a particular component will be used and can instruct the accessory to set the component to a desired state, e.g., powered up when in use and powered down when not in use. In some embodiments, the PCD can use status information provided by the accessory in determining a desired state for the accessory component. For example, in the case of a video converter accessory, if no display device or other video receiver is connected to the accessory, a video processor within the accessory can be powered down.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An accessory comprising:
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an interface configured to communicate with a portable computing device; a power-consuming component; a second component configurable to interact with the power-consuming component; and a controller coupled to the interface and the power-consuming component, the controller being configured to; determine whether the second component is currently configured to interact with the power-consuming component and report a configuration status to the portable computing device based on the determination; receive a state-control command from the portable computing device, the state-control command specifying a desired state for the power-consuming component; and set the power-consuming component to the desired state in response to the state-control command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of operating an accessory having a video processor, the method comprising:
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establishing a first connection, by the accessory, to a portable computing device; determining, by the accessory, the status of a second connection between the accessory and a receiving device for video signals provided by the accessory; reporting to the portable computing device, by the accessory, the status of the second connection; receiving, by the accessory, a first state-control command from the portable computing device, the first state-control command instructing the accessory to set a state of the video processor of the accessory to a first specified state; and setting the state of the component to the first specified state. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer readable storage medium encoded with program instructions that, when executed by a controller in an accessory, cause the accessory to execute a method comprising:
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establishing a first connection to a portable computing device; reporting to the portable computing device a status of a second connection between the accessory and a receiving device; receiving a first state-control command from the portable computing device, the first state-control command instructing the accessory to set a state of a component of the accessory to a first specified state; and setting the state of the component to the first specified state. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of operating a portable computing device, the method comprising:
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establishing, by the portable computing device, a connection to an accessory having a power-consuming component; receiving a status notification from the accessory; determining, by the portable computing device, a desired state for the power-consuming component of the accessory, the determination being based in part on the status notification received from the accessory and in part on an operating condition of the portable computing device; and sending a state-control command to the accessory, the state-control command instructing the accessory to set a state of the power-consuming component to the desired state. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A portable computing device comprising:
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an interface configured to communicate with an accessory and to provide a video signal to the accessory; and a processor coupled to the interface and configured to; receive a status notification from the accessory indicating whether an external video display device is connected to the accessory; determine a desired state of a video processor of the accessory, the determination being based in part on the received status notification and in part on whether the portable computing device is generating a video signal; and send a state-control command to the accessory, the state-control command instructing the accessory to set a state of the video processor to the desired state. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification