System for identifying the interconnection of peripheral devices

• US 6,826,632 B1
• Filed: 05/18/1999
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gateway 2000, Inc. (Acer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wugofski, Theodore David
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): SORRELL, ERON J
• Application Number:
  US09/313,916
• Time in Patent Office: 2,023 Days
• Field of Search: 710/2, 710/8, 710/12, 710/300, 710/104, 710/110, 709/208, 709/220-221, 709/223
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2836 Protocol conversion between an external network and a home network controlling appliance services of a home automation network from a device located outside the home and the home network H04L12/2818; protocol conversion H04L69/08; adaptation of digital video signals for transport over a specific home network H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A system and method for identifying the interconnection of peripheral devices in an information handling system and generating a model of the interconnection of the devices is disclosed. The system identifies devices in the information handling system, builds device objects in the model representing each identified device, and builds interconnect objects in the model representing the interconnection of the devices with each other and the information handling system. The model may then be used to control operation of the peripheral devices of the information handling system.

Claims

1. A method for generating a model representing devices and interconnections of the devices within an information handling system and using the model to control the devices, the method comprising:

querying a user for identifying first and second devices connected to the information handling system;

storing a first device object representing the first identified device and a second device object representing the second identified device;

identifying an interconnection between the first identified device and the second identified device and querying the user to specify if at least one of the first and second devices may be controlled by a remote control; and

storing an interconnect object representing the interconnection between the first identified device with the second identified device, wherein the stored first and second device objects and interconnect object form at least part of the model.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using the model to control operation of at least one of the first device and the second device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

identifying an input of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

storing an input object in the model representing the identified input.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

identifying an output of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

storing an output object in the model representing the identified output.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the querying step comprises providing a user interface for communicating queries to the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the querying step is initiated by the user.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the querying step is initiated by the information handling system.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifying step further comprises querying the user to set an attribute of at least one of the first and second devices.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of saving the model in persistent memory.

10. A computer readable medium whose contents cause a computer-based information handling system to execute method steps for generating a model representing devices and interconnections of the devices within the information handling system and using the model to control the devices, the method steps comprising:

querying a user for identifying first and second devices connected to the information handling system;

storing a first device object representing the first identified device and a second device object representing the second identified device;

identifying an interconnection between the first identified device and the second identified device and querying the user to specify if at least one of the first and second devices may be controlled by a remote control; and

storing an interconnect object representing the interconnection between the first identified device with the second identified device, wherein the stored first and second device objects and interconnect object form at least part of the model.

11. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, whose contents further cause the computer-based information handling system to perform the step of using the model to control operation of at least one of the first device and the second device.

12. The computer readable medium according to claim 11, whose contents further cause the computer-based information handling system to perform the method steps of:

identifying an input of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

storing an input object in the model representing the identified input.

13. The computer readable medium according to claim 11, whose contents further cause the computer-based information handling system to perform the method steps of:

identifying an output of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

storing an output object in the model representing the identified output.

14. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the querying step comprises displaying a user interface on a display of the information handling system for providing the queries to the user.

15. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the identifying step further comprises querying the user to set an attribute of at least one of the first and second devices.

16. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the querying step is initiated by the user.

17. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the querying step is initiated by the information handling system.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, whose contents further cause the computer-based information handling system to perform the method step of saving the model in persistent memory.

19. A system for generating a model representing devices and interconnections of the devices within an information handling system and using the model to control the devices, comprising:

means for identifying first and second devices connected to the information handling system by querying a user to identify devices interconnected with the information handling system;

means for storing a first device object representing the first identified device and a second device object representing the second identified device;

means for identifying an interconnection between the first identified device and the second identified device, the identifying means comprising means for querying the user to specify if at least one of the first second devices can be controlled by a remote control; and

means for storing an interconnect object representing the interconnection between the first identified device with the second identified device, wherein the stored first and second device objects and interconnect object form at least part of the model.

20. The system according to claim 19, further comprising means for using the model to control operation of at least one of the first device and the second device.

21. The system according to claim 20, further comprising:

means for identifying an input of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

means for storing an input object in the model representing the identified input.

22. The system according to claim 20, further comprising:

means for identifying an output of at least one of the first device and the second device; and

means for storing an output object in the model representing the identified output.

23. The system according to claim 19, wherein the identifying means further comprises means for querying the user to set an attribute of at least one of first and second devices.

24. The system according to claim 19, further comprising means saving the model in persistent memory.

25. A system for generating a model representing devices interconnected with an information handling system and interconnections of the devices to at least one of the information handling system and other devices interconnected with the information handling system, and using the model to control the devices;

comprising;

a user interface for providing communication with a user to identify a device interconnected with the information handling system, the user interface querying the user for setting an attribute of an identified device and to specify if the identified device may be controlled by a remote control; and

a model generator for generating a model representing the identified device and the interconnection of the identified device with one of the information handling system,

wherein the model includes a device object representing the identified device and an interconnect object representing the interconnection between the identified device and the information handling system.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the user interface provides communication with a user to identify a second device interconnected with at least one of the information handling system and the first identified device, and wherein the model generated by the model generator includes a second device object representing the second identified device and at least a second interconnect object representing the interconnection between one of the second identified device and the information handling system and the second identified device and the first identified device.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the first and second device objects and the first and second interconnect objects each comprise an interface and an implementation, the interface including a routine and the implementation including source code implementing the routine for controlling the identified device or interconnection which the device object or interconnect object represents.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein the interface further comprises at least one of a constant, a data type and a variable.