ACCESSORY ID RECOGNITION BY POWER CYCLING

• US 20130013938A1
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Published: 01/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Boucher, Antoine, Abdelsamie, Ahmed, Meunier, Marc lis, Verma, Sushil K., Scharkov, John Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 8,909,955 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS

Abstract

Various embodiments are described herein for a peripheral device and a method of identifying the peripheral device via power cycling. In one embodiment, the method comprises obtaining characteristic information about the peripheral device, encoding the characteristic information in a power signal at the peripheral device and sending the power signal to an electronic device that is operably connected with the peripheral device. The electronic device can then take action such as adjusting its settings or applications based on the characteristic information of the peripheral device.

Claims

1. A method of providing a characteristic of a peripheral device to an electronic device, wherein the method comprises:

obtaining characteristic information about the peripheral device;

encoding the characteristic information in a power signal at the peripheral device; and

sending the power signal to the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises encoding the characteristic information based on pulse information within the power signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the characteristic information comprises location information for the peripheral device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the characteristic information comprises serial information for the peripheral device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises providing at least one of pulses and absences of pulses in the pulse information to encode a digital sequence that represents the characteristic information.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises providing a number of pulses in the pulse information, wherein the number of pulses encodes the characteristic information.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises providing a single pulse with a duration in the pulse information and setting the duration of the single pulse based on the characteristic information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises providing a visual indication of the characteristic information at the peripheral device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises encoding the characteristic information in the power signal after detecting that the peripheral device is operably connected to the electronic device for the first time or when the characteristic information of the peripheral device is changed after the peripheral and electronic devices are operably connected.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the power signal is transferred via a wired connection or a wireless connection between the peripheral device and the electronic device.

11. A peripheral device that provides a power signal to charge an electronic device, wherein the peripheral device comprises:

a power supply stage adapted to provide a power supply signal;

a connector stage adapted to operably connect the peripheral device with the electronic device and provide the power signal based on the power supply signal; and

a micro-controller connected to the power supply stage, the micro-controller being adapted to obtain characteristic information about the peripheral device and encode the characteristic information in the power supply signal.

12. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the micro-controller is adapted to control the power supply stage to generate pulse information to encode the characteristic information.

13. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the characteristic information comprises location information for the peripheral device.

14. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the characteristic information comprises serial information for the peripheral device.

15. The peripheral device of claim 12, wherein the micro-controller is adapted to control the power supply stage to generate the pulse information to encode a digital sequence comprising at least one of pulses and absences of pulses to encode the characteristic information.

16. The peripheral device of claim 12, wherein the micro-controller is adapted to control the power supply stage to generate a number of pulses in the pulse information, wherein the number of pulses encodes the characteristic information.

17. The peripheral device of claim 12, wherein the micro-controller is adapted to control the power supply stage to provide a single pulse with a duration in the pulse information, wherein the duration of the single pulse is based on the characteristic information.

18. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the peripheral device further comprises:

a visual location indicator connected to the micro-controller, the visual location indicator being adapted to provide a visual indication of the characteristic information; and

a user input stage configured to allow a user to input a characteristic of the peripheral device.

19. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the peripheral device further comprises a current sensing stage connected to the connector stage and the micro-controller, the current sensing stage being adapted to measure a current of the connector stage, and wherein the micro-controller is further adapted to detect when the peripheral and electronic devices are operably connected based on the measured current and to instruct the power supply stage to encode the characteristic information in the power signal after detecting that the peripheral device is operably connected to the electronic device for the first time or when the characteristic information of the peripheral device is changed after the peripheral and electronic devices are operably connected.

20. The peripheral device of claim 11, wherein the power signal is transferred via a wired connection or a wireless connection between the peripheral device and the electronic device.

21. A mobile device comprising:

a microprocessor configured to control the operation of the mobile device;

a memory device connected to the microprocessor, the memory device comprising software instructions to implement an operating system and software applications which provide various functions for the mobile device when executed by the microprocessor;

a display connected to the microprocessor, the display adapted to provide visual information to a user of the device;

an interface connected to the microprocessor, the interface adapted to receive a power signal from a charging device, wherein, the microprocessor is configured to detect characteristic information in the power signal regarding a characteristic of the charging device and to configure the operation of the mobile device based on the characteristic.

22. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the microprocessor is configured to detect the characteristic information based on pulse information in the power signal.

23. A method for controlling the operation of a mobile device wherein the method comprises:

detecting an operable connection between the mobile device and a charging device;

detecting characteristic information of the charging device in a power signal received from the charging device; and

performing at least one of executing applications and configuring settings of the mobile device based on the characteristic information.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the method comprises detecting the characteristic information based on pulse information in the power signal.