System and method for configuring a multi-user computer system

• US 7,030,836 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2002
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thinsoft Pte., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Thinsoft, Inc.
• Inventors: Justice, Bradley, Jack, Ian, Siemsen, Manfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jimmy H.
• Application Number:
  US10/278,153
• Publication Number:
  US 20040119659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,274 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/1.2, 345/1.3, 345/156
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof

Abstract

A system and method for configuring collections of non-display, input and output devices and display devices in a multi-user computer system. Initially, the invention heuristically creates at least two collections of non-display devices, each of which includes a keyboard, by analyzing connection patterns of each of the non-display devices to the computer data buses. Display devices are added to each collection by causing a user prompt to appear on a display, and then causing the display to be associated with the collection of the keyboard that is used to respond to the prompt. Each display device is associated with a particular collection in this manner. Thus, the collections are constructed by a heuristic methodology relative to the non-display devices, and manually relative to the display devices.

Claims

1. A method to configure a collection of input and output devices on a multi-user computer-system, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a multi-user computer;

b) providing a plurality of non-display input and output devices, including at least a mouse and a keyboard for each of a plurality of computer users;

c) attaching each of said computer users'"'"' non-display input and output devices to data buses on a multi-user computer;

d) analyzing a Universal Serial Bus (USB) bus architecture of said multi-user computer to automatically find and associate each of said computer users'"'"' non-display input and output devices attached directly to said USB bus architecture into one or more collections of non-display input and output devices;

e) attaching a display device to said multi-user computer for each collection of non-display input and output devices;

f) displaying a user input prompt on one of said multi-user computer display devices;

g) responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections of non-display input and output devices intended to function with said user input prompt displayed on one of said multi-user computer display devices;

h) assigning said displayed user input prompt to said collection associated with said manual response to add said display to said collection for said user that manually responded to said input prompt; and

i) sequentially continuing steps f, g, and h until each one of said display devices are assigned to one of said collections and all of said collection of said input and output devices are configured.

2. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of said analyzing said USB bus architecture comprises analyzing multi-user computer data bus chain including at least one Universal Serial Bus (USB) hub to interconnect said computer data buses, to automatically find and associate each of said computer users'"'"' non-display input and output devices attached directly to said data bus chain as a collection of non-display input and output devices.

3. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of providing said plurality of non-display input and output devices comprises providing said plurality of non-display input and output devices including at least one device selected from the group of devices consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a speaker, a floppy disk drive, and a printer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections of non-display input and output devices intended to function with said user input prompt displayed on one of said multi-user computer display devices and the user input event is a keyboard entry.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections of non-display input and output devices intended to function with said user input prompt displayed on one of said multi-user computer display devices and the user input event is a voice command spoken into a microphone device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections of non-display input and output devices intended to function with said user input prompt displayed on one of said multi-user computer display devices and the user input event is a mouse click.

7. A method of configuring a collection of input and output devices on a multi-user computer system, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a multi-user computer including a multi-user computer Universal Serial Bus (USB) bus;

b) providing non-display input and output devices for each one of two or more computer users, at least a first one of said computer users having non-display input and output devices which are non-Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices;

c) attaching a first user'"'"'s non-USB devices to a non-USB bus on a multi-user computer;

d) attaching at least a second computer user'"'"'s non-display input and output devices including at least a keyboard and a mouse to a chain of USB hubs connected to said USB bus on said multi-user computer;

e) automatically associating said first user'"'"'s non-USB devices as a collection for said first user;

f) analyzing said multi-user computer USB bus chain of USB hubs to automatically associate said two or more computer users'"'"' devices as collections of said non-display devices to find said chains of USB hubs and to associate said non-display devices into two or more collections attached directly to said USB chain;

g) attaching a display device to said multi-user computer for each one of said collection of non-display devices;

h) displaying a user input prompt on one of said display devices;

i) responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections intended to function with said display from step h;

j) assigning said display device from step h and i to said collection from step i; and

k) sequentially continuing steps h, i, and j until each one of said display devices are assigned to one of said collections, such that all of said collection of said input and output devices are configured.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of said attaching at least a second computer user'"'"'s non-display input and output devices comprises attaching at least a second computer user'"'"'s non-display input and output devices including at least a keyboard and a mouse to a chain of USB hubs connected to a USB bus on said multi-user computer and at least one of the non-display input and output devices selected from the group of devices consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a speaker, a floppy disk drive, and a printer.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections intended to function with said display from step h and the user input event is a keyboard entry.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections intended to function with said display from step h and the user input event is a voice command spoken into a microphone device.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of said responding to said user input prompt with a user input event comprises responding to said user input prompt with a user input event from one of said collections intended to function with said display from step h and the user input event is a mouse click.

12. A system for configuring collections out of a first plurality of input and output non-display devices and a second plurality of display devices on a multi-user computer that utilizes a plurality of computer data buses, comprising:

a) means for automatically analyzing said data buses and associating said first plurality of non-display devices into individual collections for each of at least two users when each of said first plurality of non-display devices in said collections attached to a non-Universal Serial Bus (USB) bus or USB chain that is attached to a said multi-user computer;

b) means for displaying a first user input prompt on a first of said display devices;

c) means for adding said first of said display devices to the same said collection as said first plurality of said non-display devices used in responding to said first user prompt; and

d) means for adding a second or greater of said second plurality of display devices to said collections of said first plurality of said non-display devices used in responding to successive user prompts.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein said non-display devices include keyboards.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein said non-display devices include at least one of the non-display input and output devices selected from the group of devices consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a speaker, a floppy disk drive, and a printer.