Using a mobile phone to control a personal computer

• US 7,783,702 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Liu, Yunxin, Zhang, Qian
• Primary Examiner(s): Avellino, Joseph E
• Assistant Examiner(s): NAGEL, PATRICK A
• Application Number:
  US11/290,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20070124372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,728 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0231 Cordless keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/323 in the physical layer [OSI layer 1]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for using a mobile phone to control a computing device. In one implementation, a communication protocol stack is established that includes a wireless layer, such as a BLUETOOTH wireless protocol (IEEE Standard 802.15.1) stack, a communication layer that multiplexes the wireless layer into virtual channels, and an application adaptation layer by which the mobile phone controls and previews content from each of multiple applications on the computing device. The communication protocol stack dynamically maps mobile phone keys to computer keyboard messages for controlling the applications on the computing device. A data packet structure is established for communications between the mobile phone and the computing device via the communication protocol stack.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing a communication protocol between a mobile phone and a computing device;

controlling the computing device via the mobile phone using the communication protocol, the controlling including controlling multiple applications on the computing device via a user interface of the mobile phone, the controlling further including enabling a user to dynamically define and change mapping relationships between one or more user interface elements of the mobile phone and control messages of each of the multiple applications utilizing a pop-up dialogue interface,

wherein the mobile phone includes a help manual to assist the user in controlling at least one of the multiple applications on the computing device;

utilizing a phone number of the mobile phone as a unique identifier to authenticate an owner of the mobile phone on the computing device, the unique identifier further enabling the owner to share content with a user on a second computing device and enabling the owner to login to the second computing device to receive limited access to pre-designated files, applications, and other resources of the second computing device when the mobile phone is present and active; and

preventing the user from accessing the shared content on the second computing device when the mobile phone is not present and active.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device includes browsing storage media, subdirectory structures, and individual files on the computing device via at least one user interface of the mobile phone.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device includes previewing image content of an application on the computing device via at least one user interface of the mobile phone.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein establishing a communication protocol includes establishing a protocol stack, the establishing the protocol stack including:

establishing a physical layer that comprises a wireless link;

establishing a communication layer to communicate with multiple applications on the computing device via corresponding virtual channels of the communication layer; and

establishing an application adaptation layer to control the multiple applications via the virtual channels.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein establishing a communication layer includes multiplexing the wireless link to create the multiple virtual channels.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the wireless link comprises a BLUETOOTH wireless protocol (IEEE Standard 802.15.1) stack.

7. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein establishing the communication layer includes establishing a data packet structure for sending commands and acknowledgements between the mobile phone and the multiple applications on the computing device via the multiple virtual channels.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein establishing a data packet structure includes establishing a packet structure that includes at least a virtual channel identifier field, a data type field, and a payload field, wherein the data type field informs at least one of the multiple applications in the computing device of a data type of data in the payload field.

9. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein establishing a communication layer includes, for each application on the computing device to be controlled by the mobile phone, dynamically mapping a user interface of the mobile phone to application control messages of the computing device.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the user interface of the mobile phone is selected from the group of user interfaces consisting of:

keypad keys, a switch, a touch pad, a touch screen, a stylus pen, a stylus pad, a command interface, a camera, a speech interface, a speech reorganizing module, a mouse, a selection wheel, navigation keys, and arrow keys.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device via the mobile phone includes controlling an application on the computing device, the application selected from the group of applications consisting of:

a graphics presentation application, a multimedia application, and a file browsing application.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device via the mobile phone includes previewing, on the mobile phone, slides of a graphics presentation program running on the computing device.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device via the mobile phone includes monitoring, on the mobile phone, a television channel of a multimedia application running on the computing device.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device via the mobile phone includes automatically authenticating a user of the mobile phone on the computing device via a phone number of the mobile phone.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the computing device via the mobile phone includes managing digital rights of a content on the computing device using a telephone number of the mobile phone as permission to view the content.

20. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein establishing a data packet structure further includes establishing:

a version field used for version control;

a flag field for signaling and toggling attributes; and

a length field indicating payload length of the data packet.

21. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising accessing a help mode of the mobile phone in response to the user requesting assistance in controlling at least one of the multiple applications on the computing device.

16. A system, comprising:

a computing device;

a mobile phone communicatively coupled with the computing device;

a communication protocol stack in each of the computing device and the mobile phone, wherein the mobile phone controls each of multiple applications on the computing device via virtual channels of the communication protocol stack, the communication protocol configured to enable a user to dynamically define and change mapping relationships between one or more user interface elements of the mobile phone and control messages of each of the multiple applications utilizing a pop-up dialogue interface,

wherein the mobile phone includes a help manual to assist the user in controlling at least one of the multiple applications on the computing device; and

a second computing device communicatively coupled with the mobile phone, wherein a phone number of the mobile phone is utilized as a unique identifier to authenticate an owner of the mobile phone on the computing device, the unique identifier further enabling the owner to share content with a user on the second computing device and to enable the owner to login to the second computing device to receive limited access to pre-designated files, applications, and other resources of the second computing device when the mobile phone is present and active, the user not being able to access the shared content on the second computing device when the mobile phone is not present and active.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the communication protocol stack includes at least one communication layer and an application adaptation layer, the application adaptation layer including a variable number of application control modules, each application control module to control a behavior of an application on the computing device via one of the virtual channels of the communication layer.

18. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the communication protocol stack includes a user interface mapping manager to create, for each application to be controlled on the computing device, a mapping between a user interface of the mobile phone and application control messages of the computing device.

19. A system, comprising:

a computing device;

a mobile phone communicatively coupled with the computing device;

a communication protocol stack in each of the computing device and the mobile phone, the communication protocol stack including a physical communication layer for providing a wireless link between the mobile phone and the computing device and a communication layer for communicating control data between the computing device and the mobile phone;

an application adaptation layer included within the communication protocol stack for controlling each of multiple applications on the computing device via the control data from the mobile phone, the application adaptation layer configured to enable a user to dynamically define and change mapping relationships between one or more user interface elements of the mobile phone and control messages of each of the multiple applications utilizing a pop-up dialogue interface,

wherein the mobile phone includes a help manual to assist the user in controlling at least one of the multiple applications on the computing device; and

a second computing device communicatively coupled with the mobile phone, wherein a phone number of the mobile phone is utilized as a unique identifier to authenticate an owner of the mobile phone on the computing device, the unique identifier further enabling the owner to share content with a user on the second computing device and enabling the owner to login to the second computing device to receive limited access to pre-designated files, applications, and other resources of the second computing device when the mobile phone is present and active, the user not being able to access the shared content on the second computing device when the mobile phone is not present and active.