Method and system for providing a peripheral service to a host computing device
First Claim
1. A method for a peripheral device having at least one service to provide the at least one service to a host computing device, at least one characteristic corresponding to the at least one service and the host computing device being distinct from the provider computing device, the method comprising:
- running the peripheral device in a standalone mode, wherein the peripheral device sends information regarding the at least one characteristic of the at least one service to the host computing device;
receiving a request from the host computing device at the peripheral device responsive to sending the information regarding the at least one characteristic, the request being to provide the at least one service and to provide the peripheral device as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device;
switching to an auxiliary mode; and
while running in the auxiliary mode, receiving commands from the host computing device at the peripheral device and operating the peripheral device in accordance with the received commands to provide the at least one service.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a method for one computing device (the “provider”) to provide peripheral services to another device (the “host”). A user directly runs the host. The host accesses the provider as if the provider were a set of peripheral devices attached to the host. In this way, the host and provider become, in effect, one device with the combined capabilities of both devices. The provider switches between two modes: In standalone mode, the provider acts as an individual device; upon switching to auxiliary mode, the provider provides peripheral services to the host but can still run applications and present an input/output interface to its own user. When the peripheral device provided to the host is a display screen, the host can map the provided screen into the host'"'"'s own video memory, thus hiding implementation details from applications that use the screens. One device can simultaneously act as provider and host.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for a peripheral device having at least one service to provide the at least one service to a host computing device, at least one characteristic corresponding to the at least one service and the host computing device being distinct from the provider computing device, the method comprising:
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running the peripheral device in a standalone mode, wherein the peripheral device sends information regarding the at least one characteristic of the at least one service to the host computing device; receiving a request from the host computing device at the peripheral device responsive to sending the information regarding the at least one characteristic, the request being to provide the at least one service and to provide the peripheral device as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device; switching to an auxiliary mode; and while running in the auxiliary mode, receiving commands from the host computing device at the peripheral device and operating the peripheral device in accordance with the received commands to provide the at least one service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions for performing a method for a peripheral device having at least one service to provide the at least one service to a host computing device, at least one characteristic corresponding to the at least one service and the host computing device being distinct from the provider computing device, the method comprising:
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running the peripheral device in a standalone mode, wherein the peripheral device sends information regarding the at least one characteristic of the at least one service to the host computing device; receiving a request from the host computing device at the peripheral device responsive to sending the information regarding the at least one characteristic, the request being to provide the at least one service and to provide the peripheral device as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device; switching to an auxiliary mode; and while running in the auxiliary mode, receiving commands from the host computing device at the peripheral device and operating the peripheral device in accordance with the received commands to provide the at least one service.
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24. A system for providing an auxiliary peripheral device to a host computing device, the system comprising:
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the host computing device; a peripheral device having at least one characteristic corresponding to at least one service, the peripheral device being distinct from the host computing device and being capable of running in a standalone mode and in an auxiliary mode, the peripheral device sending information regarding the at least one characteristic to the host computing device and, while running in the auxiliary mode, receiving commands from the host computing device responsive to the information regarding the at least one characteristic, the commands being received at the peripheral device and operating the peripheral device in accordance with the received commands; and a communications link between the host computing device and the peripheral device. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for a host computing device to use, as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device, at least a portion of a display screen of a peripheral device, the host computing device distinct from the peripheral device, the method comprising:
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receiving from the peripheral device information regarding a characteristic of the display screen; requesting that the peripheral device provide at least a portion of the display screen as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device in response to receiving the information regarding the characteristic; allocating video memory on the host computing device to accommodate at least a portion of the display screen based on the characteristic; accessing the allocated video memory to control, at least in part, the display screen; and sending commands intended to operate at least a portion of the display screen responsive to the characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions for performing a method for a host computing device to use, as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device, at least a portion of a display screen of a peripheral device, the host computing device distinct from the peripheral device, the method comprising:
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receiving from the peripheral device information regarding a characteristic of the display screen; requesting that the peripheral device provide at least a portion of the display screen as an auxiliary peripheral device to the host computing device in response to the information regarding the characteristic; allocating video memory on the host computing device to accommodate at least a portion of the display screen based on the characteristic; accessing the allocated video memory to control, at least in part, the display screen; and sending commands intended to operate at least a portion of the display screen responsive to the characteristic.
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Specification