SYSTEMS AND METHODS PROVIDING A MOBILE ZERO CLIENT

• US 20150244571A1
• Filed: 05/12/2015
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nedge Computing Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCS Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: NGUYEN, An Van, NGUYEN, Dinh Van, THAI, Binh Kien, ADAMS, Michael Dewayne, SANTOSH, Lakshmi, GENTRY, Brian James, GARDNER, Paul Richard, PETTY, Jonathan Douglas
• Granted Patent: US 9,331,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a portable computing device configured to selectably switch between a wired zero client mode in which the portable computing device operates as a terminal for a host computer via a wired communication channel, a wireless zero client mode in which the portable computing device operates as a terminal for the host computer via a wireless communication channel, and a local mode in which the portable computing device operates independently from the host computer. The portable computing device may include one or more zero client processors that facilitate operation in the wired or wireless zero client mode and one or more local control processors that facilitate operation in the local mode. The portable computing device may include input devices used to receive inputs for the host computer during the wireless or wired zero client modes or for the local control processors during the local mode.

Claims

1. A computing device, comprising:

a network I/O device configured to facilitate network connections for the computing device, the network connections including a wireless network connection with a remote computer; and

a processor configured to;

facilitate the computing device to operate in a zero client mode such that the computing device operates as a terminal to display information for one or more processes executing on the remote computer, wherein facilitating the computing device to operate in the zero client mode includes;

effectuating the wireless connection with the remote computer through the network I/O device in response to a control signal, and

implementing the terminal to display information for the one or more processes executing on the remote computer by communicating with the remote computer via the network I/O device.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is the only component in the computing device that controls the network I/O device when the computing device operates in the zero client mode.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the communication with the remote computer is facilitated by a zero client communication protocol, and wherein the processor is further configured to employ one or more hardware components in the computing device dedicated to the zero client communication protocol.

4. A method of operating a computing device in association with a remote computer, the computing device including a network I/O device configured to facilitate network connections for the computing device, the network connections including a wireless network connection with a remote computer, the computing device further including a processor configured to execute program modules, the method comprising:

facilitating, by the processor, the computing device to operate in a zero client mode such that the computing device operates as a terminal to display information for one or more processes executing on the remote computer, wherein facilitating the computing device to operate in the zero client mode includes;

effectuating the wireless connection with the remote computer through the network I/O device in response to a control signal, and

implementing the terminal to display information for the one or more processes executing on the remote computer by communicating with the remote computer via the network I/O device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the processor is the only component in the computing device that controls the network I/O device when the computing device operates in the zero client mode.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the communication with the remote computer is facilitated by a zero client communication protocol, and wherein the processor is further configured to employ one or more hardware components in the computing device dedicated to the zero client communication protocol.