Digital feedback display panel for communicating computer status information

• US 6,720,983 B1
• Filed: 01/05/2000
• Issued: 04/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Ali, Valiuddin Y., Stivoric, John M., Massaro, Kevin L., Teller, Eric, Wolff, Stacy L., Chaturvedi, Ajay, Rorke, Anthony B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): DETWILER, BRIAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/478,153
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• Field of Search: 713/340, 345/846, 345/864, 345/736, 345/866, 710/15, 710/17, 710/19
• US Class Current: 715/846
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/327 Alarm or error message display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence

Abstract

A personal computer system provides a digital feedback display panel and supporting software to provide digital computer status feedback for a user. The digital feedback display panel is integrated with a computer housing of the computer system. The supporting software detects status notification messages which are processed and communicated to the digital feedback display panel. The digital feedback display panel provides display feedback to the user based on the detected status notification messages. The display feedback can take the form of status icons and blinking text messages displayed on the digital feedback display panel. Examples of status conditions of the computer system which can be communicated to the user include (i) a connection state of a peripheral device to the computer system, (ii) the computer system is connected to the Internet, (iii) an indication of how many unread e-mails for the computer system are available, and (iv) network time for a server coupled to the computer system.

Claims

1. A method of providing digital computer status feedback for a user, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a status notification message for a computer system; and

communicating feedback to a user through a digital feedback display panel integrated with a computer housing of the computer system based on the status notification message,

wherein the status notification message comprises an e-mail status notification indicating the number of unread e-mails for the computer system,

the communicating step comprising the step of;

setting a state of a light emitting diode integrated into the computer housing proximate to the digital feedback display panel to indicate the number of unread e-mails.

2. A method of providing digital computer status feedback for a user, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a status notification message for a computer system; and

communicating feedback to a user through a digital feedback display panel integrated with a computer housing of the computer system based on the status notification message; and

communicating initialization feedback to the user on the digital feedback display panel before the detecting step,

wherein the initialization feedback comprises display of a plurality of status icons to the user on the digital feedback display panel, the plurality of status icons representing a plurality of peripheral devices for connecting to the computer system,

wherein each status icon of the plurality of status icons disappears from the digital feedback display panel if a corresponding peripheral device is connected to the computer system.

3. A method of providing digital computer status feedback for a user, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a status notification message for a computer system; and

communicating feedback to a user through a digital feedback display panel integrated with a computer housing of the computer system based on the status notification message, the communicating step comprising the step of;

selectively displaying a message for the user on the digital feedback display panel based on the status notification message;

wherein the status notification message comprises a network time for a server coupled to the computer system.

4. The method of claim 3, the communicating step comprising the step of:

updating a display clock on the digital feedback display panel based on the network time.

5. A computer system adapted for digital computer status feedback, computer system comprising:

a means to detect a status condition of the computer system;

a means to process the status condition; and

a digital feedback display panel integrated with a computer housing of the computer system to display a message to a user based on the status condition where the status condition comprises a network time for a server coupled to the computer system.

6. A method of providing peripheral device connection information for a computer system to a user, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of status icons on a digital feedback display panel integrated with a computer housing of the computer system, the plurality of status icons representing a plurality of peripheral devices for connecting to the computer system; and

removing a status icon of the plurality of status icons from the status display panel if a corresponding peripheral device is connected to the computer system.